2136: Biblical Hills* in Modern English Oct 20, 2020

There are are some mountains identified in the New Testament which have now become words totally detached from the original meaning in many other languages. 'Armageddon' is a Greek word but it comes via the Hebrew Har Megido (הר מגידו‎) meaning ‘hill of Megiddo’; it is now called Tel Megido (תל מגידו) or just 'Megido', with Tel meaning 'mount'. Conversely, 'calvary' has taken on the meaning as the name for a mountain, but comes from a Latin calque of the Greek Γολγοθα (golgotha), as an imitation of the Hebrew גולגולת (gulgōlet) meaning 'skull'.