Difference between revisions of "Mount Carmel" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Mount-carmel-1894.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A view of Mount Carmel in 1894]]
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[[Image:Nasahaifa.jpg|thumb|250px|Mount Carmel range (left) and Haifa as seen from space]]
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'''Mount Carmel''' is a coastal [[mountain range]] of modest height in northern [[Israel]] overlooking the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. Its name is derived from the Hebrew "Karem [[El]]" which means "vineyards of God." In ancient times it was covered by vineyards and rich grazing land.
'''Mount Carmel''' is a coastal [[mountain range]] in northern [[Israel]] overlooking the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. Its name is derived from the Hebrew "Karem El" which means 'vineyards of God'. In ancient times it was covered by vineyards and was at all times famous for its fertility.
 
  
A Syrian Philosopher of the 4th century C.E., called [[Iamblichus]], wrote that Mount Carmel was "''the most holy of all mountains and forbidden of access to many.''"
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In the [[Bible]], a specific but unidentified "Mount Carmel" in this range is famous as the location of the dramatic battle between the [[Israelite]] prophet [[Elijah]] and 450 prophets of [[Baal]]. Elijah's successor, [[Elisha]] later lived there, and some traditions speak of a community of Jewish holy men dwelling on Carmel well into Christian times. The mountain later became a place of Christian pilgrimage and was the site of the formation of the [[Carmelite]] Catholic Order.
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{{toc}}
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The mountains of Carmel today house both the [[University of Haifa]] and the Bahá'í [[Shrine of the Bab]], as well as several towns and villages. Excavations in the caves of Carmel uncovered evidence of human habitation there dating back to 600,000 B.C.E..
  
'''[[Our Lady of Mount Carmel]]''' is a [[title]] given to [[Mary, the mother of Jesus]], in honor of her having given the [[Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel]] to [[Saint Simon Stock]].  Her feast is celebrated on July 16.
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==Geography==
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[[Image:HaifaUniversity.JPG|thumb|right|250px|[[University of Haifa]] atop Mount Carmel in 1996]]
  
==Geography==
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Mount Carmel is 16 miles long by 4-5 miles wide and 1,800 feet high. The city of [[Haifa]] is situated at the western promontory of Mount Carmel and partly at its base.
 +
 
 +
The sloped side of the mountain is covered with luxurious vegetation, including [[oak]]s, [[pine]]s, [[olives]], and [[laurels]]. Several smaller towns are located on the range, including [[Yokneam]] on the eastern ridge, [[Zikhron Ya'aqov]] on the southern slope, the [[Druze]] town of [[Carmel City]] on the more central part of the ridge, and the towns of [[Nesher]] and [[Tirat Hakarmel]].
  
Mount Carmel is 16 miles long by 4-5 miles wide and 1,800 feet high. The city of [[Haifa]] is situated at the western promontory of Mount Carmel and partly at its base, along with the smaller towns [[Nesher]] and [[Tirat Hakarmel]]. Along the ridge are the [[Druze]] towns of [[Daliyat al-Karmel]] and [[Isfiya]], combined to form [[Carmel City]] since 2003. The town of [[Yokneam]] is located on the eastern part of Mount Carmel, and the town of [[Zikhron Ya'aqov]] on its southern part.
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Since 1966, Carmel has been the location of the University of Haifa, one of Israel's leading universities. It is also the location of the [[Shrine of the Báb]], and worldwide place of pilgrimage for the Bahá'í faith.
  
 
==Biblical Carmel==
 
==Biblical Carmel==
In the Bible, Carmel is first mentioned  as the location a Jokneam, a twon conquered by Joshua (Josh. 12:22). It is also mentioned as the western boundary of the tribe of Asher (Josh. 19:24). King [[Saul]] reportedly established a victory monument there after his victory over the [[Amalekites]] (1 Samuel 15:12). Carmel was also the home of David's wise wife [[Abigail]] and her first husband, the wealthy but foolish Nabal (1 Samuel 25).
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In ancient [[Canaan]]ite culture, [[high places]] were frequently considered to be sacred, and Mount Carmel was no exception. Human habitation there dates back to [[Neanderthal]] times, and its recorded fame as a sacred site may have reached as far away as Egypt and as far back to the fifteenth century B.C.E.
[[Image:Elijah-rain.jpg|thumb|250px|Elijah prays for rain after the battle at Mount Carmel, as his servant spots a tiny rain cloud in the distance.]]
 
