A History Of Jerusalem: Jebus Of Canaan

Abraham, was an Iraqi man (born in the land that was once known as Eden; see The Garden In Eden) who the LORD God (see The Rock Of The Church) chose to be the progenitor of many nations (see The Journey From Ur Of The Chaldees and Abraham's Seed: From The Nile To The Euphrates), never lived in Jerusalem (although Abraham became very familiar with the city and its King; see A History Of Jerusalem: Melchizedek's Salem). Abraham's son Isaac never lived in Jerusalem either. Nor did Isaac's son Jacob, who the LORD renamed as Israel. While the city, as Salem, then existed and was physically founded by the LORD God, the task of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (who are today buried in the family tomb at Hebron, south of Jerusalem, along with their wives Sarah, Rebekah and Leah) looked forward to the New Jerusalem (as we will cover in detail in a subsequent study in this series).

"^11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. ^11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: ^11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God [see When And Where Your Eternal Life Will Begin]." (Hebrews 11:8-10 KJV)

None of the Israelite patriarchs lived in Jerusalem either. Those sons of Jacob/Israel, after whom each of the Israelite tribes were named (e.g. from Levi came the tribe of the Levites, from Benjamin came the tribe of the Benjamites, from Judah came the tribe of Judah; "Jew" is an abbreviation of Judah - see Who Were The First Jews?) lived out their lives in Egypt, at the start of the four centuries that the people of Israel lived there (see Why Did They Go To Goshen?). The LORD did however make Abraham aware that his "seed" would return, after 400 years in a foreign country (keeping in mind that Abraham himself was a "foreigner" in the land that would become known as Israel) and make their home in the land and cities of the Canaanites who had overflowed their borders into the land that the LORD had promised to a specific line of Abraham.

"^15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; ^15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. ^15:15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. ^15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

^15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. ^15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: ^15:19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, ^15:20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, ^15:21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites." (Genesis 15:13-21 KJV)

"David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus; where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land"

Moses was given to fulfill the promise made to Abraham, but Moses never lived in Jerusalem either (see Why Did Joshua Lead Israel Across The Jordan?). Notice that the words that the LORD spoke to Abraham (quoted above) were repeated to Moses over 400 years later when the time came for it to be done ("unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites").

"^3:1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian [see Moses Of Midian]: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. ^3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. ^3:3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

^3:4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.

And he said, Here am I.

^3:5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. ^3:6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

^3:7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; ^3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites." (Exodus 3:1-8 KJV)

Notice that the specified territory of the Messianic line of Abraham ("I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river") was within the greater boundaries of the lands given to all of Abraham's descendants (i.e. Israel within the Middle East; see Abraham's Seed: From The Nile To The Euphrates). Notice also that in both the prophecy given to Abraham four hundred years before, and the instructions given to Moses at the time, the Jebusites were specified as among those who had occupied land beyond their own original homelands (see The Origin Of Nations And Languages).

"^23:23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. ^23:24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. ^23:25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. ^23:26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.

^23:27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. ^23:28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. ^23:29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. ^23:30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

^23:31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee." (Exodus 23:23-31 KJV)

After the death of Moses, the task of taking the land that was promised to a specific line of Abraham was given to Joshua. During the time of Abraham, the King of Salem / Jerusalem was Melchizedek ("^14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God" Genesis 14:18 KJV; see A History Of Jerusalem: Melchizedek's Salem), however at some point between the time of Abraham and the time of the Exodus, Melchizedek left Salem and permitted others to occupy it (if you understand Who Melchizedek was, you will understand that Melchizedek could only have permitted it; as God's faithful High Priest, no one could have defeated him - see Melchizedek: A Portrayal Of Christ). The result was that by the time of Joshua, a Canaanite, Adonizedek, was the king of Jerusalem.

"^10:1 Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; ^10:2 That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty. ^10:3 Wherefore Adonizedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying, ^10:4 Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.

