No other city in history has so many names, designations, and honorifics as the Holy City of Jerusalem. That alone reflects the importance of Jerusalem in the biblical past, in different cultures, across generations. This series introduces the Hebrew Biblical names of the City of David. Unfortunately, the meanings of the Hebrew titles often get lost in translation. The names of Jerusalem also illuminate why the biblical city is so controversial.
“Woe to you, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David settled! Add year to year and let your cycle of festivals go on. Yet I will besiege Ariel; she will mourn and lament, she will be to me like an altar hearth.“ (Isaiah 29:1-2)
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2 responses to “Jerusalem – Ariel – Lion of God”
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The interpretation of “a lion / lioness of God” makes sense, because of what God said through Jacob concerning Judah (Genesis 49:8-11). Jacob prophesied that Judah was “a lion’s cub” and “the sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until He to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be His.” Jesus’ riding on a colt was prophesied by Zechariah (9:9) a few hundred years earlier, but the Lord preparing a donkey and a colt was already prophesied through Jacob about 3900 years ago. David ordered Solomon to ride his mule as the new king of Israel and Judah too (1 Kings 1:33). God’s choosing of Judah, Jewish people, does indeed have a long history.
Maybe “lion and God” is a better interpretation for Jerusalem.