Jerusalem
What joy, when I was told: "We are going to the house of the Lord!" Our footsteps finally stop before you, Jerusalem! Jerusalem, well-built city, where everything holds together! It is at your home that the tribes of Israel, the tribes of the Lord, come on Pilgrimage to praise the Lord."[1]
Inhabitants or natives[edit | edit source]
The People of the Temple[edit | edit source]
Caiphas (Joseph), the High Priest the high priest, Hillel, Gamaliel, Shammai, the great doctors of Israel, the members of the Sanhedrin.
The Disciples of Jesus[edit | edit source]
Annaleah the young consecrated virgin, Sarah her cousin virgin as well, Elise Annaleah’s mother, Joseph and Mary of Sephoris, Sidonia, the Confessing-born.
The Romans[edit | edit source]
Pontius Pilate the Consul, Claudia Procula his Woman, Longinus the centurion, Alexander the Roman soldier, and all the Encountered Characters.
Descriptions[edit | edit source]
Maps, plans and photos[edit | edit source]
Additional notices[edit | edit source]
Descriptions of high places[edit | edit source]
The Temple: EMV 32.
The Cenacle: EMV 599 and EMV 600.
The House of Anna and that of Pilate: EMV 604.
Various notes[edit | edit source]
- Jerusalem largely belonged to Lazarus[2].
- The city had more than 500 synagogues[3].
- Maria Valtorta sometimes found it difficult to distinguish two of the city gates that looked very similar:
"He returns towards the walls, at the Gate of Ephraim or Stercoraire, or the Dung Gate, because several times I heard these two neighboring gates called by these three names, perhaps because one opens onto the road to Jericho which is at the bottom, the road leading to Ephraim, and the other because it is near the Valley of Hinnom where the city's rubbish is burned, and they look so much alike that I confuse them."[4]
Notable events[edit | edit source]
- Presentation of Mary[5]
- Presentation of John the Baptist[6]
- Presentation of Jesus[7]
- Jesus before the doctors[8]
- The triumphal entry (Palm Sunday)[9]
- The Last Supper (Eucharist)[10]
Its name[edit | edit source]
םירושלי (Jerusalem)
Yerouchalem – Yerouchalayim means "foundation of Peace".
Where is it mentioned in the work?[edit | edit source]
EMV 3 EMV 6 EMV 10 EMV 12 EMV 25 EMV 32 EMV 40 EMV 41 EMV 53 EMV 54 EMV 55 EMV 66 EMV 67 EMV 68 EMV 69 EMV 70 EMV 72 EMV 85 EMV 197 EMV 549 EMV 582 EMV 587 EMV 588.
Holy Week: EMV 589 EMV 590 EMV 591 EMV 592 EMV 593 EMV 594 EMV 595 EMV 596 EMV 597 EMV 598 EMV 599.
The Passion: EMV 600 EMV 602 EMV 604 EMV 605 EMV 607 EMV 608 EMV 609 EMV 610 EMV 611 EMV 612 EMV 612 EMV 614 EMV 615.
Resurrection Sunday: EMV 616 EMV 616 EMV 617 EMV 618 EMV 619 EMV 621 EMV 622 EMV 623 EMV 624 EMV 626.
From Resurrection to Ascension: EMV 627 EMV 628 EMV 629 EMV 630 EMV 631 EMV 633 EMV 638.
The apostolic times: EMV 639 EMV 640 EMV 641 EMV 642.
Learn more about this place[edit | edit source]
David the founder[edit | edit source]
When Israel entered Canaan, the city was called Jebus and was occupied by the Jebusites, an indigenous Semitic tribe. David, a native of Bethlehem, seized the fortress, possibly by routing his men through the spring tunnel (2Sa 5:6). He improved the fortifications, built a palace, and installed the Ark of the Covenant in the city, thus making it his capital. It was at this time that the name "Zion" appeared, originally given to the fortress or its location but later becoming that of the entire city.
Solomon the builder and his successors[edit | edit source]
It was with Solomon (circa 970-931 BC), son and successor of David, that Jerusalem was covered with monuments and became a royal capital aiming to rival the great cities of the East. According to the biblical books, Solomon’s greatest glory was the construction of the Temple. For such a vast undertaking, he called upon his neighbor and ally, King Hiram I of Tyre, who provided him with cedar wood from Lebanon and stone. These raw materials arrived at Joppa, a port about fifty kilometers from Jerusalem.
The Temple measured 30 m long, 10 m wide, and 13 m high. Gold and bronze were abundant, cast and forged by Phoenician craftsmen. Near the Temple, Solomon also built a sumptuous palace. To protect these new constructions, the original enclosure was extended to the north, while the city expanded westward beyond the Tyropoeon toward the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna).
After Solomon’s death and the division of the kingdom, Jerusalem remained the capital of the Kingdom of Judah but its growth was slowed. Hezekiah (716-687 BC) had a 550 m channel dug to bring water from the Gihon spring to the Pool of Shiloah. In 587 BC, Nebuchadnezzar captured the city, dismantled its walls, and destroyed the palace and the Temple. Only after 538 BC was the city slowly rebuilt. The Second Temple was dedicated in 515 BC.
