Names of Jerusalem

Today, Jerusalem is called Yerushalayim (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם) and Al-Quds (Arabic: اَلْـقُـدْس). Yerushalayim is a derivation of a much older name, recorded as early as in the Middle Bronze Age, which has however been repeatedly re-interpreted in folk etymology, notably in Biblical Greek, where the first element of the name came to be associated with Greek: ἱερός (hieros, "holy"). The city is also known, especially among Muslims, as Bayt al-Maqdis (Arabic: بَـيْـت الْـمَـقْـدِس, lit. 'Holy House'), referring to the Temple in Jerusalem, called Beit HaMikdash in Hebrew.

Early extra-biblical and biblical names

Jerusalem

A city called Ꜣwšꜣmm in the Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 19th century BCE) and typically reconstructed as (U)Rušalim is usually identified as Jerusalem. Nadav Na'aman proposed that the name should instead be understood as r'š (head) + rmm (exalted), meaning 'the exalted head', and so not referring to Jerusalem, but Na'aman withdrew this objection in 2023.

Jerusalem is called either Urusalim (URU ú-ru-sa-lim) or Urušalim (URU ú-ru-ša₁₀-lim) in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba (1330s BCE).

The Sumero-Akkadian name for Jerusalem, uru-salim, is variously etymologised to mean "foundation of [or: by] the god Shalim": from West Semitic yrw, ‘to found, to lay a cornerstone’, and Shalim, the Canaanite god of the setting sun and the nether world, as well as of health and perfection.

Jerusalem is the name most commonly used in the Bible, and the name used by most of the Western World. The Biblical Hebrew form is Yerushalaim (ירושלם), adopted in Biblical Greek as Hierousalēm, Ierousalēm (Ἰερουσαλήμ), or Hierosolyma, Ierosolyma (Ἱεροσόλυμα), and in early Christian Bibles as Syriac Ūrišlem (ܐܘܪܫܠܡ) as well as Latin Hierosolyma or Ierusalem. In Arabic, this name occurs in the form Ūrsālim (أْوْرْسَـالِـم) which is the Arabic name promoted by the Israeli government.

The name "Shalem", whether as a town or a deity, is derived from the same root Š-L-M as the word "shalom", meaning peace, so that the common interpretation of the name is now "The City of Peace" or "Abode of Peace", indicating a sanctuary.

The ending -ayim indicates the dual in Hebrew, thus leading to the suggestion that the name refers to the two hills on which the city sits. 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. In fact, in the unvocalized Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible the yod that would be required for the -ayim ending (so that it would be written ירושלים, as in post-biblical Hebrew, rather than ירושלם) is almost always absent. It is only the much later vocalization, with the vowel marks for a and i squeezed together between the lamed and the mem, that provides the basis for this reading. In extra-biblical inscriptions, the earliest known example of the -ayim ending was discovered on a column about 3 km west of ancient Jerusalem, dated to the first century BCE.

In Genesis Rabbah 56:10, the name is interpreted as a combination of yir'eh, "He will see [to it]," and Shalem, the city of King Melchizedek (based on Genesis 14:18). A similar theory is offered by Philo in his discussion of the term "God's city." Other midrashim say that Jerusalem means "City of Peace".

In Greek, the city is called either Ierousalēm (Ἰερουσαλήμ) or Hierosolyma (Ἱεροσόλυμα). The latter exhibits yet another re-etymologization, by association with the word hieros (Greek: ἱερός, "holy"). In early Greek manuscripts, Ἱερουσαλήμ is presented as a "holy name": ΙΛΗΜ.

