Mount

Palestine is a distinctly mountainous country (Deut. 3:25; 11:11; Ezek. 34:13), and the mountains of the biblical world carry profound theological as well as geographical significance. The main ranges include the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon in the far north, the hills of Galilee descending southward, the isolated peak of Tabor rising from the Jezreel plain, and the central highland ridge running through Samaria and Judea with peaks such as Ebal, Gerizim, and the hills of Jerusalem. East of the Jordan rise the highlands of Bashan and Gilead, while in the south the Negev gives way to the sandstone massif of Edom. Specific mountains hold central importance in salvation history: Sinai (the mount of the law), Zion (the mount of the temple and the Davidic covenant), Carmel (Elijah's contest), Hermon (possibly the Transfiguration), and Olivet (Jesus' ascension). The eschatological vision of Isaiah locates the LORD's house on "the mountain of the LORD" exalted above all hills, to which all nations will stream (Isa. 2:2–4).