Category:Zion

Zi"on, n. Etym: [heb. tsiy, originally, a hill.]

1. (jewish antiq.)

Defn: a hill in Jerusalem, which, after the capture of that city by the Israelites, became the royal residence of David and his successors.

2. Hence, the theocracy, or church of God.

3. The heavenly Jerusalem; Heaven.

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---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Zion - Sunny; height, one of the eminences on which Jerusalem was built. It was surrounded on all sides, except the north, by deep valleys, that of the Tyropoeon (q.v.) separating it from Moriah (q.v.), which it surpasses in height by 105 feet. It was the south-eastern hill of Jerusalem. When David took it from the Jebusites (Joshua 15:63; 2 Samuel 5:7) he built on it a citadel and a palace, and it became "the city of David" (1 Kings 8:1; 2 Kings 19:21, 2 Kings 19:31; 1 Chronicles 11:5). In the later books of the Old Testament this name was sometimes used (Psalms 87:2; Psalms 149:2; Isaiah 33:14; Joel 2:1) to denote Jerusalem in general, and sometimes God's chosen Israel (Psalms 51:18; Psalms 87:5). In the New Testament (see SION) it is used sometimes to denote the Church of God (Hebrews 12:22), and sometimes the heavenly city (Revelation 14:1).

Mount Zion - Sunny; height, one of the eminences on which Jerusalem was built. It was surrounded on all sides, except the north, by deep valleys, that of the Tyropoeon (q.v.) separating it from Moriah (q.v.), which it surpasses in height by 105 feet. It was the south-eastern hill of Jerusalem. When David took it from the Jebusites (Joshua 15:63; 2 Samuel 5:7) he built on it a citadel and a palace, and it became "the City of David" (1 Kings 8:1; 2 Kings 19:21, 2 Kings 19:31; 1 Chronicles 11:5). In the later books of the Old Testament this name was sometimes used (Psalms 87:2; Psalms 149:2; Isaiah 33:14; Joel 2:1) to denote Jerusalem in general, and sometimes God's chosen Israel (Psalms 51:18; Psalms 87:5). In the New Testament (see SION) it is used sometimes to denote the Church of God (Hebrews 12:22), and sometimes the heavenly city (Revelation 14:1).

City of David - When David reduced the fortress of the Jebusites which stood on Mount Zion, he built on the site of it a palace and a city, which he called by his own name (1 Chronicles 11:5), the city of David.

City of David (1.) David took from the Jebusites the fortress of Mount Zion. He "dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David" (1 Chronicles 11:7). This was the name afterwards given to the castle and royal palace on Mount Zion, as distinguished form Jerusalem, opposite the temple mount, with which it was connected by a bridge over the Tyropoeon valley.