Jerusalem

Jeru'salem. (the habitation of peace). Jerusalem stands in latitude 31 degrees 46' 35" north and longitude 35 degrees 18' 30" east of Greenwich. It is 32 miles distant from the sea and 18 from the Jordan, 20 from Hebron and 36 from Samaria.

"In several respects," says Dean Stanley, "its situation is singular among the cities of Palestine. Its elevation is remarkable; occasioned not from its being on the summit of one of the numerous hills of Judea, like most of the towns and villages, but because it is on the edge of one of the highest table-lands of the country. Hebron indeed is higher still by some hundred feet, and from the south, accordingly (even from Bethlehem).

The approach to Jerusalem is by a slight descent. But from any other side the ascent is perpetual; and to the traveller approaching the city from the east or west, it must always have presented the appearance beyond any other capital of the then known world -- we may say beyond any important city that has ever existed on the earth -- of a mountain city; breathing, as compared with the sultry plains of Jordan, a mountain air; enthroned, as compared with Jericho or Damascus, Gaza or Tyre, on a mountain fastness." -- S. & P. 170,

Jerusalem, if not actually in the centre of Palestine, was yet virtually so. "It was on the ridge, the broadest and most strongly-marked ridge, of the backbone of the complicated hills which extend through the whole country from the plain of Esdraelon to the desert."

Roads. -- There appear to have been but two main approaches to the city: --

i. From the Jordan valley by Jericho and the Mount of Olives. This was the route commonly taken from the north and east of the country.

ii. From the great maritime plain of Philistia and Sharon. This road led by the two Beth-horons up to the high ground at Gibeon, whence it turned south, and came to Jerusalem by Ramah and Gibeah, and over the ridge north of the city.

Topography. -- To convey an idea of the position of Jerusalem, we may say, roughly, that the city occupies the southern termination of the table-land, which is cut off from the country round it on its west, south and east sides by ravines more than usually deep and precipitous. These ravines leave the level of the table-land, the one on the west and the other on the northeast of the city, and fall rapidly until they form a junction below its southeast corner.

The eastern one -- the Valley of the Kedron, commonly called the Valley of Jehoshaphat -- runs nearly straight from north by south.

But the western one -- the Valley of Hinnom -- runs south for a time, and then takes a sudden bend to the east until it meets the Valley of Jehoshaphat, after which the two rush off as one to the Dead Sea.

How sudden is their descent may be gathered from the fact that the level at the point of junction -- about a mile and a quarter from the starting-point of each -- is more than 600 feet below that of the upper plateau from which they began their descent.

So steep is the fall of the ravines, so trench-like their character, and so close do they keep to the promontory at whose feet they run, as to leave on the beholder almost the impression of the ditch at the foot of a fortress rather than of valleys formed by nature.

The promontory thus encircled is itself divided by a longitudinal ravine running up it from south to north, called the Valley of the Tyropoeon, rising gradually from the south, like the external ones, till at last it arrives at the level of the upper plateau, dividing the central mass into two unequal portions.

Of these two, that on the west is the higher and more massive, on which the city of Jerusalem now stands, and in fact always stood. The hill on the east is considerably lower and smaller, so that to a spectator from the south the city appears to slope sharply toward the east.

Here was the Temple, and here stands now the great Mohammedan sanctuary with its mosques and domes. The name of Mount Zion has been applied to the western hill from the time of Constantine to the present day. The eastern hill, called Mount Moriah in 2Ch_3:1 was, as already remarked, the site of the Temple. It was situated in the southwest angle of the area, now known as the Haram area, and was, as we learn from Josephus, an exact square of a stadium, or 600 Greek feet, on each side.

(Conder, "Bible Handbook," 1879) states that, by the latest surveys, the Haram area is a quadrangle with unequal sides. The west wall measures 1601 feet, the south 922, the east 1530, the north 1042. It is thus nearly a mile in circumference, and contains 35 acres. -- Editor).

Attached to the northwest angle of the Temple was the Antonia, a tower or fortress. North of the side of the Temple is the building now known to Christians as the Mosque of Omar, but by Moslems called the Dome of the Rock. The southern continuation of the eastern hill was named Ophel, which gradually came to a point at the junction of the Valleys of Tyropoeon and Jehoshaphat; and the northern Bezetha, "the new city," first noticed by Josephus, which was separated from Moriah by an artificial ditch, and overlooked the valley of Kedron on the east; this hill was enclosed within the walls of Herod Agrippa. Lastly, Acra lay westward of Moriah and northward of Zion, and formed the "lower city" in the time of Josephus.

Walls. -- These are described by Josephus. The first or old wall was built by David and Solomon, and enclosed Zion and part of Mount Moriah. (The second wall enclosed a portion of the city called Acra or Millo, on the north of the city, from the Tower of Mariamne to the Tower of Antonia. It was built as the city enlarged in size; begun by Uzziah 140 years after the first wall was finished, continued by Jotham 50 years later, and by Manasseh 100 years later still. It was restored by Nehemiah. Even the latest explorations have failed to decide exactly what was its course. (See Conder's Handbook of the Bible, art. Jerusalem).

The third wall was built by King Herod Agrippa, and was intended to enclose the suburbs which had grown out on the northern sides of the city, which before this had been left exposed. After describing these walls, Josephus adds that the whole circumference of the city was 33 stadia, or nearly four English miles, which is as near as may be the extent indicated by the localities. He then adds that the number of towers in the old wall was 60, the middle wall 40, and the new wall 99.

