Zion
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Zion (Hebrew: צִיּוֹן; Tiberian vocalization: tsiyyôn; transliterated Zion or Sion) is a term that most often designates the Land of Israel and its capital, Jerusalem. The word is found in texts dating back almost three millennia. It commonly referred to a specific mountain near Jerusalem (Mount Zion), on which stood a Jebusite fortress of the same name that was conquered by David and was named the City of David.
The term Zion came to designate the area of Jerusalem where the fortress stood, and later became a metonym for Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, the city of Jerusalem and the entire Promised Land to come, in which, according to the Hebrew Bible, God dwells among his chosen people.
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[edit] Modern use
The name Zion appears 154 times in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). Some examples from the book of Psalms, which have been frequently recited and memorized by Jews for centuries, state:
- "By the streams 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)
- "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)
[edit] Zionism
Zionism is a political movement and an ideology that supports a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where the Hebrew nation originated over 3,200 years ago and where Hebrew kingdoms and self-governing states existed up to the 2nd century AD. While Zionism is based in part upon religious tradition linking the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, the modern movement is largely secular, beginning largely as a response to rampant antisemitism during the 19th century. After a number of advances and setbacks, and after the Holocaust had destroyed Jewish society in Europe, the Zionist movement culminated in the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and succeeded in reaching the Zionist dream or goal.
[edit] Anti-slavery
The Jewish longing for Zion, starting with the deportation and enslavement of Jews during the Babylonian captivity, was adopted as a metaphor by Christianized Black slaves. Thus, Zion symbolizes a longing by wandering peoples for a safe homeland. This could be a literal place such as in Ethiopia for Rastafari for example. For others, it has taken on a more spiritual meaning—a safe spiritual homeland, like in heaven, or a kind of peace of mind in one's present life.
[edit] Rastafari movement
In the Rastafari movement, "Zion" stands for a Utopian place of unity, peace and freedom, as opposed to "Babylon," the oppressing and exploiting system of the western world and a place of evil.
For Rastafarians, Zion is to be found in Africa, and more specifically in Ethiopia, where the term is also in use. Some Rastas believe themselves to represent the real Children of Israel in modern times, and their goal is to repatriate to Africa, or to Zion. Rasta reggae is peppered with references to Zion; among the best-known examples are the Bob Marley songs '"Zion Train," "Iron Lion Zion," the Damian Marley song featuring Nas; "Road to Zion," The Abyssinians' "Forward Unto Zion" and Kiddus I's immortal track "Graduation In Zion," which is featured in the 1977 cult roots rock reggae film "Rockers." Reggae groups such as Steel Pulse and Cocoa Tea also have many references to Zion in their various songs. In recent years, such references have also crossed over into pop and rock music thanks to artists like OAR, P.O.D. (band) Payable On Death with song "set your eyes to zion," Sublime, Lauryn Hill, Boney M (Rivers of Babylon), Dreadzone with the reggae-tinged track "Zion Youth."
Example from the Mad Professor song "Africa Is Zion": "Africa is Zion and Zion is Africa, Ethiopia is Mount Zion / Them tell us that Africa is Africa, the Bible tell us it's Zion."
[edit] Ugaritic texts and the Bible
In texts uncovered at Ugarit, references to "Zephon" (Tsephon) have been identified with the Syrian mountain Jebel Aqra. In these texts, the mountain is the holy place of the gods, where the god known as the "Lord" reigns over the divine assembly. The word "Zephon" is a common Semitic word for "North", and some[who?] have considered it to be possibly cognate with the Hebrew name Zion (Tsiyyon). Psalm 48:2 mentions both terms together: "...Har-Tsiyyon yarktey Tsafon..." ("Mount Zion on the Northern side"), usually taken to refer to the north side of Mount Zion, not necessarily indicating that Zion is found to the North.
[edit] Mount Zion
Mount Zion is also the modern name of a hill south of the Old City's Armenian Quarter—the result of a misnomer dating from the Middle Ages when pilgrims mistook the relatively large, flat summit for the original site of the City of David. The Dormition Church (right) is located upon that hill.
In Old Testament times Mt Hermon was referred to as Mt Sion Deuteronomy 4:48 or Mt Zion. Mt Hermon is located in the extreme northeast of Israel. It stands 9,400 feet high and is situated at the most southern point of a range of hills called the Anti-Lebanon Range.
[edit] The Daughter of Zion
The location of the Temple was neither a mountain nor a city, nor even the highest elevation near the city, but rather a smallish hill (Mount Moriah), and this hill is sometimes considered to be what is meant by the phrase "Daughter of Zion" - as though the Temple Mount is the "daughter" of Mount Zion. Another cryptic verse, Zechariah 4:7, seems to refer to this hill, but is also ambiguous, depending on the punctuation. In Hebrew it reads "Mi attah Har-haGadol lifnei Zerubbabel l'mishor..."; the plain text has no punctuation, but the Masoretic text puts a pause following Har-haGadol, to mean "Who are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, [you will become just] a plain..." However, if the pause is placed following Zerubbabel, it would mean instead "What are you, "great mountain" before Zerubbabel? [You are just] a plain..." Since this hill is where Zerubbabel built the Second Temple, it appears to be a reference to the "Daughter of Zion" (the hill), as distinct from Zion (the mountain).
