Zion

Ephraim Moses Lilien, Sion1903.

Lilien, stamp for the Keren KayemetVienna, 1901-2. His symbolic configuration presents a star of David containing the word Zion in Hebrew characters.

Mural who remembers the Jewish condition during the Captivity in Babylon: "Besides the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and we we wept, remembering Zion. On the willows in the midst of it we hang our harps" (Psalm 137). Restoration by Nahum Meltzer, 2006-2010.

And our eyes will see with mercy your return to Zion. Lilien's print for the Fifth Zionist Congress, Basel, December 1901.

Hatikva. In the national anthem of Israel, the term Zion appears twice.

Zion Gate, Jerusalem, 1540.

Church of the Dormition of Mary (Catholic Church), in Monte Sion.

Zion (Hebrew: צִיּוֹן, tsiyyon; sometimes transliterated as Zion, Tzion or Tsion) was originally the name of a Jebusite fortress conquered by King David and located in present-day Jerusalem. The fortress stood on a hill on the southeast side of Jerusalem, Mount Zion, and is mentioned in the Bible as the spiritual center and "mother of all peoples" (Psalm 87, 2).

The Book of Psalms includes the Songs of Zion, a set of glorious hymns about the presence of God in relation to the people of Israel, from the dialogue with Moses, passing through the Ark of the Covenant and up to the Temple from Jerusalem.

Zion is a term that refers to a section of Jerusalem, which, by biblical definition, is the City of David. The term is often used as a synonym for "Jerusalem".

After David's death, the term began to be used to define the hill on which Solomon's Temple was located. Later, Zion was used to refer to both the temple and its foundations.

As stated in the Bible in many of its passages (and, especially, in Isaiah: 60), this name was used for a long time as a reference not only to the city, but also to the notion of Jerusalem as the spiritual center of the people Jew; and, by extension, to the Promised Land.

In the Middle Ages, Sion was used by the military and Catholic clergy to refer to the Order of Zion during the First Crusade (XII).

In the 19th century, Zionism or the modern nationalist movement of the Jewish people adopted the term Zion by general consensus and since then its use has been maintained to designate not only Jerusalem, but the entire Land of Israel.

Symbolic of "Liberation"

One of the most famous biblical passages referring to the term is found in Psalm 137:

By the rivers, in Babylon, we sat there, and we cried when we remembered Sion.

In said psalm, Zion is considered to be a place of unity, peace and freedom, literally opposed to Babylon, a decadent city characterized by its systematic exploitation of the human race.

The longing of the Jews for Zion, beginning from their deportation and enslavement during the Babylonian captivity.

The longing was later adopted by black slaves in the United States as well. Black Christian slaves longed for Zion. Even after the Civil War. -he continued- being for the blacks who in that country -continued- still oppressed.

Zion came to symbolize the longing of dispossessed and wandering peoples for a safe land. It could refer to a specific place, such as Ethiopia in the case of Rastafarians. For others it acquired a purely spiritual meaning, signifying the spiritual home, either heaven or peace of mind in an individual's present life.

In the case of the Hebrew people, both ideas are combined in the national anthem of Israel, entitled Hatikva and written in 1878; It is there that the term Zion acquires a leading role, expressing the two millennia-old collective and national Hope of the Israelite people:

Question: "What is Zion? What is the Biblical meaning of Zion?"

Answer: Psalm 87:2-3 says, “His foundation is on the holy mountain. He loves YAHVEH the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things have been said about you, city of God." The word “Zion” occurs more than 150 times in the Bible, essentially meaning “strength”. Chávez Dictionary

צִיּוֹן Zion. This name means "landmark", and"signal", a high and visible place.

In the Bible, Zion is both the city of David and the city of God. As the Bible progresses, the word Zion has a transition from referring primarily to a physical city, to a more spiritual meaning.

