Synonym for Jerusalem or Land of Israel
Zion
(1903),
Ephraim Moses Lilien
Zion
(
Hebrew
:
???????
??yy?n
,
LXX
Σι?ν
, also variously
transliterated
Sion
,
[1]
Tzion
,
Tsion
,
Tsiyyon
)
[2]
is a placename in the
Hebrew Bible
, often used as a synonym for
Jerusalem
[3]
[4]
as well as for the
Land of Israel
as a whole.
The name is found in
2 Samuel
(
2 Sam 5:7
), one of the books of the
Hebrew Bible
dated to approximately the mid-6th century BCE. It originally referred to a specific hill in Jerusalem,
Mount Zion
, located to the south of
Mount Moriah
(the Temple Mount). According to the narrative of 2 Samuel 5, Mount Zion held the
Jebusite
fortress of the same name that was conquered by
David
and was renamed the
City of David
. That specific hill ("mount") is one of the many squat hills that form Jerusalem.
The term
Tzion
came to designate the area of Davidic Jerusalem where the Jebusite fortress stood, and was used as well as
synecdoche
for the entire city of Jerusalem; and later, when
Solomon's Temple
was built on the adjacent Mount Moriah (which, as a result, came to be known as the
Temple Mount
), the meanings of the term
Tzion
were further extended by synecdoche to the additional meanings of the Temple itself, the hill upon which the Temple stood, the entire city of Jerusalem, the entire biblical Land of Israel, and "
the World to Come
", the Jewish understanding of the
afterlife
.
Over many centuries, until as recently as the 16th century (
Ottoman period
), the city
walls of Jerusalem
were rebuilt many times in new locations, so that the particular hill known in biblical times as Mount Zion is no longer within the city walls, but its location is now just outside the Old City and southeast of it. Most of the original City of David itself is thus also outside the current "Old City" wall. Adding to the confusion, another ridge, the Western Hill rather than the original Southeastern Hill (City of David) or the Southern Hill (Temple Mount), has been called 'Mount Zion' for the last two millennia.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The etymology of the word
Zion
(
?iyyon
) is uncertain.
[3]
[4]
[5]
Mentioned in the Old Testament in the
Books of Samuel
(2 Samuel 5:7) as the name of a
Jebusite
fortress conquered by
David
, its origin seems to predate the
Israelites
.
[3]
[4]
If
Semitic
, it may be derived from the Hebrew root
?iyyon
("castle") or the Hebrew ??????
?iyya
("dry land" or "desert", Jeremiah 51:43). A non-Semitic relationship to the
Hurrian
word
?eya
("river" or "brook") has also been suggested
[5]
as also one of
Hittite
[6]
origin.
The form
????
(
Tzion
,
Tiberian vocalization
:
?iyyon
) appears 108 times in the
Hebrew Bible
, and once with article, as
HaTzion
.
[7]
[8]
Tsade
is usually rendered as
z
in
English Bible translations
, hence the spelling
Zion
(rather than
Tzion
).
This convention apparently originates in
German orthography
,
[9]
where
z
stands for the consonant [t?s].
Judaism: religion and Zionism
[
edit
]
Hebrew Bible: Zion, daughter(s) of Zion
[
edit
]
Ephraim Moses Lilien
, Stamp for the
Jewish National Fund
,
Vienna
, 1901?2. The symbolic design presents a
Star of David
containing the word Zion in the
Hebrew alphabet
.
Zion
is mentioned 152 times in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), most often in the
Prophetic books
, the
Book of Psalms
, and the
Book of Lamentations
, besides six mentions in the
Historical books
(Kings, Samuel, Chronicles)
and a single mention of the "daughters of Zion" in the
Song of Songs
(3:11)
Out of the 152 mentions, 26 instances are within the phrase of "Daughter of Zion" (Hebrew "bat Tzion").
This is a personification of the city of Jerusalem, or of its population.
