Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/209

* JERUSALEM. 183 JERUSALEM. (Joshua X. 5-26), but the city remained in the hands of the Canaanites. When David became King over all Israel (II. Sam. V. 1 sqq. ), he discerned the advantages of Jerusalem, and detennined to make it his capital and sanctuary, lie succeeded in taking it from the Jebusites, and at once set about improving and fortifying it as the seat of his kingdom (II. Sam. V. 6-12). Soon after he removed thither the ark of Jehovah from its obscurity at Kirjath- Jearim (II. Sam. vi.). On the basis of the de- scription by .Jose])hus ( Wars, V. iv. 1 ) the long current opinion has >een that the citadel taken by David and the city which he walled and imj^roved occupied the high southwestern hill. But excava- tions and discoveries of remains of old walls and other ancient structures during the past forty years have resulted in the accumulation of a body of evidence w'hich necessitates an entirely dift'erent view. This newer view alone agrees with the incidental topographical notices in the Old Testament. The citadel of the .Jebusites was on Ophel, the southern part of the eastern hill, east of the Tvropteon Valley. Between it and the other summit to the north, then used as a threshing- floor (ef. II. Sam. xxiv. 15-2.5; I. Chron. .xxi. 18- 30; -xxii. 1; II. Chron. iii. 1), lay a ravine, after- wards gradually filled up by later building opera- tions. It was thus isolated on all sides. At the foot of its eastern slo]* was the only natural spring in the vicinitv, anciently called Gihon (I. Kings i. .33. 38, 45; 11. Chron.' xxxii. 30; xxxiii. 30), afterwards named the Virgin's Fountain, while the surrounding hills and valleys were waterless. The slopes were steep and easily forti- fied. The exact location of David's palace and other buildings (cf. Xeh. iii. 10) is not kno^Ti, nor the extent of the fortifications built by him. This hill, called Zion. now became knowii also as the City of David. It is proliable that the Tyro- poeon Valley (o the west and the southern and eastern slopes of the western hill were settled to some extent. David or Solomon may have thrown a w.ill (the first wall of .Josephus) about these settlements, though no satisfactory evidence of this is at hand. This wall ran about due west from the southwest corner of the tejnple hill as far as the northwest corner of the western hill ; then, turning southward, and swinging around the southern slnjies of this hill, it crossed over to the south of Opliel. there joining the fortifications of the City of David. The chief feature of David's fortifications was 'Millo' (probably a massive tower), often mentioned, but not yet identified. What David began his son Solomon enlarged. On the liill north of the somewhat small and unpretentious palace of David he built a series of buildings on a scale of magnificence hitherto unknown in Israel. After the necessary leveling of the surface, which involved the partial filling up of the ravine Ijctween Zion and the northern hill, and the laying of the substructures, espe- cially heavy retaining walls on the south face of the north hill, Solomon built (1) a new royal palace with its adjuncts, and (2) a .sanctuary or temple. The palace was a complex of buildings consisting nf the 'house of the forest of Lebanon,' constructed of cedar pillars and beams. 50 cubits wide. 100 long, and .30 high, a throne-hall, 30 X 50 cubits, with porticoes, and the palace proper or royal dwelling: somewhere near were apartments built for his Egyptian queen and also the prison ( Jer. xxxii. 2; Neh. iii. 25-27). These buildings were arranged in the order given from south to north, the hou.se of the forest of Lebanon being nearest David's old palace, the royal dwell- ing being nearest the temple. They were not all on the same level, but were on successive terraces, the palace occupying the highest. On a still higher elevation than the palace were the courts and buildings of the temple. The temple was built on the site of the threshing-floor of Araunah (I. Chron. xxii. 1 ). The main building was of great beauty, though comparatively small (20 X 00 cubits ), of stone and cedar. At the entrance stood two large bronze pillars of symbolic sig- nificance (T. Kings vi. and vii. 13-50). It was surrounded with .a court in which were the altar of burnt off'erings and the great molten sea or reservoir (I. Kings vii. 9-12; 13-47). A passage- way led from the court to the palace below (I[. Kings xi. 13. 16; xvi. 18). At the dedication of the tem])le the ark was "brought up' from the City of David (I. Kings viii. 1, 3; cf. i.x. 24) to the new sanctuary. To the temple mount now considered the dwelling-place of Yaliweh, Israel's God, the name Zion was transferred (cf. Amos 1, 2; Micah iv. 2; Isa. viii. 18, etc). The temple and palace area was encircled by a strong v.all. The city of Solomon was thus larger and more magnificent than that of David. The great buildings and main fortifications were mostly, if not entirely, on the ea.stern hills. Thence the city gradually spread westward, covering the slopes of the Tyropoeon Valley and the western hills. U'ith the secession of the northern tribes from the rule of the House of David (c.033 B.C.) Jeru- salem's importance was diminished. For nearly two centuries it was barely able to hold its own. It was captured several times, and not until the prosperous reigns of Uzziah and his son Jothaiu (II. Chron. xxvi., xxvii.) were extensive improve- ments undertaken. They greatly strengthened the fortifications i^y building strong towers near the gates and at the comers of the wall. Heze- kiah (c. 720-089 n.c), seeing the necessity of preparing for a conflict with Assyria, paid espe- cial attention to the fortifications and the Avater- supply. In place of the extra-mural surface conduit that conducted the waters of Gihon along the eastern and then across to the western side of Ophel he had an underground conduit tunneled a distance of 1700 feet to convey the water of Gihon to the pool or reser'oir of Siloam. on the southwest slope of Ojihel. near the mouth of the Tvropoeon Valley. This conduit was discovered in 1886 by Dr! Schick. About 25 feet trom the Pool of Siloam an old Hebrew inscription tells of the meeting of the two parties of work- men working toward each other in constructing the tunnel. (See Siloam.) The pool was hewn out of the rock and measured 71 feet north and sfrutli by 75 feet east and west. Stone steps led down to it. Lower down the valley Hezekiah constnicted a second reservoir to hold the over- flow of Siloam. Walls and fortifications for the jirotecticn of these works were also erected (cf. Isa. xxii. 7-11 ; II. Kings xx. 20; II. Chron. xxxii. 5; II. Kings xxf. 4). Doubtless, the city by this time contained numerous cisterns for holding surface water. The surplus waters of Siloam were used for the King's gardens about the southern slope of Ophel. and the underground drainage of the three valleys filled a spring or well at the junction of the Hinnom and Kidron