  
It is refered to by the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah as a symbol of majesty, and the male character in the Song of Solomon tells his beloved "Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel." (Song of Solomon 7:5)
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In the [[Bible]], Carmel is first mentioned as the location of Jokneam, a town conquered by [[Joshua]] (Josh. 12:22). It is also mentioned as the western boundary of the tribe of Asher (Josh. 19:24). King [[Saul]] reportedly established a victory monument there after his triumph over the [[Amalekites]] (1 Samuel 15:12). Carmel's pasturelands were once the home of David's wise wife, [[Abigail]] and her first husband, the wealthy but foolish Nabal (1 Samuel 25).
 +
[[Image:Elijah-rain.jpg|thumb|250px|Elijah prays for rain after the battle at Mount Carmel, as his servant spots a tiny rain cloud in the distance.]] A [[high place]] was maintained at Mount Carmel devoted to [[Yahweh]] during the Israelite monarchy, but it had fallen into disuse by the time of King [[Ahab]], when it was devoted to [[Baal]], probably the Baal-Melqart honored by nearby Phoenician rulers such as the father of Ahab's queen, [[Jezebel]].
 +
[[File:090.The Prophets of Baal Are Slaughtered.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The Prophets of Baal Are Slaughtered]]
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Carmel's greatest claim to fame was the battle that took place there between the [[prophet]] [[Elijah]] and the 450 prophets of [[Baal]], together with 400 prophets of [[Ashera]], to decide which deity was more powerful. Underlying the contest was the question of why neither Baal nor Yahweh, both supposedly capable of producing rain, had not done so during a long period of intense [[drought]] (1 Kings 18). Here, the mountain, located in a kind of coastal no-man's-land between Israel and [[Phoenicia]], represented a strategic high ground where the Phoenician Baal and the Israelite [[Yahweh]] contended for superiority. After repairing the old altar of Yahweh, Elijah put the prophets of Baal to shame when he was able to produce fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice to Yahweh, while the prophets of Baal failed to produce fire from Baal to consume their offering.
  
Carmel's greatest claim to fame, however, was the battle that took place their between the prophet Elijah and the 450 prophets of [[Baal]], together with 400 prophets of Ashera. Here the mountain, located in a kind of no-mans-land between Israel and Phoenecia, represents a strategic high ground where the Phoenician Baal and the Israelite [[Yahweh]] contend. Elijah puts the prophets of Baal to shame when he is able to produce fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice to Yahweh, while the prophets of Baal desperately fail to produce fire from Baal to consume their offering. Having proved his point spiritually, Elijah proceeds to order the assembled crowd of onlookers to slaughter the prophets of Baal in the valley below. He then prays to the Lord to end the drought, and a rain cloud appears in response to his plea.
+
Having proved his point spiritually, Elijah proceeded to a physical conquest as he ordered the assembled crowd of onlookers to slaughter the prophets of Baal in the valley below. He then prayed to [[Yahweh|the Lord]] to end the drought and a rain cloud appeared in response to his plea.
  
Elijah's protege, the prophet Elisha maintain a dwelling place at Carmel during his own ministry (2 Kings 4:25).
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Elijah's protege, the prophet Elisha, maintained a dwelling place at Carmel during his own ministry (2 Kings 4:25). The prophet Amos spoke of Carmel as a place of refuge which would, however, not suffice on the day of God's reckoning (Amos 9:3}. It is referred to by the prophets [[Jeremiah]] (46:18) and Isaiah (35:2) as a symbol of majesty, and the male character in the [[Song of Solomon]] tells his beloved "Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel." (Song of Solomon 7:5) Jeremiah also predicted that Israel will one day return from exile, and that Carmel would again be known as a rich pastureland from the nation's flocks (50:19).
  