[10]
In
Psalm 137
, Zion (Jerusalem) is remembered from the perspective of the
Babylonian Captivity
.
"[1] By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. [2] We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. [3] For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion." In verse 8, the phrase "Daughter of Babylon"
appears as a personification of Babylon or its population: "[8] O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us."
Psalm 147
uses "Jerusalem" and "Zion" interchangeably to address the faithful: "[2] The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcast of Israel. [...] [12] Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion."
Religious practice; exegesis
[
edit
]
The location of the Temple, and in particular its
Holy of Holies
(innermost sanctum), is the most holy place in the world for the Jewish people, seen as the connection between
God
and humanity. Observant Jews recite the
Amidah
three times a day facing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, praying for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, the restoration of the Temple service, the redemption of the world, and for the coming of the
Messiah
.
[
citation needed
]
In
Kabbalah
,
[
dubious
–
discuss
]
the more esoteric reference is made to Tzion being the spiritual point from which reality emerges, located in the
Holy of Holies
of the
First
,
Second
and future
Third Temple
.
[11]
[
dubious
–
discuss
]
Zionism
[
edit
]
A
World War I
recruitment poster. The Daughter of Zion (representing the Hebrew people): "Your
Old New Land
must have you! Join the
Jewish regiment
."
The term "
Zionism
", coined by Austrian
Nathan Birnbaum
, was derived from the German rendering of Tzion in his journal
Selbstemanzipation
("self emancipation") in 1890.
[12]
Zionism as a
modern political movement
started in 1897
and supported a "
national home
", and
later a state
, for the
Jewish
people in the
Land of Israel
, though the idea has been around since the end of Jewish independent rule. The Zionist movement declared the establishment of the
State of Israel
in 1948, following the
United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine
. Since then, and with varying
ideologies
, Zionists have focused on developing and protecting this state.
The last line of the Israeli national anthem
Hatikvah
(Hebrew for "The Hope") is "....Eretz Zion, ViYerushalayim", which means literally "The land of Zion and Jerusalem".
Islamic tradition
[
edit
]
?ahy?n
(
Arabic
:
?????
,
?ahy?n
or
?ihy?n
) is the word for Zion in Arabic and
Syriac
.
[13]
[14]
Drawing on biblical tradition, it is one of the names accorded to Jerusalem in Arabic and Islamic tradition.
[14]
[15]
A valley called
W?d? Sahy?n
seemingly preserves the name and is located approximately one and three-quarter miles from the
Old City
's
Jaffa Gate
.
[13]
For example, the reference to the "precious cornerstone" of the new Jerusalem in the
Book of Isaiah
28:16 is identified in Islamic scholarship as the
Black Stone
of the
Kaaba
.
[16]
This interpretation is said by
ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya
(1292?1350) to have come from the
People of the Book
, though earlier Christian scholarship identifies the cornerstone with
Jesus
.
[16]
Latter Day Saint
[
edit
]
Within the
Latter Day Saint movement
, Zion is often used to connote a peaceful ideal society. In the Latter Day Saints belief system the term
Zion
is often used to denote a place of gathering for the saints. It is also often used to denote an area or city of refuge for the saints.
Rastafari movement
[
edit
]
I say fly away home to Zion, fly away home...One bright morning when my work is over, man will fly away home...
In
Rastafari
, "Zion" stands for a
utopian
place of unity, peace and freedom, as opposed to "
Babylon
", the oppressing and exploiting system of the materialistic modern world and a place of evil.
[17]
It proclaims Zion, as reference to
Ethiopia
, the original birthplace of humankind, and from the beginning of the movement calls to
repatriation
to Zion, the
Promised Land
and Heaven on Earth.
[18]
Some Rastafari believe themselves to represent the real
Children of Israel
in modern times, and their goal is to repatriate to Ethiopia, or to Zion. The
Ge'ez
-language
Kebra Nagast
serves as inspiration for the idea that the "Glory of Zion" transferred from Jerusalem to Ethiopia in the time of Solomon and Sheba, c. 950 BCE.
