GETHSEMANE

(Geth·semʹa·ne) [an oil press].

Probably a garden of olive trees that was equipped with a press for squeezing oil from olives. Gethsemane was located E of Jerusalem, across the Kidron valley (John 18:1), on or near the Mount of Olives. (Luke 22:39) Here Jesus Christ often met with his disciples. (John 18:2) On Passover night of 33 C.E., he, with his faithful disciples, retired to this garden to pray. Found and betrayed by Judas Iscariot, Jesus was there seized by an armed mob.—Matt. 26:36-56; Mark 14:32-52; Luke 22:39-53; John 18:1-12.

The exact location of the garden of Gethsemane cannot be determined, because (according to the testimony of Josephus) all the trees around Jerusalem were cut down during the Roman siege in 70 C.E. (Wars of the Jews, Book V, chap. XII, par. 4) One tradition identifies Gethsemane with the garden that was enclosed by the Franciscans in 1848. It measures about 150 by 140 feet (46 by 43 meters) and is located at the fork of the road on the W slope and at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Eight olive trees in this garden have been there for centuries.

[Picture on page 649]

Traditional location of the garden of Gethsemane, with the Golden Gate and a portion of the Dome of the Rock visible across the Kidron Valley