Zion

—originally the fortified hill of the Jebusites at Jerusalem. David captured it, Joab leading the assault, and it became the City of David, the royal stronghold on Jerusalem’s southwestern hill. David established his residence there; Solomon later built his palace nearby, and Herod’s palace occupied the western side of the city. The name Zion was afterward extended to the Temple hill and at times to Jerusalem as a whole, so its exact geographical force varies by passage.