==History==
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==Later history==
[[Image:HaifaUniversity.JPG|thumb|right|220px|[[University of Haifa]] atop Mount Carmel in 1996]]
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The Greek philosopher [[Pythagoras]] was reportedly attracted to Carmel by its sacred reputation. The future Emperor [[Vespasian]] went there during the [[Jewish Revolt]] of 66-70 C.E. to consult an oracle (Tacitus, "Hist." 2:78). By this time, [[Tacitus]] reports, Carmel was the name "both of the mountain and the Deity. They have no image of the god nor any temple; the tradition of antiquity recognizes only an altar and its sacred association." [[Iamblichus]], a Syrian philosopher of the fourth century C.E., wrote that Mount Carmel was "the most holy of all mountains and forbidden of access to many."
[[Image:Bahai terraces all.jpg|thumb|220px|The [[Shrine of the Báb]] and its Terraces on Mount Carmel, 2003.]]
 
Mount Carmel is mentioned in the [[Bible]]. On Mount Carmel transpired the miracles attending the competition between [[Baal]] and the Israelite God [[YHWH]], after which the [[priest]]s of Baal were put to death by the order of the prophet [[Elijah]] (see 1Kings 18).
 
  
A [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]] religious order, the [[Carmelites]], was founded on Mount Carmel in the [[12th century]] by a certain [[Saint Bertold|Berthold]] (d. after 1185) who was either a [[pilgrim]] or [[crusade]]r. The order grew to be one of the major Catholic [[religious order]]s worldwide. Prefixed to the 1281 Carmelite Constitution was this statement: "''From the times when the prophet Elias (Elijah) and Eliseus dwelt devoutly on Mount Carmel, holy fathers both of the old and new Testament....lived praiseworthy lives in holy penitence by the fountain of Elias in a holy succession uninterruptedly maintained.''"<br/>
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[[Image:Mount-carmel-1894.jpg|thumb|left|250px|A view of Mount Carmel in 1894]]
Carmelite tradition suggests that a community of [[Jew]]ish [[hermit]]s lived on Mount Carmel from the time of Elijah, although no documentary evidence of such a community exists.
 
  
During [[World War I]], Mount Carmel played a significant strategic role. The [[Battle of Megiddo (1918)|Battle of Megiddo]] took place at the head of a pass through the [[Carmel Ridge]], which overlooks the [[Jezreel Valley|Valley of Jezreel]] from the south. [[Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby|General Allenby]] led the British in the battle, which was the turning point in the war against the [[Ottoman Empire]]. [[Megiddo (place)|Megiddo]] is the site mentioned in the [[Book of Revelation]] as the Battle of [[Armageddon]].
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Carmel became a place of Christian pilgrimage in the later Roman Empire. After the Muslim conquest, Carmel housed several [[mosques]]. Crusaders on a pilgrimage to Mount Carmel in 1150 C.E. reportedly encountered a small Byzantine monastery there. Its priests claimed that when their predecessors first arrived they had found a community of Jewish Christians who traced their roots back to pre-Christian times, dating back to the "son of the prophets" referred to in the stories of Elijah and Elisha.
  
The remains of [[the Báb]] arrived in the vicinity of Mount Carmel in 1899 and were first laid to rest within the Shrine in 1909. The [[Shrine of the Báb]], completed in the 1950s, is on the side of Mount Carmel in the middle of the [[Bahá'í Faith|Bahá'í]]-owned [[The Terraces (Bahá'í)|terraces]].  Also located on Mount Carmel are a set of Bahá'í administrative buildings referred to as [[The Arc (Bahá'í)|the Arc]]. The location was designated by the Faith's founder in the [[Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh#Lawh-i-Karmil (Tablet of Carmel)|Tablet of Carmel]]. The mountain remains a sacred place for Bahá'ís around the world.
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The [[Carmelite]] religious order was founded on Mount Carmel in the twelfth century. The order grew to be one of the major Catholic [[religious order]]s worldwide. Prefixed to the 1281 Carmelite Constitution was this statement: "From the times when the prophet Elias and Eliseus dwelt devoutly on Mount Carmel, holy fathers both of the Old and New Testament… lived praiseworthy lives in holy penitence by the fountain of Elias in a holy succession uninterruptedly maintained." Although no documentary evidence of such an ancient community exists, the prophet Elisha is said to have made a pilgrimage to Carmel after visiting communities of prophets further south and later himself dwelt there, so the suggestion is not implausible.
  
