Names of Jerusalem

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Jerusalem

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This article explores the different names of Jerusalem and their linguistic natures, etc. For a discussion of the politics and history of Jerusalem itself, the Jerusalem article is probably a better place to start.

Over the millennia, there have been many names of Jerusalem in many different languages.

Contents

Names

Salem

Biblical Hebrew שלם š-l-m "whole", "complete" in the idiomatic sense of "at peace"
Akkadian Urušalim
Assyrian Uršalimmu

(Uru and Ur are really cognates of the Hebrew Ir ("city of") and should not be confused with the syllables Jeru- in the name Jerusalem.)

Biblical Greek Σαλημ Salēm, Σολυμα Solyma
Biblical Latin Salem
Arabic ساليم Sālīm
Tiberian Hebrew שָׁלֵם Šālēm
Standard Hebrew שָׁלֵם Šalem

In the Book of Genesis, Salem or Shalem is the name of the city during the time of Abraham. It is ruled by Melchizedek, whose name denotes a righteous king. Salem is also regarded as a shorter name for Jerusalem.

Moriah

Biblical Hebrew מוריה m-w-r-y-h "chosen of/is the LORD"
Biblical Greek Μωριας Mōrias
Biblical Latin Moria
Arabic مريّا Muriyyā or Murayyā (?)
Tiberian Hebrew מוֹרִיָּה Môriyyāh
Standard Hebrew מוֹרִיָּה Moriyya

In the Book of Genesis, Moriah is the name of the Temple Mount at a time when it is uninhabited. It is the place where, in the Jewish and Christian traditions, Abraham attempts the sacrifice of his son Isaac.

Jebus

Biblical Hebrew יבוס y-b-w-s "trodden down"
Biblical Greek Ιεβους Iebous
Biblical Latin Iebus
Arabic يبوس Yabūs
Tiberian Hebrew יְבוּס Yəḇûs
Standard Hebrew יְבוּס Yəvus

In the Old Testament, Jebus is the name of the Canaanite fortress on the Temple Mount during the time of King David. The name refers to the large threshing floor on the Temple Mount around which the fortress was built. David conquers Jebus and establishes Jerusalem on its place as the new Israelite capital. The threshing floor was subsequently purchased by David as the site of the Temple.

Jerusalem

Biblical Hebrew ירושלם y-r-w-š-l-m probably "Heritage of Salem" or "Heritage of Peace"
Aramaic יְרוּשְׁלֶם Yərûšəlem
Biblical Greek Ιερουσαλημ Hierousalēm, Ierousalēm, Ιεροσολυμα Hierosolyma, Ierosolyma
Syriac ܐܘܪܫܠܡ Ūrišlem
Biblical Latin Hierusalem
Arabic اورشليم Ūršalīm, Ūršalaym
Armenian Երուսաղեմ / Erousałem
Tiberian Hebrew יְרוּשָׁלַםִ / יְרוּשָׁלָםִ Yərûšāláim / Yərûšālāim
Standard Hebrew יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yərušaláyim
Old Norse Jorsala
Russian Иерусалим / Iyerusalim

Jerusalem is the name most commonly used in the Bible, and is the preferred name in Jewry and the Western World. Its Arabic counterpart, Ūršalīm, is the term used by the government of Israel in Arabic, and by Arabs in certain historic or Biblical contexts.

A Midrashic explanation of the name relates it to the yir'eh from the name Adonai-yir'eh ("The Lord sees", Vulgate Latin Dominus videt) given to Moriah by Abraham and the name Salem.

The Greek forms Hierousalēm and Hierosolyma, and the Latin form Hierusalem indicate an interpretation of the first syllables as the Greek word hieros meaning "holy". The Old Norse form Jorsala indicates an interpretation of the last syllables as the Old Norse toponym ending -sala denoting a hall (sometimes a temple hall).

Zion

Biblical Hebrew ציון ṣ-y-w-n "height"
Biblical Greek Σιων Siōn
Biblical Latin Sion
Syriac ܨܗܝܘܢ Ṣehyôn
Arabic صهيون Ṣuhyūn
Tiberian Hebrew צִיּוֹן Ṣiyyôn
Standard Hebrew צִיּוֹן Ẓiyyon

Zion or Sion is a traditional name for the Temple Mount and the city surrounding its slopes.

