Mount Tabor

This blog is a continuation of the recent entry on the Tour of Israel in late May to early June 2014 (Read here). 

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We checked out from the hotel in Tiberias on 29 May 2014 and headed to Bethlehem. On the way, we stopped at Mount Tabor.

Mount Tabor stands conspicuously as a huge hump at the north of the huge plain of Jazreel Valley. Hiking this mountain may take one to five hours. With the peak elevation of 575m, our Signal Hill where the State Governor's official residence is sited (220m) pales in comparison. Mount Tabor had witnessed countless of wars fought at the Jazreel Valley.

A direct reference to Mount Tabor is found in Judges 4:6 - She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: "Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them to Mount Tabor".

Mount Tabor captured in Google Map.

To the Christians, it is the Mount of Transfiguration rather than Mount Tabor that rings the ears. A less direct reference to this mountain is found in Matthew 17:1-17. This is the story of the transfiguration of Jesus -  "After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves....."

The high mountain referred to in the story is by tradition believed to be Mount Tabor. Mount Tabor, being a place closely associated with both the Old Testament and New Testament has been a pilgrimage site since the 4th century AD. Two Church buildings now occupy the peak of Mount Tabor: the Church of Transfiguration and the Eastern Sanctuary of the Orthodox Church. The former is more well known and is a Roman Franciscan Church which was built between 1919 and 1924.

On Mount Tabor, we visited the Church of Transfiguration.

Photos of the Church of Transfiguration captured with courtesy of BibleWalks.com

As we walked around the vicinity of the compound of the Church of Transfiguration, we saw a group of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) patrolling the surrounding area of the hill. This fully armed soldiers were very friendly and were ever ready to pose for photographs.

For the Israel Government to station IDF at this location, there must be strategic importance of the place. The northern boundary of the Palestinian West Bank and the western boundary of Jordan is mere 20Km away. The intersection of the north-south and east-west highways is also close by. Mount Tabor is therefore ideal as a watch tower to see any unusual movements around all sides.

It was said that much of the trees around the hill slopes were cut down during the Ottoman period. Realizing the problem, significant effort has been taken to reforest the area in the past 100 years. 

Lush pine forest now lines the hill side.

Looking across the south and southwest from Mount Tabor, one can see the huge plain known to many as Magiddo or Armageddon - the plain where the final battle will be fought!