Ezra and Nehemiah restore the Worship[edit | edit source]
Ezra, a scribe exiled in Babylon, was commissioned by King Artaxerxes to go to Jerusalem. Ezra held a royal letter ordering the authorities to provide money and supplies necessary for the service of the Temple. He was authorized to lead a new group of Jewish exiles numbering 1700 men to Palestine. This group gathered at Ahawa north of Babylon before departing for Jerusalem, which they reached four months later. Ezra gave the leaders of the house of God the utensils he had received for it; he was deeply distressed to discover that some Jews of Palestine, including priests, had, contrary to the law of Moses, married pagan women: he succeeded in persuading most of them to separate from these foreigners. Thirteen years later, when Governor Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt its walls, Ezra presided over the reading of the law of Moses to the people. "They read from the book of the law of God, distinctly, and gave the meaning so that the people understood what was being read. All the assembly began to weep when they heard the words of the law. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.’ Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine, and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!’"[11]
Judas Maccabeus the liberator drives out Horror and Abomination[edit | edit source]
In 167 BC, Antiochus IV Epiphanes sacked the city, built a citadel facing the Temple, the Acra, and set up an altar to Zeus in the Temple. Faced with such abomination, Judas Maccabeus rallied the Jews and seized the Temple (164 BC) and the lower city, where he took refuge. It was only in 141 BC that Simon Maccabeus conquered the Acra and the city became capital of the new Hasmonean dynasty. A new palace was built, a bridge constructed linking the Temple to the upper city, walls were strengthened and extended. The city then experienced a century of prosperity and independence until its capture by Pompey in 63 BC.
The Purification of the Temple by Judas Maccabeus in 164/5 BC gave rise each year, in December, to Hanukkah. The name Festival of Lights comes from its predominant features.
This new dedication took place exactly three years after the profanation by Antiochus Epiphanes:"On the fifteenth day of the month of Kislev, in 145, the king set up the abominable horror (a statue of Jupiter) on the altar of the Temple and altars were built in other cities of Judah. Incense was burned at the doors of houses and on the streets. Law books found were torn and thrown into the fire. By royal decree, anyone found with a sacred book or obeying the law of Moses was executed. The king’s supporters had the power to treat loyal Israelites in this way in the cities. On the twenty-fifth day of the month, they sacrificed on the pagan altar built upon the altar of the Temple. Women who had their children circumcised were put to death by royal order, with their babies hanging from their necks; their families and those who performed circumcision were also executed. However, many Israelites had the courage to resist and refuse to eat unclean Food. They preferred to die rather than eat impure food and betray the holy Covenant: thus, they were put to death. Divine wrath weighed heavily on Israel."[12]
"On the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, or month of Kislev, in the year 148, the Jews rose early; according to the law of Moses, they offered a sacrifice on the new altar they had built. On the exact date the pagans defiled the altar, the new altar was consecrated amid songs, harps, lyres, and cymbals. The whole people prostrated themselves in worship; they praised God who had led them to victory. The altar dedication was celebrated for eight days; the faithful joyfully offered burnt offerings as well as fellowship and praise offerings. They decorated the Temple facade with gold wreaths and shields; they restored the entrances and chambers and reinstalled doors. Great joy reigned among the people, because they were freed from the shame caused by the pagans. Judas, his brothers, and all Israel’s assembly decided to celebrate the dedication of the altar joyfully each year, starting on the twenty-fifth of Kislev for eight days."[13]It is on the 25th Kislev – which could approximately translate to December 25 – that Jesus was born. Maria Valtorta uses the word "Encénies" to designate this festival of Light.
Herod the Great, the last builder[edit | edit source]
Herod (37-4 BC) initiated an urbanization policy that made him equal to Solomon. He lavishly rebuilt the Temple and extended its esplanade, enclosing it within a wall, erected the Antonia fortress, so named in honor of Mark Antony, he also built a Senate, a theater, and an amphitheater, and had the upper Tyropoeon, where shops were located, enclosed within a second wall.
The city was surrounded by walls flanked by numerous towers. At the northwest corner of the wall, Herod built for himself a palace protected by a rampart supported by three towers. Today only the base of one of these towers remains, traditionally called the "Tower of David." It was near the "Hippicus" tower, named in memory of a companion of Herod[14]. Near this tower, according to Maria Valtorta, are the shop of Joseph of Sephoris[15] and the synagogue of the freed Roman slaves[16].
The residential district extending over the western hill of Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple became known as the "Upper City." This name is explained by its higher topographic elevation compared to the rest of the city, including the Temple Mount. It was redesigned and rebuilt in the finest Roman tradition by Herod and his successors, with large buildings arranged along streets and squares lined with palaces and public buildings.
This Upper City housed large, well-crafted residences inhabited by the families of the high priests and local aristocracy. In this district were the palace of Chouza, near Herod’s, and that of Lazarus, closer to the "Siste" or Xystus, the gymnasium. Here stood the palace of the high priest Caiphas (Joseph), the High Priest (mentioned in the New Testament). It was here that Jesus was arrested and held for a night before being handed over to the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate for trial.[17].
The destruction of the Temple[edit | edit source]
"The emperor, judging it impossible to reduce the Upper City without earthen fortifications, because of the steepness of the site, divided the tasks among his forces on the 20th day of the month of Ab (July-August). The transport of timber was slow, as all areas around the city up to about 200 meters had been devastated, as I mentioned earlier. After the earthworks were completed after eighteen days of work, on the seventh day of the month of Elul (August-September), The Romans brought their machines. Some rebels, despairing of saving the city, abandoned the fortress walls; others slipped quietly into tunnels. Sweeping through the alleys with swords in hand, they (the Romans) massacred indiscriminately all they encountered, and set houses on fire with those who had taken refuge inside. Often, upon entering houses to loot, they found entire families dead and rooms filled with victims of famine... They pierced everyone standing in their path, clogged streets with bodies, and flooded the entire city with blood to the extent that several fires were extinguished in this bloody flood. By evening, the massacres stopped but at night the Fire reigned, and dawn of the eighth day of the month of Elul rose over Jerusalem in flames – a city that had suffered so many evils... The Romans then set fire to the outskirts of the city and tore down the walls. Thus Jerusalem was taken on the eighth day of Elul (September 20), in the second year of Vespasian’s reign."[18]
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