■ Thi> well ma raopencd in a.d. 1184 by the rnnkl, who calleti it ' Joob'e well ' (t.<. Eii-rogelX
586
JERUSALEM
JERUSALEM
Rom. period. Tbe rocky cliaiiiber and pa-ssage at the bottom extend 128 ft., but no ancient notice of this reservoir has been discovered with any certainty. 'J"be water supply, both here and at the Bir Eyub, failed in the winter of 186i-lSGJ, bein" dependent on the rainfall of a comparatively small area, near the watershed N. of the city. The various artificial reservoirs which supplied the city will be described later. We liave no infoinia- tiou a.s to any works which may have been carried out by tlie Jebusites before David li.\ed his ciipital in Jerusalem. The spring in tlie Kidron Valley e.xistcd then, and it is possible that the supply in the llammdtn esh-ShcJu was also available, and much nearer to the surface. In Neh (as noticed later) the 'Dragon Spring' is mentioned NV. of Jerus. ; but if a natural supplj* of water is to be understood, it would seem to be now dried U|), as there is no known spring on this side of the city. Jos. calls this place the ' Serpents' Pool ' {BJ V. iii. 2).
in. History. — In accordance ^v^th Jewish tra- dition (Jos. A}it. I. X. 2, VU. xi. ."i ; Wars, VI. x. 1), Jerus. may be supposed to have been a city (Salem?) in the time of Abrali.im (Gn 14", where see the cautious note of Dilliiiann), whose king, Mclcliizedek, was priest of God Most High (El E/i/t'/n). The city is next noticed as the capital of a Canaanite king at the time of the Heb. conquest (Jos 10'). The inhabitants were Jebusites; and although its king was killed (Jos 10^), yet Jerus. was not attacked until later (Jg 1* [?]), and remained a Jebusite town, and ' city of the stranger ' (Jg 19'°""), in the time of the Judges. The discovery of letters from the early governor of Jerus. to Amenophis (c. B.C. 1480-1440), in the Tel el-Aiiiarna collection, gives us some additional light on tbe history of the city. It is clear from various references that an Egyptian resident, supported by an Egj-ptian garrison, was there established at a time when all tbe Philistine towus (including Gezer) were also held by Egypt. But this garrison was with- drawn in conseijuence of the general rebellion of Pal. and Syn.-i against Egypt, and the king of Jerus. reported that, in consequence, all the country had rebelled to the KKabiri (see Hebrews), who had occupied Aijalon, Lachish, Gezer, Ash- kelon, and Zorah, bis own position being perilous in consequence. It is clear, therefore, that Jerus. was already a royal Canaanite city before the Heb. conquest under Joshua.
The boundary line of Judah was so drawn as to leave Jerus. in the lot of Benjamin (Jos 15', cf. 18^, both P; in 15«> [JE] Jerus. belongs to Judah) ; the border ran from En-rogel (in tbe Kidron) along the Valley of Hinnom S. of Jerusalem. The city was attacked by Judah (Jos 15'^ ; in Jg P' Ben- jamin has possibly been substituted for Judah ; J" 1' is a very doubtful passage, see Moore's note), wlio, however, did not succeed in driving out the original Jebusites. The choice of Jerus. as a capital, in Da\-id's time, was probably due to its being already an important torni, iu a position more central than Hebron, and less exposed to incursion from the plains than Shechem. David's men scaled the ' gutter,' * or ' water - channel ' (zinnor, irapafiV^O. and took the ' mountain fort of Zion,' or ' citadel ' ('Xxpa.), which Josephus identifies with the Upper Agora of his ovn time {Wars, v. iv. 1). The mockery of David by the Jebusites shows that Jerus. was considered a strong fortress (2 S o"""). The occupation of the citadel did not lead to the expulsion of the Jebusites, for at a later period David appears to have been friondlj' with Araunah the Jebusite. Jerus. at the time of this conquest (about B.C. 1000) included not only the fort of the
• On the various exptanalionii that have been offered of the Teiy obscure passage 2 S &», see Driver, ad toe
upper city, but also a quarter called Millo (2 S 5*), which the LXX renders 'AKpa. Josephus state* that David joined the lower city (rV Kiiru wdXiy^ to the citadel (riiv 'AKpav), surrounding both with walls (see 1 Ch ll'"''), and established liimself in the citadel, calling it (or else Jerus. general!}-) the city of David. The ark was soon after brought to the city of Daviil, and ' placed in the tent that David had pitched for it' (2 S 6'=", 1 Ch 13" 15'^-I6'). The site of the Temple was afterwards chosen at the ' thresbing-lloor of Araunah the Jebusite' (2 S 24", 1 Ch 21'"-'»), which site waa bought for fifty shekels of silver (about £9), or, acconling to the later account (1 Ch 21^), for Cod shekels of gold. Preparations for the building were made by David, and the Temjile wa.s begun by Solomon in tbe month of Ziv (latter part of .\pril), in the 4tli year of his reign (about B.C. SKJo), and finished in the month Bui (Oct.), seven years later (1 K e''**). The ark was finally re- moved out of the city of David into the Temple (1 K S'"*), at the fca.st of consecration in the seventh month, Kthaniiii (September). Tbe royal palace of hewn stone and cedar was not finished till later (1 K 7''-'), and two bronze pillars were cast for the Temple, with a 'sea' or large reservoir, and other vessels (1 K 7"""). The Temple, which in plan and adornment resembled those in B.ibylon, described in a later age in the records of Nebuch., was provided with an altar court with walls and cedar beams (1 K 6**); but the dimensions of this court are not noticed. It is stated that the ' inner ' or altar court was separated from other outei cimrts (2 Ch 23''*). The royal palace aiqiears (as will be shown in dealing witn Topogiajiliy) tt have stood near the Temple on the a., ami it was not in the city of David (1 K 9", cf. 7*). .Solomon also built the wall of Jerus., and ' shut in the ravine ['.' ; RV 'repaired the breach'; Heb. n;"rx i:;] of tlie city of Da^nd ' (1 K 9" 11-''). Jerus. was en- larged by the building of the Temple and Palace beyond tlie bounds of the city of David.