This name occurs twice in the Bible. In Gen 22:2 Abraham was commanded to go to the land of Moriah and offer his son as a burnt offering. The only note of location in the text is that the place was three days distance from Beersheba. The other Biblical reference is 2 Chron 3:1, which names the site of the building of Solomon's temple as Mount Moriah. Christian tradition has related both references to the site of the Dome of the Rock mosque, where there is a huge rock 17.7 by 15.m. (58 by 51 ft.), called the Sacred Rock. The rock appears as though it may have been used for sacrifices in ancient times. There are channels cut into it, and there is a large room cut out of the rock beneath. (Beersheba to Jerusalem is about 50 miles distance.)
There is no archaeological evidence to date the use of the rock for sacrifices, but there is little doubt that this was the site of the temple and the threshing floor of Araunah, which David purchased to make his offering to God."Benjamin Chapman, Contributor" The New International Dictionary of Biblical Archeology" (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1983)P.320
Mount Moriah is the name of the elongated north-south stretch of land lying between Kidron Valley and "Hagai" Valley, between Mount Zion to the west and the Mount of Olives to the east. The Jebusite "Zion" was situated on the southern slope of Mount Moriah, above the Gihon Spring. After King David captured the city he made it his capital and named it for himself: "City of David."
The northern area of the mountain's summit lay desolate for Long after Zion's capture by David. It was in fact still the private property of Araunah, the city's former Jebusite King: For various reasons David did not confiscate the site but preferred to buy it from Auranah for full value: "So David paid Oman [Auranah] for the site 600 shekels' worth of gold. And David built there an altar to the Lord and sacrificed burn offerings and offerings of well-being" (1 Chronicles 21:25, and a slightly different version at 2 Samuel 24:18-25).
In the course of time the mountain had acquired an aura of sanctity and the subject of many traditions. Indeed, its sacred status may date back to the early Canaanite period, when it perhaps was the center of the God of Melchizedek, king of Salem:"And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him, saying, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, creator of heaven and earth" (Genesis 14:17). The best-known tradition related to Mount Moriah is the Binding of Isaac for sacrifice by his father Abraham, related in Genesis 22.
The tradition of "Jacob's Dream" is also identified with Mount Moriah: "He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it. And the Lord was standing beside him... Jacob awoke from his sleep and said,... "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God and that is the gateway to heaven" (Genesis 28;10-18).
Why is this important to you today? Well, this is where Islam's third most holy mosque, the Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock now stand today. This is also where the last new Jewish Temple is to be built.. These Muslim Mosques MUST be torn down before the new Jewish Temple can be constructed on the site where they now stand.
To rebuild the temple the Jews must first determine EXACTLY where the previous temples stood. The Jews believe, and Scripture tends to indicate that the site for the temple was divinely appointed so the builders cannot arbitrarily chose any site they want, as was the case of the CoC temple in Independence. (Gen 22:2; Ex 15:17; 2 Sam 24:18;1 Chron 21:18)
It is all about Jerusalem and Israel folks. The Muslims will fight to the death to protect their holy places, make no doubt about it. Jerusalem is right in the cross hairs of future TERRIBLE events. Again, there is NO negotiation concerning Jerusalem. Period!!! So, when you read and hear about peace treaties between the Jews and Palestinians please BEWARE. It will NEVER happen. Ed
