Jerusalem as a Sacred Space

Jerusalem as a Sacred Space

How did it come to be sacred? Ways to make a place sacred: 1) someone was born there 2)something significant happened there. 3)there were witnesses.

Why was Jerusalem built on mountains and valleys?

To enforce strategic protection, for it was unlikely for soldiers to attack a city after being exhausted from running up the mountains. Jerusalem’s north wall is the least safest.

Jerusalem is divided into four quarters

Northwest-Christians

Northeast-Islam

Southwest-Armenians

Southeast-Jude

The higher a city was placed geography, the more holy the city was, because people considered it to be closer to heaven and God.

Resources that were important for developing big cities

1.       Water

2.       Near the sea

3.       On trade routes

4.       Natural defenses

Water is the most important one.

The biggest problem in Jerusalem was the lack of water. The only water source was the Gihon Spring.

Water had always been seen as sacred because water could make a city prosper. People used literature, such as the Genesis, to classify water as sacred.