Introduction
In the ancient world, one of the most important and widespread religious understandings was that the place to worship the gods properly was on the top of a mountain. Mountain tops were considered to be the dwelling places of the gods, and the place of their special presence. A well-known example is that the Greek gods were thought to live on Mount Olympus. The mountains were also the meeting place of the gods where they had their assembly, as well as being the source of water and fertility. They were the meeting place between the heavens and the earth, where divine decrees were made which affected the rest of the world. There are examples of holy mountains from many civilisations, including Egypt, Turkey, Mesopotamia, as well as the land of Canaan.
Through the whole Bible, but particularly in the OT, God’s presence is frequently described in terms of the imagery of a holy mountain, whether that is Sinai, Zion, the tabernacle, the temple, or the new Jerusalem.
Mesopotamia
From the time of the earliest civilisations in the Tigris / Euphrates valley people built towers called ziggurats, as the valley is mostly flat land with no mountains. The first was at Erdu, which started as a small temple on top of a small sand-hill. Each place of worship was believed to be a local manifestation of their god’s heavenly mountain-top dwelling place, and they were gradually built higher and higher. The ziggurats were step-sided pyramids built of tar and brick, with a great stairway up one side. They represented heaven on earth and were often next to and associated with a canal or river. A house for the god was built on the top and decorated with gold and precious stones. Priests climbed the stairs where they bathed and dressed the gold idol and set food before it. When ascending the stairway, they believed they were ascending the holy mountain into heaven itself, to the place of the assembly of the gods. The Tower of Babel was built based on this idea, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens” (Gen 11:4).
In Sumerian temple hymns the ziggurats are often referred to as mountains. This is an example: “O E-unir (house which is a ziqqurat), grown together with heaven and earth, foundation of heaven and earth, great banqueting hall of Eridug! Abzu, shrine erected for its prince, E-dul-kug (house which is the holy mound) where pure food is eaten, watered by the prince's pure canal, mountain, pure place cleansed with the potash plant, abzu, your tigi drums belong to the divine powers.”
Pyramidal structures similar to these are found in many ancient civilisations around the world, including Egypt, India, the Minoans in Crete, the Hittites in Turkey, and the Americas.
Mount Zaphon
Mount Zaphon is an important landmark located on the border between the modern nations of Syria and Turkey, near the mouth of the River Orontes, near the Mediterranean coast. It is a dominant mountain, which can be seen from a great distance out at sea. It is now known as Jabel Aqra. Because of its geographical location, it tends to gather clouds around it, leading to heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. Because of this, Mount Zaphon was believed to be the holy mountain of Ba’al and the site of his palace. In several cultures, Ba’al was believed to be the god of the rain and the storm, which he controlled from Mount Zaphon. The mountain itself was sometimes referred to as a god called Zaphon.
The Phoenicians worshipped Ba’al as the god of the sailors. They prayed to Ba’al because he was the storm god, and storms often caused ships to sink. Because Mount Zaphon was so visible from the sea, the sailors prayed for protection from the god of Zaphon. The Phoenician sailors established shrines to Ba’al at many place around the coasts. This would explain why there was a landmark known as Baal-zephon near the site of the crossing of the Red Sea (Ex 14:9).
Many temples were built on raised platforms or on the tops of hills dedicated to Ba’al around the Ancient Near East. These were understood as being local versions of Zaphon. When people entered these temples, the worshippers believed they were spiritually entering Ba’al’s true home on Mt Zaphon.
Idolatrous holy mountains in OT
There are a number of places in the OT where the imagery of holy mountains is used when referring to the nations around Israel and the gods of those nations. A number of these holy mountains mentioned in the OT were high places dedicated to Baal.
One example is in the account of Balak and Balaam. Balak, the king of Moab, feared that Israel would conquer the land of Moab and destroy them, so he summoned a soothsayer called Balaam from Mesopotamia in order to curse Israel (Num 22:4-6). Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth-Baal, meaning ‘high-place of Baal’. This was a high place on the top of a mountain where Baal was worshipped. From this location he could see part of the people of Israel (Num 22:41), in order to bring a curse on them. It would be an obvious location for Balak to bring Balaam, as it was a high-place dedicated to Baal. Balaam told Balak to build him seven altars and sacrifice a bull and a ram on each altar (Num 23:2). However, through the first of his oracles, Balaam refused to curse Israel, because God desired to bless them (Num 23:4-10). This refusal was repeated another two times on different high-places. The second oracle was given at the top of Pisgah, near the field of Zophim (Num 23:14), and the third was given at the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland (Num 23:28).
