Zion

Zion - sunny; height, one of the eminences on which Jerusalem was built. It was surrounded on all sides, except the north, by deep valleys, that of the Tyropoeon (q.v.) separating it from Moriah (q.v.), which it surpasses in height by 105 feet. It was the south-eastern hill of Jerusalem.

When David took it from the Jebusites (Josh. 15:63; 2 Sam. 5:7) he built on it a citadel and a palace, and it became "the city of David" (1 Kings 8:1; 2 Kings 19:21, 31; 1 Chr. 11:5). In the later books of the Old Testament this name was sometimes used (Ps. 87:2; 149:2; Isa. 33:14; Joel 2:1) to denote Jerusalem in general, and sometimes God's chosen Israel (Ps. 51:18; 87:5).

In the New Testament (see SION ) it is used sometimes to denote the Church of God (Heb. 12:22), and sometimes the new Jerusalem (Rev. 14:1).

Previous topic: Zina

Next topic: Zior

Return to Bible Dictionary Main Index

Additional essential Bible study tools:

Bible software

Young's Analytical
Concordance to the Bible

The New Strong's
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

inWORD Bible software

Where to Find it in the Bible