Water Supply. -- (Jerusalem had no natural water supply, unless we so consider the "Fountain of the Virgin," which wells up with an intermittent action from under Ophel. The private citizens had cisterns, which were supplied by the rain from the roofs; and the city had a water supply "perhaps the most complete and extensive ever undertaken by a city," and which would enable it to endure a long siege.

There were three aqueducts, a number of pools and fountains, and the Temple area was honeycombed with great reservoirs, whose total capacity is estimated at 10,000,000 gallons. Thirty of these reservoirs are described, varying from 25 to 50 feet in depth; and one, called the great Sea, would hold 2,000,000 gallons. These reservoirs and the pools were supplied with water by the rainfall and by the aqueducts. One of these, constructed by Pilate, has been traced for 40 miles, though in a straight line the distance is but 13 miles. It brought water from the spring Elam, on the south, beyond Bethlehem, into the reservoirs under the Temple enclosure. -- Editor).

Pools and fountains. -- A part of the system of water supply. Outside the walls, on the west side, were the Upper and Lower Pools of Gihon, the latter close under Zion, the former more to the northwest on the Jaffa road. At the junction of the Valleys of Hinnom and Jehoshaphat was Enrogel, the "Well of Job", in the midst of the king's gardens. Within the walls, immediately north of Zion, was the "Pool of Hezekiah." A large pool existing beneath the Temple (referred to in Sir_1:3 was probably supplied by some subterranean aqueduct.

The "King's Pool" was probably identical with the "Fountain of the Virgin," at the southern angle of Moriah. It possesses the peculiarity that it rises and falls at irregular periods; it is supposed to be fed form the cistern below the Temple. From this a subterranean channel cut through solid rock leads the water to The Pool of Siloah, or Siloam, which has also acquired the character of being an intermittent fountain. The pool of which tradition has assigned the name of Bethesda is situated on the north side of Moriah; it is now named Birket Israil.

Burial-grounds. -- The main cemetery of the city seems from an early date to have been where it is still -- on the steep slopes of the valley of the Kedron. The tombs of the kings were in the city of David, that is, Mount Zion. The royal sepulchres were probably chambers containing separate recesses for the successive kings.

Gardens. -- The king's gardens of David and Solomon seem to have been in the bottom formed by the confluence of the Kedron and Himmon. Neh_3:15. The Mount of Olives, as its name, and the names of various places upon it seem to imply, was a fruitful spot. At its foot was situated the Garden of Gethsemane. At the time of the final siege, the space north of the wall of Agrippa was covered with gardens, groves and plantations of fruit trees, enclosed by hedges and walls; and to level these was one of Titus' first operations. We know that the Gennath (that is, "of gardens") opened on this side of the city.

Gates. -- The following is a complete list of the gates named in the Bible and by Josephus, with the reference to their occurrence: --

Gate of Ephraim. 2Ch_25:23; Neh_8:16; Neh_12:39. This is probably the same as the... --

Gate of Benjamin. Jer_20:2; Jer_37:13; Zec_14:10. If so, it was 400 cubits distant from the... --

Corner Gate. 2Ch_25:23; 2Ch_26:9; Jer_31:38; Zec_14:10.

Gate of Joshua, governor of the city. 2Ki_23:8.

Gate between the two walls. 2Ki_25:4; Jer_39:4.

Horse Gate. Neh_3:28; 2Ch_23:15; Jer_31:40.

Ravine Gate, (that is, opening on ravine of Hinnom). 2Ch_26:9; Neh_2:13; Neh_2:15; Neh_3:13.

Fish Gate. 2Ch_33:14; Neh_3:13; Zep_1:10.

Dung Gate. Neh_2:13; Neh_3:13.

Sheep Gate. Neh_3:1; Neh_3:32; Neh_12:39.

East Gate. Neh_3:29.

Miphkad Gate or Inspection Gate or Muster Gate Neh_3:31.

Fountain Gate, (Siloam?) Neh_12:37.

Water Gate. Neh_12:37.

Old Gate. Neh_12:39.

Prison Gate. Neh_12:39.

Gate Harsith, (perhaps the Sun Gate; Authorized Version, East Gate). Jer_19:2.

First Gate. Zec_14:10.

Gate Gennath (gardens). Jos B.J. V. 4, - 4.

Essenes' Gate. Jos. B.J. 4, - 2.

To these should be added the following gates to the Temple: --

Gate Sur, 2Ki_11:6 called also Gate of Foundation. 2Ch_23:5.

Gate of the Guard, or Gate Behind the Guard, 2Ki_11:6; 2Ki_11:19;

called the High Gate. 2Ki_15:35; 2Ch_23:20; 2Ch_27:3.

Gate Shallecheth. 1Ch_26:16.

At present, the chief gates are --

The Zion's Gate and

the Dung Gate, in the south wall;

St. Stephen's Gate and

the Golden Gate (now walled up), in the east wall;

The Damascus Gate and

Herod's Gate, in the north wall; and

The Jaffa Gate, in the west wall.

