Dictionary Article

Historic city sacred to Christians, Jews, and Muslims; the chief city of ancient Palestine and of the modern state of Israel.

The earliest mention of the name occurs in the Egyptian Execration Texts of the 19th and 18th centuries BC in the form probably transliterated Urusalimum.

In the 14th century BC the name appears in the Abdi-Hepa correspondence from Tell el-Amarna, written Urusalim. Later it is found in the inscription of the Assyrian monarch Sennacherib, written Ursalimmu. The two transparently Semitic elements, uru (city) and salim (a divine name), have produced the hyphenated composite meaning “the city of [the god] Salim.” Hyphenating geographic names to incorporate divine elements was a common practice in the ancient Near Eastern world, and the deity Salim, or Shalem (Akkadian, Shulmanu; cf. Solomon), was a member of the Amorite pantheon (cf. Ez 16:3). Since the oldest textual evidence—Egyptian, West Semitic, and Akkadian—supports only urusalim, and since the OT itself attests that Jerusalem was not originally a Hebrew city, it is probable that the Semitic etymological origin of this name produced the meaning “the city of [the god] Salim.”

In the Hebrew OT, Jerusalem is written yerushalayim, and in the Aramaic portions the name is rendered yerushalem. Containing the elements yarah (“to found,” cf. Jb 38:6) and shalem (a divine name), it yields the meaning “the foundation of [the god] Shalem,” the sh of the Hebrew/Aramaic to be taken as the phonemic equivalent of the Akkadian s.

In the NT, Jerusalem translates the two Greek words Ierousalem and Hierosoluma. The former is simply the Greek transliteration of the OT Aramaic form; the latter reflects the word hieros (holy), representing a Hellenized paronomasia, corresponding neither with the Semitic root of the name nor with the city’s historical reality.

Jerusalem is situated 31º 46’ 45” north latitude and 35º 13’ 25” east longitude. The city rises to just over 2,500 feet (762 meters) above sea level and rests some 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) west of the northern end of the Dead Sea and approximately 33 miles (53 kilometers) east of the Mediterranean coast.

A Mediterranean climate pervades Jerusalem. From October to May, the city experiences its rainy season, with an annual accumulation of about 25 inches (63.5 centimeters). Throughout January and February the rains are often driven by winds, and the mercury drops to near freezing (cf. Ezr 10:9); the coldest weather coincides with the days of heaviest rainfall. Snow falls two years out of three. There is no rain between May and September, and a high percentage of solar radiation produces oppressive heat.

Like Rome, Jerusalem is a city set on hills. A cluster of five hills comprise the denuded quadrilateral landmass roughly one mile (1.6 kilometers) long and one-half mile (.8 kilometer) wide, bordered on all sides, except the north, by deep ravines. Stationed astride the crest of Palestine’s central plateau and located at the crossroad of the watershed route connecting Hebron, Bethlehem, Shechem (Nablus), and points north with the longitudinal route from the Jordan Valley and the several arteries to the Mediterranean, Jerusalem is commercially central to the country. The lateral highway through the Judean mountains and eastward could not pass south of Jerusalem, being blocked by the Dead Sea and its sheer cliffs. Because it lacked significant water supply, the city’s strategic commercial location was probably the deciding criterion for its original occupation.

Water, a lifeline of civilization, has always been in meager supply at Jerusalem. The only natural source of permanent water was the spring at Gihon, today sometimes called the Virgin’s Fountain, located in the Kidron Valley immediately east of the ancient fortress conquered by David. Tunnels were burrowed to provide access to the Gihon when Jerusalem was besieged. Later, the Siloam Tunnel was cut through nearly 1,800 feet (548.6 meters) of limestone, allowing the waters of the Gihon to pass through the hill of Zion to the pool of Siloam.

Farther south, where the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys converge, there was another spring, called En-rogel in the Bible (modern Bir Eyyub). Owing to the lowering of the water table, this source of water ceased to percolate and was subsequently converted into a well.

These two sources were clearly insufficient to sustain a sizable population, and both were too deep in the Kidron to be employed for irrigation. Hence, a vast network of cisterns, reservoirs, and water conduits for supplemental supply has been devised since ancient times.

Paleolithic and Mesolithic flint implements of an Acheulian type found in the plain of the Rephaim constitute the earliest evidence of the existence of human beings in the area of Jerusalem. Near the beginning of the fourth millennium BC, the southeastern hill was first occupied by a sedentary group, a fact evinced from the artifactual remains recovered from three graves and the pottery type discovered on bedrock. By 1800 BC, the crest of the southeastern hill was walled in rudimentary form.

From the Bible one learns that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, king of Salem (Gn 14:17-20). Again (ch 22) the great patriarch visited an area later incorporated into Jerusalem, Mt Moriah, the site where Isaac was nearly sacrificed. Second Chronicles 3:1 identifies Mt Moriah as the temple hill. In the 15th century BC or thereabouts the Hurrians (possibly the biblical Horites) penetrated into Palestine. About the same time at Jerusalem, extensive building activities were initiated and improved fortification methods were introduced. Accordingly, most writers attribute these projects at Jerusalem to the Hurrian infiltration.