Modern [[Essenes|Essene]] groups point that Mount Carmel was the spiritual stronghold of the northern Essene movement - the "[[Nazarene|Nazareans]]" - described by the Church Father [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]] in his ''Panarion'' (1:18) and briefly noted by the historian [[Josephus]] in his ''[[War of the Jews]]''. Excavations on Mount Carmel in 1958 uncovered what is seen as [[Elijah]]'s altar, the cave where he lived, the fountain of Elijah, and the remains of an ancient monastery.
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After the sixteenth century Carmelite mystics, St. [[Teresa of Avila]] and St. [[John of the Cross]] reformed the Carmelite Order, the [[Discalced Carmelites]] emerged from their tradition and reoccupied the site. A new monastery was finished in 1853.
  
==Archaeology==
+
During [[World War I]], Mount Carmel played a significant strategic role. The modern [[Battle of Megiddo (1918)|Battle of Megiddo]] took place at the head of a pass through the [[Carmel Ridge]], which overlooks the [[Jezreel Valley|Valley of Jezreel]] from the south. [[Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby|General Edmund Allenby]] led the British in the battle, which was the turning point in the war against the [[Ottoman Empire]].
From 1930 to 1932, at Mount Carmel, Israel, [[Dorothy Garrod]] excavated Neanderthal and early modern human remains in the Carmel Caves of el-Wad, el-Tabun, and es- [[Es Skhul]]."[http://www.athenapub.com/8timelin.htm]
 
  
"Photographs and diaries document the 1932 discovery at Mount Carmel, Palestine, of the Neanderthal female skeleton, [[Tabun, Israel|Tabun]] I, ''one of the most important human fossils ever found'' (Christopher Stringer, custodian of Tabun I, Natural History Museum, quoted in the Exhibition in Honour of D.A.E. [[Dorothy Garrod|Garrod]], Callander and Smith, 1998). The excavation of Tabun produced the longest stratigraphic record in the region, spanning 600,000 or more years of human activity."[http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/~pjs1011/Pams.html]
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[[Image:TerracesBenGurion2.jpg|thumb|300px|The [[Shrine of the Báb]] and its Terraces on Mount Carmel]]
  
"The long cultural sequence exposed in the four caves and rock-shelters that make up the Nahal Me'arot site, Tabun, Jamal, el-Wad and Skhul, extends from the Lower Palaeolithic to the present day, thus representing nearly a million years of human evolution. In addition to evidence for numerous palaeo-environmental fluctuations, there are also several well-preserved burials of two Middle Paleolithic human types (Neanderthals and Early Anatomically Modern Humans) and passage from nomadic hunter-gatherer groups to complex, sedentary agricultural societies is extensively documented at the site. Taken together, these emphasize the paramount significance of the Mount Carmel caves for the study of human cultural and biological evolution within the framework of palaeo-ecological changes."[http://arch.haifa.ac.il/excav.php]
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The [[Shrine of the Báb]], completed in the 1950s, is a Baha'i holy place located on the side of Mount Carmel in the middle of the [[Bahá'í Faith|Bahá'í]]-owned [[The Terraces (Bahá'í)|terraces]]. The remains of the Bahá'í [[Messiah]], [[the Báb]], was first laid to rest within the primitive shrine there in 1909. Also located on Mount Carmel are a set of Bahá'í administrative buildings referred to as [[The Arc (Bahá'í)|the Arc]]. The location was designated by the Faith's founder in the [[Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh#Lawh-i-Karmil (Tablet of Carmel)|Tablet of Carmel]]. The mountain remains a sacred place for Bahá'ís around the world.
  