Population. -- Taking the area of the city enclosed by the two old walls at 750,000 yards, and that enclosed by the wall of Agrippa at 1,500,000 yards, we have 2,250,000 yards for the whole. Taking the population of the Old City at the probable number of the one person to 50 yards, we have 15,000 and at the extreme limit of 30 yards, we should have 25,000 inhabitants for the Old City, and at 100 yards to each individual in the New City, about 15,000 more; so that the population of Jerusalem, in its days of greatest prosperity, may have amounted to from 30,000 to 45,000 souls, but could hardly ever have reached 50,000; and assuming that in times of festival one-half was added to this amount, which is an extreme estimate, there may have been 60,000 or 70,000 in the city when Titus came up against it.

(Josephus says that at the siege of Jerusalem the population was 3,000,000; but Tacitus' statement that it was 600,000 is nearer the truth. This last is certainly within the limits of possibility.)

Streets, houses, etc. -- Of the nature of these in the ancient city, we have only the most scattered notices. The "east street," 2Ch_29:4, the "street of the city," that is, the city of David, 2Ch_32:6, the "street facing the water gate," Neh_8:1, Neh_8:3, or, according to the parallel account in 1Es_9:38, the "broad place of the Temple towards the east;" the "street of the house of God," Ezr_10:9, the "street of the gate of Ephraim," Neh_8:16, and the "open place of the first gate toward the east," must have been not "streets," in our sense of the word, so much as the open spaces found in easter towns round the inside of the gates.

Streets, properly so called, there were, Jer_5:1; Jer_11:13; etc.; but the name of only one, "the bakers' street," Jer_37:21, is preserved to us. The Via Dolorosa, or street of sorrows, is a part of the street thorough which Christ is supposed to have been led on his way to his crucifixion.

To the houses, we have even less clue; but there is no reason to suppose that, in either houses or streets, the ancient Jerusalem differed very materially from the modern. No doubt the ancient city did not exhibit that air of mouldering dilapidation which is now so prominent there. The whole of the slopes south of the Haram area (the ancient Ophel), and the modern Zion, and the west side of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, presents the appearance of gigantic mounds of rubbish. In this point at least, the ancient city stood in favorable contrast with the modern, but in many others, the resemblance must have been strong.

Annals of the City. -- If, as is possible, Salem is the same with Jerusalem, the first mention of Jerusalem is in Gen_14:18 about B.C. 2080. It is next mentioned in Jos_10:1 B.C. 1451. The first siege appears to have taken place almost immediately after the death of Joshua -- circa 1400 B.C. Judah and Simeon "fought against it and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire." Jdg_1:8. In the fifteen centuries which elapsed between this siege and the siege and destruction of the city by Titus, A.D. 70, the city was besieged no fewer than seventeen times; twice, it was razed to the ground, on two other occasions, its walls were levelled. In this respect, it stands without a parallel in any city, ancient or modern.

David captured the city B.C. 1046, and made it his capital, fortified and enlarged it. Solomon adorned the city with beautiful buildings, including the Temple, but made no additions to its walls. The city was taken by the Philistines and Arabians, in the reign of Jehoram, B.C. 886, and by the Israelites, in the reign of Amaziah, B.C. 826. It was thrice taken by Nebuchadnezzar, in the years B.C. 607, 597 and 586, in the last of which, it was utterly destroyed. Its restoration commenced under Cyrus, B.C. 538, and was completed under Artaxerxes I, who issued commissions for this purpose to Ezra, B.C. 457, and Nehemiah, B.C. 445.

In B.C. 332, it was captured by Alexander the Great. Under the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae, the town was prosperous, until Antiochus Epiphanes sacked it, B.C. 170. In consequence of his tyranny, the Jews rose under the Maccabees, and Jerusalem became again independent, and retained its position until its capture by the Romans under Pompey, B.C. 63. The Temple was subsequently plundered by Crassus, B.C. 545, and the city by the Parthians, B.C. 40.

Herod took up his residence there as soon as he was appointed sovereign, and restored the Temple with great magnificence. On the death of Herod, it became the residence of the Roman procurators, who occupied the fortress of Antonia. The greatest siege that it sustained, however, was at the hands of the Romans under Titus, when it held out nearly five months, and when the town was completely destroyed, A.D. 70. Hadrian restored it as a Roman colony, A.D. 135, and among other buildings, erected a temple of Jupiter Capitolinus on the site of the Temple. He gave to it the name of Aelia Capitolina, thus combining his own family name with that of the Capitoline Jupiter.

The emperor Constantine established the Christian character by the erection of a church on the supposed site of the Holy Sepulchre, A.D. 336. Justinian added several churches and hospitals about A.D. 532. It was taken by the Persians, under Chosroes II, in A.D. 614. The dominion of the Christians in the Holy City was now rapidly drawing to a close. In A.D. 637, the patriarch Sophronius surrendered to the khalif Omar in person.

With the fall of the Abassides, the Holy City passed into the hands of the Fatimite dynasty, under whom, the sufferings of the Christians in Jerusalem reached their height. About the year 1084, it was bestowed upon Ortok, chief of a Turkman horde. It was taken by the Crusaders in 1099, and for eighty-eight years, Jerusalem remained in the hand of the Christians. In 1187, it was retaken by Saladin after a siege of several weeks. In 1277, Jerusalem was nominally annexed to the kingdom of Sicily. In 1517, it passed under the sway of the Ottoman sultan Selim I, whose successor, Suliman, built the present walls of the city in 1542. Mohammed Aly, the pasha of Egypt, took possession of it in 1832; and in 1840, after the bombardment of Acre, it was again restored to the sultan.

