'Ushsh el-Ghurab

ʿUshsh el-Ghurāb
'Ushsh el-Ghurab in the 1941 Survey of Palestine
Highest point
Elevation−87.7 m (−288 ft)
Prominencec. 250 m (820 ft)
Coordinates31°53′40″N 35°27′24″E / 31.89444°N 35.45667°E / 31.89444; 35.45667
Naming
Native nameجبل الغراب
English translation"Mount Raven's Nest"
Geography
LocationIsraeli-Occupied West Bank
CountryPalestine
GovernorateJericho
MunicipalityJericho

'Ushsh el-Ghurab is a hill located just north of Jericho in the West Bank. Its peak is −87.7 meters (−288 ft) relative to sea level, although it still rises appreciably above the still lower Plain of Jericho around it. Separated from the Mount of Temptation by the Wadi ed-Duyuk and the village and refugee camp of 'Ein ed-Duyuk el-Foqa, it was formerly identified as the location of part of Jesus's Temptation by the Devil.

Name

Jebel ʿUshsh el-Ghurāb (جبل الغراب) is Palestinian Arabic for "Mountain of the Nest of the Raven"[1] or, idiomatically, "of the Mushroom".[2] It has also been variously transcribed as 'Ush Ghurab,[1] Ush el Ghurab,[3] 'Osh el Ghūrâb,[4] and Jabal ʿUshsh al Ghurāb.[5][6]

Legend

As late as the 19th century, the nearby wadi—today the Wadi 'Ushsh el-Ghurab (وَادِي الغراب)—was known as the "Wadi of the Ascent of Jesus" (Wadi Mesāʾadet ʾAīsa).[4] This preserved the local Arab legend that it was the summit of 'Ushsh el-Ghurab, rather than the nearby Mount of Temptation, where Jesus had been taken by the Devil to be offered dominion over all the kingdoms of the world.[4][7]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Sandrezky (1872).
  2. ^ Sato (2004), p. 44.
  3. ^ Abu Sitta (2006), p. 223.
  4. ^ a b c Conder & al. (1883), p. 185.
  5. ^ USBGN (1971), p. 401.
  6. ^ USBGN (1992), p. 271.
  7. ^ Saunders (1881), pp. 87 & 166.

Bibliography

  • Jordan: Official Standard Names, vol. 212435, Washington: United States Board on Geographic Names, June 1971.
  • Gazetteer of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Washington: United States Board on Geographic Names, December 1992.
  • Abu Sitta, Salman H. (2006), The Return Journey: A Guide to the Depopulated and Present Palestinian Towns and Villages and Holy Sites..., London: Palestine Land Society.
  • Conder, Claude Reignier; et al. (1883), Sheets XVII.–XXVI. Judea, The Survey of Western Palestine, London: Palestine Exploration Fund.
  • Sandrezky, Charles (July 1872), "List of Names East of Jordan", Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 4 (3), London: Palestine Exploration Fund: 123–150, doi:10.1179/peq.1872.017.
  • Sato, Tsugitaka (February 2004), "Visits to the Tomb of the Saint Ibrahim", Acta Asiatica, vol. 86, Tokyo: Toho Gakkai.
  • Saunders, Trelawney (1881), An Introduction to the Survey of Western Palestine: Its Waterways, Plains, & Highlands, London: Richard Bentley & Son.