What is "moreh"

Moreh is the name of a location or a person mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible.

Giv'at ha-More (Hebrew: גבעת המורה; English also as Giv'at ha-Moreh, Givat HaMoreh etc.) is a mountain range in northern Israel, located on the northeast side of the Jezreel Valley. The highest peak reaches an altitude of 515 metres, while the bottom of the Jezreel Valley is situated at an altitude of 50–100 metres. North of it are the plains of the Lower Galilee, out of which about 8 kilometers away appears the more isolated Mount Tabor. In easterly direction Giv'at ha-More connects to the Issachar Plateau. To the southeast Giv'at ha-More descends into the Harod Valley, where the Harod spring flows eastwards into the Jordan Valley.

Arabs call this mountain Jebel Dahi after the Muslim shrine of Nabi Dahi (lit. Prophet Dahi) situated at its top, and holding the tomb of the 7th-century saint Nabi Dihyah Wahi al-Kalbi.

In the 20th century, in the valley below the mountain, the city of Afula was developed as the main Jewish center of the region. Afula gradually expanded from the plains to the slopes of Giv'at ha-More. During the War of Independence in 1948, the area was completely dominated by Israeli forces, but local Arab population was not displaced. On the slopes of the mountain there are several Arab villages, especially ad-Dahi and Nein.

On the central part of Giv'at ha-More there is a nature reserve, partly wooded thanks to the activities of the Jewish National Fund. The Nazareth Iris blooms here in spring.

There are several references to the word Moreh:

• Moreh, India is a small town in Manipur, India, bordering Myanmar
• Elon Moreh was the first Israeli settlement in the Samarian Hills after the Six-Day War.
• Moreh is a location mentioned in the Torah.
• Shmuel Moreh is an Iraqi Jewish author and professor of Arabic literature at the Hebrew University.