(Modern Jerusalem, called by the Arabs, el-Khuds, is built upon the ruins of ancient Jerusalem. The accumulated rubbish of centuries is very great, being 100 feet deep on the hill of Zion. The modern wall, built in 1542, forms an irregular quadrangle about 2 1/2 miles in circuit, with seven gates and 34 towers. It varies in height from 20 to 60 feet. The streets within are narrow, ungraded, crooked, and often filthy. The houses are of hewn stone, with flat roofs and frequent domes. There are few windows toward the street.

The most beautiful part of modern Jerusalem is the former Temple area (Mount Moriah), "with its lawns and cypress tress, and its noble dome rising high above the wall." This enclosure, now called Haram esh-Sherif, is 35 acres in extent, and is nearly a mile in circuit. On the site of the ancient Temple stands the Mosque of Omar, "perhaps the very noblest specimen of building-art in Asia." "It is the most prominent as well as the most beautiful building in the whole city."

The mosque is an octagonal building, each side measuring 66 feet. It is surmounted by a dome, whose top is 170 feet from the ground. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is claimed, but without sufficient reason, to be upon the site of Calvary, is "a collection of chapels and altars of different ages and a unique museum of religious curiosities from Adam to Christ." The present number of inhabitants in Jerusalem is variously estimated. Probably Pierotti's estimate is very near the truth, -- 20,330; of whom 5068 are Christians, 7556 Mohammedans (Arabs and Turks), and 7706 Jews. -- Editor).

Source: Smith’s Bible Dictionary

Jerusalem

je-roo´sa-lem:

I. The Name

1. In Cuneiform

2. In Hebrew

3. In Greek and Latin

4. The Meaning of Jerusalem

5. Other Names

II. Geology, Climate and Springs

1. Geology

2. Climate and Rainfall

3. The Natural Springs

III. The Natural Site

1. The Mountains Around

2. The Valleys

3. The Hills

IV. General Topography of Jerusalem

1. Description of Josephus

2. Summary of the Names of the Five Hills

3. The Akra

4. The Lower City

5. City of David and Zion

V. Excavations and Antiquities

1. Robinson

2. Wilson and the Palestine Exploration Fund (1865)

3. Warren and Conder

4. Maudslay

5. Schick

6. Clermont-Ganneau

7. Bliss and Dickie

8. Jerusalem Archaeological Societies

VI. The City's Walls and Gates

1. The Existing Walls

2. Wilson's Theory

3. The Existing Gates

4. Buried Remains of Earlier Walls

5. The Great Dam of the Tyropoeon

6. Ruins of Ancient Gates

7. Josephus' Description of the Walls

8. First Wall

9. Second Wall

10. Third Wall

11. Date of Second Wall

12. Nehemiah's Account of the Walls

13. Valley Gate

14. Dung Gate

15. Fountain Gate

16. Water Gate

17. Horse Gate

18. Sheep Gate

19. Fish Gate

20. The “Old Gate”

21. Gate of Ephraim

22. Tower of the Furnaces

23. The Gate of Benjamin

24. Upper Gate of the Temple

25. The Earlier Walls

VII. Antiquarian Remains Connected with the Water Supply

1. Gihon: The Natural Spring

2. The Aqueduct of the Canaanites

3. Warren's Shaft

4. Hezekiah's “Siloam” Aqueduct

5. Other Aqueducts at Gihon

6. Bir Eyyub

7. Varieties of Cisterns

8. Birket Israel

9. Pool of Bethesda

10. The Twin Pools

11. Birket Hammam El Batrak

12. Birket Mamilla

13. Birket es Sultan

14. “Solomon's Pools”

15. Low-Level Aqueduct

16. High-Level Aqueduct

17. Dates of Construction of these Aqueducts

VIII. Tombs, Antiquarian Remains and Ecclesiastical Sites

1. “The Tombs of the Kings”

2. “Herod's Tomb”

3. “Absalom's Tomb”

