Zion

(sī'ən)
n.

1. 1. The historic land of Israel as a symbol of the Jewish people.
   2. The Jewish people; Israel.
2. A place or religious community regarded as sacredly devoted to God.
3. An idealized, harmonious community; utopia.

[Middle English Sion, from Old English, from Late Latin Siōn, from Greek Seiōn, from Hebrew ṣiyyôn.]

For more information on Zion, visit Britannica.com.

One of the names for the city of Jerusalem, or a part of it. Early biblical references to the name are quite specific, though changeable. "David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David" (II Sam. 5:7, also I Chr. 11:5). The reference here is to the small hill, now southeast of the present city walls, which was the site of the first Jebusite settlement of Jerusalem. The name Zion, sometimes called Mount Zion, was extended to cover the biblical city, enlarged by David and subsequent kings of Judah. In Micah 4:7 ("the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion") and 4:8 ("daughter of Zion"), and especially in Isaiah and Psalms, Zion served as a synonym for the whole of Jerusalem.

In time, the name Zion came to mean the whole land of Judah ("O my people who dwell in Zion," Isa. 10:24), and, even more generally, the people of Israel rather than any particular place ("and saying to Zion 'You are my people,'" Isa. 51:16).

Later usage was both more specific and more general. In the late biblical and early post-biblical period the name Zion came to refer to the Temple Mount (Joel 3:17; I Macc. 7:33). Its final geographical identification was to the western hill just south of the present walls of the Old City. It was David's tomb, traditionally (but improbably) located there, which made this identification permanent.

The connection with David was also responsible for the generalization and broadening of the name Zion. As David was seen as the ideal king presiding over a golden age, so Zion, the city of David, was the idealized Israel. For centuries the Jewish people dreamed and prayed for a return to Zion (rather than to Jerusalem, or the land of Israel; see Zion, Return to). The Mourners of Zion (avelé-tsiyyon), a group of mystics and ascetics, lived in Jerusalem from the time of the destruction of the Temple, and in many communities of the Diaspora well into the Middle Ages. Judah Halevi, medieval Hebrew poet and philosopher, wrote his most famous poems under the title "Songs of Zion." The modern national revival and return of the Jewish people to its homeland is called Zionism.

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In the Bible, Zion is the eastern hill of Jerusalem which included the Temple Mount (Moriah) and the hill south of it (Ophel). The fortress on the hill south of the Temple Mount is named the stronghold of Zion (II Sam 5:7). The etymology of this name remains unexplained and may be of great antiquity. After David's conquest of the city, the stronghold of Zion was called the City of David (II Sam 5:7, 9; I Chr 11:7). Solomon brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord "from the City of David, which is Zion" (I Kgs 8:1-2; II Chr 5:2). It then became the city of God, the city of the great king (Ps 46:4; 48:2); it is a holy hill (Ps 2:6; Joel 2:1; Zech 8:3); God dwells there (Ps 9:11; 132:13) and there is his sanctuary (Ps 20:2), which is a goal of pilgrimage (Ps 84:5, 7), a place of deliverance and salvation (Ps 20:1-2; 69:35), and of praise and worship (Ps 9:14; 65:1). When the ark was transferred to Mount Moriah, it came to be called Mount Zion (Ps 78:68-69).

The name Zion became synonymous with Jerusalem (Is chap. 40; Mic 3:12). The sons of Zion (Lam 4:2) and the daughters of Zion (Song 3:11; Is 10:32) denoted the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Jer 51:35). Zion is the whole city, which, like other fortified cities of Judah, was a place of safety; people of other cities will be brought to Zion (Jer 3:14; 4:5-6).

