Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'',
LXX , also variously
transliterated
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...
''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
[ as well as for the ]Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isr ...
as a whole (see Names of Jerusalem).
The name is found in 2 Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Jos ...
(5:7), one of the books of the Hebrew Bible dated to before or close to the mid-6th century BCE. It originally referred to a specific hill in Jerusalem (Mount Zion
Mount Zion ( he, הַר צִיּוֹן, ''Har Ṣīyyōn''; ar, جبل صهيون, ''Jabal Sahyoun'') is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the Ci ...
), located to the south of Mount Moriah Moriah is a mountain identified in the Book of Genesis; believed in Judaism, Christianity and Islam to be associated with the sacrifice of Abraham's son.
It may also be the Temple Mount.
Moriah may also refer to:
Places
In Australia:
*Moriah Colle ...
(the Temple Mount). According to the narrative of 2 Samuel 5, Mount Zion held the Jebusite
The Jebusites (; ISO 259-3 ''Ybusi'') were, according to the books of Joshua and Samuel from the Tanakh, a Canaanite tribe that inhabited Jerusalem, then called Jebus (Hebrew: ''Yəḇūs'', "trampled place") prior to the conquest initiated b ...
fortress of the same name that was conquered by David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
and was renamed the City of David "City of David" is a biblical and religious epithet for the ancient city of Jerusalem.
It may also refer to:
* City of David (archaeological site) - an archaeological excavation associated with ancient Jerusalem
* Jerusalem Walls National Park
...
.
That specific hill ("mount") is one of the many squat hills that form Jerusalem, which also includes Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount), the Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...
, etc. Over many centuries, until as recently as the Ottoman era, the city walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt many times in new locations, so that the particular hill known as Mount Zion is no longer inside the city wall, but its location is now just outside the portion of the Old City wall forming the southern boundary of the Jewish Quarter of the current Old City. Most of the original City of David itself is thus also outside the current city wall.
The term ''Tzion'' came to designate the area of Davidic Jerusalem where the fortress stood, and was used as well as synecdoche
Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy: it is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something is used to refer to the whole ('' pars pro toto''), or vice versa ('' totum pro parte''). The term comes from Greek .
Examples in common E ...
for the entire city of Jerusalem; and later, when Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by t ...
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
The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving es ...
.
Etymology
The etymology of the word ''Zion'' (''ṣiyôn'') is uncertain.
Mentioned in the Old Testament in the Books of Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books ( Jo ...
(2 Samuel 5:7) as the name of a Jebusite
The Jebusites (; ISO 259-3 ''Ybusi'') were, according to the books of Joshua and Samuel from the Tanakh, a Canaanite tribe that inhabited Jerusalem, then called Jebus (Hebrew: ''Yəḇūs'', "trampled place") prior to the conquest initiated b ...
fortress conquered by David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, its origin seems to predate the Israelites
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
.[ If Semitic, it may be derived from the Hebrew root ''ṣiyyôn'' ("castle") or the Hebrew צִיָּה ''ṣiyya'' ("dry land" or "desert", Jeremiah 51:43). A non-Semitic relationship to the ]Hurrian
The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Norther ...
word ''šeya'' ("river" or "brook") has also been suggested[ as also one of Hittite] origin.
The form (''Tzion'', Tiberian vocalization
The Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian pointing, or Tiberian niqqud (Hebrew: ''haNīqqūḏ haṬəḇērīyānī'') is a system of diacritics (''niqqud'') devised by the Masoretes of Tiberias to add to the consonantal text of the Hebrew Bible to p ...
: ''Ṣiyyôn'') appears 108 times in the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' Tsade
Tsade (also spelled , , , , tzadi, sadhe, tzaddik) is the eighteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician ṣādē , Hebrew ṣādi , Aramaic ṣāḏē , Syriac ṣāḏē ܨ, Ge'ez ṣädäy ጸ, and Arabic . Its oldest phone ...
is usually rendered as ''z'' in English Bible translations, hence the spelling ''Zion'' (rather than ''Tzion'').
