The history of Dabra Mahew near Jerusalem and its miraculous spring

Summary

In Jerusalem there is a mountain called Machaerus. At the crest of this mountain there lies a holy well that Jesus created when the Holy Family stayed there on their flight from Herod. The well heals any sick person who is faithful to Christ, and it remains there to this day. John, who is a blood relative of Jesus, appears at this well annually on the twelfth day of Hedar (around November 6). Mary also appears there every year, on the twelfth day of Terr (around January 5).

Translation

Translated by Rowan Williams from TGS (EOTC) 1988-1996, pp. 351–52, in 2022.

Now in the land of Jerusalem, toward Aenon, near Salim, on the other side of the Jordan, there is a mountain called Machaerus, which is surrounded to the north and south by ravines.

On its crest there is a well, the water of which Our Lord Jesus Christ made spring up when he stayed there for three days and three nights with his mother Mary, Joseph, and Salome as they fled from Herod.

He left his blessing upon this well.

That holy well became a source of healing for the sick and the infirm who are active in the faith, and it is there to this day, giving healing to the wounded and curing the diseased. It performs the desires of those who faithfully seek Christ.

It came to pass that John would appear on that mountain every year, on the twelfth of the month of Hedar, which is the feast day of the Archangel Michael, and he converses with the elect there to this day.

(Now the John of whom we speak is the one who is a blood relative of Our Lord.)

Our Lady Mary, Holy Twofold Virgin, the Mother of God, appears in that place on the twelfth day of the month of Terr and performs miracles and wonders there, which are revealed to Christians and hidden from the eyes of the heathen.

Our Lady Mary, Holy Twofold Virgin, the Mother of God: as you appear on Mount Machaerus, appear to us, your servants and handmaids, in like manner.

May her prayers and blessings be with us to the ages of ages. Amen.

TO CITE THIS TRANSLATION

Rowan Williams. 2022. "ID 217: The history of Dabra Mahew near Jerusalem and its miraculous spring." From TGS (EOTC) 1988-1996, pp. 351–52. Täˀammərä Maryam (Miracle of Mary) Stories, edited by Wendy Laura Belcher, Jeremy Brown, Mehari Worku, and Dawit Muluneh. Princeton: Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian Miracles of Mary project. https://pemm.princeton.edu/stories/217.