4. The “Egyptian Tomb”

5. The “Garden Tomb”

6. Tomb of “Simon the Just”

7. Other Antiquities

8. Ecclesiastical Sites

IX. History

1. Tell el-Amarna Correspondence

2. Joshua's Conquest

3. Site of the Jebusite City

4. David

5. Expansion of the City

6. Solomon

7. Solomon's City Wall

8. The Disruption (933 bc)

9. Invasion of Shishak (928 bc)

10. City Plundered by Arabs

11. Hazael King of Syria Bought Off (797 bc)

12. Capture of the City by Jehoash of Israel

13. Uzziah's Refortification (779-740 bc)

14. Ahaz Allies with Assyria (736-728 bc)

15. Hezekiah's Great Works

16. Hezekiah's Religious Reforms

17. Manasseh's Alliance with Assyria

18. His Repair of the Walls

19. Josiah and Religious Reforms (640-609 bc)

20. Jeremiah Prophesies the Approaching Doom

21. Nebuchadnezzar Twice Takes Jerusalem (586 bc)

22. Cyrus and the First Return (538 bc)

23. Nehemiah Rebuilds the Walls

24. Bagohi Governor

25. Alexander the Great

26. The Ptolemaic Rule

27. Antiochus the Great

28. Hellenization of the City under Antiochus Epiphanes

29. Capture of the City (170 bc)

30. Capture of 168 bc

31. Attempted Suppression of Judaism

32. The Maccabean Rebellion

33. The Dedication of the Temple (165 bc)

34. Defeat of Judas and Capture of the City

35. Judas' Death (161 bc)

36. Jonathan's Restorations

37. Surrender of City to Antiochus Sidetes (134 bc)

38. Hasmonean Buildings

39. Rome's Intervention

40. Pompey Takes the City by Storm

41. Julius Caesar Appoints Antipater Procurator (47 bc)

42. Parthian Invasion

43. Reign of Herod the Great (37-4 bc)

44. Herod's Great Buildings

45. Herod Archelaus (4 bc-6 ad)

46. Pontius Pilate

47. King Agrippa

48. Rising against Florus and Defeat of Gallus

49. The City Besieged by Titus (70 ad)

50. Party Divisions within the Besieged Walls

51. Capture and Utter Destruction of the City

52. Rebellion of Bar-Cochba

53. Hadrian Builds Aelia Capitolina

54. Constantine Builds the Church of the Anastasis

55. The Empress Eudoxia Rebuilds the Walls

56. Justinian

57. Chosroes II Captures the City

58. Heracleus Enters It in Triumph

59. Clemency of Omar

60. The Seljuk Turks and Their Cruelties

61. Crusaders Capture the City in 1099

62. The Kharizimians

63. Ottoman Turks Obtain the City (1517 ad)

X. Modern Jerusalem

1. Jews and “Zionism”

2. Christian Buildings and Institutions

Literature

I.the Name

1. In Cuneiform

The earliest mention of Jerusalem is in the Tell el-Amarna Letters (1450 bc), where it appears in the form Uru-sa-lim; allied with this we have Ur-sa-li-immu on the Assyrian monuments of the 8th century bc.

The most ancient Biblical form is ירוּשׁלם, y^erūshālēm, shortened in Psa_76:2 (compare Gen_14:18) to Salem, but in Massoretic Text we have it vocalized ירוּשׁלם, y^erūshālaim. In Jer_26:18; Est_2:6; 2Ch_25:1; 2Ch_32:9 we have ירוּשׁלים, y^erūshālayim, a form which occurs on the Jewish coins of the Revolt and also in Jewish literature; it is commonly used by modern Talmudic Jews.

2. In Hebrew

The form Hebrew with the ending -aim or -ayim is interpreted by some as being a dual, referring to the upper and lower Jerusalem, but such forms occur in other names as implying special solemnity; such a pronunciation is both local and late.

3. In Greek and Latin

In the Septuagint we get (Ἰερουσαλήμ, Ierousalḗm), constantly reflecting the earliest and the common Hebrew pronunciation, the initial letter being probably unaspirated; soon, however, we meet with (Ἱερουσαλήμ, Hierousalḗm) - with the aspirate - the common form in Josep hus, and (Ἱεροσόλυμα, Hierosóluma) in Macc (Books II through IV), and in Strabo. This last form has been carried over into the Latin writers, Cicero, Pliny, Tacitus and Suetonius. It was replaced in official use for some centuries by Hadrian's Aelia Capitolina, which occurs as late as Jerome, but it again comes into common use in the documents of the Crusades, while Solyma occurs at various periods as a poetic abbreviation.

In the New Testament we have (Ἱερουσαλήμ, Hierousalḗm), particularly in the writings of Luke and Paul, and (τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα, tá Hierosóluma) elsewhere. The King James Version of 1611 has Ierosalem in the Old Testament and Hierusalem in the New Testament. The form Jerusalem first occurs in French writings of the 12th century.

4. The Meaning of Jerusalem

With regard to the meaning of the original name there is no concurrence of opinion. The oldest known form, Uru-sa-lim, has been considered by many to mean either the “City of Peace” or the “City of (the god) Salem,” but other interpreters, considering the name as of Hebrew origin, interpret it as the “possession of peace” or “foundation of peace.” It is one of the ironies of history that a city which in all its long history has seen so little peace and for whose possession such rivers of blood have been shed should have such a possible meaning for its name.

5. Other Names

Other names for the city occur. For the name Jebus see JESUS. In Isa_29:1, occurs the name אריאל, 'ărī'ēl probably “the hearth of God,” and in Isa_1:26 the “city of righteousness.” In Psa_72:16; Jer_32:24 f; Eze_7:23, we have the term העיר, hā‛īr, “the city” in contrast to “the land.” A whole group of names is connected with the idea of the sanctity of the site; ‛īr ha-ḳōdhesh, the “holy city” occurs in Isa_48:2; Isa_52:1; Neh_11:1, and y^erūshālayim ha-ḳ^edhōshāh, “Jerusalem the holy” is inscribed on Simon's coins. In Mat_4:5; Mat_27:53 we have ἡ ἁγία πόλις, hē hagía pólis, “the holy city,” and in Philo, Ἱερόπολις, Hierópolis, with the same meaning.

In Arabic the common name is Beit el Maḳdis, “the holy house,” or el Muḳaddas, “the holy,” or the common name, used by the Moslems everywhere today, el Ḳūds, a shortened form of el Ḳūds esh Sherēf, “the noble sanctuary.”

Non-Moslems usually use the Arabic form Yerusalēm.

