Names of 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. The Jews have seventy (70) different names for Jerusalem.
Names
Biblical
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 Σαλήμ Salēm, Σόλυμα 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.
Jerusalem
- Biblical Hebrew ירושלם Yerushalaim probably "Heritage of Salem" or "Heritage of Peace"
- Aramaic יְרוּשְׁלֶם Yərûšəlem
- Biblical Greek Ιερουσαλήμ Hierousalēm, Ierousalēm, Ιεροσόλυμα Hierosolyma, Ierosolyma
- Syriac ܐܘܪܫܠܡ Ūrišlem
- Biblical Latin Hierusalem
- Arabic اورشليم Ūršalīm, Ūršalaym (Ūrušalīm, Ūrušalaym )
- Armenian Երուսաղեմ / Erousałem
- Tiberian Hebrew יְרוּשָׁלַםִ / יְרוּשָׁלָםִ Yərûšāláim / Yərûšālāim
- Standard Hebrew יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushalaim
- Old Norse Jorsala
- Russian Иерусалим / Iyerusalim
- Azeri Ürşəlim
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. This name is first referred to in the Amarna letters, and its first recorded Hebrew mention was found in Khirbet Beit Lei.
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).
Moriah
- Biblical Hebrew מוריה m-w-r-y-h "chosen of/is the LORD"
- Biblical Greek Μώριας 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
- Hebrew יְבוּס Yevus "trodden down"
- Biblical Greek Ιεβούς Iebous
- Biblical Latin Iebus
- Arabic يبوس Yabūs
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.
Zion
- Biblical Hebrew ציון ṣ-y-w-n "height"
- Biblical Greek Σιών 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 Αριήλ 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 city of Ari'el in the Judeah and Samaria, some miles away from Jerusalem.
The twenty-ninth chapter of the Book of Isaiah reads:
| Verse | Isaiah 29:1-2, 7 |
|---|---|
| 29:1 | Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add ye year to year, let the feasts come round! |
| 29:2 | Then will I distress Ariel, and there shall be mourning and moaning; and she shall be unto Me as a hearth of God. |
| 29:7 | And the multitude of all the nations that war against Ariel, even all that war against her, and the bulwarks about her, and they that distress her, shall be as a dream, a vision of the night.[1] |
City of David
- Hebrew Ir David (עיר דוד)
The name derived from king David the the founder of the city.
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).
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Neveh Tzedek
"Oasis of Justice".(נווה צדק) As in the Book of Jeremiah 31:22.
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Ir Ha-Kodesh
Hebrew: "City of the Holy Place/Holiness"(עיר של המקום הקדוש)
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Ir Ha-Kedoshah
Hebrew: "The Holy City" (העיר הקדושה)
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The City of the Great King
- Hebrew: kiryat melekh rav (קרית מלך רב) as in Psalm 48:2.
- Koine Greek: polis megalo basileus (πολις μεγαλου βασιλεως) as in Matthew 5:35.
Islamic
Al-Quds
- Arabic القدس al-Quds "The Holy", القدس الشريف al-Quds aš-Šarīf "The Noble Holy [Place] or "The
- Turkish Kudüs
- Azeri Qüds
- Tiberian Hebrew הַקֹּדֶשׁ HaKodesh "The Holy"
- Standard Hebrew הַקֹּדֶשׁ HaKodesh
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.
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 mentioned in a Hadith (Sahih Muslim 234, 251).
Haram al-Shareef
Masjid al-Aqsa
- Arabic المسجد الاقصى al-Masjid al-Aqsa, "The Farthest Mosque"
- Persian اﻣﺴﺠﺪ ﺍﻗﺼﻰ Masjid-e Aqsa
- Urdu اﻣﺴﺠﺪ ﺍﻗﺼﻰ Masjid-e Aqsa
- Turkish Aksa Mescidi
al-Balat
Roman
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.)
Airport codes
JRS and LLJR were the IATA and ICAO airport codes for the Jerusalem International Airport.