ERUSALEM .....the land of God (contd)
![Photo: ERUSALEM .....the land of God (contd)
A city called Rušalim in the Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 19th century BCE) is widely, but not universally, identified as Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Urušalimin in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba (1330s BCE).
The name “Jerusalem” is variously etymologised to mean "foundation (Sumerian yeru, ‘settlement’/Semitic yry, ‘to found, to lay a cornerstone’) of the god Shalem", the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city.
The form Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) first appears in the Bible, in the book of Joshua. This form has the appearance of a compound of Yireh (an abiding place of the fear and the service of God) and the name Shalim, the god of dusk in the Canaanite religion, whose name is based on the same root S-L-M from which the Hebrew word for "peace" is derived (Salam or Shalom in modern Arabic and Hebrew). The name thus offered itself to etymologizations such as "The City of Peace", "Abode of Peace","dwelling of peace" ("founded in safety"), alternately "Vision of Peace" in some Christian authors. Typically the ending -im indicates the plural in Hebrew grammar and -ayim the dual, thus leading to the suggestion that the name refers to the fact that the city sits on two hills. However, the pronunciation of the last syllable as -ayim appears to be a late development, which had not yet appeared at the time of the Septuagint.
The most ancient settlement of Jerusalem, founded as early as the Bronze Age on the hill above the Gihon Spring, was according to the Bible named Jebus. Called the "Fortress of Zion" (metsudat Zion), it was renamed by David as the City of David, and was known by this name in antiquity. Another name, "Zion", initially referred to a distinct part of the city, but later came to signify the city as a whole and to represent the biblical Land of Israel. In Greek and Latin the city's name was transliterated Hierosolyma (Greek: Ἱεροσόλυμα; in Greek hieròs, ἱερός, means holy), although the city was renamed Aelia Capitolina for part of the Roman period of its history.
In Arabic, Jerusalem is most commonly known as القُدس, transliterated as al-Quds and meaning "The Holy" or "The Holy Sanctuary". Official Israeli government policy mandates that أُورُشَلِيمَ, transliterated as Ūršalīm, which is the cognate of the Hebrew and English names, be used as the Arabic language name for the city in conjunction with القُدس. أُورُشَلِيمَ-القُدس.[49] - to be contd.](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vc-su_e2STVgvUEIAksdSWqbytbDgdLCtOy4Ui7-ZkKKhKdjwPfWSBlC7J06jmt6aKDMoTZHpeZa5-3tv7uCjJBZLMCZ_ooSXkGZ3XUcaTbf2im4CT6E2KX1S63HZyThH_nGJ6pZ6AWgzJm9hpK_QWdphoinPdgdIwuYmELFC51Cs=s0-d)
A city called Rušalim in the Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 19th century BCE) is widely, but not universally, identified as Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Urušalimin in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba (1330s BCE).
The name “Jerusalem” is variously etymologised to mean "foundation (Sumerian yeru, ‘settlement’/Semitic yry, ‘to found, to lay a cornerstone’) of the god Shalem", the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city.
The form Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) first appears in the Bible, in the book of Joshua. This form has the appearance of a compound of Yireh (an abiding place of the fear and the service of God) and the name Shalim, the god of dusk in the Canaanite religion, whose name is based on the same root S-L-M from which the Hebrew word for "peace" is derived (Salam or Shalom in modern Arabic and Hebrew). The name thus offered itself to etymologizations such as "The City of Peace", "Abode of Peace","dwelling of peace" ("founded in safety"), alternately "Vision of Peace" in some Christian authors. Typically the ending -im indicates the plural in Hebrew grammar and -ayim the dual, thus leading to the suggestion that the name refers to the fact that the city sits on two hills. However, the pronunciation of the last syllable as -ayim appears to be a late development, which had not yet appeared at the time of the Septuagint.
The most ancient settlement of Jerusalem, founded as early as the Bronze Age on the hill above the Gihon Spring, was according to the Bible named Jebus. Called the "Fortress of Zion" (metsudat Zion), it was renamed by David as the City of David, and was known by this name in antiquity. Another name, "Zion", initially referred to a distinct part of the city, but later came to signify the city as a whole and to represent the biblical Land of Israel. In Greek and Latin the city's name was transliterated Hierosolyma (Greek: Ἱεροσόλυμα; in Greek hieròs, ἱερός, means holy), although the city was renamed Aelia Capitolina for part of the Roman period of its history.
In Arabic, Jerusalem is most commonly known as القُدس, transliterated as al-Quds and meaning "The Holy" or "The Holy Sanctuary". Official Israeli government policy mandates that أُورُشَلِيمَ, transliterated as Ūršalīm, which is the cognate of the Hebrew and English names, be used as the Arabic language name for the city in conjunction with القُدس. أُورُشَلِيمَ-القُدس.[49] - to be contd.