Jerusalem in Christianity - Jerusalem in The Old Testament

Jerusalem in The Old Testament

In the Old Testament, Jerusalem is referred to 669 times and Zion (which usually means Jerusalem, sometimes the Land of Israel) 154 times, while Zion Gadol (large Zion) is only mentioned 11 times. The Pentateuch refers to Moriah as the location of the binding of Isaac, and 2 Chronicles 3:1 connects this to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The book of Psalms, which has been frequently recited and memorized by Jews and Christians for centuries, says: (etc.)

• "By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion." (Psalms 137:1)
• "For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning . If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof; O daughter of Babylon, that art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that repayeth thee as thou hast served us." (Psalms 137:3-8) (King James Version, with italics for words not in the original Hebrew)
• "O God, the nations have entered into your inheritance, they have defiled the sanctuary of your holiness, they have turned Jerusalem into heaps of rubble...they have shed their blood like water round Jerusalem..." (Psalms 79:1-3);
• "...O Jerusalem, the built up Jerusalem is like a city that is united together...Pray for the peace of Jerusalem..." (Psalms 122:2-6);
• "Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains as God surrounds his people forever" (Psalms 125:3);
• "The builder of Jerusalem is God, the outcast of Israel he will gather in...Praise God O Jerusalem, laud your God O Zion." (Psalms 147:2-12)