Jerusalem has about 70 names according to the Bible and the Jewish Midrash.
Salem or Shalem was ruled by Melchizedek in the time of Abraham. This is evident in the Book of Genesis and Psalm 76:2. Salem/Shalem/Shalim is the Canaanite god of dusk, sunset, the end of the day, the nether world, health and perfection.
Biblical Hebrew – לם š-l-m which means “whole” or “complete”
Biblical Latin – Salem
Greek – Solyma
Arabic – Sālim
Tiberian Hebrew – Šālēm
Standard Hebrew – Salem
Jerusalem is the most common name that appears in the Bible. It comes from the Sumero-Akkadian name, Urusalim, which means foundation of the god, Shalem. It comes for Hebrew/Semitic ‘yry’ which means ‘to found, to lay a cornerstone’, and Shalim. This name was given in the Egyptian Amarna letters dating back to 1388-1332 BCE.
Biblical Hebrew – Yerushalaim, ירושלם
Biblical Greek – Hierousalēm, Ιερουσαλήμ, Ierousalēm, Hierosolyma, Ιεροσόλυμα, Ierosolyma
Latin – Hierosolyma or Jerusalem
Both Greek and Latin terms come from the greek word ‘hieros’ which means ‘holy’
Syriac – Ūrišlem
Arabic – Ūrsālim, Ūršalaym
Armenian – Երուսաղեմ / Erousałem
Tiberian Hebrew – Yərûšālāim / Yərûšāláim יְרוּשָׁ לָםִ / יְרוּשָׁ לַם
Standard Hebrew – Yerushalaim יְרוּשָׁ לַיִם
Old Norse – Jorsala which comes from ‘sala’ which means ‘a temple hall’
Russian – Иерусалим / Iyerusalim
Azeri – Ürşəlim
Other variations in archaeological records are:
Rushalimum – name mentioned in Egyptian documents around 2000-1800 BCE
Ursalimmu – Sennacherib used this name of the city in his letters concerning King Hezekiah in 701 BCE
Yerushalayim – the most common variation which is still used by the Jews and Israelis at present. This name is derived from ‘yireh’ which means ‘to see’ and ‘salem’ which means ‘peace’ or ‘whole’. This name was first discovered in the 6th century BCE in a burial cave near the town of Lachish.
Moriah is the name of the temple mount when it was uninhabited. This is the place where Abraham attempts to sacrifice his son, Isaac. This means ‘chosen of’ or ‘is the Lord’ in biblical Hebrew.
Jebus is a large threshing floor on the temple mount inhabited by the Jebusites which was sold to King David in order to build an altar of sacrifice. It means ‘trodden down’ in Hebrew.
Zion is the name of the hill where the Jebusite fortress was located which later became the name of the temple mount
City of David is derived from King David who found the city.
Ariel means Lion of God.
Adonai-jireh means ‘The Lord sees’. This name was given by Abraham after God provided a goat to be sacrificed instead of Isaac. Rabbinic commentators think that Jerusalem was derived from ‘Yireh’ and ‘Shalem’.
Neveh Tzedek means ‘Oasis of Justice’ or ‘Dwelling of Righteousness’. This name is used in the Book of Jeremiah.
Ir Ha-Kodesh means ‘City of the Holy Place’.
The City of the Great King can be seen in Psalm 48:2 and Matthew 5:35.
Aelia Capitolina was the name given by the Romans when they occupied the city but it was reverted back to Yerushalayim when Jerusalem was rid of Roman occupation.
