a relatively high elevation of land that projects higher than a

ὄρος, ους, τό (Hom.+) pl. τὰ ὄρη; gen., uncontracted ὀρέων (as early as X., An. 1, 2, 21 [Kühner-Bl. I 432]; SIG 646, 18 [170 B.C.]; LXX [Thackeray 151; Helbing 41f]; EpArist 119. Joseph. prefers ὀρῶν.—Schweizer 153; B-D-F §48; Mlt-H. 139) Rv 6:15; 1 Cl; Hermas (Reinhold 52); a relatively high elevation of land that projects higher than a βοῦνος (‘a minor elevation, hill’), mountain, mount, hill (in Eng. diction what is considered a ‘mountain’ in one locality may be called a ‘hill’ by someone from an area with extremely high mountain ranges; similar flexibility prevails in the use of ὄρος, and the Eng. glosses merely suggest a comparative perspective; in comparison w. Mt. Everest [8848 meters] or Mount McKinley [6194 meters] any mountain in Palestine is a mere hill) w. βουνός Lk 3:5 (Is 40:4); 23:30 (Hos 10:8). W. πέτρα Rv 6:16; cp. vs. 15. W. πεδίον (SIG 888, 120f) Hs 8, 1, 1; 8, 3, 2. W. νῆσος Rv 6:14; 16:20. As the scene of outstanding events and as places of solitude (PTebt 383, 61 [46 A.D.] ὄρος denotes ‘desert’; Dio Chrys. 19 [36], 40 Zoroaster withdraws fr. among men and lives ἐν ὄρει; Herm. Wr. 13 ins. Hermes teaches his son Tat ἐν ὄρει) mountains play a large part in the gospels and in the apocalypses: Jesus preaches and heals on ‘the’ mountain Mt 5:1 (HCarré, JBL 42, 1923, 39–48; Appian, Mithrid. 77 §334 understands τὸ ὄρος in ref. to the Bithynian Olympus, but without naming it.—On the Sermon on the Mount s. GHeinrici, Beiträge II 1899; III 1905; JMüller, D. Bergpredigt 1906; KProost, De Bergrede 1914; HWeinel, D. Bergpr. 1920; KBornhäuser, D. Bergpr. 1923, ²1927; PFiebig, Jesu Bergpr. 1924; GKittel D. Bergpr. u. d. Ethik d. Judentums: ZST 2, 1925, 555–94; ASteinmann, D. Bergpr. 1926; AAhlberg, Bergpredikans etik 1930; MMeinertz, Z. Ethik d. Bergpr.: JMausbach Festschr. ’31, 21–32; HHuber, D. Bergpredigt ’32; RSeeberg, Z. Ethik der Bergpr. ’34; JSchneider, D. Sinn d. Bergpr. ’36; ALindsay, The Moral Teaching of Jesus ’37; MDibelius, The Sermon on the Mount ’40; TSoiron, D. Bergpr. Jesu ’41; DAndrews, The Sermon on the Mount ’42; HPreisker, D. Ethos des Urchristentums² ’49; HWindisch, The Mng. of the Sermon on the Mount [tr. Gilmour] ’51; WManson, Jesus the Messiah ’52, 77–93; TManson, The Sayings of Jesus ’54; GBornkamm, Jesus v. Naz. ’56, 92–100, 201–4 [Eng. tr. by JRobinson et al. ’60, 100–109, 221–25]; JJeremias, Die Bergpredigt ’59; JDupont, Les Béatitudes, I, rev. ed. ’58; II, ’69; W Davies, The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount, ’64; JManek, NovT 9, ’67, 124–31; HDBetz, The Sermon on the Mt [Hermeneia] ’95.—On the site of the Sermon, CKopp, The Holy Places of the Gosp., ’63, 204–13); 8:1; 15:29; calls the twelve Mk 3:13; performs oustanding miracles J 6:3; prays Mt 14:23; Mk 6:46; Lk 6:12; 9:28; ApcPt 2:4. On an ὄρος ὑψηλόν (Lucian, Charon 2) he is transfigured Mt 17:1; Mk 9:2 and tempted Mt 4:8; the risen Christ shows himself on a mountain (cp. Herm. Wr. 13, 1) Mt 28:16. Jesus is taken away by the Holy Spirit εἰς τὸ ὄρος τὸ μέγα τὸ Θαβώρ GHb 20, 61 (cp. Iren. 1, 14, 6 [Harv. I 139, 8: gnostic speculation]); likew. the author of Rv ἐπὶ ὄρος μέγα κ. ὑψηλόν Rv 21:10. From the top of one mountain the angel of repentance shows Hermas twelve other mountains Hs 9, 1, 4; 7ff. On the use of mt. in apocalyptic lang. s. also Rv 8:8; 17:9 (ἑπτὰ ὄρ. as En 24:2. Cp. JohJeremias, D. Gottesberg 1919; RFrieling, D. hl. Berg im A u. NT 1930). GJs 22:3 ὄρ. θεοῦ, where follows ἐδιχάσθη τὸ ὄρ. and ἦν τὸ ὄρ. ἐκεῖνο διαφαῖνον αὐτῇ φῶς the mt. split and that mt. was a bright light for her. On theophanies and mountain motif s. JReeves, Heralds of That Good Realm ’96, 148f.—Of the mt. to which Abraham brought his son, to sacrifice him there 1 Cl 10:7 (cp. Gen 22:2; Demetr.: 722 Fgm. 7 Jac.). Esp. of Sinai (over a dozen sites have been proposed for it) τὸ ὄρος Σινά (LXX.—τὸ Σιναῖον ὄρ. Jos., Ant. 2, 283f) Ac 7:30, 38; Gal 4:24f; 11:3 (cp. Is 16:1); 14:2 (cp. Ex 31:18); 15:1; also without mention of the name: Hb 8:5 (Ex 25:40); 12:20 (cp. Ex 19:13); 1 Cl 53:2; 4:7. Of the hill of Zion (Σιών) Hb 12:22; Rv 14:1. τὸ ὄρ. τῶν ἐλαιῶν the Hill or Mount of Olives (s. ἐλαία 1; about 17 meters higher than Jerusalem) Mt 21:1; 26:30; Mk 14:26; Lk 19:37; 22:39; J 8:1 al. τὸ ὄρ. τὸ καλούμενον Ἐλαιῶν Lk 19:29; 21:37; Ac 1:12 (s. ἐλαιών). Of Mt. Gerizim, about 868 meters in height (without mention of the name) J 4:20f (cp. Jos., Ant. 12, 10; 13, 74).—πόλις ἐπάνω ὄρους κειμένη a city located on an eminence or hill Mt 5:14 (cp. Jos., Ant. 13, 203 πόλις ἐπʼ ὄρους κειμένη). Also πόλις οἰκοδομημένη ἐπʼ ἄκρον ὄρους ὑψηλοῦ Ox 1 recto, 17 (GTh 32) (Stephan. Byz. s.v. Ἀστέριον says this city was so named ὅτι ἐφʼ ὑψηλοῦ ὄρους κειμένη τοῖς πόρρωθεν ὡς ἀστὴρ φαίνεται).—Pl. τὰ ὄρη hills, mountains, hilly or mountainous country (somet. the sing. also means hill-country [Diod S 20, 58, 2 an ὄρος ὑψηλὸν that extends for 200 stades, roughly 40 km.; Polyaenus 4, 2, 4 al. sing. = hill-country; Tob 5:6 S]) AcPl Ha 5, 18; as a place for pasture Mt 18:12.—Mk 5:11; Lk 8:32. As a remote place (s. above; also Dio Chrys. 4, 4) w. ἐρημίαι Hb 11:38. As a place for graves (cp. POxy 274, 27 [I A.D.]; PRyl 153, 5; PGrenf II, 77, 22: the grave-digger is to bring a corpse εἰς τὸ ὄρος for burial) Mk 5:5. Because of their isolation an ideal refuge for fugitives (Appian, Bell. Civ. 4, 30 §130 ἐς ὄρος ἔφυγεν=to the hill-country; 1 Macc 9:40) φεύγειν εἰς τὰ ὄρ. (Plut., Mor. 869b οἱ ἄνθρωποι καταφυγόντες εἰς τὰ ὄρη διεσώθησαν; Jos., Bell. 1, 36, Ant. 14, 418) Mt 24:16; Mk 13:14; Lk 21:21.—Proverbially ὄρη μεθιστάνειν remove mountains i.e. do something that seems impossible 1 Cor 13:2; cp. Mt 17:20; 21:21; Mk 11:23. Of God: μεθιστάνει τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ τὰ ὄρη καὶ τοὺς βουνοὺς καὶ τὰς θαλάσσας (God) is moving from their places the heavens and mountains and hills and seas Hv 1, 3, 4 (cp. Is 54:10 and a similar combination PGM 13, 874 αἱ πέτραι κ. τὰ ὄρη κ. ἡ θάλασσα κτλ.).—B. 23. DELG. M-M. TW. Spicq. Sv.