The first mention of the word “Zion” in the Bible is found in 2 Samuel 5:7, “But David took the fortress of Zion, which is the city of David.” Therefore, Zion was originally the name of an ancient fortress of the Jebusites in the city of Jerusalem. Zion became not only a fortress, but also a city in which the fortress was. After David captured “the stronghold of Zion,” Zion was then called “the city of David” (1 Kings 8:1; 1 Chronicles 11:5; 2 Chronicles 5:2).

When Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem, the word Zion expanded in meaning to also include the Temple and the area surrounding it (Psalms 2:6; 48:2, 11-12; 132:13) Eventually Zion was used as a name for the city of Jerusalem, the land of Judah, and the people of Israel as a whole (Isaiah 40:9; Jeremiah 31:12; Zechariah 9:13).

The most important use of the word Zion is in a theological sense. Zion is used figuratively for Israel as God's people (Isaiah 60:14). The spiritual meaning of Zion continues in the New Testament, where it is given the Christian meaning of the spiritual kingdom of God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 14:1). Peter refers to Christ as Zion's Cornerstone in First Peter 2:6: “Wherefore also the Scripture contains, Behold, I lay in Zion the chief cornerstone, chosen, precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Relations between Zion and Jerusalem

"Zion Gate" or "Gate of Prophet David" it is located in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It presents the impact of the armed clashes between Arabs and Israelis in 1948 (Arab-Israeli War).

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  Print entitled "Jerusalem Viewed From Mount Zion", 1845.

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  Auguste Salzmann, Gate of DavidJerusalem, 1856

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  James McDonald, City Wall: Sion Gate, 1865

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  Sion Gate1898.

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  David Sary, Kikar Sion"Plaza Sion, Jerusalem, 1936.

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  Jewish Jerosolimitans forced to evacuate the Old City of Jerusalem through the Gate of Zion in May 1948

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  Mount Zion: reconstruction of the Dormition Church carried out by the Israeli Government, 1954-58.

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  "Puerta de Sion: Open during the Six Day War, 1967." Note the impact of the bullets.

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  Palmaj Memorial Plate, 1968

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  "Puerta de Sion o Puerta de David", 2007

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  "Calle de la Puerta de Sion", in Hebrew, Arabic and English

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  Sion Gate, 2010

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  Monitoring post details

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  "Puerta de Sion", poster in English, Arabic and Hebrew

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  Sion door, which is also part of the Sion Gate.

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  Former Franciscan Monastery in Mount Zion, Jerusalem, 2006

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  Mevaseret Sion, 2009

Mural painting on the Hejal of the Yojanan synagogue Ben-Zakai with the City of Jerusalem represented as Sion and accompanied by Hebrew verses dedicated to it: Psalms 137:5-6 (superior); Psalms 128:5-6 (right); Isaiah 44:26 and 1 Kings 11:36 (left).

Bible verses on the mural in the Yochanan Ben-Zakai Synagogue

Forming part of a synagogal complex located in the Old City of Jerusalem, the Yochanan Ben-Zakai Synagogue contains a wall painting with a heavenly image of Zion accompanied by four biblical verses, where the notions of Zion and Jerusalem are closely linked:

• Psalm 137:5-6. If I will forget you, O Jerusalem, I will lose my right hand his skill. My tongue sticks to my palate, If I will not remember you; If I do not exalt Jerusalem as a preferred matter of my joy.

• Psalm 128:5-6. Bless the LORD from Zion, and see the good of Jerusalem every day of your life, and see the children of your children. Peace be upon Israel.

• Isaiah 44:26. I, who arouses the word of his servant, and fulfills the counsel of his messengers; who saith unto Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and unto the cities of Judah, They shall be rebuilt, and their ruins I will rebuild..

• 1 Kings 11:36. And to his son I will give a tribe, that my servant David may have a lamp every day before me in Jerusalem, a city which I chose to put on it my name.

