What is Zion?

Answer

Psalm 87:2–3 states, “The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are said of you, city of God.” According to this verse, Zion is synonymous with the city of God, a place that God holds dear. Zion refers to Jerusalem. Mount Zion is the elevated hill where David constructed a fortress, situated on the southeast side of the city.

The term Zion appears more than 150 times in the Bible. Essentially meaning “fortification,” it conveys the concept of being “raised up” as a “monument.” Zion is identified as both the city of David and the city of God. Throughout the Bible, the term Zion evolves in meaning and takes on a spiritual significance.

The initial reference to Zion in the Bible is in 2 Samuel 5:7: “David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.” Originally, Zion was an ancient Jebusite stronghold within Jerusalem. Following David’s conquest of the fortress, Jerusalem came under Israel’s control. The royal palace was erected there, establishing Zion/Jerusalem as the center of power in Israel’s kingdom.

When Solomon constructed the temple in Jerusalem, the concept of Zion broadened to encompass the temple area (Psalm 2:6; Psalm 48:2, 11-12; 132:13). This expanded meaning is reflected in the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:6, “Come, let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.” In the Old Testament, Zion is used as an alternative name for the city of Jerusalem. “O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!”

», (Isaiah 40:9), the land of Judah «Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. », (Jeremiah 31:12), and the nation of Israel as a whole «when I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man. », (Zechariah 9:13).

The word Zion is also used in a theological or spiritual sense in Scripture. In the Old Testament, Zion refers figuratively to Israel as the people of God «The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. », (Isaiah 60:14). In the New Testament, Zion refers to God’s spiritual kingdom. We have not come to Mount Sinai, says the apostle, but “to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” «but ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, », (Hebrews 12:22). Peter, quoting Isaiah 28:16, refers to Christ as the Cornerstone of Zion: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame” «Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I

Lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious: And he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. », (1 Peter 2:6).

Mount Zion as a geographical area is currently the center of much dispute. The Bible is clear that, one day, Zion will be the sole possession of the Lord Jesus, and Zion—the nation and the city—will be restored. “Awake, awake, / Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion; / Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments, / O Jerusalem, the holy city; / For the uncircumcised and the unclean / Will no longer come into you” «Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. », (Isaiah 52:1). And “the children of your oppressors will come bowing before you; / all who despise you will bow down at your feet / and will call you the City of the LORD, / Zion of the Holy One of Israel” «The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. », (Isaiah 60:14).