The well-known passage in Isaiah 14, which is often claimed to describe the fall of Satan, alludes to this understanding of holy mountains. It is part of a longer oracle announcing God’s judgement on Babylon, where the claim is made, “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon; I will ascend to the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High’” (Is 14:13-14). Because Zaphon was to the north of Israel, the word ‘Zaphon’ came to mean ‘north’ in Hebrew, and is translated as ‘north’ in English translations.
Even though the city of Babylon was in a wide valley and far from the mountains, Jeremiah addresses Babylon as a destroying mountain in his oracle of judgement. “I am against you, O destroying mountain, says the LORD, that destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burned-out mountain.” (Jer 51:25). He is referring to these ziggurats, which were man-made mountains, which will be destroyed.
The other passage, in Ezekiel 28, which is also often claimed to describe the fall of Satan, is also written in terms of holy mountains. This is part of a longer oracle describing the judgement on the king of Tyre, who is described as being on the holy mountain of God. The oracle brings together the Garden of Eden (v13) and God’s heavenly place described as a mountain with stones made of fire covered with precious jewels. “You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering ... With an anointed cherub as guardian I placed you; you on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the stones of fire ... In the abundance of your trade you filled with violence, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God and the guardian cherub drove you our from among the stones of fire”. (Ezek 28:13,14,16).
It is likely that the widespread concept of holy mountains was ultimately derived from the original tradition from the Garden of Eden, where God had his holy mountain. However in the following centuries, the original understanding was lost and perverted into pagan idolatry and the holy mountains becoming dwelling places of the gods.
High places in Israel
The Hebrew word for high-place is ‘bama’, with the plural being ‘bamot’ or ‘bamoth’, which is used over one hundred times in the OT. It can mean the geographical hill or mountain, but also the shrines that were built on their tops. There is a close association between the heights with control or lordship. In war, possession of the heights gives lordship and control over the surrounding land. God is described as riding or treading on the heights (Amos 4:13; Mic 1:3) or that he sets the nation of Israel (Deut 32:13, Is 58:14) or an individual (2 Sam 22:34, Ps 18:33, Hab 3:19) upon the heights of the earth. Associating heights with lordship may account for their choice of location of shrines.
Some high places (bamot) contain a round or flat platform, but the term seems more naturally taken as embracing the whole cult area including the altar, stones and houses. A reconstructed high place from Arad in Judea is displayed in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
Shrines on heights were typical of the early period (Nu 22:41, 1 Sam 9), whereas later they were built in towns (2 Kg 17:9) or even in a valley (Jer 7:31). By the end of the monarchy period the term was applied to many types of local shrines. In the account of Josiah’s reforms high places describe any shrine, small or large, in the town or the countryside, including the shrines built by the king and small shrines at the city gate (2 Kg 23).
Patriarchs
The normal practice of the patriarchs was to worship God on the tops of mountains in the central area of Israel, which were considered to be holy places. The later problem with the high-places was that they became locations for worshipping idols, instead of Yahweh, or as well as Yahweh. The issue was the identity of the god or God being worshipped, rather than the understanding of worship of God on the tops of mountains.
God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mount Moriah. “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you” (Gen 22:2). This site later became the location of Jerusalem and the temple.
The most important high places were at Bethel and Ramah. Bethel, meaning ‘house of God’, was an important high-place and ancient place of worship from the time of the patriarchs. It was at Bethel that God appeared to Jacob through the dream of a ladder, with its top in the heavens, and repeated the promise of many offspring and the land originally given to Abraham (Gen 28:12-15). God later appeared to Jacob at Bethel, where he built an altar (Gen 35:7). It is likely that Luz, the original name of Bethel, was the site of worship and sacrifice from long before the time of Jacob.
