Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Zion"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Zion
sunny; height, one of the eminences on which Jerusalem was
built. It was surrounded on all sides, except the north, by deep
valleys, that of the Tyropoeon (q.v.) separating it from Moriah
(q.v.), which it surpasses in height by 105 feet. It was the
south-eastern hill of Jerusalem.
When David took it from the Jebusites (Josh. 15:63; 2 Sam.
5:7) he built on it a citadel and a palace, and it became "the
city of David" (1 Kings 8:1; 2 Kings 19:21, 31; 1 Chr. 11:5). In
the later books of the Old Testament this name was sometimes
used (Ps. 87:2; 149:2; Isa. 33:14; Joel 2:1) to denote Jerusalem
in general, and sometimes God's chosen Israel (Ps. 51:18; 87:5).
In the New Testament (see {SION}) it is used sometimes
to denote the Church of God (Heb. 12:22), and sometimes the
heavenly city (Rev. 14:1).
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Zion \Zi"on\, n. [Heb. ts[=i]y?n, originally, a hill.]
1. (Jewish Antiq.) A hill in Jerusalem, which, after the
capture of that city by the Israelites, became the royal
residence of David and his successors.
2. Hence, the theocracy, or church of God.
3. The heavenly Jerusalem; heaven.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
Zion
n 1: originally a stronghold captured by David (the 2nd king of
the Israelites); above it was built a temple and later
the name extended to the whole hill; finally it became a
synonym for the city of Jerusalem; "the inhabitants of
Jerusalem are personified as `the daughter of Zion'"
[syn: {Zion}, {Sion}]
2: Jewish republic in southwestern Asia at eastern end of
Mediterranean; formerly part of Palestine [syn: {Israel},
{State of Israel}, {Yisrael}, {Zion}, {Sion}]
3: an imaginary place considered to be perfect or ideal [syn: {Utopia},
{Zion}, {Sion}]
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