[edit] Zion in Latter-day Saint theology
A metaphoric transformation of the term "Zion" similar to that which it underwent in the Rastafarian movement is found within the modern Latter-day Saint or Christian Restorationist movement, originating in the United States in the 1830s. In this interpretation, Zion refers to a specific location to which members of the millennial church are to be gathered together to live. Stipulated by what is believed by the Latter-day Saints to be the revelation of Joseph Smith, Jr. (D&C 57:1-5), this is said to be located in the central part of what is currently the U.S. state of Missouri, a location believed to have been the original Garden of Eden and known to them as Adam-ondi-Ahman. The nearby area currently comprising the city of Independence, Missouri is also part of this concept of Zion, and the region remains important today to several branches and offshoots of the Restoration movement, who view it as having a crucial role to play in their Christian Millenialist theology.
The word "Zion" appears at least 45 times in the Book of Mormon, a key part of the Latter-day Saint canon, and nearly 200 times in the LDS version of the Doctrine and Covenants, a part of its canon consisting of what members believe to be modern-day revelation and written down by Smith mostly in the 19th century. Following the disappointments and strife which took place in Missouri during initial attempts to establish a "City of the Saints" in the region, the concept of Zion evolved to encompass a less geographically-specific idea similar to the orthodox Christian concept of the "ekklesia" (See Ecclesia (Church))" or community of believers regardless of location. This concept is hinted at in such scriptural passages as the following: "Therefore, verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion — THE PURE IN HEART; therefore, let Zion rejoice, while all the wicked shall mourn." (Doctrine and Covenants 97:21, LDS version)[1]
Esoterically considered, "Zion" as used in this context is a dualistic term connoting a sanctified group of people living according to the commandments and ordinances as revealed to them. Latter-day Saints use the name to signify a group of God's followers, or any location pertaining to where they live. As well as signifying a group and place it is also applied to more than one situation and may be fulfilled at more than one time. Thus, “Zion” has several related but not necessarily synonymous applications. These applications make reference to the following: 1) The Jerusalem of Judah; 2) The New Jerusalem in America; and 3) The Lord’s people and their gathering places around the world.
Exoterically (mundanely) considered, a gathering place in the modern Latter-day Saint (LDS) organizational context refers to Wards (basic congregational units), Stakes (groups of several Wards), homes or communities where believers are striving to live what is referred to as "the Fulness of the Gospel" in righteousness. It is a worldwide movement in which the faithful work towards becoming a pure people, willing to serve God. As noted above, the community of such faithful church members are referred to metonymically as "the pure in heart" in their scriptures.
The ancient people of Enoch sum it up by saying "the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them”[1]
In the so-called Mormon fundamentalism movement, a dissident branch of the Latter-day Saint phenomenon, the more literal interpretation of Zion as a specifical geographical location is held to more strongly and a more stringent emphasis is placed upon individual and community lifestyle requirements that are considered, by adherents of the fundamentalist movement, to be necessary prerequisites to establishing such a community. These requirements are often referred to as "the Fullness of the Gospel" and as "ordinances," specific commandments which have long set this movement apart from mainstream Christianity. The two most frequently noted requirements are the United Order (a form of agrarian communalism) and Plural Marriage, both of which are de-emphasized in the mainstream LDS churches and, in the case of Plural Marriage, expressly prohibited and denounced.
A modern-day proponent of the Mormon fundamentalist movement, Ogden Kraut, summarized the fundamentalist/dissident position on "Zion" as follows:
"The Saints failed to live the higher laws in the center stake of Zion in Missouri so they were expelled. During the four years at Nauvoo, there was not even an attempt to live the United Order, for example, so they were again driven out. They became like the children of Israel in the desert with only the hope of keeping Zion's laws. But here in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains we have done worse than in Missouri and Illinois. For a few years after the pioneers arrived, an attempt was made to live the United Order and plural marriage, but both leaders and members failed to continue those important laws. Thus, the Church has gone astray from keeping all the laws of Zion, and the redemption of Zion is seldom even mentioned."[2]
[edit] References
- ^ http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/97/21#21
- ^ Kraut, Ogden. The Holy Priesthood, Vol. 5. Genola, UT: Pioneer Publishing, 2005.
- Ludlow, D. H. (Ed.). (1992) Vol 4. Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillian Publishing Company.
- McConkie, B.R. (1966).Mormon Doctrine. (2nd ed). Utah: Bookcraft.
- (Online) Available http://www.lds.org.
- Steven Zarlengo: Daughter of Zion: Jerusalem's Past, Present, and Future. (Dallas: Joseph Publishing, 2007).
