MOREH (rnin, 'a teacher'). I. The name of an oak or grove of oaks at Shechem, in central Palestine. We read in Gen. xii. 6 that when Abraham first entered Canaan he passed through the ]and unto the place of Sichem, unto the ,plain of Moreh.' In Hebrew the last clause is 119 117 to the oak of Moreh ;' the Septuagint reads 471-1 rip Spiv rip ; and the Vulgate usque ad convallem illzistrem ; the Targum of Onkelos has the plain of Morels ;' and the Sama ritan the valley of vision.' There can be no doubt that Moreh is a proper name, probably, as in the case of another famous grove at Hebron, the name of a Canaanitish chief who originally possessed the ground (Gen. xiv. r3 ; MAMRE). It would seem that the oak and terebinth were in ancient times greatly venerated in Palestine. Many of them were distinguished by proper names (Gen. XXX V. 8 ; Judg. ix. 37) ; under their shade altars were erected, councils held, and celebrated persons buried. To this day in various parts of Syria there are single oak trees and oak groves which are held sacred (Handbook, pp. 70, 436). The oak of Moreh' was doubtless one of these natural sanctuaries which the patriarch at once adopted. Moreh is not again mentioned until the entrance of the Israelites into Palestine. Moses
then gave the people a solemn charge regarding the public reading and ratification of the law ; and appointed a national assembly for that pur pose to be held between Ebal and Gerizim, min n'191..z, 'beside the oaks of Moreh.' The LXX, here renders as in Genesis ; but the Vulgate reads juxta vallem tendentem et intrantem procul.
We may infer that it was at this place, which Abraham consecrated on his entrance into the land of promise, Jacob pitched his tent when he returned from Haran ; and that the parcel of a field' which he bought from the children of Hamor included this sacred grove. Here too, centuries afterwards, the bones of Jacob's favourite son were consigned to their final resting -place. What an interesting group of sacred associations thus clusters round this spot, beside Jacob's well and Joseph's tomb, at the mouth of the vale of Shechem (Josh. xxiv. 32) We have no authority in Scripture for connect ing in any way—geographically or historically Moreh with Moriah (Stanley, S. and P., pp. 141, 232 ; Robinson, B. R., ii. 287, seq. ; Handbk., pp. 334, 339).