II. Geology, Climate, and Springs

1. Geology

The geology of the site and environs of Jerusalem is comparatively simple, when studied in connection with that of the land of Palestine as a whole (see GEOLOGY OF PALESTINE). The outstanding feature is that the rocks consist entirely of various forms of limestone, with strata containing flints; there are no primary rocks, no sandstone (such as comes to the surface on the east of the Jordan) and no volcanic rocks. The lime stone formations are in regular strata dipping toward the Southeast, with an angle of about 10 degrees.

On the high hills overlooking Jerusalem on the East, Southeast and Southwest there still remain strata of considerable thickness of those chalky limestones of the post-Tertiary period which crown so many hilltops of Palestine, and once covered the whole land. On the “Mount of Olives,” for example, occurs a layer of conglomerate limestone known as Nāri, or “firestone,” and another thicker deposit, known as Ka‛kūli, of which two distinct strata can be distinguished. In these layers, especially the latter, occur pockets containing marl or haur, and in both there are bands of flint.

Over the actual city's site all this has been denuded long ages ago. Here we have three layers of limestone of varying density very clearly distinguished by all the native builders and masons:

(1) Mizzeh helu, literally, “sweet mizzeh,” a hard, reddish-grey layer capable of polish, and reaching in places to a depth of 70 ft. or more. The “holy rock” in the temple-area belongs to this layer, and much of the ancient building stone was of this nature.

(2) Below this is the Melekeh or “royal” layer, which, though not very thick - 35 ft. or so - has been of great importance in the history of the city. This rock is peculiar in that when first exposed to the air it is often so soft that it can be cut with a knife, but under the influence of the atmosphere it hardens to make a stone of considerable durability, useful for ordinary buildings. The great importance of this layer, however, lies in the fact that in it have been excavated the hundreds of caverns, cisterns, tombs and aqueducts which honeycomb the city's site.

(3) Under the Melekeh is a Cenomanian limestone of great durability, known as Mizzeh Yehudeh, or “Jewish mizzeh.” It is a highly valued building stone, though hard to work. Geologically it is distinguished from Mizzeh helu by its containing ammonites. Characteristically, it is a yellowish-grey stone, sometimes slightly reddish. A variety of a distinctly reddish appearance, known as Mizzeh ahmar, or “red mizzeh,” makes a very ornamental stone for columns, tombstones, etc.; it takes a high polish and is sometimes locally known as “marble.”

This deep layer, which underlies the whole city, comes to the surface in the Kidron valley, and its impermeability is probably the explanation of the appearance there of the one true spring, the “Virgin's Fount.” The water over the site and environs of Jerusalem percolates with ease the upper layer, but is conducted to the surface by this hard layer; the comparatively superficial source of the water of this spring accounts for the poorness of its quality.

2. Climate and Rainfall

The broad features of the climate of Jerusalem have probably remained the same throughout history, although there is plenty of evidence that there have been cycles of greater and lesser abundance of rain. The almost countless cisterns belonging to all ages upon the site and the long and complicated conduits for bringing water from a distance, testify that over the greater part of history the rainfall must have been, as at present, only seasonal.

As a whole, the climate of Jerusalem may be considered healthy. The common diseases should be largely preventable - under an enlightened government; even the malaria which is so prevalent is to a large extent an importation from the low-lying country, and could be stopped at once, were efficient means taken for destroying the carriers of infection, the abundant Anopheles mosquitoes. On account of its altitude and its exposed position, almost upon the watershed, wind, rain and cold are all more excessive than in the maritime plains or the Jordan valley. Although the winter's cold is severely felt, on account of its coinciding with the days of heaviest rainfall (compare Ezr_10:9), and also because of the dwellings and clothes of the inhabitants being suited for enduring heat more than cold, the actual lowest cold recorded is only 25 degrees F., and frost occurs only on perhaps a dozen nights in an average year. During the rainless summer months the mean temperature rises steadily until August, when it reaches 73, 1 degrees F., but the days of greatest heat, with temperature over 100 degrees F. in the shade at times, occur commonly in September. In midsummer the cool northwest breezes, which generally blow during the afternoons and early night, do much to make life healthy. The most unpleasant days occur in May and from the middle of September until the end of October, when the dry southeast winds - the sirocco - blow hot and stifling from over the deserts, carrying with them at times fine dust sufficient in quantity to produce a marked haze in the atmosphere. At such times all vegetation droops, and most human beings, especially residents not brought up under such conditions, suffer more or less from depression and physical discomfort; malarial, “sandfly,” and other fevers are apt to be peculiarly prevalent. “At that time shall it be said ... to Jerusalem, A hot wind from the bare heights in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow, nor to cleanse” (Jer_4:11).

During the late summer - except at spells of sirocco - heavy “dews” occur at night, and at the end of September or beginning of October the “former” rains fall - not uncommonly in tropical downpours accompanied by thunder. After this there is frequently a dry spell of several weeks, and then the winter's rain falls in December, January and February. In some seasons an abundant rainfall in March gives peculiar satisfaction to the inhabitants by filling up the cisterns late in the season and by producing an abundant harvest. The average rainfall is about 26 inches, the maximum recorded in the city being 42, 95 inches in the season 1877-78, and the minimum being 12, 5 inches in 1869-70. An abundant rainfall is not only important for storage, for replenishment of the springs and for the crops, but as the city's sewage largely accumulates in the very primitive drains all through the dry season, it requires a considerable force of water to remove it. Snow falls heavily in some seasons, causing considerable destruction to the badly built roofs and to the trees; in the winter of 1910-11 a fall of 9 inches occurred.

