Jerusalem

juh-ROO-suh-lem · Modern Jerusalem, Israel

Jerusalem is a city of the biblical world.

What is known

Herod's Temple, rebuilt and expanded starting c. 20 BC, was one of the largest religious complexes in the ancient world
Site of Jesus's trial, crucifixion, resurrection, and the Pentecost outpouring of the Spirit in Acts 2
The Temple was destroyed by Roman forces under Titus in AD 70, within a generation of Jesus's ministry

History

Founded: Settled since at least the Bronze Age (c. 4th–3rd millennium BC); established as Israel's capital by King David c. 1000 BC
Population: Estimated 25,000–80,000 residents in the 1st century AD, swelling to several hundred thousand during Passover pilgrimage
Industry: Temple-centered economy: pilgrimage trade, sacrificial animal sales, priestly administration, tanning, weaving, and stoneworking
Coordinates: 31.7683° N, 35.2137° E

Rulers and powers

Herod the Great — 37–4 BC
Herod Archelaus (ethnarch) — 4 BC – AD 6
Roman prefects (incl. Pontius Pilate) — AD 6–41
Herod Agrippa I — AD 41–44
Roman procurators — AD 44–66

Archaeology

Excavations at the City of David uncovered the Pool of Siloam, a large stepped Second Temple-period pool fed by the Gihon Spring — very likely the pool where John's Gospel says Jesus healed a man born blind, though its exact boundaries are still being excavated. North of the Temple Mount, digs near St. Anne's Church exposed a twin reservoir with colonnades matching John 5's description of the Pool of Bethesda. The Southern Steps and Huldah Gates on the Temple Mount's south wall preserve the original pilgrim approach to Herod's Temple that Jesus and his contemporaries would have used.

Excavated stepped remains of the Second Temple-period Pool of Siloam, City of David, Jerusalem — source & licence

Excavated ruins of the Pool of Bethesda near the Temple Mount, Jerusalem — source & licence

The Triple Gate, one of the ancient Huldah Gates on the Temple Mount's southern wall, above the Southern Steps pilgrim approach — source & licence

Scripture references

Matthew 2:1
Matthew 21:10 — Jesus's triumphal entry
Luke 2:41-42
John 2:13
Luke 23:1-25 — Trial of Jesus
Acts 1:8
Acts 2:5 — Pentecost
Galatians 1:18
Hebrews 12:22
Revelation 21:2 — The New Jerusalem

On a modern map

Jerusalem today

Reflect

Jesus wept over Jerusalem even as its crowds welcomed him — what do you love deeply enough to grieve over?

More places

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