Worship on the high places forbidden
God commanded the Israelites through Moses to destroy the high-places when they entered the Promised Land. When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their figured stones, destroy all their cast images, and demolish all their high places (Num 33:51-52, Deut 12:2). God gave Israel a serious warning about worshipping on high-places. As part of the judgement for idolatry, God threatened that he will destroy their high-places, and lay their cities waste (Lev 26:30-31).
Joshua and Judges
Samuel
For much of his ministry, the prophet Samuel was based in his home town of Ramah. Above the town of Ramah was an important high place, where Samuel held feasts and sacrifices to Yahweh (1 Sam 9:12-19). Samuel conducted a special sacrifice at a shrine on the top of a hill where he ate with Saul before anointing him king over Israel (1 Sam 9:19-25). Saul then met a group of prophets coming down from the shrine on the high-place, led by lute, fife and drum, when the Spirit of the Lord fell upon him (1 Sam 10:5).
Gibeon - ‘the Great High Place’
During the time of the monarchy, the high place at Gibeon had acquired a special status as ‘the Great High Place’. This is where the tabernacle was located in the years before Solomon built a temple in Jerusalem (2 Chr 1:3). “The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house (temple) had yet been built for the name of the Lord. Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, only he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places. The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place” (1 Kg 3:2-4). It was at Gibeon that God appeared to Solomon in a dream, and where Solomon asked God for wisdom, rather than riches and a long life. (1 Kg 3:5).
Solomon’s downfall
High places were one of the causes of Solomon’s downfall. He married many foreign wives, probably for political reasons, and built high places for them on the mountains east of Jerusalem. These wives caused Solomon to turn away to other gods in his old age (1 Kg 11:3). “Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrificed to their gods” (1 Kg 11:7-8).
Elijah
During his dramatic contest with the prophets of Ba’al, Elijah rebuilt the altar to the Lord on Mt Carmel, as the altar of the Lord had been town down and replaced by an altar of Ba’al (1 Kg 18:30).
Divided kingdom
Following the division of the kingdom between Judah in the south and Israel in the north, the high places became an increasingly greater threat to the purity of the faith of Israel.
Northern Kingdom (Israel)
In the northern Kingdom, King Jeroboam built high places as part of his plan to distract the attention of his people away from Jerusalem (1 Kg 12:26-27). He built two calves of gold, claiming that it was these who had brought the people out of Egypt. These were placed in Bethel and in Dan, where he made houses on high places (12:28,31). Through the books of Kings, this is repeatedly referred to as ‘the sin of Jeroboam’. These high places were theoretically dedicated to Yahweh, but included many Canaanite features, including standing stones, Asherah poles, and fertility rites, including ritual prostitution. High places were understood to be one of the causes of the moral and religious collapse, leading to the exile of the northern kingdom (2 Kg 17:9-12).
Following the fall of Samaria and the exile of the northern kingdom, the situation became even worse. The Assyrians repopulated the land with peoples from around their empire. These people brought their own idols with them which they erected in the shrines on the high places. They worshipped both Yahweh and the idols on the high places, causing the syncretism which was then passed down the generations (2 Kg 17:29-33).
Southern Kingdom (Judah)
High places were also a problem in the southern kingdom. During the reign of Rehoboam idolatry greatly increased, “For they also built for themselves high places, pillars, and sacred poles on every high hill and under every green tree; there were also male prostitutes in the land. They committed all the abominations of the nations that the LORD drove out before the people of Israel” (1 Kg 14:23-24). Both Asa and Jehoshaphat destroyed many of the idolatrous practices, but failed to remove the high places (1 Kg 15:12-14, 22:43). It was not until the major reforms made by Hezekiah that high places were removed (2 Kg 18:4). However, his evil son Manasseh reversed the reforms made by his father and rebuilt the high places (2 Kg 21:3). Following the discovery of the book of the law by Josiah, there were significant reforms including destroying the high places (2 Kg 23). Following his untimely death at the Battle of Megiddo, the reforms ceased as the final kings of Judah were weak and ungodly.