Other uses of the term

Rastafarian Movement

For Rastafarians Zion is found in Africa, exactly in Ethiopia, where the term is also used. Some Rastas feel they are the representatives of the authentic children of Israel today, and their desire is to be repatriated to Africa, or to Zion. Rasta reggae music is full of references to Zion.

References to Zion in Western Culture

Miserere mei, Deus - Composition created by Gregorio Allegri in the 17th century

There are musical compositions from the Renaissance period where biblical passages are quoted, as is the case of the choir "Super flumina Babylonis" by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1526 - 1594) where a fragment of Psalm 136 (137) is quoted.

The classic lyrics of the Requiem, in the introitus, include a quote about Zion: "Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem", In Zion your praises sing worthily. In Jerusalem they offer you sacrifices.

It is also mentioned in a piece from Handel's Messiah titled Rejoyce greatly, oh daughter of Zion.

Temistocle Solera referred to Sion en el Va, pensiero chorus of the third act of the opera Nabucco, by Giuseppe Verdi:

“Del Giordano le rive saluta, di Sionne le torri atterrate … Hail the banks of the Jordan and the destroyed towers of Zion!”

The Melodians' 1978 song Rivers of Babylon, popularized by Boney M, makes a clear reference to Zion. The lyrics themselves have literal fragments of Psalm 19:14.

The renowned Reggae heir Damian Marley son of the late Bob Marley performs the song Road to Zion (Road to Zion)

The song "Ya hey#34; from indie rock band "Vampire Weekend" refers to Zion. Saying "Oh, sweet thing, Zion doesn't love you"

Sion is also used in the controversial work The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (El enigma sagrado in Spanish). Work of historical esotericism that became very popular, but considered pseudo-historical by historians, it spread the theory of a marriage between Mary Magdalene and Jesus of Nazareth and the existence of an ancient sect in charge of guarding the "Holy Grail", among other theories. conspiracy about the Catholic Church, with no real basis, and that Dan Brown would later recreate in fictional form.

In the novel Los Detectives Salvajes by Chilean Roberto Bolaño, Sion is the title of the only enigmatic poem published by Cesárea Tinajero, a watershed in the Mexican writer's search for her protagonists.

In the field of cinema, and probably inspired by the original meaning of the word, the term was used in the film trilogy Matrix to name the last city of human beings on Earth.

The rock band Sonic syndicate mentions Zion in the song "Zion must fall".

The Argentine band power trio Carajo has a song titled "Zión" in reference to the holy place

Progressive rock band Tool reference Sion in the song "10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2)".

Boney M also wrote a song titled 'Zion's Daughter'.

Metal band P.O.D. references Sion in his song Sleeping awake, which served as the theme song for the movie The Matrix, also in the song Babylon The Murderer, from his latest album, Murdered Love. We also find references to Zion in songs by Matisyahu, such as Fire of Heaven/Altar of Earth.

Metal group Sleep make several references to Zion in the lyrics of the song "Jerusalem/Dopesmoker".

Sion is mentioned in the song Fausto by the symphonic power metal group Anima Adversa from Granada. The choir recites some verses in Latin: Super flumina Babylon, Illic sedimus, Illic flevimus, Cum recuerdaremur Sion.[1]

In the PC and Xbox video game Star Wars Knights of The old Republic II, Darth Sion is one of the members of the Sith Triumvirate. He represents Pain. He looks like a zombie, with mutilated parts and according to Atton Rand, he is a "Sith Lord who sleeps with vibromachetes". He wields a standard crimson saber and can regenerate. The Exile psychologically defeats him in front of the door leading to the Trayus Core.

Hillsong used Sion to represent their album in 2013.

Also in the PC game League of Legends it is the name of a character characterized by stamina and strength.

Puerto Rican singer Félix Gerardo Ortiz Torres has chosen the name Zion as his artistic pseudonym, forming the duo "Zion & Lennox", recognized in the reggaeton genre.

Resources

• Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category Sion.