Nabi Samwil (the Tomb of the Prophet Samuel) stands on one of the highest peaks near Jerusalem, offering a 360-degree panoramic view that stretches from the Mediterranean coast to the mountains of Jordan. The hilltop has been sacred for over 3,000 years: Jews venerate it as the burial place of the prophet Samuel, Muslims worship at the mosque built on the summit, and Crusaders knew it as Montjoie (Mount of Joy), the first point from which pilgrims coming from the coast could see the holy city of Jerusalem.
Prophet Samuel
Samuel was the last of the judges and the prophet who anointed both Saul and David as kings of Israel. The Bible places his burial at Ramah: “Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah” (1 Samuel 25:1). The identification of this hilltop as Ramah is debated, but the tradition is ancient, and the tomb in the basement of the building has been a site of Jewish pilgrimage for centuries.
Montjoie
When Crusader armies approached Jerusalem from the coast in 1099, this hilltop was where they first caught sight of the city. The soldiers fell to their knees and wept, and the hill was named Montjoie. Richard the Lionheart reached this spot during the Third Crusade in 1192 but, realizing he could not take Jerusalem, refused to look at the city he could not conquer, covering his eyes with his shield.
The View
The view from the roof of the building is one of the most comprehensive in the Jerusalem area. On a clear day, you can see the Mediterranean Sea to the west, the Judean Desert to the east, the towers of Jerusalem to the south, and the hills of Samaria to the north. The panorama explains why this hilltop has been valued by every civilization that controlled this landscape.
Biblical Landscape from the Summit
The 360-degree view from Nabi Samwil is a map of the Bible. To the south, the towers of Jerusalem are visible, and the route that Samuel walked between Ramah and the holy city can be traced across the hills. To the southeast, the hill of Tel el-Ful is visible, most likely the biblical Gibeah, the capital of King Saul and the setting of one of the darkest stories in the Bible.
The story of the Concubine at Gibeah (Judges 19-21) is a tale of horror that the Bible itself compares to Sodom. A Levite and his concubine stopped for the night at Gibeah, a town of the tribe of Benjamin. The men of the city surrounded the house and demanded the Levite be sent out. Instead, the concubine was pushed outside. The men of Gibeah abused her throughout the night, and she died on the doorstep at dawn. The Levite cut her body into twelve pieces and sent one piece to each tribe of Israel as a call to action: “Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Just imagine! We must do something! So speak up!” (Judges 19:30). The eleven tribes assembled 400,000 warriors and demanded that Benjamin hand over the criminals. Benjamin refused. In the war that followed, Benjamin won the first two battles, killing 40,000 Israelites. On the third day, Israel set an ambush and routed Benjamin, killing 25,000 Benjaminite warriors, burning their cities, and destroying everything in their territory. Only 600 men survived, fleeing to the Rock of Rimmon in the desert, where they hid for four months (Judges 20:47). Then Israel was seized with grief: an entire tribe was on the verge of extinction. They found ways, morally troubling in their own right, to provide wives for the 600 survivors, and the tribe of Benjamin slowly rebuilt. Saul, Israel’s first king, would come from this nearly annihilated tribe, and from Benjamin would also come the Apostle Paul, centuries later.
The story is deliberately placed at the end of the Book of Judges to show how far Israel had fallen without centralized leadership. The book’s final verse is its thesis: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 21:25). Samuel, buried on this hilltop, was the prophet who would anoint Israel’s first king and bring the era of judges to an end. Looking from his tomb to the hill of Gibeah, you see the problem and the solution in a single panorama.
To the north, the hills of Samaria stretch toward Shechem. To the west, on a clear day, the Mediterranean coast is visible, and the Ayalon Valley, where Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, opens toward the plain. The view connects the stories of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Saul in a single landscape that can be read like a book.
Visit with Hoshen Tours
Nabi Samwil combines biblical history, Crusader romance, and the best panoramic view near Jerusalem. Hoshen Tours visits for the view, the tomb, and the story of the Crusaders weeping at the sight of the holy city.