3. The Natural Springs

There is only one actual spring in the Jerusalem area, and even to this some authorities would deny the name of true spring on account of the comparatively shallow source of its origin; this is the intermittent spring known today as ‛Ain Umm ed deraj (literally, “spring of the mother of the steps”), called by the native Christians ‛Ain Sitti Miriam (the “spring of the Lady Mary”), and by Europeans commonly called “The Virgin's Fount.” All the archaeological evidence points to this as the original source of attraction of earliest occupants of the site; in the Old Testament this spring is known as GIHON (which see). The water arises in the actual bottom, though apparent west side, of the Kidron valley some 300 yards due South of the south wall of the Ḥaram̌. The approach to the spring is down two flights of steps, an upper of 16 leading to a small level platform, covered by a modern arch, and a lower, narrower flight of 14 steps, which ends at the mouth of a small cave. The water has its actual source in a long cleft (perhaps 16 ft. long) running East and West in the rocky bottom of the Kidron valley, now many feet below the present surface. The western or higher end of the cleft is at the very entrance of the cave, but most of the water gushes forth from the lower and wider part which lies underneath the steps. When the water is scanty, the women of Siloam creep down into the cavity under the steps and fill their water-skins there; at such times no water at all finds its way into the cave. At the far end of the cave is the opening of that system of ancient tunnel-aqueducts which is described in VI, below. This spring is “intermittent,” the water rising rapidly and gushing forth with considerable force, several times in the 24 hours after the rainy season, and only once or twice in the dry. This “intermittent” condition of springs is not uncommon in Palestine, and is explained by the accumulation of the underground water in certain cavities or cracks in the rock, which together make up a reservoir which empties itself by siphon action. Where the accumulated water reaches the bend of the siphon, the overflow commences and continues to run until the reservoir is emptied. Such a phenomenon is naturally attributed to supernatural agency by the ignorant - in this case, among the modern fellahin, to a dragon - and natives, specially Jews, visit the source, even today, at times of its overflow, for healing. Whether this intermittent condition of the fountain is very ancient it is impossible to say, but, as Jerome (Comm. in Esa, 86) speaks of it, it was probably present in New Testament times, and if so we have a strong argument for finding here the “Pool of Bethesda.” See BETHESDA.

In ancient times all the water flowed down the open, rocky valley, but at an early period a wall was constructed to bank up the water and convert the source into a pool. Without such an arrangement no water could find its way into the cave and the tunnels. The tunnels, described below (VI), were constructed for the purpose (1) of reaching the water supply from within the city walls, and (2) of preventing the enemies of the Jews from getting at the water (2Ch_32:4). The water of this source, though used for all purposes by the people of Siloam, is brackish to the taste, and contains a considerable percentage of sewage; it is quite unfit for drinking. This condition is doubtless due to the wide distribution of sewage, both intentionally (for irrigation of the gardens) and unintentionally (through leaking sewers, etc.), over the soil overlying the rocks from which the water flows. In earlier times the water was certainly purer, and it is probable, too, that the fountain was more copious, as now hundreds of cisterns imprison the waters which once found their way through the soil to the deep sources of the spring.

The waters of the Virgin's Fount find their way through the Siloam tunnel and out at ‛Ain Silwân (the “spring” of Siloam), into the Pool of Siloam, and from this source descend into the Kidron valley to water the numerous vegetable gardens belonging to the village of Siloam (see SILOAM).

The second source of water in Jerusalem is the deep well known as Bîr Eyyûb, “Job's well,” which is situated a little below the point where the Kidron valley and Hinnom meet. In all probability it derives its modern name from a legend in the Ḳorân (Sura 38 5, 40-41) which narrates that God commanded Job to stamp with his foot, whereupon a spring miraculously burst up. The well, which had been quite lost sight of, was rediscovered by the Crusaders in 1184 ad, and was by them cleaned out. It is 125 ft. deep. The supply of water in this well is practically inexhaustible, although the quality is no better than that of the “Virgin's Fount”; after several days of heavy rain the water overflows underground and bursts out a few yards lower down the valley as a little stream. It continues to run for a few days after a heavy fall of rain is over, and this “flowing Kidron” is a great source of attraction to the native residents of Jerusalem, who pour forth from the city to enjoy the rare sight of running water. Somewhere in the neighborhood of Bîr Eyyûb must have lain ‛En-Rogel, but if that were once an actual spring, its source is now buried under the great mass of rubbish accumulated here (see EN-ROGEL).

Nearly 600 yards South of Bîr Eyyûb is a small gravelly basin where, when the Bîr Eyyûb overflows, a small spring called ‛Ain el Lozêh (the “spring of the almond”) bursts forth. It is not a true spring, but is due to some of the water of Job's well which finds its way along an ancient rock-cut aqueduct on the west side of the Wâdy en Nâr, bursting up here.

The only other possible site of a spring in the Jerusalem area is the Ḥammâm esh Shefâ, “the bath of healing.” This is an underground rock-basin in the Tyropoeon valley, within the city walls, in which water collects by percolation through the débris of the city. Though once a reservoir with probably rock-cut channels conducting water to it, it is now a deep well with arches erected over it at various periods, as the rubbish of the city gradually accumulated through the centuries. There is no evidence whatever of there being any natural fountain, and the water is, in the dry season, practically pure sewage, though used in a neighboring Turkish bath.

