Editing Mount Zion (section)

==Etymology==
The [[etymology]] of the word ''[[Zion]]'' is uncertain.<ref name=Brileyp49>{{cite book |page=49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eq5gFlzMxQgC&q=zion+etymology |title=Isaiah, Volume 1 - The College Press NIV commentary: Old Testament series |author=Terry R. Briley |publisher=College Press |year=2000 |isbn= 978-0-89900-890-5}}</ref><ref name=Longmanp936>{{cite book |page=936 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kE2k36XAkv4C&q=zion+etymology&pg=PA936 |title=Dictionary of the Old Testament: wisdom, poetry & writings, Volume 3 |author=Tremper Longman, Peter Enns |editor=Tremper Longman, Peter Enns |edition=Illustrated |publisher=InterVarsity Press |year=2008 |isbn= 978-0-8308-1783-2}}</ref><ref name=Bromileyp1006>{{cite book |page=1006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yklDk6Vv0l4C&q=zion+etymology&pg=PA1006 |title=International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: E-J Volume 2 |author=Geoffrey W. Bromiley |editor=Geoffrey W. Bromiley |edition=Revised |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1982 |isbn= 978-0-8028-3782-0}}</ref> Mentioned in the Bible in the [[Book of Samuel]] (2 Samuel 5:7) as the name of the [[Jebusite]] fortress conquered by [[King David]], its origin likely predates the [[Israelite]]s.<ref name=Brileyp49/><ref name=Longmanp936/> If [[Semitic languages|Semitic]], it may be associated with the Hebrew root ''ṣiyyôn'' ("castle").  Though not spoken in [[Jerusalem]] until 1,700 years later, the name is similar in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and may be connected to the root ''ṣiyya'' ("dry land") or the Arabic ''šanā'' ("protect" or "citadel").<ref name=Longmanp936/><ref name=Bromileyp1006/> It might also be related to the Arabic root ''ṣahî'' ("ascend to the top") or ''ṣuhhay'' ("tower" or "the top of the mountain").<ref name=Bromileyp1006/> A non-Semitic relationship to the [[Hurrian language|Hurrian]] word ''šeya'' ("river" or "brook") has also been suggested.<ref name=Bromileyp1006/> 
[[File:Jerusalem Dormitio Church BW 1.JPG|300px|thumb|View of Mount Zion from the [[Mount of Olives]]]]
[[File:MountZionMay062023.jpg|300px|thumb|View of Mount Zion from west]]

''Sahyun'' ({{langx|ar|صهيون}}, ''Ṣahyūn'' or ''Ṣihyūn'') is the word for Zion in Arabic and [[Syriac language|Syriac]].<ref name=PEFp21>{{cite book|page=21|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nodAAQAAIAAJ&q=%22+it+means+%22sunny%2C%22+and+the+proper+equivalent+in+Arabic+or+in+Syriac%2C+according+to+this+same+authority%2C+is+Sahyun%22|title=Palestine exploration quarterly|author=Palestine Exploration Fund|author-link=Palestine Exploration Fund|publisher=Published at the Fund's Office|year=1977}}</ref> A valley called ''Wâdi Sahyûn'' (''[[wadi]]'' being the Arabic for "valley") seemingly preserves the name and is located approximately one and three-quarter miles ({{convert|1.75|mi|1|abbr=out|disp=output only}}) from the [[Old City of Jerusalem]]'s [[Jaffa Gate]].<ref name=PEFp21/>

The phrase ''Har Tzion'', lit. "Mount Zion", appears nine times in the [[Tanakh]].<ref>''The Responsa Project: Version 13'', Bar Ilan University, 2005</ref>