^10:5 Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it. ^10:6 And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us." (Joshua 10:1-6 KJV)

It was during the battle against that Canaanite king of Jerusalem, and his allies, that the famous miraculous "long day" of Joshua happened. Notice also that the LORD was providing "air support" to the Israelites i.e. "the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword."

"^10:7 So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour. ^10:8 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.

^10:9 Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night. ^10:10 And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. ^10:11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.

^10:12 Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. ^10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher?

So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. ^10:14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel. ^10:15 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal." (Joshua 10:7-15 KJV)

Joshua then prevented the five kings, including the Canaanite king of Jerusalem ("the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon"), from returning to their cities.

"^10:16 But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. ^10:17 And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah. ^10:18 And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them: ^10:19 And stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand.

^10:20 And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered into fenced cities. ^10:21 And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel.

^10:22 Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave. ^10:23 And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. ^10:24 And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.

^10:25 And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. ^10:26 And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.

^10:27 And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave's mouth, which remain until this very day." (Joshua 10:16-27 KJV)

Each of the twelve tribes of Israel was assigned specific territory, after which they were then to complete the taking of the territory themselves. The "Jebusite" city ("the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem") was within the tribe of Judah.

"^15:1 This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast. ^15:2 And their south border was from the shore of the salt sea, from the bay that looketh southward: ^15:3 And it went out to the south side to Maalehacrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the south side unto Kadeshbarnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karkaa: ^15:4 From thence it passed toward Azmon, and went out unto the river of Egypt; and the goings out of that coast were at the sea: this shall be your south coast.

^15:5 And the east border was the salt sea, even unto the end of Jordan.

And their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the uttermost part of Jordan: ^15:6 And the border went up to Bethhogla, and passed along by the north of Betharabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben: ^15:7 And the border went up toward Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is before the going up to Adummim, which is on the south side of the river: and the border passed toward the waters of Enshemesh, and the goings out thereof were at Enrogel: ^15:8 And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward: ^15:9 And the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjathjearim: ^15:10 And the border compassed from Baalah westward unto mount Seir, and passed along unto the side of mount Jearim, which is Chesalon, on the north side, and went down to Bethshemesh, and passed on to Timnah: ^15:11 And the border went out unto the side of Ekron northward: and the border was drawn to Shicron, and passed along to mount Baalah, and went out unto Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea.

^15:12 And the west border was to the great sea, and the coast thereof. This is the coast of the children of Judah round about according to their families." (Joshua 14:1-12 KJV)

The people of Judah however were unable to capture Jerusalem from "the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem."

"^15:63 As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day." (Joshua 15:63 KJV)

The territory of the tribe of Benjamin also included Jerusalem. They too "did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem" (also called "Jebusi" in these translated verses i.e. "Jebusi, which is Jerusalem").

"^18:28 And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families." (Joshua 18:28 KJV)

"^1:21 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day." (Judges 1:21 KJV)

Jerusalem remained in Jebusite possession long afterward, during which Jerusalem was called by some, as in the case of this Levite, "the city of a stranger."

"^19:1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah." (Judges 19:1 KJV)

"^19:10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him. ^19:11 And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it. ^19:12 And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah." (Judges 19:10-12 KJV)

Jerusalem remained as "Jebus," or "the Jebusite city" throughout the time of Joshua and through all of the time of the Judges (as recorded in the Book of Judges). It also remained a foreign city through the entire time of the Civil War between King Saul, Israel's first king, and David, who was chosen by the LORD to replace Saul (see The Civil War Kings). It was only after the civil war, when Israel was united under King David, that David captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites.

"^5:1 Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. ^5:2 Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.

^5:3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel.

^5:4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. ^5:5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.

^5:6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. ^5:7 Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.

^5:8 And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.

