Moriah

Name means “bitterness of the Lord”Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary: “Moriah, bitterness of the Lord”

First named: Genesis 22:2

Region Canaan Israel Patriarchal

Disputed identification: Genesis does not locate the land of Moriah precisely. Jewish and Christian tradition identify its mountain with Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, the temple site of 2 Chronicles 3:1, but Genesis itself does not make that link; Samaritan tradition places it at Mount Gerizim instead.

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The land to which God sent Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering on a mountain God would show him. After a three-day journey from Beersheba, Isaac carried the wood and asked his father where the lamb was; Abraham answered that God would provide it. At the last moment the angel of the LORD stopped Abraham's hand, and a ram caught in a thicket was offered in Isaac's place. Abraham named the place "The LORD Will Provide" (Genesis 22:1-19). Hebrews commends Abraham's faith here, saying he reasoned that God was able to raise Isaac even from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19). The only other "Moriah" in Scripture is the mountain in Jerusalem where Solomon built the temple (2 Chronicles 3:1); whether the two are the same place is traditionally assumed but not stated in the text.

References: Genesis 22:2

People connected to Moriah

Abraham (M) — went to this land at God's command to offer his son Isaac, where God provided a ram in his place
Genesis 22:1-14
Isaac (M) — carried the wood up a mountain in this land and was bound on the altar before God provided a substitute ram
Genesis 22:6-13

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Why Moriah and Mount Moriah are listed separately

Scripture uses the name Moriah twice: for the land where God sent Abraham to offer Isaac (Genesis 22:2), and for the mountain in Jerusalem where Solomon built the temple (2 Chronicles 3:1). Jewish and Christian tradition identify the two, but neither passage mentions the other, so this site lists them as separate places. Abraham and Isaac are connected here; David, Ornan, and Solomon are connected to Mount Moriah.

Mount Moriah

Mountain — Canaan Israel