UPDATE: DOES THE SIZE OF THE GREAT STONE AT MOUNT NEBO MATCH THE GARDEN TOMB?
Research by Simon Brown
An objection has been raised against my research into the Great Stone I discovered at Mount Nebo.
Some people argue that this enormous rolling stone could not possibly have been connected with the true tomb of Jesus because it is far too large. They suggest that the original rolling stone at Jesus' tomb would probably have been only around 5 to 6 feet in diameter.
But during my investigation, I discovered something that I believe deserves much closer attention.
The dimensions of the Great Stone at Mount Nebo correspond remarkably closely with the surviving rolling-stone channel outside the Garden Tomb.
And when we return to the Gospel of Mark, we find another fascinating detail:
Mark specifically tells us that the stone was “exceedingly large.”
Let us examine the evidence.
THE GREAT STONE AT MOUNT NEBO
During my investigation at Mount Nebo, I personally measured this enormous circular stone.
My measurements were approximately:
Diameter: 9 feet 8 inches
Thickness: approximately 15 inches
This is certainly not an ordinary-sized rolling stone.
It is enormous.
And this extraordinary size has been used by critics as an argument against its possible connection with the tomb of Jesus.
But then I measured the surviving rolling-stone channel outside the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem.
That produced a remarkable result.
THE GARDEN TOMB CHANNEL IS APPROXIMATELY 16 INCHES WIDE
When I measured the ancient channel outside the Garden Tomb, I found it to be approximately:
16 INCHES WIDE
Compare that with the Great Stone at Mount Nebo:
GREAT STONE — APPROXIMATELY 15 INCHES THICK
GARDEN TOMB CHANNEL — APPROXIMATELY 16 INCHES WIDE
That is a remarkably close dimensional correspondence.
The photographs reproduced with this article show me taking these measurements during my investigation.
Even more interestingly, marks can still be seen along the channel which appear consistent with a large stone having travelled through it.
Therefore, instead of simply asking:
“Is the Mount Nebo stone too large?”
I believe we should ask another question:
Could a stone of these dimensions physically have travelled through the surviving Garden Tomb channel?
According to my measurements, its thickness appears compatible with the width of the channel.
That does not by itself prove that this particular stone once belonged to the Garden Tomb. Its provenance would still need to be established independently.
But it does mean that the dimensional evidence deserves serious investigation rather than dismissal merely because the stone is unusually large.
BUT WHAT ABOUT ITS ENORMOUS 9'8" DIAMETER?
This brings us to the second objection.
Critics may argue:
“A stone almost ten feet in diameter is simply too large to have been the stone at Jesus' tomb.”
But there is an extraordinary detail in Mark's resurrection account that should not be overlooked.
The women came to the tomb early in the morning.
Mark records:
“And having looked up, they see that the stone has been rolled away—for it was exceedingly large.”
— Mark 16:4, BLB
Notice those final words:
“IT WAS EXCEEDINGLY LARGE.”
Mark does not merely call it a stone.
He deliberately draws attention to its exceptional size.
WHAT DOES THE GREEK SAY?
The Greek behind the description is particularly strong.
Mark uses:
μέγας — megas
meaning great or large,
together with:
σφόδρα — sphodra
meaning exceedingly, extremely, or very much.
So Mark's description is emphatic.
The stone was not merely large.
IT WAS EXCEEDINGLY LARGE.
That fact needs to be included whenever someone argues that the stone at Jesus' tomb must have been relatively small.
WHAT ABOUT THE WORDS “HAVING LOOKED UP”?
There is another fascinating detail.
Mark says:
“And having looked up…”
— Mark 16:4, BLB
The Greek verb is ἀναβλέπω (anablepō), which can mean to look up, though in some contexts it can also mean to look again or recover sight.
Therefore, we need to be careful here.
It would be going beyond the text to claim that the expression proves mathematically that the stone had to be taller than the women.
Nevertheless, when combined with Mark's explicit statement that the stone was “exceedingly large,” the wording certainly fits the picture of an imposing stone.
And this is precisely what makes the Mount Nebo stone so interesting.
If the women were somewhere around five feet tall, a stone measuring approximately 9 feet 8 inches in diameter would tower above them.
That is at least visually consistent with the extraordinary stone Mark describes.
But the stronger evidence remains Mark's explicit statement:
“FOR IT WAS EXCEEDINGLY LARGE.”
THREE IMPORTANT FACTS NOW COME TOGETHER
My investigation therefore produced three observations that I believe deserve further examination.
First: the Great Stone at Mount Nebo measures approximately 9 feet 8 inches in diameter—an extraordinarily large stone.
Second: it measures approximately 15 inches thick, while my measurement of the Garden Tomb rolling-stone channel was approximately 16 inches wide.
Third: Mark 16:4 specifically describes the stone at Jesus' tomb as:
“EXCEEDINGLY LARGE.”
These facts do not, by themselves, establish the Mount Nebo stone's provenance.
But neither should its extraordinary size automatically disqualify it.
Indeed, extraordinary size is precisely the feature Mark himself chose to emphasize.
COULD THE GREAT STONE HAVE BEEN MOVED FROM JERUSALEM?
This leaves another major historical question.
If the Mount Nebo stone once belonged to a tomb in Jerusalem, how did it end up many miles away at Mount Nebo?
Was it deliberately transported?
Was it reused?
When did it arrive there?
Who moved it?
And is there historical or archaeological evidence capable of tracing its earlier history?
These questions are extremely important because a dimensional match alone cannot establish where a stone originally came from.
This is where the investigation must continue.
MY UPDATED CONCLUSION
I believe the Great Stone at Mount Nebo remains an extraordinary object worthy of serious investigation.
Its approximately 15-inch thickness corresponds remarkably closely with the approximately 16-inch width I measured in the surviving rolling-stone channel at the Garden Tomb.
Its approximately 9-foot-8-inch diameter makes it exceptionally large.
And rather than contradicting Mark's description, its enormous size is strikingly consistent with one particular detail Mark went out of his way to record:
“THE STONE…WAS EXCEEDINGLY LARGE.”
— Mark 16:4, BLB
Does this evidence alone prove that the Mount Nebo stone is the actual Great Stone that once sealed the tomb of Jesus?
No. More evidence would be needed to establish that identification historically.
But does the objection that the stone is “too large” settle the question?
No.
The Gospel itself describes an exceptionally large stone.
And the physical measurements I recorded present an intriguing dimensional correspondence that I believe deserves further archaeological and historical investigation.
That is why I continue to ask:
COULD THIS REALLY BE THE GREAT STONE OF MARK 16:4?
And could the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem really be the tomb in which our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was laid before His resurrection?
I encourage everyone to examine the photographs, measurements, biblical text, archaeology and historical evidence for themselves.
The search for the truth should always follow the evidence—wherever that evidence leads.
Research by Simon Brown
wwwrealdiscoveriesorg-simon.blogspot.com
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