What exactly is Zion? I know it's a place, but I can't figure out where to start on my own study about it. It is almost as if the name has always existed. There are a number of references. 2 Samuel 5:6-7 says, "The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, 'You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.' They thought, 'David cannot get in here.' Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, the City of David." And then there's 1 Kings 8:1: "Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant from Zion, the City of David." Is Zion another name for the city of David? Was it something else before it became the city of David? Can you clarify or point me in the right direction? -- Nanyana
You are almost there, and you started in the right place, the scriptures! The Bible is pointing you to the answer. Zion was indeed another name for the city of David, in part because Zion (Tsiyyon in Hebrew) was the hill or low mountain on which the old Jebusite City had been built. Once David's men had taken it over, Zion became synonymous with Jerusalem. And once that happened, Zion came to represent God's kingdom (e.g. Hebrews 12:22).
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