__NOTOC__ Salem (, ''Šālēm''; , ''Salḗm'') is an ancient

Middle Eastern The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

town mentioned in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. Salem is Hebrew for peace (similar roots to the more familiar Hebrew word "shalom", Hebrew being the original language of the Old Testament). Traditionally, Salem is identified with Jerusalem; however, recent scholarship challenges this association. Salem is referenced in the following biblical passages: * Genesis 14:18: "And

Melchizedek In the Hebrew Bible, Melchizedek was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as 'most high God'). He is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18–20, where he brings out bread and wine and then blesses Abraham, and El Elyon or "the Lord, Go ...

king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God." * Psalm 76:1–2: "In Judah, God is known, his name is great in Israel. His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war." * Hebrews 7:2: “This King Melchizedek of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him. To him Abraham apportioned ‘one-tenth of everything.’ His name, in the first place, means ‘king of righteousness’; next he is also king of Salem, that is, ‘king of peace.’” The

deuterocanonical The deuterocanonical books, meaning 'of, pertaining to, or constituting a second Biblical canon, canon', collectively known as the Deuterocanon (DC), are certain books and passages considered to be Biblical canon, canonical books of the Old ...

Book of Judith The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...

mentions the "valley of Salem". Possibly a different place is mentioned in Genesis 33:18: "And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city." The town of Salim corresponds to that location. It is also mentioned in the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...

3:23: "And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Saleím [], because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized." Salem (disambiguation), Various towns have been named after Biblical Salem.

Identification

Salem is traditionally identified with

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. This view is based on linguistic similarities between “Shalem” and the latter part of the name “Jerusalem” (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, ''Yerushalayim''). The association also derives from the . Recent scholarship, particularly by Robert Cargill in ''Melchizedek, King of Sodom: How Scribes Invented the Biblical Priest-King'', has challenged the identification of Salem with Jerusalem. Cargill argues that early texts such as Egyptian

execration texts Execration texts, also referred to as proscription lists, are ancient Egyptian hieratic texts, listing enemies of the pharaoh, most often enemies of the Egyptian state or troublesome foreign neighbors. The texts were most often written upon stat ...

(c. 1800 BCE) and Amarna letters (c. 1400 BCE) consistently refer to Jerusalem by longer names like “Ru-ša-li-mum” and “U-ru-sa-lim,” suggesting that Jerusalem was never called “Salem” in antiquity. Additionally, in his analysis of

Psalm 76 Psalm 76 is the 76th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "In Judah is God known; His name is great in Israel". The Book of Psalms forms part of the ''Ketuvim'' section of the Hebrew Bible and part of the C ...

:2, Cargill interprets Salem and Zion as distinct locations, with Salem referring to a northern Samaritan city near Shechem. Similarly, Cargill argues that Genesis 33:18 clearly places Shalem near Shechem, not Jerusalem.

References

Geography of Jerusalem Ancient history of Jerusalem Torah cities {{bible-stub