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Olivet (2)

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

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(ὁ ἐλαιών, Acts 1:12; found only here and in Jos. Ant. VII. ix. 2, διὰ τοῦ ἐλαιῶνος ὄρους; τὸ ἐλαιών in Mark 11:1 is confined to B; Lat. olivetum)

Olivet, called in the Gospels ‘the Mount of Olives,’ is the range of hills facing Jerusalem on the E., beyond the ravine of the Kidron valley. It has three summits, which are now commonly known as ‘Scopus’ (a misnomer, however, the real Scopus being further west), which is about a mile N.E. of the Temple site, ‘the Ascension,’ three-quarters of a mile E. of the same, and ‘the Mount of Offence,’ three-quarters of one mile S.E. of Ophel. The Risen Lord led His disciples not ‘as far as to Bethany’ (Authorized Version ), but ‘until they were over against Bethany’ (Revised Version ), ἕως πρὸς (better supported than εἰς) Βηθανίαν, and there, a Sabbath day’s journey-about six furlongs-from the Holy City, His ascension is recorded to have taken place. Bethany itself was fifteen furlongs-more than twice a Sabbath day’s journey-from Jerusalem (John 11:18), and it is unlikely that He wished the solemn parting to take place in the village. Not far from the scene of His agony and betrayal, ‘he was taken up’ (Acts 1:9). It was not from Bethany, therefore, but ‘from the mount called Olivet,’ that the disciples returned to Jerusalem (Acts 1:12). From early times the traditional spot from which the Lord ascended has been the central summit of the range, on which now stands the Church of the Ascension, built on the ruins of a crusading church of the 12th cent., which itself took the place of a basilica of the time of Constantine. More important than the identification of sites and scenes is the fact that

‘… faith has still its Olivet,

And love its Galilee’

(Whittier, Our Master, i. 51 f.).

Literature.-See Josephus Ant. xx. viii. 6, Bellum Judaicum (Josephus) v. ii. 3; E. Robinson, Biblical Researches in Palestine², 1856, vol. i. pp. 274 f., 604 f.; A. P. Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, new ed., 1877, pp. 185-195; PEFSt ^{[Note: EFSt Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement.]} . 1889, pp. 174-184; W. M. Thomson, The Land and the Book, new ed., 1910, pp. 709-711; articles in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) and Encyclopaedia Biblica .

James Strahan.