City of David

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City of David
(Ancient City of Israel)
Model of the City of David in the Second Temple Period (Israel Museum)
CountryCapital city of Ancient Israel (based on the period of King David’s reign)
Administrative DistrictJerusalem
AreaApproximately 375 meters north to south, 120 meters east to west
Elevation750 meters
PopulationAbout 2,000 people
LocationSoutheast of Jerusalem
FeaturesKing David captured the fortress of the Jebusites, formerly called the “City of Zion,” and named it the “City of David.”

The City of David is the name King David of ancient Israel gave to the fortress he captured from the Jebusites. This stronghold, originally called the City of Zion, was a mountain fortress built on Mount Zion in the southeastern part of Jerusalem. The Bible prophesied that just as King David built Zion, Jesus Christ—the spiritual David—would also establish the spiritual Zion.

David’s Conquest of Zion

In the fifteenth century B.C., the Jebusites inhabited Jerusalem. When the Israelites entered Canaan and apportioned the land by tribes, the southern part of Jerusalem was allotted to Judah and the northern part to Benjamin. Yet no tribe fully expelled the native inhabitants, and the mountain fortress on Mount Zion remained under Jebusite control.[1][2]

In the tenth century B.C., after David became the second king of Israel, he set out to conquer Zion. The Jebusites were certain that David would never breach their fortress and mocked him, saying, “Even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” However, David ascended through the water shaft connected to the Gihon Spring and succeeded in capturing Zion[3]—four hundred years after the Israelites had first entered Canaan.

David expanded the city walls and made Zion the capital of Israel. He thus became the first king to build Zion and to reign from it, and for this reason Zion came to be known as the City of David. When David brought the ark of the covenant, which had been kept in the house of Obed-Edom, and placed it in Zion, the city became both the political and religious center of the nation.

Historical Development of the City of David

City of David in the Monarchy Period

Inside Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Ian Scott, 2009

After David, King Solomon built the Jerusalem Temple on Mount Moriah, located just north of the City of David.[4] When the Temple was completed, the ark of the covenant—previously kept in the City of David—was transferred to the newly constructed Temple on Mount Moriah.[5][6]

Over time, both Mount Zion, where the City of David had originally stood, and Mount Moriah, the site of the Jerusalem Temple, came to be referred to collectively as Zion. The meaning of “Zion” thus expanded beyond a specific mountain or city to signify the place where God’s Temple dwells.[7] During the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites cherished Zion so deeply that they often referred to their entire homeland, Israel, simply as Zion.[8]

During the reign of Hezekiah, the thirteenth king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, major fortifications were undertaken in preparation for the Assyrian invasion.[9] Scholars believe that the city expanded westward from the original City of David during this period.[10] Hezekiah also constructed a remarkable underground tunnel to channel water from the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley into the city, ensuring a secure water supply during siege conditions.[11] Because of this westward expansion, records from the reign of King Josiah mention a “second district,” indicating a newly developed area of the city.[12][13]

However, in the sixth century BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed both the Temple and the city walls, bringing the city’s fortified splendor to an end—at least temporarily.

City of David After the Babylonian Captivity

Map of the City of David and the Jerusalem Temple

After returning from the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites rebuilt the Jerusalem Temple and restored the city walls, though the reconstructed structures were far smaller than those of Solomon’s era.[14][15][16] During the Roman period, King Herod extensively renovated and expanded the Temple complex, making it one of the most magnificent structures of the ancient world. However, in AD 70, the Roman army destroyed both the Temple and the city walls once again. From that time until today, the Temple has never been rebuilt.

David and Zion in Prophecy

Throughout the four hundred years following the Israelites’ entry into Canaan, many leaders arose, yet only one succeeded in conquering and establishing Zion—King David. For this reason, Zion came to be known as the City of David. The Bible reveals that Jesus Christ came to this world as the spiritual King David.


“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.”

