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Zion (Hebrew: צִיּוֹן Ṣiyyôn), also transliterated Sion, Tzion or Tsion, is a place name often used as a synonym for Jerusalem. The word is first found in Samuel II, 5:7 dating to c.630–540 BCE according to modern scholarship. It commonly referred to a specific mountain near Jerusalem (Mount Zion), on which stood a Jebusite fortress of the same name that was conquered by David and was named the City of David. The term Tzion came to designate the area of Jerusalem where the fortress stood, and later became a metonym for Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, the city of Jerusalem and generally, the World to Come.
The etymology of the word Zion (ṣiyôn) is uncertain. Mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Samuel (2 Samuel 5:7) as the name of the Jebusite fortress conquered by King David, its origin likely predates the Israelites. If Semitic, it may be derived from the Hebrew root ṣiyyôn ("castle") or the Hebrew ṣiyya ("dry land," Jeremiah 51:43). A non-Semitic relationship to the Hurrian word šeya ("river" or "brook") has also been suggested.
The form Tzion (Hebrew: ציון; Tiberian vocalization: Ṣiyyôn) appears 108 times in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and once as HaTzion. It is spelled with a Tzadi and not Zayin. The commonly used form is based on German orthography, where z is always pronounced [t͡s] (e.g. "zog" [t͡soːk]), hence "Zion" in German literature. A tz would only be used if the preceding vowel is short, and hence use of Zion in 19th-century German Biblical criticism. This orthography was adopted because in German the correct transliteration can only be rendered from the one instance of HaTzion in Kings II 23:17, where the a vowel is followed by a double consonant tz.
Some examples from the book of Psalms, which have been frequently recited and memorized by Jews for centuries, state:
Mentioned 26 times in the Tanakh, the Biblical phrase "Daughter of Tzion" (Hebrew "bat Tzion") is a reference to Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount) in Jerusalem. A cryptic verse in the book of Zechariah, Zechariah 4:7, seems to refer to Mount Moriah, but may be ambiguous, depending on the punctuation. In Hebrew it reads "Mi attah Har-haGadol lifnei Zerubbabel l'mishor..."; the plain text has no punctuation, but the Masoretic Text puts a pause following Har-haGadol, to mean "Who are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, [you will become just] a plain..." However, if the pause is placed following Zerubbabel, it would mean instead "What are you, "great mountain" before Zerubbabel? [You are just] a plain..." Since this hill is where Zerubbabel built the Second Temple, it appears to be a reference to the "Daughter of Zion" (the hill), as distinct from Tzion (the mountain).
However, "Daughter of Zion", and a variety of other names like "Daughter of Jerusalem", might also be interpreted as referring to Jerusalem, the Holy Temple, and the Jewish people personified, instead of a Mount Moriah specifically.
Zion is the Hebrew name for the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and was the seat of the first and second Holy Temple. It is the most holy place in the world for Jews, seen as the connection between God and humanity. Observant Jews recite the Amidah three times a day facing Zion in Jerusalem, praying for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, the restoration of the Temple service, the redemption of the world, and for the coming of the Messiah.
Sahyun (Arabic: صهيون, Ṣahyūn or Ṣihyūn) is the word for Zion in Arabic and Syriac. Drawing on biblical tradition, it is one of the names accorded to Jerusalem in Arabic and Islamic tradition. A valley called Wâdi Sahyûn (wadi being the Arabic for "valley") seemingly preserves the name and is located approximately one and three-quarter miles from the Old City of Jerusalem's Jaffa Gate.
The Kaaba in Mecca was also called Sahyun or Zion by Muhammed, the prophet of Islam. Islamic scholarship sees many passages of the Bible that refer to the desert or eschatological Zion as references to the holy site of Mecca. For example, the reference to the "precious cornerstone" of the new Jerusalem in the Book of Isaiah 28:16 is identified in Islamic scholarship as the cornerstone of the Kaaba. This interpretation is said by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyah (1292–1350) to have come from the People of the Book, though earlier Christian scholarship identifies the cornerstone with Jesus.
In the New Testament the Daughter of Zion is the bride of Christ, also known as the Church, according to the writer of the book of Hebrews (see Heb 12:22). In this sense the lower hill with the temple mount is of course the Daughter of Zion as a geographical or 'earthly' manifestation of spiritual reality, as well as the lively and alive place of the human congregation.
Naming the holy city "daughter Zion" was a common practice in the Hebrew language. Not only Jerusalem was called this way, but also Babylon, Tyre and Tarshish were referred to as "daughter".
A similar metaphoric transformation of the term "Zion" occurs in the modern Latter Day Saint movement, originating in the United States in the 1830s. In this interpretation, Zion refers to a specific location to which members of the millennial church are to be gathered together to live. During that time the ancient city of Enoch, also named Zion, that was taken to Heaven will return to the Earth. A Temple is to be built unto the Lord for a sacred work to be performed and for the Lord Jesus Christ to reign when he returns at the Second Coming. Until the gathering of Israel (Gentile and Jew who have accepted Jesus as their savior), when the second coming of Jesus Christ.[clarification needed]
The term "Zionism" coined by Austrian Nathan Birnbaum, was derived from the German rendering of Tzion in his journal Selbstemanzipation (Self Emancipation) in 1890. Zionism as a political movement started in 1897 and supported a 'national home', and later a state, for the Jewish people in Palestine. The Zionist movement declared the re-establishment of its State of Israel in 1948, following the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. Since then and with varying ideologies, Zionists have focused on developing and protecting this state.
