66 Out of Jerusalem’s 70 Names

By Rabbi Aryeh Citron, Dean at Yeshivah College in Miami Beach, Florida

According to Midrash Zuta on Shir HaShirim, 1:1, Jerusalem has seventy names.

For some reason, the Midrash does not give the entire list. It is possible that the Midrash doesn’t list some names as it considers them self-evident.

An example of this may be “Har Elokim/Mountain of G-d” (Tehillim, 68:16). It is also possible that names with negative connotations are left out. An example of this might be “Saf Ra’al/A Cup of Poison” (Zechariah, 12:2).

Here are 66 of them:

1) Jerusalem
2) Shalem (This was the original name of the city).
3) Yirah (This was the name given by Avraham after the binding of Isaac)
4) Yevus (The settlers who lived there before the Jewish people were the Yevusi)
5) Gilad
6) Levanon (This can be translated as “Whitening.” I.e., that the Bait HaMikdash, in Jerusalem, whitens and cleanses the Jewish people of their sins)
7) Zion (Tziyon means a sign. G-d is making the city of Jerusalem into a sign to show that He and the Jewish people are a pair.)
8) Marom /High Place (Jerusalem is considered the highest place in the world)
9) Yam/Sea (Just like the sea accepts all of the waters of the world, so too Jerusalem will accept all its children.)
10) Kisei Hashem/Chair of G-d
11) Ir Yisrael/The City of Israel
12) Yefei Nof/Beautiful Horizon
13) Har Tzion/Mount Zion
14) Yarketei Tzafon/Bottom of the North (This alludes to the fact that all the treasures of the North will be gathered there.)
15) Kiryat Melech Rav/City of the Great King (This is the city of the King of Kings)
16) Mesos Kol Ha’aretz/Rejoicing of the entire earth
17) Be’ulah/Settled or Owned (This means that no one owns the city, and the Jews in it, besides G-d.)
18) Cheftzi Bah/My Desire is there
19) Even Ma’amasah/Stone of Burden (This means that anyone who tries to attack it will be struck down)
20) Efrata (Perhaps this alludes to the fact that Jerusalem is (partially) in the portion of Binyamin whose mother, Rachel, was buried in Efrat
21) Sede Ya’ar/Field in the Wild (This alludes to the fact that Jerusalem is in the portion of Binyamin who is compared to beasts of the field i.e., a wolf)
22) Menucha/Rest (This alludes to the fact that the final resting place of the Shechina/Divine Presence is in Jerusalem. As opposed to the Mishkan/Tabernacle which was situated in Shiloh and other places)
23) Ariel/Lion of G-d (This alludes to the Mizbe’ach/Altar, situated in Jerusalem on which there was a fire shaped like a lion)
24) Har Mo’ed/Mountain of Assembly (this alludes to the pilgrimage festivals when all the Jews would gather in Jerusalem)
25) Yafeh/Beautiful
26) Betulah/Virgin
27) Kallah/Bride
28) Eishet Ne’urim/Wife of my Youth[
29) Rabati Am/With a Multitude of People
30) Rabati BaGoyim/Great among the Nations
31) Sarati BaMedinot/Prince among the Countries
32) Ir Shechubra La/City that Connects (This means that all of the tribes would converge there for the three pilgrimage festivals. It also alludes to the fact that the earthly Jerusalem is connected to its parallel – the celestial Jerusalem)
33) Bait Tefilah/House of Prayer
34) Migdal Eder/Tower of the Herd (This means that Jerusalem was a protective place for the Jewish people who are compared to a flock of sheep)
35) Metzuda/Stronghold
36) Yedidut/Beloved
37) Derusha/Sought Out (This means that G-d will seek the welfare of the city)
38) Ir Lo Ne’ezava/Unforsaken City (This means that G-d will never forsake the city)
39) Gilah/Joy
40) Eden
41) Gan Hashem/Garden of G-d
42) Har Marom/The Most High Mountain
43) Hashem Kedoshim/The Holy G-d (i.e., It is the resting place of the Almighty 44) Akarah (This can mean “barren.” But, in the context, I think it means “the main one”)
45) Moriah (This can mean “teaching” and can allude to the fact that Jerusalem was the seat of the Sanhedrin. It also can allude to the Ketoret, regularly burned in the Bait HaMikdash, which contained myrhh)
46) Har Gavoha/Tall Mountain (as mentioned above, Mount Moriah is considered the highest place on earth)
47) Ir HaYonah/City of the Dove
48) Kirya Ne’emana/Trusted City
49) Ir HaTzedek/City of Righteousness
50) Gei Chizayon/Valley of the Vision (this alludes to the fact that most of the prophecies were about the city of Jerusalem)
51) Daltot Ha’amim/Door of the Nations 52) Bamot Nachala/Inheritance of High Places
53) Har HaKodesh/Holy Mountain
54) Har Chamad/Desired Mountain (This means that G-d desired to rest His presence on Mount Moriah)
55) Giv’at HaLevona/Valley of Frankincense (This alludes to the frankincense which was used in the ketoret/incense offering in the Bait HaMikdash)
56) Ir David/City of David (Jerusalem was conquered by King David and his general Yoav)
57) Ir HaNegev/City of the South (Jerusalem is in the south of Israel)
58) Har Marom Yisrael/Top Mountain of the Jewish People
59) Shem Chadash asher Pi Hashem Yikavenu/A New Name that G-d will Designate (Jerusalem will receive new names when Moshaich comes. Those names will be Cheftzi Bah, Derusha and Ir Lo Ne’ezava – see above)
60) Meromim/Heights
61) Gan Eden Hashem/G-d’s Garden of Eden
62) Yerusha/Inheritance (This may allude to the fact that, according to some opinions, the city of Jerusalem was not divided among the tribes and was rather the inheritance of all of Israel) 63) Kelilat Yofi/Perfect Beauty
64) Bashan (in context, this can be understood to mean “(G-d) came there)
65) Chadrach (This alludes to the fact that Jerusalem will be the city of Moshiach who will be sharp (chad) to the enemies of the Jews and soft (rach) to the Jewish people)
66) Ramah/High Place (an allusion to the highest place in the world)

The Midrash also says that the Jewish people have 70 names as does the Torah as does G-d Almighty Himself. It would be interesting to see if these names parallel each other.

May we soon experience all of the positive prophecies of Jerusalem with the coming of Moshiach now!

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