Considerable difficulty has been felt in reconcil ing the topographical notices in these passages ; and still more in attempting to bring them into harmony with the traditional scene of the ascension on the summit of Olivet. The difficulties are as follows : —(r.) In Luke Christ is said to have led his disciples as far as to Bethany,' where he ascended. (2.) In Acts the return from the scene of the ascen sion is described as from Olivet, which is a Sabbath day's journey from 7erusalem. (3.) A Sabbath day's journey was, according to the Talmud, 2000 cubits, about 74 stadia (Lightfoot, liar. Heb. ire Luc. xxiv. 50). (4.) Bethany was fifteen stadia distant from Jerusalem ( John xi. 18). Lightfoot in one place explains these apparent discrepancies by stating that the ascension took place at Bethany ; that the disciples returned over Olivet ; and that the Sabbath-day's journey refers to the distance of that mount from the city (Comment. in Act. i. 12). But in a later work he gives a totally different ex planation. He says that by Bethany is meant a district, and not the village ; that district included a large section of Olivet ; and its border, where the ascension took place, was a Sabbath-day's journey from Terusalem (Ear. Heb. ut supra). Lightfoot's opinion, therefore, is not of much critical value (see, however, Robinson, Bibliotheca Sacra, i. 178 ; Williams' Holy City, ii. 440 and 611, zd ed.) A careful consideration of the passage in Acts L 12 shows that it cannot affect in one way or an cther the direct statement made in Luke regarding the scene of the ascension, because—(1.) Bethany was upon the Mount of Olives ; therefore the ex pressions, He led them out as far as to Bethany,' and they returned from the mount called Olivet,' indicate the same spot. (2.) It is not certain whether the Sabbath-day's journey' is intended to describe the distance of the mount, or of the exact scene of the ascension. (3.) Suppose it did refer to the latter, still it would not necessarily militate against the statement in Luke that Bethany was the place, because the exact length of a Sabbath-day's journey is uncertain—some say z000 cubits, or nearly one Roman mile ; others 2000 Roman paces, or two miles : and moreover, the point from which the measurement commences is unknown—some say from the city wall ; others from the outer limit of the suburb Bethphage, a mile beyond the wall (see Lightfoot, Lc.; Wieseler ; also Barclay, who gives important measurements, City of Great King, p. 59). On the other hand the statement in Luke is explicit gcos els Brp-avlay. There is nothing here to limit it ; and in all other places Bethany means the village (Meyer ; Lechler on Acts ; Lange ; Al ford ; Ebrard). The ascension appears to have been witnessed by the disciples alone. It was not in Bethany, nor was it on such a conspicuous place as the summit of Olivet. The writer carefully ex amined the whole region. He saw one spot, as far from Jerusalem as Bethany, near the village, but concealed by an intervening cliff; and this he thought, in all probability, the real scene. The disciples, led by Jesus, would reach it by the path over the top of Olivet, and they would naturally re turn to the city by the same route (Handbook, 102, seq.) Since the days of Eusebius the summit of Olivet has been the traditional scene of the ascension. As this fact has been questioned (Stanley, S. and P., p. 447), it is well to quote his words .. . ev-cc Tar gatn-00 p.a5-nrair ba-i rijr circpcopelar gpous Td, repl TijS cr uvie X etas AvcrriipLa 7rapaSe ScoK6TOS, TE Tby 01)paVa'S elpoSov WEITOM Aipou (Demonstr. Evang. vi. 18 ; cf. V1t. Coast. iii. 41). In honour of the event the Empress Helena built a church on the spot (Vit. Coast. iii. 43). Since that time the tradition has been al most universally received (Baronius, Annales, A. D. 34 ; Reland, Pal. 337) ' but the statement of Luke is fatal to it—' He led them out as far as to Bethany,' and Bethany is nearly a mile beyond the summit of the mount. The tradition has still, how
ever, a number of devoted adherents, whose argu ments are worthy of careful consideration (Williams, Holy City, ii. 44o, 609 ; Ellicott, Life of our Lord, 413). The spot is just about 85o yards from the present city wall. The church of Helena has long since disappeared, and a mosque has taken its place. In the centre of an open court beside it is a little domed building covering a rock, on which is the supposed impress of Christ's foot, where he last touched the earth. Formerly, tradition affirms there were two footmarks, but the Mohammedans stole one of them, and put it in the Mosque el-Aksa (Williams, H. C. ii. 445 ; Stanley, S. and P. 447; Maundrell, under April 7).
Olivet is thickly studded with holy places, located by the superstitions of former ages, and preserved by tradition. A long list of them will be found in Quaresmius and Doubdan (Voyage). Only two or three of them have even a shadow of claim to be real; while most of them are absurd. One or two may be mentioned as features in the topography. The northern summit of the mount, now called Karem es-Seiyda', has attached to it a singular tradi tion. Here, some say, the two angels appeared after the ascension, and said to the apostles, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up to heaven ?' Hence the name given to the spot by monks and pilgrims, Viri Galiliti (Maundrell, April 7). An older tradition, however, locates the station of the angels in or beside the Church of the Ascension (Radzivil, Perep,nin. p. 75 ; Willibald, Early Tra vels, p. 19). Others say the name Caldera is de rived from the fact that this is that mountain in Galilee where our Lord instructed his disciples to meet him (Saewulf, in Early Travels, p. 42 ; Reland, Pal., p. 338). The summit is now crowned by a confused heap of ruins, encompassed by vine yards; hence its modern name, ' The Sportsman's Vineyard.' Three hundred yards south-west of the Church of the Ascension, on the declivity of the hill, is a large catacomb or group of caves, called ' The Tombs of the Prophets.' Some suppose this to he ' the rock Peristereon,' mentioned by Tosephus as one of the points to which Titus's wall was carried (Bell. 7ua' v. 12. 2 ; Schultz, p. 72). The cata comb is fully described in Nugent's Lands, Classical and Sacred (ii. 73), and in Tobler's Oelberg (p. 250 ; see also Handbook, 147).
The Tomb and Chapel of the Virgin, at the western base of Olivet, a few yards north of Geth semane, is one of the most picturesque buildings around Jerusalem. Its façade is deep down in a sunk court, and admits by a spacious door to a flight of sixty steps, leading down to a dark, rock hewn chapel. At its eastern end is a smaller chapel containing the reputed tomb of the Virgin ; on the south are shown the tombs of Joachim and Anna her parents ; and on the north, that of Joseph her husband. The tradition attached to this grotto is comparatively recent. It is not mentioned during the first six centuries (Quaresmius, ii. 244, seq.) John of Damascus is the first who speaks of it (Lib. c.); and it is also mentioned by Willibald (Early Travels, p. 19), and most travellers and pilgrims after the 8th century (Williams H. C., ii.
435).
Descriptions of the physical features of Olivet are given by Stanley (S. and P.), Barclay (City of the Great King), Robinson (B. R. i. 235, 274, seq.), and Bartlett (Walks, 94, seq., and y'erusalent Re visited, 114, seq. His illustrations are very beautiful). Ecclesiastical traditions and historical notices will be found in Quaresmius (Elzzcidatio Ter. San. ii.), Geramb (Pilgrimage, i. 210, seq.), Williams (Holy City, ii.), and especially Tobler Siloahquelbe tend Oelberg). The Rabbinical traditions are given in Lightfoot (Opera, ii. 201), Reland (Pal. 337), Stanley (S. and P. 183), and Barclay (p. 61, seq.) Most of the places mentioned in this article are laid down with great accuracy in Mr. Johnston's beautiful map of 7erusalem, in the second volume of this work.—J. L. P.