Names of Jerusalem
Names of Jerusalem refers to the multiple names by which the city of Jerusalem has been known and the etymology of the word in different languages. According to the Jewish Midrash, "Jerusalem has 70 names".[1] Lists have been compiled of 72 different Hebrew names for Jerusalem in Jewish scripture.[2]
Today, Jerusalem is called Yerushalyim in Hebrew.(This name is plural). Jerusalem was originally called Yeru-Shalem.(When Adoni-Zedek was the King)
In the time of the Judges, the Yevusi (Jebusites) became a powerful force in Canaan. Yeru-Shalem became a Yevusi city and its name changed to Yevus city. In the time of King David, the Israelites lived in a part of Jerusalem called “City of David” or “Zion Citadel”. The Jewish temple was eventually built on Mount Moriah, on Yevusi land. The Yevusi and Israelites united and Jerusalem was called by its original name, only this time it was plural: Yeru-Shalyim.[3] (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם)
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Shalem
Yeru-shalem: Yeru means city in Akkadian. Shalem is the name of a Canaanite God. [4]
In the Book of Genesis, Salem or Shalem is the name of the place of which Melchizedek is king. Genesis 14:18 has מלכי־צדק מלך שלם ... כהן לאל עליון׃ The KJV renders this as "Melchizedek king of Salem ... the priest of the most high God (El Elyon)." The Hebrew root שלם š-l-m means "whole, complete" in the idiomatic sense of "at peace".[5]
That the name Salem refers to Jerusalem is evidenced by Psalms 76:2 which uses "Salem" as a parallel for "Zion", the citadel of Jerusalem. Similarly the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews equates Salem with Jerusalem and the same identification is made by Josephus and the Aramaic Targums.
In the Amarna letters, Urušalim is used for Jerusalem and is recognized as being a cognate of Hebrew Ir Shalem - city of Salem.[citation needed].
| Language | Name | Translit. | Variant | Translit. | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biblical Greek | Σαλήμ[6] | Salēm | Σόλυμα[7] | Solyma | "Peace" |
| Biblical Latin | Salem | ||||
| Arabic | ساليم | Sālīm | |||
| Tiberian Hebrew | שָׁלֵם | Šālēm | |||
| Standard Hebrew | שָׁלֵם | Šalem | "Whole", "Complete" |
Jerusalem
- Arabic القدس al-quds, al-quds (al-quds, al-quds )
- Biblical Hebrew ירושלם Yerushalaim probably "Foundation of Shalem" or "Foundation of the Complete"
- Aramaic יְרוּשְׁלֶם Yərûšəlem
- Biblical Greek Ιερουσαλήμ Hierousalēm, Ierousalēm, Ιεροσόλυμα Hierosolyma, Ierosolyma
- Syriac ܐܘܪܫܠܡ Ūrišlem
- Biblical Latin Hierosolyma Ierusalem
- Armenian Երուսաղեմ / Erousałem
- Dutch Jeruzalem
- Tiberian Hebrew יְרוּשָׁלַםִ / יְרוּשָׁלָםִ Yərûšāláim / Yərûšālāim
- Standard Hebrew יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushalayim
- Old Norse Jorsala
- Romanian Ierusalim
- Russian Иерусалим / Iyerusalim
- Lithuanian Jeruzalė / Yäruzal'eh
- Spanish Jerusalén
- Magyar Jeruzsálem
Jerusalem is the name most commonly used in the Bible, and the name used by Jews and most of 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. Its first recorded Hebrew mention was found in Khirbet Beit Lei.[citation needed]
In Genesis Rabba 56:10, the name is interpreted as a combination of yir'eh, "He will show," and shalem, the place from which King Melchizedek came (based on Genesis 14:18). A similar theory is offered by Plato in his discussion of the term "God's city." [8] Other midrashim say that Jerusalem means "City of Peace",Shalom.[9]
The Greek form Hierousalēm with the rough breathing (h sound) not derived directly from the Hebrew pronunciation, indicates a reinterpretation of the first syllables as the Greek hiero meaning holy.[10][11] Similarly the Old Norse form Jorsala lacking the m sound of the Hebrew indicates an reinterpretation of the last syllables as the Old Norse toponym ending -sala denoting a hall or temple.
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.
Zion
City of David
31°46′25″N 35°14′08″E / 31.77361°N 35.23556°E
The City of David is a part of Jerusalem and not the whole city.
- Hebrew Ir David (עיר דוד)
- Tiberian Hebrew עִיר דָּוִד ʿIyr Dāwiḏ
The name derived from king David 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 ram 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).
