מֹרִיָּה

From the study of Genesis 22:2

Range of meaning

A place-name found only here and in 2 Chronicles 3:1 ('Mount Moriah', where Solomon built the temple). Its meaning is uncertain. Proposals link it to rāʾâ, 'see/provide' (the story's own wordplay, vv. 8, 14), to yārēʾ 'fear/revere' (v. 12), to yārâ 'teach', or to the Amorites.

Against the English

English versions transliterate it. NIV says 'region of Moriah'. The ancient translations instead translated it: Greek 'the high land', Latin 'the land of vision', Targum Onqelos 'the land of worship', Syriac 'land of the Amorites'.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Chronicles 3:1 identifies Moriah as the temple mount. Josephus (Antiquities 1.226) and Jubilees 18:13 ('Mount Zion') also place it at Jerusalem. The Samaritan Pentateuch's 'Moreh' places it near Shechem (Gen 12:6), in support of Mount Gerizim.

From the study of 2 Chronicles 3:1

Range of meaning

This is a place name found only twice in the Hebrew Bible: 'the land of the Moriah' (Gen 22:2), where Abraham is told to offer Isaac on 'one of the mountains', and 'the mountain of the Moriah' here. Where the name comes from is uncertain. Proposals include: (1) from rāʾâ, 'see' or 'provide', hence 'seen/provided by Yah', which Genesis 22:8, 14 itself plays on; (2) from yārēʾ, 'fear'; (3) from yārâ, 'teach' or 'direct', as in 'Moreh'; (4) an older, non-Israelite name. HALOT treats the meaning as unknown.

Against the English

English versions simply transliterate it as 'Moriah', which is correct. What English cannot show is the sound play: in Hebrew, Moriah sits right next to nirʾâ ('appeared/was seen'), just as in Genesis 22:14 it sits near 'YHWH will see/provide… on the mountain of YHWH it will be seen.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 22:2, 14. Ancient translators of Genesis 22:2 read the name in different ways. The Septuagint has 'the high land'. Aquila has 'the visible [land]'. Symmachus has '[the land] of the vision'. The Syriac Peshitta has 'the land of the Amorites'. The Samaritan Pentateuch has a form close to 'Moreh', which ties it to the Shechem area and to Mount Gerizim. In Jewish tradition of the period, Jubilees 18:13 places Abraham's mountain at Mount Zion, and Josephus (Antiquities 1.226; 7.333) says Abraham's mountain is the one where the temple was later built.