G.A. Smith thinks that the JACKAL'S WELL (which see) mentioned by Nehemiah (Neh_2:13), which must have been situated in the Valley of Hinnom, may possibly have been a temporary spring arising there for a few years in consequence of an earthquake, but it is extremely likely that any well sunk then would tap water flowing a long the bed of the valley. There is no such “spring” or “well” there today.

III. The Natural Site

Modern Jerusalem occupies a situation defined geographically as 31 degrees 46 feet 45 inches North latitude., by 35 degrees 13 feet 25 inches East longitude. It lies in the midst of a bare and rocky plateau, the environs being one of the most stony and least fruitful districts in the habitable parts of Palestine, with shallow, gray or reddish soil and many outcrops of bare limestone. Like all the hill slopes with a southeasterly aspect, it is so thoroughly exposed to the full blaze of the summer sun that in its natural condition the site would be more or less barren. Today, however, as a result of diligent cultivation and frequent watering, a considerable growth of trees and shrubs has been produced in the rapidly extending suburbs. The only fruit tree which reaches perfection around Jerusalem is the olive.

1. The Mountains Around

The site of Jerusalem is shut in by a rough triangle of higher mountain ridges: to the West runs the main ridge, or water parting, of Judea, which here makes a sweep to the westward. From this ridge a spur runs Southeast and East, culminating due East of the city in the MOUNT OF OLIVES (which see), nearly 2,700 ft. above sea-level and about 300 ft. above the mean level of the ancient city. Another spur, known as Jebel Deir abu Tōr, 2,550 ft. high, runs East from the plateau of el Buḳei‛a and lies Southwest of the city; it is the traditional “Hill of Evil Counsel.” The city site is thus dominated on all sides by these higher ranges - “the mountains (that) are round about Jerus” (Psa_125:2) - so that while on the one hand the ancient city was hidden, at any considerable distance, from any direction except the Southeast, it is only through this open gap toward the desert and the mountains of Moab that any wide outlook is obtainable. This strange vision of wilderness and distant mountain wall - often of exquisite loveliness in the light of the setting sun - must all through the ages have been the most familiar and the most potent of scenic influences to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

2. The Valleys

Within the enfolding hills the city's proper site is demarked by two main valleys. That on the West and Southwest commences in a hollow occupied by the Moslem cemetery around the pool Birket Mamilla. The valley runs due East toward the modern Jaffa Gate, and there bends South, being known in this upper part of its course as the Wâdy el Mês. In this southern course it is traversed by a great dam, along which the modern Bethlehem road runs, which converts a large area of the valley bed into a great pool, the Birket es Sultân. Below this the valley - under the name of Wâdy er Râbâbi - bends Southeast, then East, and finally Southeast again, until near Bîr Eyyûb it joins the western valley to form the Wâdy en Nâr, 670 ft. below its origin. This valley has been very generally identified as the Valley of Hinnom (see HINNOM.)

The eastern valley takes a wider sweep. Commencing high up in the plateau to the North of the city, near the great water-parting, it descends as a wide and open valley in a southeasterly direction until, where it is crossed by the Great North Road, being here known as Wâdy el Jôz (the “Valley of the Walnuts”), it turns more directly East. It gradually curves to the South, and as it runs East of the city walls, it receives the name of Wâdy Sitti Miriam (the “Valley of the Lady Mary”). Below the Southeast corner of the temple-area, near the traditional “Tomb of Absalom,” the valley rapidly deepens and takes a direction slightly to the West of South. It passes the “Virgin's Fount,” and a quarter of a mile lower it is joined by el Wād from the North, and a little farther on by the Wâdy er Râbâbi from the West. South of Bîr Eyyûb, the valley formed by their union is continued under the name of Wâdy en Nâr to the Dead Sea. This western valley is that commonly known as the Brook Kidron, or, more shortly, the “Brook” (naḥal), or ravine (see KIDRON), but named from the 5th century onward by Christians the VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT (which see). The rocky tongue of land enclosed between these deep ravines, an area, roughly speaking, a little over one mile long by half a mile wide, is further subdivided into a number of distinct hills by some shallower valleys. The most prominent of these - indeed the only one noticeable to the superficial observer today - is the great central valley known to modern times by the single name el Wād, “the valley.” It commences in a slight depression of the ground a little North of the modern “Damascus Gate,” and after entering the city at this gate it rapidly deepens - a fact largely disguised today by the great accumulation of rubbish in its course. It traverses the city with the Ḥaram to its east, and the Christian and Moslem quarters on rapidly rising ground to its west. Its course is observed near the Bâb es Silseleh, where it is crossed by an ancient causeway, but farther South the valley reappears, having the walls of the Ḥaram (near the “wailing place” and “Robinson's arch”) on the East, and steep cliffs crossed by houses of the Jewish quarter on the West. It leaves the city at the “Dung Gate,” and passes with an open curve to the East, until it reaches the Pool of Siloam, below' which it merges in the Wâdy Sitti Miriam. This is the course of the main valley, but a branch of great importance in the ancient topography of the city starts some 50 yards to the West of the modern Jaffa Gate and runs down the Suwaikat Allûn generally known to travelers as “David's Street,” and thus easterly, along the Tarîk bâb es Silseleh, until it merges in the main valley. The main valley is usually considered to be the Tyropoeon, or “Cheesemongers' Valley” of Josephus, but some writers have attempted to confine the name especially to this western arm of it.

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