Neveh Tzedek
"Oasis of Justice".(נווה צדק)
- Tiberian Hebrew נְוֵה-צֶדֶק Nəwēh Ṣeḏeq
As in the Book of Jeremiah 31:22.
Ir Ha-Kodesh
and Ir Ha-Kedosha
Hebrew: "City of the Holy Place/Holiness"(עיר הקודש)
The City of the Great King
- Hebrew: kiryat melekh rav (קרית מלך רב) as in Psalm 48:2.
- Koine Greek: polis megalou basileos (πόλις μεγάλου βασιλέως) as in Matthew 5:35.
- Tiberian Hebrew קִרְיַת, מֶלֶךְ רָב Qiryaṯ, Meleḵ Rāḇ
Islamic
Al-Quds
- Arabic القدس al-Quds "The Holy", القدس الشريف al-Quds aš-Šhareef "The Holy Sanctuary"
- Turkish Kudüs; Cudsembarie[12]
- Azeri Qüds; Qüdsi-Şərif
- Tiberian Hebrew הַקֹּדֶשׁ HaQodhesh "The Holy"
- Standard Hebrew הַקֹּדֶשׁ HaKodesh
- Persianقدس Qods
- Urdu قدس' Quds or Quds-e-Šhareef
Al-Quds is the most common Arabic name for Jerusalem and is used by many cultures influenced by Islam). The word Quds is derived from the Semitic root Q-D-S, meaning "holy". The variant al-Quds aš-Šarīf has also been used, notably by the Ottomans, who also used the Persian influenced Kuds-i Şerîf.[citation needed]
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 less commonly used 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.) This name is used in the Hadith (Sahih Muslim 234, 251). The name is in reference to the Hebrew name for the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, "Beit Hamikdash." (בית המקדש)
- Azeri Beytül-Müqəddəs
- Persian بيت مقدس Beit-e Moghaddas
- Turkish Beyt-i Mukaddes
- Urdu بيت مقدس Bait-e Muqaddis
al-Balat
Aelya
- Arabic إيلياء ʼĪlyāʼ, a rare name for Jerusalem, used in early times Middle Ages, as in some Hadith (Bukhari 1:6, 4:191; Muwatta 20:26).
- Latin Aelia Capitolina "Capitoline Hill of (the House of) Aelius"
Greco-Roman
Cadytis
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, the gens Aelia and to 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.
Airport codes
JRS and LLJR were the IATA and ICAO airport codes for the Jerusalem International Airport.
References
- ^ Numbers Rabbah, 14, 12; Midrash Tadsha (Baraita Phinehas ben Jair 10; Midrash Zuta Song of Songs 3,1; Midrash ha-Gadol Genesis 46, 8;
- ^ Ilana Caznelvugen lists the 72 names in her two articles "Many names for Jerusalem" and "70 Names for Jerusalem", Sinai 116, Mosad Harav Kook, 1995. The Jerusalem municipality website lists 105 Hebrew names.
- ^ "The Secular Tanach"/ Moshe Yahalom.Yahalom studied in Tel Aviv University; pre-history and archaeology. He has a master’s degree in biblical studies. He wrote several books called ‘the secular bible’ based on historical and archaeological research.
- ^ "King David"/ Moshe Yahalom (Hebrew)
- ^ From the New International Version of the Bible: "and Abraham gave [Melchizedek] a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace." Hebrews 7:2
- ^ E.g. found in the Septuagint and the writings of Philo; cf. Melchizedek as "king of peace" (Σαλήμ) in Heb. 7.1–2, based on Gn. 14.18; cf. also Philo, leg. all. 3.79.
- ^ Cf. e.g. Flavius Josephus, Ant. J. 1.180.
- ^ With Letters of Light: Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Early Jewish Apocalypticism, Magic and Mysticism, eds. Daphna Arbel and Andrei Orlov
- ^ Bar Ilan University, Prof. Yaakov Klein
- ^ Alexander Hopkins McDannald (editor), The Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 16, Americana Corporation, 1947, entry Jerusalem
- ^ Gerhard Kittel (editor), Gerhard Friedrich (editor), Geoffrey W. Bromiley (editor),Theological Dictionary of the New Testament: Abridged in One Volume, Eerdmans, 1985, entry Sion [Zion], Ierousalem [Jerusalem], Hierosolyma [Jerusalem], Hierosolymites [inhabitants of Jerusalem]
- ^ See 'JERUSALEM', Engraved by Lodge in George Henry Millar, The New & Universal System Of Geography (London: Alexander Hogg, 1782)
Bibliography
- Patterson, David (2005), Hebrew Language and Jewish Thought, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-34697-5, 9780415346979
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