Rastafari
reggae
contains many references to Zion; among the best-known examples are the
Bob Marley
songs "Zion Train", "
Iron Lion Zion
", the
Bunny Wailer
song "Rastaman" ("The Rasta come from Zion, Rastaman a Lion!"), The Melodians song "Rivers of Babylon" (based on Psalm 137, where the captivity of
Babylon
is contrasted with the freedom in
Zion
), the
Bad Brains
song "Leaving Babylon", the
Damian Marley
song featuring
Nas
"Road to Zion",
The Abyssinians
' "Forward Unto Zion" and
Kiddus I
's "Graduation in Zion", which is featured in the 1977 cult roots rock reggae film
Rockers
, and "Let's Go to Zion" by
Winston Francis
. Reggae groups such as
Steel Pulse
and
Cocoa Tea
also have many references to Zion in their various songs.
The Jewish longing for Zion, starting with the deportation and enslavement of Jews during the
Babylonian captivity
, was adopted as a metaphor by Christian black
slaves
in the
United States
.
[
citation needed
]
[
year needed
]
Thus, Zion symbolizes a longing by wandering peoples for a safe homeland. This could be an actual place such as
Ethiopia
for
Rastafari
or
Israel
for the Jews.
Rastafari, while not identifying as "Jews", identify themselves and Africa as Zion. Specifically, Ethiopia is acknowledged as the mountains of Zion. Further, Rastafari ontology views all Africans as God's Chosen People. This differs from Judaic narratives.
[19]
The Baha’i Faith
[
edit
]
References to Zion occur in the writings of the
Baha’i Faith
.
Baha’u’llah
, the prophet-founder of the Baha’i Faith wrote, concerning the Baha’i Revelation,
"The time foreordained unto the peoples and kindreds of the earth is now come. The promises of God, as recorded in the holy Scriptures, have all been fulfilled. Out of Zion hath gone forth the Law of God, and Jerusalem, and the hills and land thereof, are filled with the glory of His Revelation." -Baha’u’llah,
Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah
[20]
"Call out to Zion, O Carmel, and announce the joyful tidings: He that was hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest; His all-encompassing splendor is revealed."
-Baha’u’llah, Tablet of Carmel
,
Tablets of Baha?u'llah Revealed After the Kitab-i-Aqdas
[21]
Mount Zion today
[
edit
]
Abbey of the Dormition
on the modern Mount Zion.
Today,
Mount Zion
refers to a hill south of the Old City's
Armenian Quarter
, not to the Temple Mount. This apparent misidentification dates at least from the 1st century AD, when
Josephus
calls Jerusalem's Western Hill "Mount Zion".
[22]
The
Abbey of the Dormition
and
King David's Tomb
are located upon the hill currently called Mount Zion.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Sion
is the spelling in the
Vulgate
, also adopted in modern French.
- ^
Hebrew Academy 2006 convention for the romanization of Hebrew,
Announcements of the Academy of the Hebrew Language
Archived
2013-10-15 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
a
b
c
Longman, Tremper
;
Enns, Peter
(2008).
Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship
. InterVarsity Press. p. 936.
ISBN
978-0-8308-1783-2
.
- ^
a
b
c
Anderson, Arnold Albert (1981).
The book of Psalms
.
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
.
ISBN
978-0-551-00846-5
.
- ^
a
b
Bromiley, Geoffrey W.
(1995).
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
.
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
. p. 1006.
ISBN
978-0-8028-3782-0
.
- ^
Mendenhall, George (1973).
The Tenth Generation: The Origins of the Biblical Tradition
.
The Johns Hopkins University Press
.
ISBN
0-8018-1654-8
.
