or ZION, MOUNT, a mount or hill on the south of Old Jerusalem or
Salem, and higher than that on which the ancient city stood. This hill
was, perhaps, on this account, made choice of by the Jebusites for
building a fort or citadel upon; which fort was taken by David, who
transferred his court thither from Hebron, and brought the ark of the
Lord and set it in a tabernacle or tent pitched for it. On this account
it is, that this hill is so frequently styled in the Psalms the “holy
hill;” and, by way of excellence, is used in the poetical language of
Scripture to denote the whole city of Jerusalem. Here David built a
palace, and a city, called after him the city of David; and which
subsequently formed a part of Jerusalem, enclosed within the same walls,
although a great part of the hill is now left without them; while, on
the contrary, Calvary, which is supposed to have stood formerly without
the walls, is now enclosed within them, the city having drawn itself
round about this sacred mount. “This hill,” says M. Chateaubriand, “is
of a yellowish colour, and barren appearance; open in form of a
crescent, toward Jerusalem; and is about as high as Montmartre at Paris,
but rounder at the top. This sacred summit is distinguished by three
monuments, or, more properly, by three ruins, the house of Caiaphas, the
place where Christ celebrated his last supper, and the tomb or palace of
David. From the top of the hill you see, to the south, the valley of Ben
Hinnom; beyond this, the field of blood, purchased with the thirty
pieces of silver given to Judas; the hill of Evil Counsel, the tombs of
the judges, and the whole desert toward Hebron and Bethlehem. To the
north, the wall of Jerusalem, which passes over the top of Sion,
intercepts the view of the city, the site of which gradually slopes
toward the Valley of Jehoshaphat.”
Dr. Richardson observes of Sion, “At the time when I visited this sacred
ground, one part of it supported a crop of barley, another was
undergoing the labour of the plough, and the soil turned up consisted of
stones and lime mixed with earth, such as is usually met with in the
foundations of ruined cities. It is nearly a mile in circumference, is
highest on the west side, and toward the east falls down in broad
terraces on the upper part of the mountain, and narrow ones on the side
as it slopes down toward the brook Kedron. Each terrace is divided from
the one above it by a low wall of dry stone, built of the ruins of this
celebrated spot. The terraces near the bottom of the hill are used as
gardens, and are watered from the pool of Siloam. We have here another
remarkable instance of the special fulfilment of prophecy. ‘Therefore
shall Zion for your sakes be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall
become heaps,’ Micah iii, 12.” Mr. Jolliffe represents the hill of Sion
as not more raised above the city than the Aventine hill above the Roman
forum; but conjectures that its height, from its base in the Valley of
Gehinnon, from which it rises abruptly, may be equivalent to some of the
lowest hills which encompass Bath; that is, if the estimate be correct,
about three hundred and sixty feet, which is the height of the lowest of
the hills above that city.
Salem, and higher than that on which the ancient city stood. This hill
was, perhaps, on this account, made choice of by the Jebusites for
building a fort or citadel upon; which fort was taken by David, who
transferred his court thither from Hebron, and brought the ark of the
Lord and set it in a tabernacle or tent pitched for it. On this account
it is, that this hill is so frequently styled in the Psalms the “holy
hill;” and, by way of excellence, is used in the poetical language of
Scripture to denote the whole city of Jerusalem. Here David built a
palace, and a city, called after him the city of David; and which
subsequently formed a part of Jerusalem, enclosed within the same walls,
although a great part of the hill is now left without them; while, on
the contrary, Calvary, which is supposed to have stood formerly without
the walls, is now enclosed within them, the city having drawn itself
round about this sacred mount. “This hill,” says M. Chateaubriand, “is
of a yellowish colour, and barren appearance; open in form of a
crescent, toward Jerusalem; and is about as high as Montmartre at Paris,
but rounder at the top. This sacred summit is distinguished by three
monuments, or, more properly, by three ruins, the house of Caiaphas, the
place where Christ celebrated his last supper, and the tomb or palace of
David. From the top of the hill you see, to the south, the valley of Ben
Hinnom; beyond this, the field of blood, purchased with the thirty
pieces of silver given to Judas; the hill of Evil Counsel, the tombs of
the judges, and the whole desert toward Hebron and Bethlehem. To the
north, the wall of Jerusalem, which passes over the top of Sion,
intercepts the view of the city, the site of which gradually slopes
toward the Valley of Jehoshaphat.”
Dr. Richardson observes of Sion, “At the time when I visited this sacred
ground, one part of it supported a crop of barley, another was
undergoing the labour of the plough, and the soil turned up consisted of
stones and lime mixed with earth, such as is usually met with in the
foundations of ruined cities. It is nearly a mile in circumference, is
highest on the west side, and toward the east falls down in broad
terraces on the upper part of the mountain, and narrow ones on the side
as it slopes down toward the brook Kedron. Each terrace is divided from
the one above it by a low wall of dry stone, built of the ruins of this
celebrated spot. The terraces near the bottom of the hill are used as
gardens, and are watered from the pool of Siloam. We have here another
remarkable instance of the special fulfilment of prophecy. ‘Therefore
shall Zion for your sakes be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall
become heaps,’ Micah iii, 12.” Mr. Jolliffe represents the hill of Sion
as not more raised above the city than the Aventine hill above the Roman
forum; but conjectures that its height, from its base in the Valley of
Gehinnon, from which it rises abruptly, may be equivalent to some of the
lowest hills which encompass Bath; that is, if the estimate be correct,
about three hundred and sixty feet, which is the height of the lowest of
the hills above that city.