The picture I posted for Wordless Wednesday this week is a picture of “the” burning bush. Yes, the one in the Bible mentioned in Exodus 3:2. It is located on the grounds of St. Catherine Monastery that you see in the picture with this post.
The bush seen in the image is a rare species of rose called Rubus Sanctus and scientists explain that is very long-lived and very rare in the area of Mt. Sinai.
Of course the bush is not in its original location. In the tenth century the bush was moved so a chapel could be built over its roots. Every attempt to transplant the roots has failed.
When Islam invaded this region Mohammad, the founder of Islam, guaranteed the safety of the Monastery by written decree. The Monastery holds the document along with other relics for safe-keeping.
Many tourist visit St. Catherine Monastery every year and gaze at Moses Burning Bush.
3 comments:
Fascinating! What country is it?
How do they know that this is THE burning bush?
The builidings of St. Catherine sit at the base of the traditional Mt. Sinai, the place where Moses received the 10 Commandments. On the grounds is the spring where it is said Moses met his wife Zipporah. All of this is now in the county of Egypt.
There is no definitive proof that the mountain is THE Mt. Sinai and that the bush is THE burning bush, but as along as 500 years ago people were visiting it and writing about it. St. Catherine has the largest library of ancient text (from several different religions and in several different languages). The library is only second to the holdings of the Vatican.
There are many interesting things to read if you google "St. Catherine" or "burning bush" but two sites are http://www.geographia.com/egypt/sinai/burningbush.html
http://www.geographia.com/egypt/sinai/stcatherine.html
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