The last line of the Israeli national anthem ("Hatikvah"...Hope) is ...."Eretz, Zion, Yerushalayim", which means literally Land, Zion, Jerusalem. Yerushalayim is a plural, because there are 2 "Jerusalems" in Judaism, there is the physical land and the spiritual spot where God's presence on Earth (Shechinah) is centered.
In 2005, Ralph Uwazuruike from Nigeria pushed for the creation of the already disputed state of Biafra for the Igbo people. He approached the Israeli government to support this movement on the basis that Israel is the long lost home of the Igbos.
The Jewish longing for Zion, starting with the deportation and enslavement of Jews during the Babylonian captivity, was adopted as a metaphor by Christian Black slaves in the United States, and after the Civil War by blacks who were still oppressed. Thus, Zion symbolizes a longing by wandering peoples for a safe homeland. This could be an actual place such as Ethiopia for Rastafari or Israel for some of the Igbos in Nigeria for example. For others, it has taken on a more spiritual meaning—a safe spiritual homeland, like in heaven, or a kind of peace of mind in one's present life.
In the Rastafari movement, "Zion" stands for a utopian place of unity, peace and freedom, as opposed to "Babylon", the oppressing and exploiting system of the materialistic modern world and a place of evil.
It proclaims Zion, as reference to Ethiopia, the original birthplace of humankind, and from the beginning of the movement calls to repatriation to Zion, the Promised Land and Heaven on Earth. Some Rastafari believe themselves to represent the real Children of Israel in modern times, and their goal is to repatriate to Ethiopia, or to Zion.
|“||I say fly away home to Zion, fly away home...One bright morning when my work is over, man will fly away home...||”|
—Rastaman Chant , The Wailers
Rastafari reggae is peppered with references to Zion; among the best-known examples are the Bob Marley songs "Zion Train", "Iron Lion Zion", the Bunny Wailer song "Rastaman" ("The Rasta come from Zion, Rastaman a Lion!"), The Melodians song "Rivers of Babylon" (based on Psalm 137, where the captivity of Babylon is contrasted with the freedom in Zion), the Bad Brains song "Leaving Babylon", the Damian Marley song featuring Nas "Road to Zion," The Abyssinians' "Forward Unto Zion" and Kiddus I's "Graduation In Zion," which is featured in the 1977 cult roots rock reggae film Rockers, and "Let's Go To Zion" by Winston Francis. Reggae groups such as Steel Pulse and Cocoa Tea also have many references to Zion in their various songs. In recent years, such references have also crossed over into pop and rock music thanks to artists like MindZion, O.A.R. "To Zion Goes I", Sublime, Lauryn Hill, Boney M. ("Rivers of Babylon"), Black Uhuru "Leaving to Zion", Fluid Minds "Zion", Dreadzone with the reggae-tinged track "Zion Youth.", P.O.D. with song "Set Your Eyes to Zion" (but P.O.D. with a Christian viewpoint: Zion referring to the spiritual kingdom of God), Trevor Hall with song "To Zion", and Australian roots reggae outfit Vindan and The Zion Band, also Alcyon Massive (a reggae/psychedelic band in Southern Oregon) wrote a song titled "Zion". The progressive rock band Rush also reference Zion/Babylon duality in the song "Digital Man" with the following lyrics: "He'd love to spend the night in Zion. He's been a long while in Babylon".
Today, Mount Zion refers to a hill south of the Old City's Armenian Quarter, not to the Temple Mount. This apparent misidentification dates from the Middle Ages, when Christian pilgrims mistook the relatively large, flat summit (the highest point in ancient Jerusalem) for the original site of the Jewish Temple. The Dormition Church (right) is located upon the hill currently called Mount Zion.
Zion is referenced in several media and entertainment groups. For example in music the band with the name Mind Zion also there are song titles such as "To Zion", a song by Lauryn Hill, "Road to Zion", by Damian Marley, "Iron Lion Zion" by Bob Marley, or the "Zion (David Bowie song)". It is referenced in the song "Pancake" by Tori Amos from her concept album "Scarlet's Walk". In film, Zion is a fictional human-controlled underground city, near the Earth's core, and is the last bastion for human civilization in The Matrix (franchise). In literature, Zion is a space station in the 1984 cyberpunk novel Neuromancer. The first two verses of Psalm 137, which mention Zion, were used for a musical setting in a round by English composer, Philip Hayes. Don McLean covered the song as 'Babylon', which was the final track on his 1971 album, American Pie. The 2011 Bright Eyes Album The People's Key referenced Zion in the song "Haile Selassie" "Hitchhiking back to Zion, Holding our tears as we flip the album" It is also referenced in the song "Ya Hey" by Vampire Weekend. The band Soulfly refers to Zion in their song "Prophecy".