Jerusalem

Jerusalem is arguably the most famous city in the world. It is the holy city of three religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is situated 2,600 feet in elevation and is bordered in part by the Kidron Valley to the east and the Hinnom Valley to the south. 

The earliest extra-biblical reference to Jerusalem is found in Egyptian texts dating back to the 19thcentury B.C. In the biblical text it is first mention as Salem or Shalem (Genesis 14.18), which describes an encounter between Abraham and Melchizedek.

When David drove the Jebusites out of Jerusalem in 1,000 B.C. (2nd Samuel 5.9), it became the seat of power for the land of Israel when David made it the capital.

David reigned as the king of Israel for thirty-three years from Jerusalem. For the first seven years as king, he reigned in Hebron. After David’s reign, all the kings of Judah ruled from Jerusalem. His son, Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem. That Temple was destroyed, rebuilt, and then destroyed again.

The Assyrians in 701 B.C. besieged Jerusalem. Through the prayers of both Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the Angel of the Lord saved the city. (2nd Kings 19)  

Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army was a different story. In 586 B.C. they conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. Many scholars believe the Ark of the Covenant was removed from the Temple at that time. 

When the Persians defeated Babylon, many of the captives were allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls and Temple of the city. 

The Romans began their occupation of Jerusalem in 63 B.C. Herod the Great ruled as a vassal king from 40-4 B.C. During his time of rule he rebuilt the city and reconstructed the Temple in grand fashion. That Jerusalem and Temple would be the place Jesus visited and preached during His earthly ministry. He was crucified in Jerusalem just outside the city wall. 

The Romans, under the leadership of Titus Vespasian, put down a Jewish rebellion, razing the city and Temple in 70 A.D. 

Later, another Roman leader, Hadrian, would return to Jerusalem to crush the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-136 A.D.). He leveled the Temple area, plowing it up. He installed two statues, one of Jupiter and another of himself. He removed the name Israel from the map and replaced it with Syria Palaestina. (The area is still known as Palestine today, supplanting its earlier name Idumea—Judea). Likewise, he established Jerusalem as a Roman city and changed its name to Aelia Capitolina. He banished Jews from entering the city.  

In the course of its history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times (according to Eric Cline in an article “Do We Divide the Holiest Holy City?, Moment Magazine).