This convention apparently originates in German orthography
German orthography is the orthography used in writing the German language, which is largely phonemic. However, it shows many instances of spellings that are historic or analogous to other spellings rather than phonemic. The pronunciation of al ...
, where z is always pronounced ͡s
Hebrew Bible
''Zion'' is mentioned 152 times in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), most often in the Prophetic books
The prophetic books are a division of the Christian Bible, grouping 18 books ( Catholic and Orthodox canon) or 17 books (Protestant canon, excluding Baruch) in the Old Testament. In terms of the Tanakh, it includes the Latter Prophets from the ...
, the Book of Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
, and the Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ( he, אֵיכָה, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megill ...
, besides six mentions in the Historical books
The historical books are a division of Christian Bibles, grouping 12 (or in some denominations more) books of the Old Testament. It includes the Former Prophets from the Nevi'im and two of the ungrouped books of Ketuvim of the Hebrew Bible togethe ...
(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.
In Psalm 137
Psalm 137 is the 137th psalm of the Book of Psalms in the Tanakh. In English it is generally known as "By the rivers of Babylon", which is how its first words are translated in the King James Version of the Bible. Its Latin title is "Super flum ...
, Zion (Jerusalem) is remembered from the perspective of the Babylonian Captivity
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following their defeat ...
.
" By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 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: " O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us."
Psalm 147
Psalm 147 is the 147th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version, "Praise ye the : for it is good to sing praises". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible, ...
uses "Jerusalem" and "Zion" interchangeably to address the faithful: " The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcast of Israel. .. 2Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion."
Judaism
The location of the Temple, and in particular its Holy of Holies
The Holy of Holies (Hebrew: ''Qōḏeš haqQŏḏāšīm'' or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also הַדְּבִיר ''haDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where God's pres ...
(innermost sanctum), is the most holy place in the world for the Jewish people, seen as the connection between God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
and humanity. Observant Jews recite the Amidah
The ''Amidah Amuhduh'' ( he, תפילת העמידה, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' at each ...
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
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
.
In Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
, the more esoteric reference is made to Tzion being the spiritual point from which reality emerges, located in the Holy of Holies
The Holy of Holies (Hebrew: ''Qōḏeš haqQŏḏāšīm'' or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also הַדְּבִיר ''haDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where God's pres ...
of the First, Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...
and Third Temple
The "Third Temple" ( he, , , ) refers to a hypothetical rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. It would succeed Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple, the former having been destroyed during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in and the latter havin ...
.
Zionism
The term "Zionism", coined by Austrian Nathan Birnbaum, was derived from the German rendering of Tzion in his journal '' Selbstemanzipation'' ("self emancipation") in 1890. Zionism as a modern political movement started in 1897 and supported a " national home", and later a state, for the Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish people in the Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isr ...
, though the idea has been around since the end of Jewish independent rule. The Zionist movement declared the establishment of the State of Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
in 1948, following the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine
The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations, which recommended a partition of Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted the Plan as R ...
. Since then, and with varying ideologies
An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied prim ...
, Zionists have focused on developing and protecting this state.
The last line of the Israeli national anthem ''Hatikvah
Hatikvah ( he, הַתִּקְוָה, haTīqvā, ; ) is the national anthem of the State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jewish people to return t ...
'' (Hebrew for "The Hope") is "....Eretz Zion, ViYerushalayim", which means literally "The land of Zion and Jerusalem".
Islamic tradition
''Ṣahyūn'' ( ar, صهيون, ''Ṣahyūn'' or ''Ṣihyūn'') is the word for Zion in Arabic and Syriac Syriac may refer to:
*Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic
*Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region
* Syriac alphabet
** Syriac (Unicode block)
** Syriac Supplement
* Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
. Drawing on biblical tradition, it is one of the names accorded to Jerusalem in Arabic and Islamic tradition. A valley called ''Wādī Sahyũn'' seemingly preserves the name and is located approximately one and three-quarter miles from the Old City Old City often refers to old town, the historic or original core of a city or town.
