sā´lem ( שׁלם , shālēm ; Σαλήμ , Salḗm ): The name of the city of which Melchizedek was king ( Genesis 14:18; Hebrews 7:1 , Hebrews 7:2; compare Psalm 76:2 ).
1. Identification and Meaning:
To all appearance it lay near "the Vale of Shaveh," described as "the King's Vale." The general opinion among the Jews was that Salem was the same as Jerusalem, as stated by Josephus ( Ant. , I, x, 2), who adds (VII, iii, 2) that it was known as Solyma ( Σόλυμα , Sóluma , variants, according to Whiston, Salem and Hierosolyma ) in the time of Abraham. It was also reported that the city and its temple were called Solyma by Homer, and he adds that the name in Hebrew means "security." This identification with Jerusalem was accepted by Onkelos and all the Targums, as well as by the early Christians. The Samaritans have always identified Salem with Salim , East of Nablūs , but Jewish and Christian tradition is more likely to be correct, supported, as it is, by Psalm 76:2 .
2. Testimony of Tell El-Amarna Tablets:
The testimony of the Tell el-Amarna Letters is apparently negative. Knudtzon's number 287 mentions "the land" and "the lands of Urusalim," twice with the prefix for "city"; number 289 likewise has this prefix twice; and number 290 refers to "the city" or "a city of the land Urusalim called Bı̂t - Ninip " Tablets ( Beth - Anušat (?)). As there is no prefix of any kind before the element salim , it is not probable that this is the name of either a man (the city's founder) or a god (like the Assyrian Šulmanu ). The form in Sennacherib's inscriptions (compare Taylor Cylinder, III, 50), Ursalimmu , gives the whole as a single word in the nominative, the double m implying that the i was long. As the Assyrians pronounced s as sh , it is likely that the Urusalimites did the same, hence, the Hebrew yerûshālaim , with sh . See JERUSALEM .
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
WikipediaThe ISBE is a classic Bible reference compiled from nearly 10,000 entries written by over 200 different Bible scholars and teachers. In addition to the encyclopedia articles, all of the major words of the Bible are represented and defined.
The historical, cultural, and linguistic information in the ISBE can be of great value in Bible study and research.
But as with any writings of men, the careful student of the Bible must always compare them with Scripture. As you use this helpful study resource, remember that only God's word is pure.
Read More