==Other uses of the name==
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Modern [[Essenes|Essene]] groups point out that Mount Carmel was the spiritual stronghold of the northern Essene movement described by the [[Church Father]] [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]] in his ''Panarion'' (1:18) and briefly noted by the historian [[Josephus]] in his ''[[War of the Jews]]''.
Mount Carmel is widely recognized as a [[Sacred]] mountain directly related, in its origins, to [[Judaism]] and [[Christianity]], the ancient [[Essenes|Essene Brotherhood]], and a place which historically influenced other place names, religious movements - eg. [[Bahá'í Faith]] - and literature around the world till today, meaning that it works in practice as a [[World]] heritage.
 
  
Many other mountains and places around the world have been named ''Carmel'' after the biblical mountain. See the disambiguation articles [[Mount Carmel (disambiguation)]] and [[Carmel]] for a list of them.
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==Archaeology==
 +
From 1930 to 1932, archaeologist [[Dorothy Garrod]] excavated Neanderthal and early modern human remains in the Carmel caves of el-Wad, el-Tabun, and [[Es Skhul]]." <ref>[http://www.athenapub.com/8timelin.htm Timeline] ''www.athenapub.com''. Retrieved August 21, 2007.</ref> A [[Neanderthal]] female skeleton found there is considered one of the most important human fossils ever found. Later excavations produced the longest stratigraphic record in the region, spanning 600,000 or more years of human activity." <ref> Dorothy Garrod as the first woman Professor at Cambridge. ''www.arch.cam.ac.uk''.</ref>
  
==External links==
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Excavations on Mount Carmel in 1958 uncovered what some believe to be  [[Elijah]]'s altar, the cave where he lived, the "fountain of Elijah," and the remains of an ancient monastery. However these claims are widely disputed.
*[http://www.bibleplaces.com/mtcarmel.htm Mount Carmel - BiblePlaces.com], pictures and text illuminating the biblical site of Mount Carmel
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*[http://rosaecruz.no.sapo.pt/MEcclesia/ From Mount Carmel to Mount Ecclesia], a Christian mystic view
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==Notes==
*[http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Middle_East/Israel/Haifa_District/Haifa-1708915/Things_To_Do-Haifa-Mount_Carmel_Area-BR-1.html Mount Carmel Area Reviews], texts and photos
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<references/>
  
*[http://www.angelfire.com/realm3/lumen] '''The Essene Netzarim Yahad'''
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==References==
*[http://www.powayusd.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/pusdmchs/pages/index.html], A school located in San Diego
+
* John of the Cross, saint. ''Ascent of Mount Carmel.'' MA: (Christian Classics, 20) Paraclete Press, 2002. ISBN 978-1557253064
 +
* Kark, Ruth. ''The Land That Became Israel: Studies in Historical Geography,'' Yale University Press, 1990. ISBN 9780300047189
 +
* Macartney, Clarence Edward Noble. ''Mountains and mountain men of the Bible.'' Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1950. ASIN B0006ASBUU 
 +
* Ronen, Avraham. ''Sufunim prehistoric sites: Mount Carmel,Israel.'' B.A.R., 1984. ISBN 978-0860542995 
 +
* Smet, Joachim. ''An Outline of Carmelite History,'' 1966. ASIN B0007HFY2U
  
{{coor title dm|32|44|N|35|03|E|region:IL_type:mountain}}
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==External links==
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All links retrieved November 10, 2022.
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*[http://www.bibleplaces.com/mtcarmel.htm Mount Carmel]. ''www.bibleplaces.com''.
  
[[Category:nations and places]]
 
 
{{Credit|123294010}}
 
{{Credit|123294010}}
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[[Category:Geography]]

Latest revision as of 01:44, 11 March 2023


Mount Carmel range (left) and Haifa as seen from space

Mount Carmel is a coastal mountain range of modest height in northern Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Its name is derived from the Hebrew "Karem El" which means "vineyards of God." In ancient times it was covered by vineyards and rich grazing land.