Upon learning of Gibeon’s placation of Joshua’s army (Jos 9), Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, formed a coalition with the kings of Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon and attacked Gibeon. In response, Joshua marshaled his forces and defeated the coalition, killing all five monarchs at Makkedah (Jos 10:16-27). It appears that the tribe of Judah temporarily took control of Jerusalem and burned it in the wake of this victory (Jgs 1:8). However, the Jebusites reoccupied the site (Jos 15:63; 1 Chr 11:4-5). Apparently, the Jebusites more or less maintained control of Jerusalem until the time of David.

The city appears again as a boundary separating the tribal inheritances of Judah and Benjamin, becoming the southern border of the latter’s domain. The identification of the “shoulder of the Jebusite” (rsv Jos 15:8; 18:16) with Jerusalem is usually explained as a reference to the southwestern hill, probably held also by the Jebusites at this time.

Following the Philistine victory atop Mt Gilboa, where Saul and Jonathan were killed in battle (1 Sm 31), David reigned over the tribe of Judah from Hebron, while a surviving son of Saul, Ishbosheth, ruled over the northern tribes from Mahanaim. During the two-year struggle that ensued, the house of David grew stronger while the forces of Ishbosheth shrunk considerably (2 Sm 3:1). This struggle culminated in the death and decapitation of Ishbosheth and the dispersion of his forces. David became the undisputed monarch of all the tribes of Israel.

Explorations and Excavations

Edward Robinson inaugurated the first important exploratory work. This American scholar made a series of topographical surveys of profound significance even today, and his activities mark the beginning of a flood of literature. Robinson’s chief contribution lay in his method. He dared to challenge the axiom that ecclesiastical traditions provide the primary source for reconstructing a city’s history. Instead, he sought to reconstruct Jerusalem’s history on the basis of the “unsuspected evidence of the stones,” thereby signaling for the holy city the advent of the archaeological method.

A second creative venture commenced in 1864 when, through the philanthropic contribution of Lady Burdett-Coutts of London, who wished to improve the sanitary conditions and water supply of the city, the Palestine Exploration Fund launched its first archaeological enterprise, under the direction of Charles Wilson. This nascent venture was enlarged between 1867 and 1870 as Charles Warren carried out extensive excavations around the temple area, on the southeastern hill, and in the Tyropean Valley, employing a system of underground shafts and tunnels. Of special interest is his unearthing of a section of the ancient city wall located near the southeastern sector of the temple. This find led him to postulate that the southeastern hill was the site of original occupation.

In the wake of the much-publicized discoveries of Wilson and Warren came the quests of Conder, Maudsley, and Clermont-Ganneau. In 1881 Guthe conducted additional excavations on the southeastern hill and at the pool of Siloam, while Schick reported the discovery of the now-famous Siloam Inscription. Schick also excavated a number of tombs just off the Nablus Road. At the same time Bliss and Dickie undertook elaborate excavations of the southern wall.

With the work of Raymond Weill, one enters a third creative period. While the territory on the southeastern hill actually excavated by Weill was proportionately small, it was he who first employed the stratigraphic excavation method at Jerusalem.

Following World War I, the southeastern hill was the object of a second campaign by Weill, of a team under the direction of Macalister and Duncan, and of an expedition led by Crowfoot and Fitzgerald. From 1925 to 1927, Sukenik, Mayer, and Fisher explored north of the city, discovering sections of the third (northern) wall (i.e., Herod Agrippa’s wall).

An important new period in archaeological research began with the protracted expedition under the leadership of Kathleen Kenyon. From 1961 to 1967, the British School of Archaeology project explored several regions of Jerusalem.

Since 1968 the Hebrew University Museum, under the direction of Amiran and Eitan, has intermittently conducted archaeological research in and near the city. The Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums engaged in isolated excavations of what was known prior to the 1967 war as the Jewish Quarter.

But the new monarch recognized that a consolidated national capital acceptable to both the north and the south would have to be created. Jerusalem had remained neutral in the conflict, being the site of a Jebusite enclave. It also represented a location that was militarily desirable, and by being commercially central to the fledgling nation, it was ideally suited.

In the course of David’s 33-year reign at Jerusalem he made the city into the center of an empire that stretched from Egypt to the Euphrates River. He engaged in considerable building and expansion of the city. He fortified the Canaanite walls and prepared an extension of the city, possibly along the east slope of Zion.

David also constructed a royal residence, receiving the technology and many materials from Hiram, king of Tyre (2 Sm 5:11). Nehemiah 12:37 suggests that this palace also may have been near the east side of the southeastern hill. It was from a window of this house that Michal saw David dancing in an undignified manner—according to her perception (2 Sm 6:16-23). From the roof of this palace David gazed upon Bathsheba as she bathed (11:2-5), and from this residence he plotted the murder of her husband, Uriah (vv 14-25).

By bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (2 Sm 6:1-15)—implying that Yahweh would reside there—David displayed his most profound leadership. For in this perceptive act he merged for the first time in Israel’s history its political and religious capitals. Jerusalem took on the unique character of a holy city and a royal city. As a result, the city would be known as the “city of David” (5:7) as well as the “city of God” (Ps 46:4). Adult male Jews would make their pilgrimages to Jerusalem to take part in the feasts and offerings. It only remained for David to make this arrangement permanent, to enshrine Yahweh at Jerusalem forever by building him a temple. David aspired to do so (2 Sm 7), but God responded that such an undertaking was to be reserved for a son of the king.

A growing national realization of the extent and impact of the Davidic empire was employed by Solomon to full advantage. Himself an innovative and dynamic administrator, Solomon turned Jerusalem into a cosmopolitan center. The revenues of caravans from Egypt to Babylonia as well as the Phoenician trade with Elath, the Red Sea, and Ophir passed through his royal capital. Solomon’s own naval fleet traveled as far as Tarshish, most likely located on an island along the western coast of Spain. These expeditions returned every three years with such exotic commodities as apes, peacocks, silver, iron, tin, ivory, and gold. The capital swelled with residents and visitors, and the monarch’s fame became proverbial (1 Kgs 10).

Solomon was the great OT builder of Jerusalem. His most significant building enterprise was undoubtedly the first temple. Erected on the summit of the temple hill, this edifice required seven years to construct, from April/May 966 (1 Kgs 6:1) to October/November 959 (v 38). Hiram again provided both the technology and the cedar beams.

One may find in 1 Kings 10:27 a succinct encapsulation of the economic wealth lavished upon Jerusalem by Solomon: silver became as abundant as stone, and cedar was as common as sycamore. It is estimated that the annual revenues that coursed into Jerusalem were as high as $17 million. Ironically, it was the fiscal factor that became the burden of Solomon’s monarchy. Overextending himself financially, his economic and political programs soon required the levying of heavy taxes (1 Kgs 4:7-19) and the drafting of Israelites into forced labor (1 Kgs 5:13-18; cf. 9:20-23). These were the primary factors that prompted the schism in Israel’s political structure after the death of Solomon and resulted in a divided monarchy by 930 BC.

When the Babylonian army laid final siege to Jerusalem (588 BC), capturing it after many months, the city was completely decimated. The temple and Solomon’s palace were destroyed with fire; the city walls were demolished. The temple treasures were completely plundered, and the citizens were deported in large numbers.

Jerusalem’s doom and 70-year captivity had been spelled out by Jeremiah (Jer 25:11; 29:10; cf. 2 Chr 36:21; Dn 9:2). In 538 BC, after the fall of Babylon, Cyrus, king of Persia, issued his famous proclamation (2 Chr 36:22-23; Ezr 1:1-4; cf. Is 44:28; 45:1). Thereupon, a humble group of Jews returned to Jerusalem with Sheshbazzar, a prince of Judah (Ezr 1:8-11) and Zerubbabel (2:2). In 515 BC, the doors of the second temple were opened officially, and the Passover feast was again observed from Jerusalem (6:15-18).

Ezra came to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes (Ezr 7:7). Assuming this is a reference to Artaxerxes I, the date of Ezra’s return would have been 458 BC. Again, it was only a meager remnant who felt the compelling urge to make that difficult journey (cf. Josephus’s Antiquities 11.1.3).

Moved by reports of troubled conditions (Neh 1:3-4), Nehemiah, in the 20th year of Artaxerxes (445 BC), was able to leave his post as cup-bearer to the king and to go to Jerusalem. If the concern of the earlier returnees focused upon the temple, Nehemiah’s was upon the city walls. His is the most comprehensive description of Jerusalem’s postexilic city walls and topography (Neh 2:11-16). Spurred on by his energetic enthusiasm, the people completed the task of rebuilding the walls in 52 days (6:15).

In 40 BC, with the aid of the Parthians, Antigonus attacked and seized Jerusalem, forcing Herod to escape by night. He journeyed to Rome, where the Senate appointed him as “king of the Jews” (cf. Mt 2:1). Armed with this new authority, Herod marshaled two Roman legions, and in 37 BC, he succeeded in forever expelling the Parthians. So began the long and infamous rule of Herod, who reigned at Jerusalem for 33 years (37–4 BC).

It cannot be denied that Jerusalem enjoyed prosperous and peaceful years during his reign. Herod transformed the external aspect of Jerusalem. He transferred the seat of government to the southwestern hill. Here he erected a lavish palace, an arena for athletic contests, a theater, and a vast aqueduct network.

Other building projects concerned the temple hill. Herod transformed the old Maccabean fortress into a much larger structure and named it Antonia, in honor of Mark Antony. In the temple area proper he enlarged the esplanade on both the north and south sides, giving it a rectangular shape. Herod’s reconstruction of the temple was undertaken in 20 BC, and it was not completed until around AD 64, just six years prior to its destruction by Titus (cf. Jn 2:20).

Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary