Mount Camel begins on the Mediterranean Sea and runs inland to the southeast, jutting into the Jezreel Valley. It overlooks the modern-day city of Haifa to its north. Mt. Carmel's maximum height is 1792 feet.

Mt. Carmel actually splits this section of Israel in half, with Plain of Sharon to the south and the Plain of Akko to the north. It slopes to the southeast. The southern side has more plants and trees than the northern side. The northern side of the mountain is rockier, with limestone, flint, and volcanic rocks and numerous caves. The fertile Jezreel Valley lies mainly to the east. When you look at it from the Mediterranean Sea, Mt. Carmel looks like a large peninsula at the Bay of Akko, since it almost runs into the waves of the sea. The fertile soil and its large plant numbers fit its name, because Carmel in Hebrew means "vineyard of God."

Mount Carmel was subject to many small biblical events. In Joshua 19 Mt. Carmel was allotted to the tribe of Asher. In Song of Songs 7:5 the bridegroom compares Mt. Carmel to his lovers head. In Isaiah 33:9 and 35:2 we hear of the Plain of Sharon and Mt. Carmel's beauty. In Amos 3:1-3 we hear of God saying how he will destroy Israel and it is listed: "Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, there I will hunt them down and seize them".

But perhaps the biggest thing to have happened there is Elijah and the Baal challenge. This event is supposed to have occurred on Mt. Muhraka, a point of the Carmel range to the southeast. Elijah was a prophet of the LORD and taught in the self-made "school of the prophets." This account of Elijah's confrontation with the priests of Baal begins when he has this conversation with King Ahab in 1 Kings 18:18-19, "I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the LORD's commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."

The Baal challenge is when the Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a competition. The competition was that the priests of Baal would pray to their god and ask him to light a fire under their sacrifice. What basically happened was that the Baal prophets could not get their false god to light their fire. Though they cut themselves and screamed to the heavens, nothing happened. Eventually Elijah called them over, drenched his altar, then prayed to God. God lit the soaked altar with fire from Heaven and it continued to burn. The terrified prophets tried to run but Elijah had them chased down and killed.

We know that Elisha, Elijah's successor, lived on Mt. Carmel. 2 Kings 4 tells the story of the Shunammite's son restored to life. That woman sent her friend to Mt. Carmel to get Elishah to come help her. Also, it is possible for other prophets to at least have lived there because of the "school of prophets"' listed early in this report.

It is believed by some historical scientists that a Druze city was there in biblical times, although no proof that that community existed during biblical times can be found in the NIV or King James Versions of the Bible.

Although Mount Carmel is a bit far, I believe that, if I had to go to Israel, that is where I would like to go.

The Bible Sites in Israel series

Beersheba
Cana
Nazareth
Bethlehem
Hebron
Jericho
Masada
Carmel
Nain
Negev