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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

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CITY

The Bible does not generally distinguish between city, town, and village. The emphasis upon walls (Lv 25:29-31 (RV · LV · Read together)) and fortifications (Jos 19:35 (RV · LV · Read together)), with repeated references to towers, gates, and sieges, indicates that cities provided the primary security for the surrounding towns and villages.

Origin and Antiquity

Practical Prerequisites

The existence of settled communities depended upon a controlled food supply. In contrast to the city dweller, the nomad lived in a portable tent, appropriate for a never-ceasing search for food. The contrast between settled city life and the nomadic experience is illustrated by a NT reference to the seminomadic Abraham: “He looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb 11:10 (RV · LV · Read together), rsv).

The First Biblical City

The first biblical reference to a city is in Genesis 4:17 (RV · LV · Read together). The Hebrew verb indicates that Cain “was building” the city. Probably he did not complete it, nor did he permanently reside there; he had earlier been condemned to a vagabond’s existence (v 12 (RV · LV · Read together)).

The Genesis account, affirming that city life came early in human existence, is internally consistent. The first human offspring, Cain and Abel, were involved in food production (Gn 4:2 (RV · LV · Read together)). Cain was an agriculturist, and Abel tended domesticated flocks. Genesis 4 (RV · LV · Read together) shows both the prerequisite of food production and the resulting specialization. With Jabal, tentmaking was associated (v 20 (RV · LV · Read together)); with Jubal, music (v 21 (RV · LV · Read together)); and with Tubal-Cain, metalworking (v 22 (RV · LV · Read together)).

Archaeological Evidence

The testimony of archaeology generally agrees with an early date for the origin of cities. The oldest city thus far discovered in Canaan was Jericho. Using carbon-14 analysis of wood materials from the site, Kathleen Kenyon assigned a date prior to 7000 BC. Although less than 10 acres (4 hectares), it was a well-developed city with an impressive wall 6 feet (1.8 meters) thick and a round stone tower almost 30 feet (9 meters) high equipped with an inside staircase from top to bottom.

Jericho seems to be 3,000 years older than other Canaanite cities. Most of the great Sumerian cities such as Ur, Ish, Lagah, and Uruk were founded later, in the fourth or early third millennium BC.

Location and Name

Topographical Prerequisites

There were four primary considerations in the selection of a site for a city.

1. The topographical situation of the ancient city had to contribute to its defense. A city built on a natural hill tended to be less vulnerable than one in the valley. Substantial advantage was given to the defenders if an enemy was forced to attack up an incline.

The topography of Jerusalem illustrates the factor of security in the selection of a site. Although surrounded by higher mountains (Ps 125:2 (RV · LV · Read together)), Jerusalem originally was established on a limestone ridge protected on the east by the deep Kidron Valley and on the west by the equally formidable Tyropoean Valley. The two valleys met, thus affording Jerusalem protection from the south. To complete the security, walls were constructed around the city, with special emphasis on the northern side, where Jerusalem was otherwise exposed (cf. 2 Sm 5:6 (RV · LV · Read together)).

2. A water source conveniently located was an absolute necessity for a city’s existence. The city spring or well became the center of social intercourse, particularly for the women, who were traditionally the water carriers. Biblical examples of socializing at the village well are numerous (Gn 29:1-12 (RV · LV · Read together); 1 Kgs 1:38-39 (RV · LV · Read together)).

In general, water sources were located in valleys, so the nearest spring to a city was frequently outside the walls. If an attacking enemy seized the water source, a city could be forced to surrender when the water supply stored within the walls ran dry. In Jerusalem, King Hezekiah constructed a water tunnel to neutralize the impending attack of the Assyrian king Sennacherib (2 Kgs 20:20 (RV · LV · Read together); 2 Chr 32:30 (RV · LV · Read together)). His amazing engineering feat, more than 1,700 feet (518 meters) long and over 2,500 years old, can still be seen by visitors to Jerusalem.

3. Every city needed adequate food for its inhabitants. Ancient agriculturalists lived in a village or city and walked each day to their fields. The existence of a city, therefore, depended upon nearby cultivable fields adequate to meet the needs of the population.

4. To facilitate importation of raw materials and exportation of finished products, proximity to local and international roads was desirable if not imperative. The important cities of the Bible were located along primary arteries of commerce.

The relative importance of these four factors has changed over the centuries. With the appearance of strong nation-states such as Rome, cities could depend upon standing armies and thus give up their inconvenient hilltop sites. Development of plastered cisterns and aqueducts made possible the founding of cities some distance from water sources; for example, Caesarea, built by Herod the Great, was 12 miles (19.3 kilometers) from Mt Carmel’s springs. Trade routes shifted with changing international conditions, causing the demise of some cities and the development of others.

See also Archaeology and the Bible.