Tensions over high places
During these years there was tension in Judah between those who insisted on worship only being conducted in Jerusalem as commanded by Moses (Deut 12:2-7), and those who wanted to continue the worship of Yahweh on the high places. Places such as Gibeon and Bethel had an important heritage as places of worship from the times of the patriarchs. However, there was always the danger of blending the worship of Yahweh with Canaanite fertility rituals. The book of Chronicles describes a revival towards the end of the reign of Manasseh, following his humiliation and repentance. At this time the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the LORD their God (2 Chr 33:17).
This tension is also seen during the reign of Hezekiah. When Sennacherib of Assyria appealed to the inhabitants of Jerusalem to surrender, he asked how Hezekiah could claim to worship Yahweh when he had torn down Yahweh’s altars on the high places. “But if you say to me, ‘We rely on the LORD our God’, is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?” (2 Kg 18:22). Many people in Judah would actually support Sennacherib’s argument.
Through all of Israel’s history there were mountain-top worship places that were sometimes used to worship Yahweh. The theological understanding of these high places came from the idea of a holy mountain common in the Ancient Near East. All the high places were seen as local manifestations of God’s heavenly mountain top dwelling. It is likely that rulers such as Samuel, Saul and Solomon attempted to claim these shrines for God without realising the syncretistic dangers which had been plain to Moses and all too accurately vindicated by later history.
The prophets
The pre-exilic prophets continually brought messages condemning the idolatrous worship on the high places. These are a couple of examples: “For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have played the whore, forsaking their God. They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and make offerings upon the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good” (Hos 4:13). Ezekiel was called to set his face against the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, saying that God will bring a sword and destroy the high places. He will lay the corpses of Israel before the idols and scatter bones around the altars (Exek 6:2-5).
God’s holy mountains
1. Sinai / Horeb
At the burning bush, God appeared to Moses and called him to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. “Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.” (Ex 3:1). Horeb was to become the special place where God would meet with his people. He promised to Moses, 'I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you; when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain'” (Ex 3:12).
In the song of Moses following the crossing of the Red Sea, Moses declared that Yahweh had a special mountain which was the place of his dwelling and his sanctuary. “You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession, the place, O LORD, that you made your abode, the sanctuary, O LORD, that your hands have established.” (Ex 15:17).
Moses later reminded the people of the time when they stood before the LORD at the foot of Horeb. He described the mountain as “blazing up to the very heavens, shrouded in dark clouds” (Deut 4:11-12). This was where they heard the voice of God to discipline them, and where he showed them his great fire (Deut 4:36).
With the people of Israel gathered at the foot of the mountain, God himself descended to the summit of Sinai. The top of the mountain was covered with fire and smoke. Loud noises were heard as God spoke to Israel from the mountain. Moses (Ex 19), Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy elders (Ex 24:1) climbed Sinai and met with God there. Sinai was the mountain where Israel was established as a nation through the covenant. The Israelites never forgot what happened there.
Many years later, when Elijah fled from Jezebel following his victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel, he travelled for forty days and nights to reach Horeb, the mount of God (1 Kg 19:8). It was here that God spoke to him through the still small voice.
2. Jerusalem / Zion
Even though geographically Mt Zion is a small hill forming part of the greater city of Jerusalem, it is described in the Scriptures as a high mountain and the dwelling place of God, where his people come into his presence to worship him.
Sinai was God’s mountain where the law was revealed through Moses and the nation of Israel was founded, in preparation for the entry into the Promised Land. Through Israel’s history, Sinai was always remembered as the place of the original revelation and meeting with God. Once settled in the land, Zion became the pre-eminent location of the presence of God among his people, and in many ways replaced Sinai.
Jerusalem or Zion became Israel’s most important site in the OT. It was from Jerusalem that Melchizedek ruled, from where he came and blessed Abraham (Gen 14:18). Zion was identified as the location of Mount Moriah where Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen 22:2). David captured Jerusalem from Jebusites and made it his capital (2 Sam 5:6-9). “Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David” (v8). It was here where later Solomon built his temple.
On a spiritual level, Zion was understood to be the place of divine counsel, the meeting place of heaven and earth, and the place of communication between God and his people. It became a place outside of time, of complete holiness, and often described in terms of the Garden of Eden.
The concept of Zion gradually expanded from the name of a mountain, to describe the whole land of Israel, and the people of Israel. God’s presence on his holy mountain of Zion ensured that the people of the land enjoyed his blessing and protection. On some ways Zion was a manifestation of heaven, so those living there were already enjoying God’s presence in the heavenly realm.