In the Bible, a specific but unidentified "Mount Carmel" in this range is famous as the location of the dramatic battle between the Israelite prophet Elijah and 450 prophets of Baal. Elijah's successor, Elisha later lived there, and some traditions speak of a community of Jewish holy men dwelling on Carmel well into Christian times. The mountain later became a place of Christian pilgrimage and was the site of the formation of the Carmelite Catholic Order.

The mountains of Carmel today house both the University of Haifa and the Bahá'í Shrine of the Bab, as well as several towns and villages. Excavations in the caves of Carmel uncovered evidence of human habitation there dating back to 600,000 B.C.E.

Geography

University of Haifa atop Mount Carmel in 1996

Mount Carmel is 16 miles long by 4-5 miles wide and 1,800 feet high. The city of Haifa is situated at the western promontory of Mount Carmel and partly at its base.

The sloped side of the mountain is covered with luxurious vegetation, including oaks, pines, olives, and laurels. Several smaller towns are located on the range, including Yokneam on the eastern ridge, Zikhron Ya'aqov on the southern slope, the Druze town of Carmel City on the more central part of the ridge, and the towns of Nesher and Tirat Hakarmel.

Since 1966, Carmel has been the location of the University of Haifa, one of Israel's leading universities. It is also the location of the Shrine of the Báb, and worldwide place of pilgrimage for the Bahá'í faith.

Biblical Carmel

In ancient Canaanite culture, high places were frequently considered to be sacred, and Mount Carmel was no exception. Human habitation there dates back to Neanderthal times, and its recorded fame as a sacred site may have reached as far away as Egypt and as far back to the fifteenth century B.C.E.

In the Bible, Carmel is first mentioned as the location of Jokneam, a town conquered by Joshua (Josh. 12:22). It is also mentioned as the western boundary of the tribe of Asher (Josh. 19:24). King Saul reportedly established a victory monument there after his triumph over the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:12). Carmel's pasturelands were once the home of David's wise wife, Abigail and her first husband, the wealthy but foolish Nabal (1 Samuel 25).

Elijah prays for rain after the battle at Mount Carmel, as his servant spots a tiny rain cloud in the distance.

A high place was maintained at Mount Carmel devoted to Yahweh during the Israelite monarchy, but it had fallen into disuse by the time of King Ahab, when it was devoted to Baal, probably the Baal-Melqart honored by nearby Phoenician rulers such as the father of Ahab's queen, Jezebel.

The Prophets of Baal Are Slaughtered

Carmel's greatest claim to fame was the battle that took place there between the prophet Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal, together with 400 prophets of Ashera, to decide which deity was more powerful. Underlying the contest was the question of why neither Baal nor Yahweh, both supposedly capable of producing rain, had not done so during a long period of intense drought (1 Kings 18). Here, the mountain, located in a kind of coastal no-man's-land between Israel and Phoenicia, represented a strategic high ground where the Phoenician Baal and the Israelite Yahweh contended for superiority. After repairing the old altar of Yahweh, Elijah put the prophets of Baal to shame when he was able to produce fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice to Yahweh, while the prophets of Baal failed to produce fire from Baal to consume their offering.

Having proved his point spiritually, Elijah proceeded to a physical conquest as he ordered the assembled crowd of onlookers to slaughter the prophets of Baal in the valley below. He then prayed to the Lord to end the drought and a rain cloud appeared in response to his plea.

Elijah's protege, the prophet Elisha, maintained a dwelling place at Carmel during his own ministry (2 Kings 4:25). The prophet Amos spoke of Carmel as a place of refuge which would, however, not suffice on the day of God's reckoning (Amos 9:3}. It is referred to by the prophets Jeremiah (46:18) and Isaiah (35:2) as a symbol of majesty, and the male character in the Song of Solomon tells his beloved "Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel." (Song of Solomon 7:5) Jeremiah also predicted that Israel will one day return from exile, and that Carmel would again be known as a rich pastureland from the nation's flocks (50:19).

