Difference between revisions of "City"

<p> In the language of the Bible any organized human settlement may be called a city. This applies whether the settlement was large or small (&nbsp;Genesis 4:17; &nbsp;Genesis 13:12; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 21:3; &nbsp;Jonah 1:2). </p> <p> Larger cities were walled, with a central fortress to provide the citizens with defence against attack (&nbsp;Numbers 13:28; &nbsp;Joshua 6:5; &nbsp;Judges 9:51; &nbsp;2 Samuel 5:7; &nbsp;1 Kings 4:13; &nbsp;2 Kings 14:13). During an attack, people living in the farming villages around the city took refuge inside the city walls (&nbsp;Numbers 35:2; &nbsp;Joshua 17:11; &nbsp;1 Samuel 6:18). In some cases farmers had their fields outside the city and their homes inside. They worked in the fields during the day, but returned to the city before nightfall, when the gates were shut (&nbsp;Joshua 2:5; &nbsp;Judges 9:43-44; see also [[War]] ). </p>

<p> <b> CITY. </b> —In the East the city developed from the necessity of protection from hostile invasion, and its characteristic was the wall or rampart. It was the wall that originally constituted the πόλις, though in later times its position amongst the [[Jews]] was determined by its ability to produce ten men qualified for office in the [[Synagogue]] (see Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible, art. ‘City’). The κώμη was the village or hamlet, without walls, and was generally a dependency of some neighbouring city. In &nbsp;Mark 1:38 the word κωμόπολις is used, apparently as a designation of a large unwalled village or town. [[Bethlehem]] and Bethsaida, though generally classed as cities, are spoken of as κῶμαι in &nbsp;John 7:42, &nbsp;Mark 8:23; &nbsp;Mark 8:26, the natural inference from which is that the words ‘city,’ ‘town,’ and ‘village,’ though having, as with us, a technical signification, were occasionally used in a looser and less precise manner. </p> <p> The government of the πόλις was modelled on that of Jerusalem, where the [[Sanhedrin]] (wh. see) was the supreme authority on all matters which, after the Roman domination, did not fall within the province of the Roman governor. According to the [[Talmud]] (Mish. <i> Sanh. </i> i. 6), in every [[Jewish]] city there was a [[Council]] of twenty-three which was responsible to the Sanhedrin (&nbsp;Matthew 5:22). [[Josephus]] knows nothing of such a Council. The Court which he mentions ( <i> Ant </i> . iv. viii. 14) consisted of seven judges, who had each two [[Levites]] as assessors. The College of [[Elders]] who presided over the Synagogue had also judicial functions, but what was its relation to the Council is not easy to determine. The gates of the city were places of public resort; the money-changers facilitated trade; and the various guilds of artisans had special districts allotted to them. </p> <p> In the time of our Lord, [[Palestine]] was a land of cities. Galilee, measuring fifty miles north and south, and from twenty-five to thirty-five east and west—about the average size of an English shire—is said by Josephus ( <i> BJ </i> iii. iii. 2) to have had a population of 3,000,000. Allowing for patriotic exaggeration, the fact that the soil was so fertile as to make it a veritable garden, and that it was traversed by the three main trade routes of the East, would account for an exceptional density of population. Round the Lake of [[Galilee]] there were nine cities with not less than 15,000 inhabitants, some of them with considerably more, so that there must have been along its margin an almost unbroken chain of buildings. The blending of the Jewish with the Greek civilization must have given to these cities a striking picturesqueness alike in manners, customs, attire, and architecture. Tiberias, built by Herod Antipas, was a stately city, whose ruins still indicate a wall three miles long. Its palace, citadel, and public buildings were of the most imposing description, but it was almost wholly Gentile, no Jew who had the pride of his race setting foot within the walls of a city polluted alike by the monuments of idolatry and by its site on an ancient burial-place. Cities like [[Bethsaida]] and Capernaum, again, were preponderantly Jewish. Taricheae, not mentioned in the Gospels, is described by Pliny ( <i> HN </i> v. xv. 11) as one of the chief centres of industry and commerce, and by Josephus ( <i> Ant </i> . xiv. vii. 3) as a stronghold of Jewish patriotism. Everywhere in Galilee there was an intense civic vitality. The problems of a complex civilization were presented with peculiar force. The [[Gospel]] narrative stands out from a background of a richer and more varied life than probably ever existed elsewhere in an organized community, and it reflects in a wonderfully accurate manner all its various phases. This is, indeed, one reason of its universal applicability. It is the application of absolute principles of conduct to typical situations of the most complex character. </p> <p> This density of population passed over the Lake of Galilee to the region eastward. The [[Decapolis]] (&nbsp;Matthew 4:25) consisted of a group of ten or more cities east of the Jordan, united in a league for purposes of defence. These were Greek cities in the province of Syria, but possessing certain civil rights, such as coinage, etc., granted them by Rome. The cities constituting the Decapolis are variously named. Pliny ( <i> HN </i> v. xviii. 