Is Mount Moriah the same as Golgotha?

Answer 1

Moriah is not the same as Golgotha, but they are very near each other (ca. 300 meters) and have the same height. And the skull of Golgotha is looking directly at Moriah. (see www.golgotha.eu for a picture and information concerning the relationship between Golgotha and Moriah)

And he said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mounts which I will tell you of. Gen 22,2

As Abraham had arrived in the land of Moriah (area of Jerusalem), the LORD showed him one of the mounts. Abraham did not know where this mount was, though he did know where the land of Moriah was.

The sacrifice altar that Abraham made to offer his son as a burnt offering was done on the mount he named 'JHWH Jireh' ('The LORD sees').

And Abraham called the name of that place JHWH Jireh as it is said to this day, In the mount the LORD is seen. Gen 22,14

After traveling three days the LORD showed his friend Abraham the mount where his son would one day be offered as a burnt offering. The LORD knew that if he didn't literally stop Abraham at the last second, he would most certainly have killed his son, for through his faith he was confident that the LORD would raise him up from the dead. He was thereby given a very clear revelation of the death and resurrection of Jesus at the very place where Jesus would one day die on the cross.

What evidence is there in the scriptures that Golgotha is JHWH Jireh, and not Moriah? Abraham made this mount known to the people in his day, and that is why is was said of this mount even to the days of Moses (as it is said to this day...) 'In the mount the LORD is seen.' Even until the days of Moses people knew of this mount and referred to it as the mount in which the LORD was seen. Is it not likely that it was the shape of this Mount which caused the people to regard it as the Mount in which the LORD is seen?

Later, because of the sin of Israel, the land became a wilderness and the mount in which the LORD was seen changed its appearance to looking more like a skull than a groomed head. Slowly as knowledge of this mount was lost, it was no longer called 'JHWH Jireh' but Golgotha (aramaic - skull) and Kranion (greek - cranium (upper part of skull)).

But what connection then do the words 'JHWH Jireh' (the LORD sees) have with the mount? What does the LORD see? In Lev. 1 it is written 'And he shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the LORD'. And again 'he shall offer it... at the door of the temple... before the LORD.' The LORD sees the north side of the altar and the LORD sees the door of the temple, for they are both before the LORD, who is personified in the mount which looks like his head, looking directly at the altar and the southern door of the temple.

In the days of David the wall of Jerusalem separated Mount Moriah from Golgotha (JHWH Jireh).

Jesus was not crucified in the city, at the temple built on Moriah, but rather just outside the city, with a good view of the temple entrance, testified to by those standing on Golgotha seeing the temple veil rip, especially the centurion.

Now Jesus, shouting again with a loud voice, yielded up the Spirit.

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; ... Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they trembled greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. Matt 27,51

So Jesus, sending out a loud cry, expired. And the curtain of the temple was ripped in two from top to bottom. Now seeing this, the centurion, standing opposite from him, how that in this way he expired, said, Truly this man was the Son of God. Mk 15,37

And the curtain of the temple was ripped in the middle. And having cried with a loud voice, Jesus said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And having said this, he expired. Now the centurion, seeing what happened, glorified God, saying, Certainly this man was righteous. Lk 23,45f-47

The Gospels testify that Jesus died at the very moment the curtain ripped. If someone saw the curtain rip, it could not be testified to that it happened at the very moment Jesus died unless this person was able to see both events at the same time.

Mount Moriah is the Mount on which the temple was built (2.Chron 3,1) where today the Dome of the Rock exists. On Mount Moriah the temple faced east.

Golgotha is the Mount on which Jesus was crucified. It was named Golgotha (skull) and Kranion (cranium) because it looks like the top part of a skull, the skull-pan.

A spot there is called Golgotha,-of old the fathers' earlier tongue thus called its name, "The skull-pan of a head:" Four Books Against Marcion Book II 259

The head is looking directly at where the curtain of the temple once was, southwest.

From Golgotha the people gathered there had a close-up view of the temple curtain at the face of the temple ripping on Mount Moriah just 300 meters away.

And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and said, My Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. He said that, and bowed his head, and gave up his Spirit.

And immediately the face of the door of the temple was rent into two parts from top to bottom... And the officer of the footsoldiers, and they that were with him who were guarding Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things which came to pass, feared greatly, and praised God, and said, This man was righteous; and, Truly he was the Son of God. And all the multitudes that were come together to the sight, when they saw what came to pass, returned and smote upon their breasts. Diatessaron 52,2(160-175 AD).

Answer 2

Yes, Mount Moriah is where the binding of Isaac took place in the Old Testament. Golgotha is the hill outside Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified. They are not the same location.