Later history

The Greek philosopher Pythagoras was reportedly attracted to Carmel by its sacred reputation. The future Emperor Vespasian went there during the Jewish Revolt of 66-70 C.E. to consult an oracle (Tacitus, "Hist." 2:78). By this time, Tacitus reports, Carmel was the name "both of the mountain and the Deity. They have no image of the god nor any temple; the tradition of antiquity recognizes only an altar and its sacred association." Iamblichus, a Syrian philosopher of the fourth century C.E., wrote that Mount Carmel was "the most holy of all mountains and forbidden of access to many."

A view of Mount Carmel in 1894

Carmel became a place of Christian pilgrimage in the later Roman Empire. After the Muslim conquest, Carmel housed several mosques. Crusaders on a pilgrimage to Mount Carmel in 1150 C.E. reportedly encountered a small Byzantine monastery there. Its priests claimed that when their predecessors first arrived they had found a community of Jewish Christians who traced their roots back to pre-Christian times, dating back to the "son of the prophets" referred to in the stories of Elijah and Elisha.

The Carmelite religious order was founded on Mount Carmel in the twelfth century. The order grew to be one of the major Catholic religious orders worldwide. Prefixed to the 1281 Carmelite Constitution was this statement: "From the times when the prophet Elias and Eliseus dwelt devoutly on Mount Carmel, holy fathers both of the Old and New Testament… lived praiseworthy lives in holy penitence by the fountain of Elias in a holy succession uninterruptedly maintained." Although no documentary evidence of such an ancient community exists, the prophet Elisha is said to have made a pilgrimage to Carmel after visiting communities of prophets further south and later himself dwelt there, so the suggestion is not implausible.

After the sixteenth century Carmelite mystics, St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross reformed the Carmelite Order, the Discalced Carmelites emerged from their tradition and reoccupied the site. A new monastery was finished in 1853.

During World War I, Mount Carmel played a significant strategic role. The modern Battle of Megiddo took place at the head of a pass through the Carmel Ridge, which overlooks the Valley of Jezreel from the south. General Edmund Allenby led the British in the battle, which was the turning point in the war against the Ottoman Empire.

The Shrine of the Báb and its Terraces on Mount Carmel

The Shrine of the Báb, completed in the 1950s, is a Baha'i holy place located on the side of Mount Carmel in the middle of the Bahá'í-owned terraces. The remains of the Bahá'í Messiah, the Báb, was first laid to rest within the primitive shrine there in 1909. Also located on Mount Carmel are a set of Bahá'í administrative buildings referred to as the Arc. The location was designated by the Faith's founder in the Tablet of Carmel. The mountain remains a sacred place for Bahá'ís around the world.

Modern Essene groups point out that Mount Carmel was the spiritual stronghold of the northern Essene movement described by the Church Father Epiphanius in his Panarion (1:18) and briefly noted by the historian Josephus in his War of the Jews.

Archaeology

From 1930 to 1932, archaeologist Dorothy Garrod excavated Neanderthal and early modern human remains in the Carmel caves of el-Wad, el-Tabun, and Es Skhul." [1] A Neanderthal female skeleton found there is considered one of the most important human fossils ever found. Later excavations produced the longest stratigraphic record in the region, spanning 600,000 or more years of human activity." [2]

Excavations on Mount Carmel in 1958 uncovered what some believe to be Elijah's altar, the cave where he lived, the "fountain of Elijah," and the remains of an ancient monastery. However these claims are widely disputed.

Notes

  1. Timeline www.athenapub.com. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
  2. Dorothy Garrod as the first woman Professor at Cambridge. www.arch.cam.ac.uk.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • John of the Cross, saint. Ascent of Mount Carmel. MA: (Christian Classics, 20) Paraclete Press, 2002. ISBN 978-1557253064
  • Kark, Ruth. The Land That Became Israel: Studies in Historical Geography, Yale University Press, 1990. ISBN 9780300047189
  • Macartney, Clarence Edward Noble. Mountains and mountain men of the Bible. Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1950. ASIN B0006ASBUU
  • Ronen, Avraham. Sufunim prehistoric sites: Mount Carmel,Israel. B.A.R., 1984. ISBN 978-0860542995
  • Smet, Joachim. An Outline of Carmelite History, 1966. ASIN B0007HFY2U

External links

All links retrieved November 10, 2022.

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