GETHSEMANE

(Geth·semʹa·ne) [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 (Joh 18:1), on or near the Mount of Olives. (Lu 22:39) Here Jesus Christ often met with his disciples. (Joh 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.​—Mt 26:36-56; Mr 14:32-52; Lu 22:39-53; Joh 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. (The Jewish War, VI, 5-8 [i, 1]) One tradition identifies Gethsemane with the garden that was enclosed by the Franciscans in 1848. It measures about 46 by 43 m (150 by 140 ft) and is located at the foot of the Mount of Olives, at the fork of the road on its W slope. Eight olive trees in that garden have been there for centuries.