Ariel

Biblical Hebrew אריאל ʼ-r-y-ʼ-l "Lion of God."
Greek Αριηλ Ariēl
Arabic اريئيل Arīʼīl
Tiberian Hebrew אֲרִיאֵל ʼĂrîʼēl
Standard Hebrew אֲרִיאֵל Ariʼel

Ariel is a poetic name for Jerusalem.

In modern times however, the name is more often used for the Israeli settlement of Ari'el in the West Bank, miles away from Jerusalem.

Aelia Capitolina

Latin Aelia Capitolina "Capitoline Hill of (the House of) Aelius"
Arabic إيلياء, ʼĪlyāʼ
Tiberian Hebrew אֵילִיָּה קַפִּיטוֹלִינָה ʼÊliyyāh Qappîṭôlînāh
Standard Hebrew אֵילִיָּה קַפִּיטוֹלִינָה Eliyya Qappitolina

Aelia Capitolina was the Roman name given to Jerusalem after all Jews were expelled from the area. The name refers to Hadrian's family Aelius and the hill temple of Jupiter built on the remains of the Jewish Temple. Its Arabic counterpart, ʼĪlyāʼ was sometimes used in early times Middle Ages, as in some Hadith (Bukhari 1:6, 4:191; Muwatta 20:26), like Bayt ul-Maqdis (see below.)

Al-Quds

Arabic القدس al-Quds "The Holy Place", القدس الشريف al-Quds aš-Šarīf "The Noble Holy Place"
Turkish Kudüs
Tiberian Hebrew הַקֹּדֶשׁ haqQōḏeš "The Holy"
Standard Hebrew הַקֹּדֶשׁ haQódeš

Al-Quds is now the most common Arabic name for Jerusalem (used also by many cultures influenced by Islam), though it is not attested in the Arabic language until the Buyid-Fatimid period, over 300 years after the first Arab conquest of Jerusalem. The variant al-Quds aš-Šarīf has also been used, notably by the Ottomans. This name for the city is derived ultimately from the Hebrew title Ir Ha-Qodesh ("The City of Holiness") probably via an Aramaic form qudsha.

Bayt al-Maqdis

Arabic بيت المقدس Bayt al-Maqdis, Bayt al-Muqaddas "House of the Holiness"

Bayt al-Maqdis or Bayt al-Muqaddas is a (nowadays less common) Arabic name for Jerusalem, a variant of the previous. It is the base from which nisbas (names based on the origin of the person named) are formed - hence the famous medieval geographer called both al-Maqdisi and al-Muqaddasi (born 946.) It is used in some Hadith (Sahih Muslim 234, 251). This name is derived from the Hebrew Beit Ha-Miqdash בית המקדש ("The Temple" literally "House of the Holiness") which denotes the Temple in Jerusalem not the city itself.

al-Balat

Arabic البلاط al-Balāṭ, a rare poetic name for Jerusalem, from Latin palatium "palace".

Ir Ha-Qodesh

"City of the Holy Place/Holiness"

Ir Ha-Qedoshah

"The Holy City"

City of David

Hebrew Ir David

Adonai-jireh

"The Lord sees", in Vulgate Latin Dominus videt. The original Hebrew has the future tense "shall see" and the tetragrammaton instead of Adonai. Name given by Abraham after God provided a goat to be sacrificed in place of Isaac. It is conventionally pronounced as "Adonai-yir'eh" because of Jewish religious rules against pronouncing the name tetragrammaton. In the opinion of some Rabbinic commentators the combination of Yir'eh (יראה) with Shalem (שלם) is the origin of the name Jerusalem (ירושלם).

Celestis

In a drawing discovered beneath the ruins of King Solomon's temple, Jerusalem is referred to as Celestis.Rand Flem-Ath and Colin Wilson, The Atlantis Blueprint, ISBN 0751531006

Airport codes

JRS and LLJR were the IATA and ICAO airport codes for the Jerusalem International Airport.

References

External links

[The Name Jerusalem and its History]

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