The Meaning of the Term 'îr dāwād in Samuel and Kings
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11974338 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jürg Hutzli (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 167-178 |
| Publication date | 2011-10-10 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Tel Aviv (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0334-4355 • E-ISSN: 2040-4786 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1179/033443511x13099584885420 |
| OpenAlex | W2094695713 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 7 |
When the term 'îr dāwād appears in the Books of Samuel and Kings, most commentators and translators interpret it as referring to Jerusalem or a part of it, i.e., the southeastern hill (cf. the common translation, 'City of David'). A few scholars (Yeivin 1948: 40–43; Knauf 2000: 79; Barkay 2006: 8; 2008: 54; Keel 2007: 63; Zevit 2008: 207), however, note parenthetically that the term in Samuel and Kings sometimes or always (Keel) relates to a 'fortress', a 'citadel' or 'inner citadel'. This paper systematically re-examines the occurrences of the term 'îr dāwād in Samuel and Kings and ends in agreement with the minority scholarly position. Since 2 Sam 5:7–9; 6:16; 1 Kings 3:1; 9:24 indicate that 'îr dāwād served as a residence of David, Michal and the egyptian wife of Solomon, it may be argued that the burial formulae for the Judahite kings that mention 'îr dāwād may refer to a royal palace that also functioned as a place of burial. The paper then presents several instances in Samuel and Kings where the noun 'îr (unspecified) probably designates a stronghold or a tower rather than a town or a section of a town and thus is consistent with the semantic meaning 'fortress' of the lexeme 'îr in Old South Arabic.Keywords: 'ÎR DĀWĀD'ÎRJERUSALEMCITY OF DAVIDPOLYSEMIC MEANINGPALACE BURIAL
Ancient history · Celtic languages · Fortress (chess · Meaning (existential · Term (time · Theology · Wife · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Classics · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Philosophy
| Citations per year | 0.29 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2012 - 2025 (14) |
| Highly cited | No |