The Fifth Gospel
Lesson FIVE: JERUSALEM, the city of David
Dr. Carl S. Hofmann
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
‘May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.’”
Psalm 122:6-7
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets
and stones those who are sent to it!
How often have I desired to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”
Matthew 23:37
[Recap lessons from the first four weeks…]
I. Jerusalem: History
1. Timeline (see handout)
2. Etymology:
A. Hebrew: Yerushalayim (“city of peace”)
B. Greek: Hierosolyma (cf. hieros: sacred, holy)
C. Arabic: El-Quds (“the sacred one”)
3. Temples: Two (or Three?!): Solomonic (940BC), Second Temple (ca. 520BC), and Herodian revisions (ca. 20BC; cf. John 2:20)
4. Jesus in Jerusalem…
II. Jerusalem: Geography
1. Location: 36 miles E of Mediterranean, 16 miles W of Dead Sea
2. A city of mountains and valleys
A. Four main mountains/hills (from east to west):
- Mount of Olives
- Temple Mount (“Mount Moriah”, see Genesis 22:2; 2Chr 3:1)
- Mt. Zion (“Upper Hill”)
- New City
B. Three main valleys between:
- Kidron Valley (see OT historical books; John 18:1): between Mount of Olives and Temple Mount. Tradition: the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:2)
- Tyropoean (“cheesemaker’s”) Valley: between Temple Mount and the Upper Hill
- Valley of Hinnom (“Gehenna”): See 2Chron 28:3; Jer 7:31; 32:35. Located between Upper Hill and the New City
3. Other significant facts:
A. Elevation: 2100-2600 ft (“go up to Jerusalem” Ps 122:4)
B. Climate and Weather: generally moderate: low 50s avg. in winter; mid 80s in summer. Two seasons, rainy and dry, avg. 25 inches of rain annually
C. Water: one main spring, the Gihon (meaning “gush”)
D. Geology: mostly limestone foundations
4. Walls and Gateways:
A. Walls: Old City’s walls built in 1538 by the Ottoman Turkish Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent.
B. Gates: On north side, from west to east: 1) the New Gate; 2) the Damascus Gate; 3) Herod’s Gate; 4) East: Lion’s Gate (a.k.a. “St. Stephen’s Gate”); 5) Mercy Gate (part of temple); 6) South: Dung Gate and Zion Gate; 6) West: Jaffa Gate
5. Modern Division of the City into Quarters
A. Northeast: Muslim
B. Northwest: Christian
C. South: Armenian
D. Southeast: Jewish
III. Jerusalem: Significance—Ancient and Modern
1. Zion: The City of David
2. King, Capitol, Temple, and Cultus
3. A Holy City for the Three Monotheistic Religions
A. Jews: Holiest place in the world (cf. the Western/Wailing Wall)
B. Muslims: Al Quds, the Haram es-Sharif, and the third most holy place (after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia)
C. Christians: the place of Christ’s passion, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and, traditionally, his return (Acts 1:11)
4. The Significance of the Temple Mount today
- though under Israeli control, it is administered by the Muslim Waqf
- radical Jewish and Christian groups have tried to seize it for apocalyptic purposes
IV. Slides of Jerusalem
ADDENDUM
Jerusalem: Important Dates
(see Baedeker’s Israel, 1994 edition, pp. 207-209)
2000BC Canaanite inhabitation
~1850BC Known as Salem during Abraham’s time (Gen 14:18)
~1400s BC Jebusites mentioned (Exodus)
~1000BC David conquers Jebus, establishes Israel’s capitol (“City of David”)
- see 2Sam. 5
- buys Araunah’s threshing floor for altar to the Lord (2Sam 24)
~940s BC First Temple built by Solomon
586BC Jerusalem destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar & Babylonians (Jer 52)
520BC Second Temple built
445BC Jerusalem’s walls rebuilt by Nehemiah
332BC Jerusalem comes under Greek rule
167BC Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrates Temple, Maccabees revolt, cleanse Temple, brief period of Jewish independence
63BC Jerusalem comes under Roman control
37BC Herod becomes King of the Jews, rebuilds, embellishes Temple
4BC Herod dies; city governed by Roman procurator, Jewish priests
AD30 Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection; Christian Pentecost
AD 70 First Jewish revolt, Jerusalem destroyed by Romans under Titus
AD135 Second Jewish revolt, Jerusalem destroyed, rebuilt, and renamed Aelia Capitolina by Hadrian
AD326 Becomes Christian city under Emperor Constantine
AD614 City captured by Persians
AD638 Becomes Muslim city; Dome of Rock, El Aqsa mosque built
AD1099 Crusaders capture city, which now becomes Christian
AD1187 Saladin captures city; it becomes Muslim again
AD1200s Some banned Jews return to live in Jerusalem
~AD1492 Sephardic Jews from Spain settle in Palestine
AD1519- Ottoman Turks rule Jerusalem (built current walls in 1537
1917
late 19th C Pace of Jewish immigration increases; modern Zionist movement gains momentum
AD 1917 British General Allenby enters city
AD1920 Period of British mandate begins
AD1947 United Nations resolves Jerusalem be internationalized and shared by Arabs and Jews
AD1948- Jews fight Jordanians, declare independence; modern Israel founded
1949
AD1950 Jews declare West Jerusalem their capital
AD1967 Jews capture East Jerusalem, Old City during Six Day War
AD1987 First of several Arab “intifadas” (uprisings)
Hofmann The Fifth Gospel: Lesson Five 4