Old City may refer to several places:
Historical cities or regions of cities
''(by country)''
*Old City (Baku), Azerbaijan
* Old City (Dhaka), Bangladesh, also ca ...
's Jaffa Gate
Jaffa Gate ( he, שער יפו, Sha'ar Yafo; ar, باب الخليل, Bāb al-Khalīl, "Hebron Gate") is one of the seven main open Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem.
The name Jaffa Gate is currently used for both the historical Ottoman gate ...
.[
For example, the reference to the "precious cornerstone" of the new Jerusalem in the ]Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah ( he, ספר ישעיהו, ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century B ...
28:16 is identified in Islamic scholarship as the Black Stone
The Black Stone ( ar, ٱلْحَجَرُ ٱلْأَسْوَد, ', 'Black Stone') is a rock set into the eastern corner of the Kaaba, the ancient building in the center of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is revered by Muslims as an ...
of the Kaaba
The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the c ...
. This interpretation is said by ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (1292–1350) to have come from the People of the Book
People of the Book or Ahl al-kitāb ( ar, أهل الكتاب) is an Islamic term referring to those religions which Muslims regard as having been guided by previous revelations, generally in the form of a scripture. In the Quran they are ide ...
, though earlier Christian scholarship identifies the cornerstone with Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
.[
]
Latter Day Saint
Within the Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...
, 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
In Rastafari
Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control o ...
, "Zion" stands for a utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island soc ...
n place of unity, peace and freedom, as opposed to "Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
", the oppressing and exploiting system of the materialistic modern world and a place of evil.
It proclaims Zion, as reference to Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, the original birthplace of humankind, and from the beginning of the movement calls to repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
to Zion, the Promised Land
The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...
and Heaven on Earth. Some Rastafari believe themselves to represent the real Children of Israel
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
in modern times, and their goal is to repatriate to Ethiopia, or to Zion. The Ge'ez-language ''Kebra Nagast
The Kebra Nagast, var. Kebra Negast ( gez, ክብረ ነገሥት, ), or The Glory of the Kings, is a 14th-century national epic from Ethiopia, written in Ge'ez by Nebure Id Ishaq of Axum, by the office of Abuna Abba Giyorgis and at the command ...
'' 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
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
contains many references to Zion; among the best-known examples are the Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements ...
songs "Zion Train", " Iron Lion Zion", the Bunny Wailer
Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...
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
Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this t ...
song "Leaving Babylon", the Damian Marley
Damian Robert Nesta "Jr. Gong" Marley (born 21 July 1978) is a Jamaican DJ, singer, lyricist and rapper. He is the recipient of four Grammy Awards.
Early life, education and family
Damian Marley is the youngest son of reggae musician Bob Marle ...
song featuring Nas
Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones.
Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to:
Aviation
* Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea
* National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia
** Nas Air ...
"Road to Zion", The Abyssinians
The Abyssinians are a Jamaican roots reggae group, famous for their close harmonies and promotion of the Rastafari movement in their lyrics.
History
The vocal trio was originally formed in 1968 by Bernard Collins and Donald Manning. Their fir ...
' "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
Winston Francis (born 1943) aka Mr Fix It is a Jamaican singer whose career began in the 1960s.
Biography
Born in Kingston in 1943, Francis served an apprentice as a printer before relocating to Miami at the age of 16.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The ...
. Reggae groups such as Steel Pulse
Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ro ...
and Cocoa Tea
Calvin George Scott (born 3 September 1959), better known as Cocoa Tea, is a Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter.
Biography
Born in Rocky Point, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, Cocoa Tea was popular in Jamaica from 1985, but has become success ...
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
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following their defeat ...
, was adopted as a metaphor by Christian black slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
.
Thus, Zion symbolizes a longing by wandering peoples for a safe homeland. This could be an actual place such as Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
for Rastafari
Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control o ...
or Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
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.
The Bahá’í Faith
References to Zion occur in the writings of the Bahá’í Faith. Bahá’u’lláh, the prophet-founder of the Bahá’í Faith wrote, concerning the Bahá’í 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." -Bahá’u’lláh, '' Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh''
"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."