Particularly in the Psalms and prophets, Zion is frequently described as God’s holy mountain, and his dwelling place. “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill” (Ps 2:6). “He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loves ...” (Ps 78:68). “On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the LORD loves the gates of Zion, more than all the dwellings of Jacob” (Ps 87:1).
The Psalmist may have stressed this holy mountain imagery to compete with Baal’s holy mountain sanctuary on Zaphon. “Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth. Mount Zion, in the far north (zaphon), the city of the great king” (Ps 48:1-2). A contrast is being made between Zion and the holy mountain of Ba’al, showing that the true holy mountain is God’s holy mountain of Zion, and not Ba’al’s holy mountain of Zaphon.
Addressing God, the Psalmist Asaph, calls him to “Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell” (Ps 74:2). Zion was where God was present with his people. His glory dwelt within the holy of holies in the temple, and through their corporate worship and the sacrificial system, his people could come into his presence.
The prophets
The concept of Zion as God’s holy mountain became important in the writings of the prophets, especially Isaiah. These are a few examples: “See, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion” (Is 8:18). “They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Is 11:9). “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent - its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain” (Is 65:25).
Eschatological Mount Zion
The prophets, including Micah and Isaiah, also looked far into future and saw a time when Jerusalem’s holy mountain, Zion, would be centre of worship for all nations and a land of boundless peace. “In days to come the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills. People will stream to it, and many nations shall come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob ...'” (Micah 4:1-2). Isaiah made a similar prediction, “In days to come the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it” (Is 2:2-3).
The Garden of Eden and the river of life
As noted above, Zion is frequently described in terms of the Garden of Eden. A stream of water flowed from Zion, which was thought of as one of the rivers of Eden, and the fountain of life.
At the end of the Book of Ezekiel there a lengthy vision in which Ezekiel is brought back to Jerusalem 14 years after the Babylonians had destroyed the city and the temple. In his vision he saw a very high mountain with a city on it. “He brought me, in visions of God, to the land of Israel, and set me down upon a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south” (Ezek 40:2). In his vision Ezekiel was the city and the temple was measured (Ezek 40:5ff). The act of measuring was an enacted promised that God will rebuild his land after the exile in righteousness and holiness. A stream of water will flow from God’s dwelling on his holy mountain (Ezek 47:1-13). The stream will become deeper and deeper until he becomes a mighty river, a river of life. Its banks will be lined with trees giving fruits because the water flows from the sanctuary (v12).
A similar concept is found in the final vision of Zechariah. During the final battle, the Lord will return to his city, with his feet standing on the Mount of Olives. He will establish his kingdom, and living waters will flow from Jerusalem to the sea and the Lord will become the king over all the earth (Zech 14:1-8).
The Book of Revelation
In the final vision of the Book of Revelation, John sees the holy city Jerusalem, which is also the bride of Christ. “In the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God” (Rev 21:10). This city is built with precious stones, and has no temple, because it is filled with the glory of God and of Christ.
In this vision the same allusion to the Garden of Eden is found as in Ezekiel’s vision. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the city. On either side of the river, is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations" (Rev 22:1-2). There will be no more curse, and God will dwell among his people, where they will see his face (Rev 22:3-4). Because of the work of the cross, the paradise lost in Genesis will be regained at the end of time.
The ‘now but not yet’
When trying to interpret these more eschatological passages about Zion and the river of life, it is important to remember the concept of the ‘now but not yet’. These passages are bringing a message of great hope of a glorious future for God’s people. However, through Jesus, these blessings are already available to those who have faith, as a foretaste and promise of what is to come at the end of the age. The other important truth is that the blessings of Zion and the Garden of Eden are also available to the nations. The promises given in Ezekiel’s vision are not only for the people of Israel, but will be broadened out to include the Gentiles.
The writer of Hebrews contrasts Sinai and Zion, saying that believers in Jesus have not come to Sinai, the place of blazing fire, darkness and gloom (Heb 12:18), but “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem ...” (Heb 12:22-24). The blessings of eschatological Zion are available to the believers in the present time through Jesus.