September 5, 2010
8 Interesting Facts About Ancient Jerusalem
Jerusalem is one of the oldest and most popular cities in the world. An Israel tour will certainly include a visit here. Jerusalem has proven to be a place of interest for people of all cultures. All three major monotheistic religions - Christianity, Islam and Judaism - consider Jerusalem to be a holy site. Jerusalem is considered a place of great religious significance to many people today. The Holy City remains a place of mystery and wonder due to its great historical and cultural significance.
1. Judaism teaches that the first man, Adam, was created in Jerusalem at the place where the altar of the temple would stand. They teach that even after he was sent from the Garden of Eden, he later returned to this very place to offer a sacrifice to God. It is taught in Judaism that Shem, Noah's son, lived in Jerusalem and built an academy here to teach God's Word.
2. The focal point of Judaism is the temple in Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin ran the government and conducted their business within the temple. The temple is the central focus of many Jewish festivals including Yom Kippur, the Passover, Sukkot and Rosh Hashanah. The city was divided into two portions. The “Lower City” which was to the east and was called Salem. This is where Shem lived and built the school. The “Upper City” was to the west on a higher portion of ground and was referred to as the Land of Moriah.
3. It was on the mountain in Moriah that Abraham built the altar to sacrifice his son Isaac to God.This was, of course, only a test of Abraham's faith and God stopped him from killing his son. Abraham then named this place “Yirah” or “Yiru” (Jeru), which means awe. When combined with the eastern half of Jerusalem (called Salem), the city became JeruSalem, which means “complete awe of God.”
4. The name of the city of Jerusalem is never mentioned in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, although it is mentioned 669 times in the Hebrew Bible. There are many possible reasons for this, but the main reason seems to be the fact that they did not want the rest of the world to know where this very holy place was and thus try to control it. Their love and allegiance to this great city has never been compromised throughout the centuries, even when it was overtaken by enemies.
5. The Western Wall, located in the center of Old Jerusalem, is still considered a holy place for Jews today. It is believed to be a part of the expansion of the Second Temple built by Herod the Great in 19 BC. It is located near the place where the Holy of Holies was located inside the temple. Non-Jewish people often refer to this wall as the Wailing Wall because the Jews would often cry when they came to the wall to pray. It stands as a memorial to the Jews of the history of their race and they often repeat the 79th Psalm while praying there. It is also referred to as the Kotel. The wall is often a place where Christian Holy Land Tours will take tourists to see and pray.
6. King David made Jerusalem the capital of Israel around the year 1010 BC. King David defeated the Jebusites who were inhabiting Jerusalem and made plans to build a temple there to worship God. Solomon, David’s son, deemed the wisest man in the entire world, was the one who actually built the temple during a calm time in the history of Israel. The temple is still a place of worship in Jerusalem today, a memorial and sanctuary to the people of Israel.
7. After King Solomon died, Israel was separated into two countries due to a civil war. Jerusalem became a part of the southern kingdom of Judah, which continued until around 700 BC when the country was taken over by the Assyrians. In 600 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon stripped all rights of the city when he attacked Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar eventually destroyed the city of Jerusalem and banished most of the people to Babylon captivity.
8. Jerusalem has had her difficult times, and yet she remains one of the most appealing and diverse cities in the world. The Old City of Jerusalem, with its four walls, is bordered by modern Jerusalem. Holy sites in Jerusalem include the Temple Mount, the Western Wall and the Al Aqsa Mosque, a holy site for Islam. The Jewish tours to Israel provide a special emphasis on visiting Jewish sites such as Old Jerusalem and the Western Wall. There are multiple places that will be of interest to all tourists by providing hours of entertainment and education.
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