^5:9 So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. ^5:10 And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him." (2 Samuel 5:1-10 KJV)

David was a righteous man. When he faced an enemy in battle, he killed him. When David faced someone in a time of peace, he did so in a civilized and lawful manner. So hence David purchased a plot of land in Jerusalem from its Jebusite owner - a "threshingfloor" (see Moriah: Separating The Wheat From The Chaff), where the Temple would later be built ("^3:1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite" 2 Chronicles 3:1 KJV).

"^24:18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. ^24:19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded. ^24:20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.

^24:21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant?

And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.

^24:22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. ^24:23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.

^24:24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing.

So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. ^24:25 And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel." (2 Samuel 24:18-25 KJV)

Fact Finder: Was the original Temple a tent? Why?
See The Restoration Of David's Fallen Tabernacle

This Day In History, January 23

1002: Otto III, German emperor, died at age 22 (see The Holy Roman Empire and Emperors and Popes; also Constantine's Crusades In History And Prophecy).

1264: The Mise of Amiens, an agreement arranged by Louis IX of France between Henry III of England and his barons. It invalidated the Provisions of Oxford.

1265: The first Parliament of England convened.

1492: The Pentateuch was first printed.

1516: Spanish King Ferdinand II died. While he and his wife Queen Isabella are most famous for employing the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand, also known as "Ferdinand the Catholic," was the perpetrator of the infamous Spanish Inquisition in which tens of thousands of non-Catholic people were tortured and executed - thousands of which were burned alive at the stake.

1556: Over 800,000 people died in an earthquake in China. It remains the most deadly earthquake on record (see also Earthquake!).

1570: The Earl of Moray, James Stewart, was assassinated.

1579: The Dutch Republic was formed with the signing of the Union of Utrecht.

1622: William Baffin died at age 38. The British explorer's calculation of longitude at sea by using observations of the moon's position was the first documented.

1631: The Treaty of Barwalde between France and Sweden in which Louis XIII consented to pay Gustavus II Aldolphus a million livres per year to continue to fight the Habsburgs in the Thirty Years War.

1668: The military Alliance of The Hague, also known as the Triple Alliance, was signed by Britain, Sweden and Holland.

1719: The Principality of Liechtenstein was formed within The Holy Roman Empire by the amalgamation of Vaduz and Schellenberg.

1793: Prussia (a German kingdom in northern Europe located in what is today northern Germany and northern Poland) and Russia declared the second partition of Poland.

1812: The great New Madrid earthquake struck in Missouri. It registered 7.8 on the Richter Scale.

1831: The Lower Canada Assembly ("Upper" and "Lower" Canada were terms based simply on the flow of the Saint Lawrence River toward the Atlantic Ocean; "Upper Canada" was present-day southern Ontario, "Lower Canada" was southern Quebec) voted to extend legal rights to Jews.

1870: In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen slaughtered 173 Native Americans, mostly unarmed women and children, in what became known as the Marias Massacre.

1900: In the second Boer War, the British attempted to break through the Boer lines to relieve Ladysmith but were thwarted at the Battle of Spion Kop.

1920: The Dutch refused to extradite German Kaiser Wilhelm II after he went into exile after the First World War (listen to our Sermon The European World Wars).

1943: During the Second World War, Tripoli, Libya was captured by British and Canadian forces under Field Marshal Montgomery.

1950: George Orwell (actual name Eric Blair) died at age 46. The British novelist was the author of Animal Farm (that dealt with the hypocrisy of revolutionaries who end up becoming the very same sort of people that they rebelled against) and Nineteen Eighty Four (a futuristic warning about "Big Brother" government).

1950: Jerusalem was declared the official capital of the modern state of Israel (listen also to our Sermon The Balfour Declaration).

1968: North Korea captured the U.S. Navy ship Pueblo. The crew was released later that year, but the ship remains in North Korea to this day.

1973: Richard Nixon announced that an accord had been reached to end the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War (which was actually a civil war between the Vietnamese people whose single country had been partitioned in 1954, by the French at the end of the First Indochina War, into North and South Vietnam).

2006: Stephen Harper was elected Prime Minister of Canada.