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Nabi Samwil
An-Nabi Samwil, also called al-Nabi Samuil (Arabic: النبي صموئيل an-Nabi Samu'il, translit: "the prophet Samuel"), is a Palestinian village in the Quds Governorate of the State of Palestine, located in the West Bank (Area C), four kilometers north of Jerusalem. The village is built up around the Mosque of Nabi Samwil, containing the Tomb of Samuel; the village's Palestinian population has been removed by the Israeli authorities from the village houses to a new location slightly down the hill. The village had a population of 234 in 2017.
A tradition dating back to the Byzantine period places here the tomb of Prophet Samuel. In the 6th century, a monastery was built at the site in honor of Samuel, and during the early Arab period the place was known as Dir Samwil (the Samuel Monastery). In the 12th century, during the Crusader period, a fortress was built on the area. In the 14th century, during the Mamluk period, a mosque was built over the ruins of the Crusader fortress. The purported tomb itself is in an underground chamber of the mosque, which has been repurposed after 1967 as a synagogue, today with separate prayer areas for Jewish men and women.
Nabi Samwil is situated atop of a mountain, 890 meters above sea level, in the Seam Zone, four kilometers north of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat and southwest of Ramallah. Nearby localities include Beit Iksa to the south, al Jib to the north, Beit Hanina to the east and Biddu to the west.
The village consisted of 1,592 dunams of which only 5 dunams were built-up.
A 6th-century Christian author identified the site as Samuel's burial place, and it has been traditionally associated as such by Jews, Christians and Muslims. According to the Hebrew Bible, the prophet was buried at his hometown, Ramah (1 Samuel 25:1, 28:3), a view repeated by Josephus (Antiquities 6.13.5.). According to some scholars, since Samuel is buried at Nabi Samwil, hence it follows that Nabi Samwil is the biblical Ramah. Others, namely, Edward Robinson, disputed this view, saying that Nabi Samwil was to be identified with Mizpeh, a view supported by Gleichen. As Judas Machabeus, preparing for war with the Syrians, gathered his men "to Maspha [sic], over against Jerusalem: for in Maspha was a place of prayer heretofore in Israel".
The 12th-century Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela visited the site in 1173. According to him, the Christian Crusaders had found the bones of Samuel "close to a Jewish synagogue" in Ramla on the coastal plain (which he misidentified as biblical Ramah), and reburied them at present-day Nabi Samwil. He wrote that a large church dedicated to St. Samuel had been built over the reburied remains.
An old tradition holds that the village contains the tomb of the prophet Samuel, whose Arabic name is Nabi Samwil, hence the name of the Arab village.
A monastery was built by the Byzantines at Nabi Samwil, serving as a hostel for Christian pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. The monastery was restored and enlarged during the reign of Justinian I in the mid-6th-century CE. Since then, the site has been a place of pilgrimage for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.
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Nabi Samwil
An-Nabi Samwil, also called al-Nabi Samuil (Arabic: النبي صموئيل an-Nabi Samu'il, translit: "the prophet Samuel"), is a Palestinian village in the Quds Governorate of the State of Palestine, located in the West Bank (Area C), four kilometers north of Jerusalem. The village is built up around the Mosque of Nabi Samwil, containing the Tomb of Samuel; the village's Palestinian population has been removed by the Israeli authorities from the village houses to a new location slightly down the hill. The village had a population of 234 in 2017.
A tradition dating back to the Byzantine period places here the tomb of Prophet Samuel. In the 6th century, a monastery was built at the site in honor of Samuel, and during the early Arab period the place was known as Dir Samwil (the Samuel Monastery). In the 12th century, during the Crusader period, a fortress was built on the area. In the 14th century, during the Mamluk period, a mosque was built over the ruins of the Crusader fortress. The purported tomb itself is in an underground chamber of the mosque, which has been repurposed after 1967 as a synagogue, today with separate prayer areas for Jewish men and women.
Nabi Samwil is situated atop of a mountain, 890 meters above sea level, in the Seam Zone, four kilometers north of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat and southwest of Ramallah. Nearby localities include Beit Iksa to the south, al Jib to the north, Beit Hanina to the east and Biddu to the west.
The village consisted of 1,592 dunams of which only 5 dunams were built-up.
A 6th-century Christian author identified the site as Samuel's burial place, and it has been traditionally associated as such by Jews, Christians and Muslims. According to the Hebrew Bible, the prophet was buried at his hometown, Ramah (1 Samuel 25:1, 28:3), a view repeated by Josephus (Antiquities 6.13.5.). According to some scholars, since Samuel is buried at Nabi Samwil, hence it follows that Nabi Samwil is the biblical Ramah. Others, namely, Edward Robinson, disputed this view, saying that Nabi Samwil was to be identified with Mizpeh, a view supported by Gleichen. As Judas Machabeus, preparing for war with the Syrians, gathered his men "to Maspha [sic], over against Jerusalem: for in Maspha was a place of prayer heretofore in Israel".
The 12th-century Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela visited the site in 1173. According to him, the Christian Crusaders had found the bones of Samuel "close to a Jewish synagogue" in Ramla on the coastal plain (which he misidentified as biblical Ramah), and reburied them at present-day Nabi Samwil. He wrote that a large church dedicated to St. Samuel had been built over the reburied remains.
An old tradition holds that the village contains the tomb of the prophet Samuel, whose Arabic name is Nabi Samwil, hence the name of the Arab village.
A monastery was built by the Byzantines at Nabi Samwil, serving as a hostel for Christian pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. The monastery was restored and enlarged during the reign of Justinian I in the mid-6th-century CE. Since then, the site has been a place of pilgrimage for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.
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