- ^
The Responsa Project: Version 13
, Bar Ilan University, 2005
- ^
Kline, D.E.,
A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for readers of English
, Carta Jerusalem,
University of Haifa
, 1987, pp. xii?xiii
- ^
Joseph Dixon,
A general introduction to the Sacred Scriptures: in a series of dissertations, critical hermeneutical and historical
, J. Murphy, 1853, p. 132
- ^
Joseph Addison Alexander,
Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah
(1878),
p. 65
.
- ^
Rabbi Heshy Grossman.
"The Weekly Parsha: A New Dimension. Parshas Devarim: Tisha b'Av"
.
Shema Yisrael
. Retrieved
1 December
2023
.
Links:
Weekly parsha
;
Devarim (parashah)
;
Tisha b'Av
.
- ^
De Lange, Nicholas,
An Introduction to Judaism
,
Cambridge University Press
(2000), p. 30.
ISBN
0-521-46624-5
.
- ^
a
b
Palestine Exploration Fund
(1977).
"Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Volumes 109?110"
.
Palestine Exploration Quarterly
. Published at the Fund's Office: 21.
- ^
a
b
Gil, Moshe
(1997).
A History of Palestine, 634?1099
.
Cambridge University Press
. p. 114.
ISBN
978-0-521-59984-9
.
- ^
Freund, Richard A. (2009).
Digging Through the Bible: Modern Archaeology and the Ancient Bible
.
Rowman & Littlefield
. p. 141.
ISBN
978-0-7425-4645-5
.
- ^
a
b
Wheeler, Brannon M. (2002).
Moses in the Quran and Islamic Exegesis
.
Psychology Press
. p. 89.
ISBN
978-0-7007-1603-6
.
- ^
"Definition of Babylon (chiefly among Rastafari)"
.
Oxford Dictionaries
.
Oxford University Press
. Archived from
the original
on May 10, 2013
. Retrieved
22 March
2013
.
- ^
"What Do Rastafarians Believe"
.
Jamaican Culture
. Jamaicans.com. 2003-05-30
. Retrieved
22 March
2013
.
- ^
Condon, R.. (1994). ZION AT THE CROSSROADS: "African Zion, the Sacred Art of Ethiopia". Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art. 1994. 49-52. 10.1215/10757163-1-1-49.
- ^
Baha’u’llah.
Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah
.
- ^
Baha’u’llah.
Tablets of Baha?u'llah Revealed After the Kitab-i-Aqdas
.
- ^
Pixner, Bargil
(2010).
Paths of the Messiah and Sites of the Early Church from Galilee to Jerusalem: Jesus and Jewish Christianity in Light of Archaeological Discoveries
.
Ignatius Press
. p. 321.
ISBN
978-0-89870-865-3
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- "Zion"
. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Ludlow, D. H. (Ed.) (1992). Vol 4.
Encyclopedia of Mormonism
. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- McConkie, B. R. (1966).
Mormon Doctrine
. (2nd ed). Utah: Bookcraft.
- Steven Zarlengo:
Daughter of Zion: Jerusalem's Past, Present, and Future
. Dallas: Joseph Publishing, 2007.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Batto, Bernard F.; Roberts, Kathryn L. (2004).
David and Zion: Biblical Studies in Honor of J. J. M. Roberts
. Winona Lake, Ill.: Eisenbrauns.
ISBN
1-57506-092-2
.
- Shatz, Adam, "We Are Conquerors" (review of
Tom Segev
,
A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion
, Head of Zeus, 2019, 804 pp.,
ISBN
978 1 78954 462 6
),
London Review of Books
, vol. 41, no. 20 (24 October 2019), pp. 37?38, 40?42. "Segev's biography... shows how central exclusionary
nationalism
,
war
and
racism
were to
Ben-Gurion
's vision of the
Jewish homeland
in
Palestine
, and how contemptuous he was not only of the
Arabs
but of Jewish life outside Zion. [Liberal Jews] may look at the state that Ben-Gurion built, and ask if the cost has been worth it." (p. 42 of Shatz's review.)
31°46′18″N
35°13′45″E
/
31.77167°N 35.22917°E
/
31.77167; 35.22917