Mount Cherith
A deserted place located between the south of Ephraim and the west of Jericho, to be distinguished from the Yabis traditionally given as the valley of Cherith.
Inhabitants or natives[edit | edit source]
Elijah the Essene, the young thief converted by Zacchaeus.[1]
Description[edit | edit source]
The location described in the work of Maria Valtorta does not seem to be the Yabis river traditionally given as the valley of Cherith where the prophet Elijah took refuge.
Mount Cherith, described here as a place or as a mountain, would be located west of Jericho, northwest of the Dead Sea, in a remote and wild area, on the border of Judah and Samaria. It is explicitly the place where Elijah was fed by the crows. Although Essenes are found there, the place described does not resemble the outskirts of Qumran, further south."'There are gorges there where we can safely collect our thoughts in meditation, and the roads to Jericho and Samaria are not far.'"[2]
"It is occasionally possible to catch glimpses of parts of the Dead Sea, which lies to the south of the place where the apostles are with the Master, from a group of mountains, which seem intent on rising more and more. And, I would say, every phase of their effort is marked by a rough chain of rocky hills, with sheer sloping sides, severed by narrow valleys similar to gigantic slashes and crowned with wild peaks. It is not possible to see the Jordan and its peaceful fertile valley, or Jericho or other towns. One can see nothing but mountains rising towards Samaria, and the gloomy Dead Sea through the narrow gorge between two acuminated mountains. Down in the valley there is a stream flowing from west to east towards the Jordan."[3]
Significant facts[edit | edit source]
After the 3rd Passover, Jesus makes a retreat here in preparation for new and increasingly fierce Struggles. Like Elijah fed by the corbWaterx, it is thieves who supply the apostolic group.[4] Among them is a young thief who will join the converts gathered by Zacchaeus the publican,[1] the other is Disma, the good thief, the "good thief".
Its name[edit | edit source]
Kerith means "The cutting, the gorge".
Where is it mentioned in the work?[edit | edit source]
GRM 379 GRM 380
GRM 499
GRM 514 GRM 524
GRM 632
Learn more about this place[edit | edit source]
It is in the valley of Mount Cherith that Elijah took refuge after announcing the drought to King Ahab. He was fed there by the crows.[6] The stream is explicitly indicated there as east of the Jordan.
Excerpt from the Geographical Dictionary of the Gospel According to Maria Valtorta by Jean-François Lavère:After the Passover of the 3rd year, leaving Jerusalem, Jesus decides on a few days’ retreat in a wild valley.[2][7]And Jesus specifies: "Elijah here was fed by crows […] That torrent down there, does it not originate in the spring that trickles from that crag?"[8]
The Calllation designates both a mount, a valley (and a river), and this is exactly what emerges from Maria Valtorta’s account. The valley is oriented west to east, and travelers have described it as one of the wildest ravines in the region. It is indeed there that Elijah withdrew during the first three years of famine, at the source of Ein Mabua.
(See El Kelt):[9] The wild valley that opens onto the plain of Jericho is the valley of Wadi El Kelt. But in the dialogues reported by Maria Valtorta, Jesus' contemporaries call it Mount Cherith, and they also give this name to the stream that flows at the bottom of the valley, as well as to the nearby mountain.
Explore[edit | edit source]
• From 31° 51’ 27’’ N / 35° 20’ 16’’ E to 31° 50’ 29’’ N / 35° 21’ 09’’ E
• +370m to +0m