Zion

I can't explain it, but I get a funny sense when I see certain words, and it's uncanny how often I'm correct. I don't say this to boast, but it's happened at least four times in the past three months...

Today's word of that variety is ZION, and what makes these words stick out is when I realize that common words of today are used for the first time in the Bible. As soon as I read "Zion" in 2 Samuel 5:7, I was fairly certain it hadn't been used before. I did seconds of research to determine this was true, and then checked if the readers of that time would clearly understand what the word meant. This is important to me, since I'm a firm believer that we shouldn't just bask in the gift of 3,500 years of commentary and explanation as to what passages of the Bible mean, but seek to see if the people of that time understood as well.

In instances like this, I head straight for my NIV Study Bible, which has this note:

Zion. The first occurrence of the name in the OT (its meaning is unknown). Originally the name appears to have been given to the southernmost hill of the city on which the Jebusite fortress was located. As the city expanded (from the days of Solomon onward), the name continued to be applied to the entire city.

I've often wondered just what Zion means, and the fact I've never received a satisfactory answer would appear to be that there isn't one. At the very least, that's one less thing I need to discuss with God when we meet in heaven. This map of Jerusalem at various times in Biblical history shows where Mt. Zion was/is:

You can refer to this map in the months to come, since it's accurate up to the time of Christ and afterward, but don't lose sleep over the meaning of "Zion"--if it was important for us to know, the Lord would have made it plainly clear. 

Scott