After the Exile the Israelite nation came to be called "Zion� who dwelt with the daughter of Babylon" (Zech 2:7). The "daughter of Zion" personifies the entire people (Jer 6:23; Zech 9:9), as do the "sons of Zion" (Zech 9:13). Divine protection makes the city – "the virgin (the) daughter of Zion" – pure (II Kgs 19:21; 37:22; cf Jer 14:17; 18:13; 31:4, 21; Lam 1:15; Amos 5:2). Since God himself founded Zion, the people may anticipate safety within its walls, because it is protected by God himself (Is 14:32; 31:8-9; 33:1-5). But should the people of Israel forsake God, he will smite the daughter of Zion (Is 3:17; 49:14; Jer 6:2ff; 9:19). The mere existence of the Temple on Mount Moriah is not a safeguard and reliance on it alone is equated with "lying words" (Jer 7:4, 8, 12); sin leads to the destruction of Zion (Jer 9:20).

There is little reference to Zion in the NT. It is named "the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem" (Heb 12:22). The term refers to the people of Israel (Rom 9:33; I Pet 2:6), and of Jerusalem (Matt 21:5; John 12:15), and to the mountain upon which Jesus and his followers will stand in triumph on his Second Coming (Rev 14:1). See JERUSALEM

Concordance
II Sam 5:7. I Kgs 8:1. II Kgs 19:21,31. I Chr 11:5. II Chr 5:2. Ps 2:6; 9:11, 14; 14:7; 20:2; 48:2, 11-12; 50:2; 51:18; 53:6; 65:1; 69:35; 74:2; 76:2; 78:68; 84:7; 87:2, 5; 97:8; 99:2; 102:13, 16, 21; 110:2; 125:1; 126:1; 128:5; 129:5; 132:13; 133:3; 134:3; 135:21; 137:1,3; 146:10; 147:12; 149:2. Song 3:11. Is 1:8, 27; 2:3; 3:16-17; 4:3-5; 8:18; 10:12,24, 32; 12:6; 14:32; 16:1; 18:7; 24:23; 28:16; 29:8; 30:19; 31:4, 9; 33:5, 14, 20; 34:8; 35:10; 37:22, 32; 40:9; 41:27; 46:13; 49:14; 51:3, 11, 16; 52:1-2, 7-8; 59:20; 60:14; 61:3; 62:1, 11; 64:10; 66:8. Jer 3:14; 4:6,31; 6:2, 23; 8:19; 9:19; 14:19; 26:18; 30:17; 31:6,12; 50:5, 28; 51:10, 24, 35. Lam 1:4, 6,17; 2:1, 4, 6,8, 10, 13, 18; 4:2, 11, 22; 5:11, 18. Joel 2:1, 15, 23,32; 3:16-17,21. Amos 1:2; 6:1. Obad vs.17, 21. Mic 1:13; 3:10, 12; 4:2, 7-8, 10-11, 13. Zeph 3:14, 16. Zech 1:14, 17; 2:7,10; 8:2-3; 9:9,13. Matt 21:5. John 12:15. Rom 9:33; 11:26. Heb 12:22. I Pet 2:6. Rev 14:1

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - Zion

n. - Zion

Nederlands (Dutch)
Sion

Français (French)
n. - Sion

n. - Sion

Deutsch (German)
n. - Zion

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - η Σιών

Italiano (Italian)
Sion

Português (Portuguese)
n. - Sião (m)

Русский (Russian)
Сион

Español (Spanish)
n. - Sión

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - Sion

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
犹太民族, 犹太人的故乡, 锡安山, 天国, 乌托邦

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 烏托邦, 猶太民族, 猶太人的故鄉, 錫安山, 天國

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 시온 산 (예루살렘(Jerusalem)에 있는 유대인이 신성시한 는 산), 이스라엘 백성, 천국, 고대 유대의 신정

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - シオンの山, ユダヤ教

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جبل صهيون ( احد جبال القدس, )‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮הגבעה עליה עמדה בעבר עיר דוד (כיום גבעת סילוואן או כפר השילוח), ציון, ירושלים, ארץ ישראל, עם ישראל, דת ישראל, הכנסיה הנוצרית, במחשבה הנוצרית: ממלכת אלוהים בשמיים‬

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zion y lennox