Biblical Geography

The Mount of Olives

Mountain · Old and New Testament · The Mount of Olives

Scripture first

Luke 22:39-44 · WEBU

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Jesus goes, as was his custom, to the of Olives, and prays in agony on the night he was betrayed.

The of Olives looks down on mount across the Kidron valley. David crossed it in flight; Jesus crossed it daily in his last week, wept over the city from its slope, prayed in Gethsemane at its foot, and ascended from it.

The ridge east of Jerusalem across the Kidron: David's flight, Jesus' prayers and tears, the ascension, and the promised return.

Biblical names
the Mount of Olives, Olivet, the mount facing Jerusalem on the east
Modern identification
The Mount of Olives · Palestine

From the ridge the whole court lies in view. Jesus' lament over Jerusalem and his prophecy of its fall were spoken looking straight at what he described.

  • Jesus goes, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and prays in agony on the night he was betrayed.
  • David ascends the Mount of Olives weeping, fleeing Absalom
  • On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives
  • The Olivet discourse on the end of the age
  • The ascension, and the return to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet

What we know

Certain

  • The ridge east of the city across the Kidron is securely identified and matches every Gospel description.