Names of Jerusalem refers to the multiple names by which the city of Jerusalem has been known and the etymology of the word in different languages. According to the Jewish Midrash, "Jerusalem has 70 names".[1] Lists have been compiled of 72 different Hebrew names for Jerusalem in Jewish scripture.[2]
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In the Book of Genesis, Salem or Shalem is the name of the place of which Melchizedek is king. Genesis 14:18 has מלכי־צדק מלך שלם ... כהן לאל עליון׃ The KJV renders this as "Melchizedek king of Salem ... the priest of the most high God (El Elyon)." The Hebrew root שלם š-l-m means "whole, complete" in the idiomatic sense of "at peace".[3]
That the name Salem refers to Jerusalem is evidenced by Psalms 76:2 which uses "Salem" as a parallel for "Zion", the citadel of Jerusalem. Similarly the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews equates Salem with Jerusalem and the same identification is made by Josephus and the Aramaic Targums.
In the Amarna letters, Urušalim is used for Jerusalem and is recognized as being a cognate of Hebrew Ir Shalem - city of Salem..
| Language | Name | Translit. | Variant | Translit. | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biblical Greek | Σαλήμ[4] | Salēm | Σόλυμα[5] | Solyma | "Peace" |
| Biblical Latin | Salem | ||||
| Arabic | ساليم | Sālīm | |||
| Tiberian Hebrew | שָׁלֵם | Šālēm | |||
| Standard Hebrew | שָׁלֵם | Šalem | "Whole", "Complete" |
Jerusalem is the name most commonly used in the Bible, and the name used by Jews and most of the Western World. Its Arabic counterpart, Ūršalīm, is the term used by the government of Israel in Arabic, and by Arabs in certain historic or Biblical contexts. Its first recorded Hebrew mention was found in Khirbet Beit Lei.
In Genesis Rabba 56:10, the name is interpreted as a combination of yir'eh, "He will show," and shalem, the place from which King Melchizedek came (based on Genesis 14:18). A similar theory is offered by Plato in his discussion of the term "God's city." [6] Other midrashim say that Jerusalem means "City of Peace",Shalom.[7]
The Greek form Hierousalēm with the rough breathing (h sound) not derived directly from the Hebrew pronunciation, indicates a reinterpretation of the first syllables as the Greek hiero meaning holy.[8][9] Similarly the Old Norse form Jorsala lacking the m sound of the Hebrew indicates an reinterpretation of the last syllables as the Old Norse toponym ending -sala denoting a hall or temple.
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In the Book of Genesis, Moriah is the name of the Temple Mount at a time when it is uninhabited. It is the place where, in the Jewish and Christian traditions, Abraham attempts the sacrifice of his son Isaac.
The name derived from king David the founder of the city.
"The Lord sees", in Vulgate Latin Dominus videt. The original Hebrew has the future tense "shall see" and the tetragrammaton instead of Adonai. Name given by Abraham after God provided a ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac. It is conventionally pronounced as "Adonai-yir'eh" because of Jewish religious rules against pronouncing the name tetragrammaton. In the opinion of some Rabbinic commentators the combination of Yir'eh (יראה) with Shalem (שלם) is the origin of the name Jerusalem (ירושלם).
"Oasis of Justice".(נווה צדק)
As in the Book of Jeremiah 31:22.
and Ir Ha-Kedosha
Hebrew: "City of the Holy Place/Holiness"(עיר הקודש)
Al-Quds is the most common Arabic name for Jerusalem and is used by many cultures influenced by Islam). The word Quds is derived from the Semitic root Q-D-S, meaning "holy". The variant al-Quds aš-Šarīf has also been used, notably by the Ottomans, who also used the Persian influenced Kuds-i Şerîf.
Bayt al-Maqdis or Bayt al-Muqaddas is a less commonly used Arabic name for Jerusalem, a variant of the previous. It is the base from which nisbas (names based on the origin of the person named) are formed - hence the famous medieval geographer called both al-Maqdisi and al-Muqaddasi (born 946.) This name is used in the Hadith (Sahih Muslim 234, 251). The name is in reference to the Hebrew name for the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, "Beit Hamikdash." (בית המקדש)
Aelia Capitolina was the Roman name given to Jerusalem after all Jews were expelled from the area. The name refers to Hadrian's family, the gens Aelia and to the hill temple of Jupiter built on the remains of the Jewish Temple. Its Arabic counterpart, ʼĪlyāʼ was sometimes used in early times Middle Ages, as in some Hadith (Bukhari 1:6, 4:191; Muwatta 20:26), like Bayt ul-Maqdis.
JRS and LLJR were the IATA and ICAO airport codes for the Jerusalem International Airport.