-Bahá’u’lláh, Tablet of Carmel'', Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
The ''Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas'' are selected tablets written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, and published together as of 1978. The current edition bears the title ''Fountain of Wisdom: ...
''
Mount Zion today
Today, Mount Zion
Mount Zion ( he, הַר צִיּוֹן, ''Har Ṣīyyōn''; ar, جبل صهيون, ''Jabal Sahyoun'') is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the Ci ...
refers to a hill south of the Old City's Armenian Quarter
The Armenian Quarter ( ar, حارة الأرمن, ''Harat al-Arman''; he, הרובע הארמני, ''Ha-Rova ha-Armeni''; hy, Հայոց թաղ, ) is one of the four sectors of the walled Old City of Jerusalem. Located in the southwestern cor ...
, not to the Temple Mount. This apparent misidentification dates at least from the 1st century AD, when Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
calls Jerusalem's Western Hill "Mount Zion". The Abbey of the Dormition
Abbey of the Dormition is a Catholic abbey belonging to the Benedictine Order in Jerusalem, on Mount Zion just outside the walls of the Old City near the Zion Gate. The Abbey is said to mark the spot where Mary, mother of Jesus, died.
Between ...
and King David's Tomb
, alternate_name= Makam Nabi Daoud; Cenacle
, image = Jerusalem Tomb of David BW 1.JPG
, alt=
, caption=
, map_type = Old Jerusalem
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Shown () within Jerusalem
, map_size=
, location = Jerusalem
, reg ...
are located upon the hill currently called Mount Zion.
See also
* Beulah (land)
Beulah is a land referred to in the Biblical Book of Isaiah. It is the land of the Jewish people, the Israelites, to which they must return: an earthly paradise.
The land of Beulah is referred to in various hymns and other works.
Bible
The only k ...
* Book of Micah
The Book of Micah is the sixth of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Ostensibly, it records the sayings of Micah, whose name is ''Mikayahu'' ( he, מִיכָיָ֫הוּ), meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th-century BCE prophet fro ...
* Jerusalem of Gold
"Jerusalem of Gold" ( he, ירושלים של זהב, ''Yerushalayim Shel Zahav'') is an Israeli song written by Naomi Shemer. Often contrasted with the official anthem Hatikva, the original song described the Jewish people's 2,000-year longing ...
* Mount Zion (disambiguation)
* New Jerusalem
In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, the Third Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the ...
* New world order (Baháʼí)
The phrase "new world order" in the Baháʼí Faith refers to the replacement of the collective political norms and values of the 19th century with a new system of worldwide governance that incorporates the Baháʼí ideals of unity and justice ...
References
Bibliography
*
* 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
* Batto, Bernard F.; Roberts, Kathryn L. (2004).
David and Zion: Biblical Studies in Honor of J. J. M. Roberts
'. Winona Lake, Ill.: Eisenbrauns. .
* Shatz, Adam, "We Are Conquerors" (review of Tom Segev
Tom Segev ( he, תום שגב; born March 1, 1945) is an Israeli historian, author and journalist. He is associated with Israel's New Historians, a group challenging many of the country's traditional narratives.
Biography
Segev was born in Jeru ...
, ''A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion'', Head of Zeus, 2019, 804 pp., ), ''London Review of Books
The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published twice monthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews.
History
The ''London Review o ...
'', vol. 41, no. 20 (24 October 2019), pp. 37–38, 40–42. "Segev's biography... shows how central exclusionary nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
, war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
and racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagoni ...
were to Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the name ...
's vision of the Jewish homeland
A homeland for the Jewish people is an idea rooted in Jewish history, religion, and culture. The Jewish aspiration to return to Zion, generally associated with divine redemption, has suffused Jewish religious thought since the destruction ...
in Palestine, and how contemptuous he was not only of the Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
but of Jewish life outside Zion. iberal Jewsmay look at the state that Ben-Gurion built, and ask if the cost has been worth it." (p. 42 of Shatz's review.)
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Geography of Jerusalem
History of Jerusalem
Rastafari
Zionism
Mythical utopias