It’s not clear exactly when God intervened directly for the first time, but at some point He revealed that this was the location He was referring to in Deuteronomy all along. The fact that there was a water source right next to it (the Gihon Spring) and that the mountain on which Abraham (according to tradition) almost sacrificed Isaac was right next to Jerusalem likely also played a role in the decision, although we can only speculate. In this way, David created a unifying Israeli sense of belonging. David conquered Jerusalem and made it a federal capital that could be accepted by the other tribes. It was on the border between Judah (David’s tribe) and Benjamin (Saul’s tribe), and there were no previous Judahite or Benjaminite inhabitants. is the capital of the United States – i.e., Washington doesn’t belong to any specific state and is, therefore, considered to be federal territory – Jerusalem held a similar status. Why? Because it was the perfect place for a capital. The first thing he did was to move the capital from Hebron, the capital of the tribe of Judah, and conquer Jerusalem, making it his new capital. ![]() After the death of Saul’s son Ish-Boshet, the elders of Israel came and asked David to rule over them. Again, Jerusalem is an insignificant Gentile city that the Jews are skipping over.ĭavid wasn’t the founder of Jerusalem. We will go on to Gibeah.’” (Judges 19:11-12). We won’t go into any city whose people are not Israelites. We have to assume that it was a limited raid, and that the Jebusites went back, because at the end of the Book of Judges we read this verse: “When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, ‘Come, let’s stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night.’ His master replied, ‘No. ![]() They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.” It doesn’t seem this was a lasting occupation, though. In the Book of Joshua 15:63, it states: “Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah.” However, in Judges 1:8, we read: “The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem also and took it. To that place you must go there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.” We now know that God was referring to Jerusalem but it would take many years until that became clear. For example, in the Book of Deuteronomy 12:5-6, God says: “But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put His Name there for his dwelling. In fact, until today the Samaritans insist that God was referring to Mount Gerizim, and not Jerusalem. Throughout the Book of Deuteronomy, God mentions “the place I will choose,” but no one knew at this point that it was Jerusalem. Besides that, it held no special significance. Tradition says that Mount Moriah, the mountain on which Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac, is that little hill right next to Jebus, and King Melchizedek of Shalem – who blessed Abraham – was probably from Jerusalem. ![]() When Joshua entered the land, Jerusalem was known as Jebus, and it was just one of many Canaanite cities they had to conquer. ![]() Let’s start from the biblical beginning – when the children of Israel were on their way to Israel through the desert and none of them had any idea about Jerusalem being holier than any other city. A biblical faith in the God of Israel and the temple service of King Solomon came first – and these three religions claim ownership of the Old Testament, Solomon’s temple and the prophets. To say that Judaism was the first religion to claim Jerusalem as its own is only partly true. In this three-part series, we will feature each of the three religions, starting with Judaism. But how true is that statement? Is it equally holy in all three religions, or do some of these religions see it as more holy than the others?īecause each one of these religions has ruled over Jerusalem at different points in history, we can get some clue as to how they view Jerusalem. We often refer to Jerusalem as “The Holy City” and that it’s holy for three major world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
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