In Jewish Tradition

In Jewish tradition, the notion that "Jerusalem has seventy names" is a widely cited midrashic concept originating in Bamidbar Rabbah. This number is not intended to be a literal or exhaustive linguistic tally, but rather a symbolic representation of the city’s multifaceted character and its central importance in Jewish consciousness; in Hebrew numerology (Gematria), seventy represents the "seventy nations of the world," suggesting that the city holds significance for all of humanity. Various medieval scholars and commentators have attempted to compile these lists, drawing primarily from poetic epithets found throughout the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), particularly in the books of Isaiah, Psalms, and Lamentations. These names range from descriptions of its physical beauty, such as Klilat Yofi ("Perfection of Beauty"), to its spiritual function, like Ir Ha-Emet ("City of Truth"). The sheer variety of names, representing the city in states of both desolation and former glory, reflects the emotional depth and historical layers attributed to the city in Jewish thought.

Shalem

The name Shalem/Salem (שלם šālêm) is found in the account of Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18: And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God (El Elyon).

That the name Salem refers to Jerusalem is evidenced by Psalm 76:2 which uses "Salem" as a parallel for "Zion", the citadel of Jerusalem. The same identification is made by Josephus and the Aramaic translations of the Bible.

Shalem was the Canaanite god of dusk, sunset, and the end of the day, also spelled Shalim. Many scholars believe that his name is preserved in the name of the city Jerusalem. It is believed by some scholars that the name of Jerusalem comes from Uru + Shalem, meaning the foundation of Shalem or founded by Shalem or city of Shalem, and that Shalem was the city god of the place before El Elyon.

Zion

Mount Zion (Hebrew: הר צִיּוֹן Har Tsiyyon) was originally the name of the hill where the Jebusite fortress stood, but the name was later applied to the Temple Mount just to the north of the fortress, also known as Mount Moriah, possibly also referred to as "Daughter of Zion" (i.e., as a protrusion of Mount Zion proper).

From the Second Temple era, the name came to be applied to a hill just to the south-west of the walled city. This latter hill is still known as Mount Zion today. From the point of view of the Babylonian exile (6th century BCE), Zion has come to be used as a synonym of the city of Jerusalem as a whole.

Other biblical names

• Mount Moriah (now usually identified with the Temple Mount) was a part of Jebus (Judges 19:10), a city inhabited by the Jebusites. According to the Bible, this land was sold to King David by Ornan the Jebusite for six hundred shekels of gold (1Chr 21:26) in order to build in the threshing floor an altar for sacrifice to stop the plague God had sent upon Israel. Solomon later built the Temple there. The Jebusite stronghold at that time was called Zion which David took by force, and it afterward began to be called The City of David. (2 Sam 5:7–10)
  • Biblical Hebrew מוריה
  • Biblical Greek Μώριας Mōrias
  • Biblical Latin Moria
  • Arabic مُـرِيَّـا (Muriyyā) or مُـرَيَّـا (Murayyā) (?)
  • Hebrew מוֹרִיָּה Môriyyāh
• City of David: The City of David (Hebrew Ir David עיר דוד Tiberian Hebrew עִיר דָּוִד ʿîr Dāwiḏ) is the biblical term for the Iron Age walled fortress; now the name of the corresponding archaeological site just south of the Temple Mount
• Jebus (Jebusite city) in Judges 19:10
• The Lord sees, Hebrew Adonai-jireh, in Vulgate Latin Dominus videt. 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, Hebrew Neveh Tzedek (נווה צדק), Tiberian Hebrew נְוֵה-צֶדֶק Nəwēh Ṣeḏeq (Jeremiah 31:23).
• Ariel (אֲרִיאֵל) in Isaiah 29:1–8
• City of the Holy Place/Holiness, Hebrew Ir Ha-Kodesh / Ir Ha-Kedosha, (עיר הקודש) in Isa 48:42, Isa 51:1, Dan 9:24 Neh 11:1 and Neh 11:18.
• City of the Great King
  • Hebrew: kiryat melekh rav (קרית מלך רב) as in Psalm 48:2.
  • Koine Greek: polis megalou basileos (πόλις μεγάλου βασιλέως) as in Matthew 5:35.
  • Tiberian Hebrew קִרְיַת מֶלֶךְ רָב Qiryaṯ Meleḵ Rāḇ