Luke 1:31–32


Among the many figures in the Old Testament, David stands out as a prophetic representation of Christ because the works he accomplished symbolically foreshadowed the mission of Jesus. The most significant of these accomplishments was the building of Zion. This serves as a prophetic model indicating that Jesus, who came as the spiritual David, would also build spiritual Zion.

Characteristics and Blessings of Zion

The New Covenant Passover kept by Jesus and His disciples

The Zion that Jesus builds is not the physical Zion in Palestine. It refers to a spiritual place, the dwelling of God forever,[17] where humanity receives the blessings of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.[18] Prophet Isaiah foretold this place as “the City of Zion where the appointed feasts are celebrated.”


Look on Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken. There the LORD will be our Mighty One. It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them. For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us. No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”; and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.

Isaiah 33:20–24


Because Zion is defined as the place where the appointed feasts are kept, it follows that Jesus, the spiritual David, would establish the Church that practices the feasts of God. In fulfillment of this, Jesus granted the forgiveness of sins and eternal life through the Passover,[19] kept the Feast of Tabernacles and bestowed the blessing of the water of life[20] and poured out the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.[21] He also observed the weekly feast, the Sabbath day, according to His custom.[22] Through these feasts of the new covenant, Jesus built the spiritual Zion foretold in the Bible.

The Second Coming of Jesus and Zion

The prophet Daniel foretold that the devil, who opposes God, would attempt to change God’s appointed feasts.[23] In fulfillment of this prophecy, beginning in the early second century, the feasts established by Jesus gradually began to be altered and eventually abolished. In AD 321, the Sabbath was replaced with Sunday worship. In AD 325, the Passover was abolished at the Council of Nicaea, and later December 25, the birthday of the sun god, was adopted as a religious observance. As the feasts disappeared, Zion collapsed and became spiritually desolate,[24] meaning that no one could receive the blessing of eternal life there.

Yet the prophet Micah declared that in the last days, nations and peoples would once again stream to Zion to receive God’s teachings.


In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Micah 4:1–2


The “mountain of the LORD’s temple” refers to Zion, the place where the Temple of God is. Through this prophecy, it is understood that Zion, which had collapsed and become desolate, would be rebuilt in the last days.


For the LORD will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory.

Psalms 102:16–22


The Bible consistently teaches that God Himself will restore Zion. Psalm 87:5 affirms that “the Most High Himself will establish Zion.” Just as Jesus built spiritual Zion two thousand years ago, so in the last days the Second Coming Jesus, coming as the spiritual King David,[25] will appear and rebuild Zion.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Joshua 15:63".
  2. ↑ "Judges 1:21".
  3. ↑ "2 Samuel 5:4–8".
  4. ↑ "2 Chronicles 3:1".
  5. ↑ "1 Kings 8:1, 6".
  6. ↑ "2 Chronicles 5:2, 7".
  7. ↑ "Psalms 78:68–69".
  8. ↑ "Psalms 137:1".
  9. ↑ "2 Chronicles 32:2–5".
  10. ↑ Brisco, T. V., Holman Bible Atlas: A Complete Guide to the Expansive Geography of Biblical History, Holman Reference, 1999
  11. ↑ "2 Chronicles 32:30".
  12. ↑ "2 Kings 22:14".
  13. ↑ "2 Chronicles 34:22".
  14. ↑ "Ezra 6:14–16".
  15. ↑ "Nehemiah 3:15".
  16. ↑ "Nehemiah 12:37".
  17. ↑ "Psalms 132:13–14".
  18. ↑ "Psalms 133:3".
  19. ↑ "Matthew 26:17–28".
  20. ↑ "John 7:2, 37-39".
  21. ↑ "Acts 2:1–4".
  22. ↑ "Luke 4:16".
  23. ↑ "Daniel 7:25".
  24. ↑ "Isaiah 51:3".
  25. ↑ "Hosea 3:5".
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