74) enumerates them as follows: Scythopolis, Hippos, Gadara, Dion, Pella, Gerasa, Philadelphia, Canatha, and, with less probability, [[Damascus]] and Raphana. To the north of Galilee again lay the Phœnician cities of [[Tyre]] and [[Sidon]] (&nbsp;Matthew 15:21). Tyre, even in its decline, was a noble city, with a teeming population. The circumference of its walls is given by Pliny as nineteen Roman miles. Inland, [[Caesarea]] [[Philippi]] nestled at the base of Mt. Hermon, in a situation of remarkable beauty and fertility. This city received its name from Herod the Great, who built there a temple to Augustus. It was in its neighbourhood that Peter made his striking confession (&nbsp;Matthew 16:13 ff.). The cities of [[Samaria]] to the south occupy no large place in our Lord’s mission. Though Jesus passed through Samaria (&nbsp;John 4:4), it is not recorded that He visited its capital, and the disciples were specially enjoined to refrain from preaching the gospel in any city of the [[Samaritans]] (&nbsp;Matthew 10:5). Samaria was itself a beautiful city—one of the cities rebuilt on a magnificent scale by Herod the Great owing to its strategic situation—the population being mixed, half-Greek, half-Samaritan, wholly alien, therefore, in sympathy from the Jews, alike through the [[Samaritan]] hostility and the Greek culture. The city of [[Sychar]] (&nbsp;John 4:5), the scene of our Lord’s conversation with the Samaritan woman, is generally identified with the modern <i> ‘Ain ‘Askar </i> , at the foot of Mt. Ebal, about a mile from Nâblus (Shechem). Judaea, with its desolate mountain ranges, was never rich in cities. [[Jericho]] lay on its borders, situated in an oasis of remarkable fertility, a city of palms, in striking contrast to the stony and barren region of which it was the gateway. Jericho was rich in the natural wealth of the East, but singularly poor in heroic memories. </p> <p> But to the Jew the city of cities—the city that symbolized all that was highest alike in his political and religious aspirations—was Jerusalem. Twice in St. Matthew’s Gospel is [[Jerusalem]] called ‘the holy city’ (&nbsp;Matthew 4:5; &nbsp;Matthew 27:53), and as such it was enshrined in every Jewish heart through the noble poetry of the Psalter. It was the city where God had His chosen seat, and round which clustered the heroic traditions of the [[Hebrew]] race—the city, indeed, with which was intertwined the very conception of [[Judaism]] as a national religion, for in the [[Temple]] of Jerusalem alone could God be worshipped with the rites He had Himself ordained. The cities of Galilee owed their greatness and importance to commercial or political causes. Though some were preponderantly Jewish, and others, such as Tiberias, almost exclusively Gentile, there was yet in them all a mingling of races and a tolerably free and humane intercourse. Samaria was a great Roman stronghold, dominating the main trade-route from Caesarea on the coast to the East. But Jerusalem remained a city of the Jews, cherishing its own ecclesiastical traditions, and holding its patriotic exclusiveness with a narrowness all the greater from the pressure of the Roman subjection. It had almost complete autonomy under the Sanhedrin. Caesarea was the seat of the Roman Procurator, except during the great Jewish feasts, when he found it necessary to reside at Jerusalem to restrain the turbulence of a fanatically patriotic people who were ready to court martyrdom for the national cause. It is perhaps significant, as showing the ecclesiastical character of the population of Jerusalem, that it was a priest and a [[Levite]] who first passed the man lying wounded and bleeding on the road to Jericho (&nbsp;Luke 10:31 f.). </p> <p> In the time of our Lord, then, the Jews had made the transition from a life mainly pastoral and agricultural to the more advanced life of the city. The Twelve and the Seventy are sent to preach the gospel in cities, and when they are persecuted in one city they are to flee to another (&nbsp;Matthew 10:1 ff., &nbsp;Matthew 10:23, &nbsp;Luke 10:1). Jesus, after He had given instructions to the Twelve, departs to preach and to teach in their cities (&nbsp;Matthew 11:1). The conception of the city as the flower and fruit of the highest civilization is emerging, and the <i> civitas Dei </i> is taking the place of the <i> regnum Dei </i> , and thus bringing Hebrew into line with Greek ideals. This fact is very significant for the modern presentation of the gospel. It is sometimes assumed that [[Christianity]] is possible only for a primitive community, and many modern ideals of communal life are based on the supposition that the city is wholly an artificial product, and that the way of true progress lies in reverting to village communities. All through the [[Christian]] centuries there has been a tendency on the part of many who have felt with singular intensity the influence of Jesus, to seek the cultivation of the Christian life either in isolation or in withdrawing themselves from the strenuous civic activities. The Christian ideal of saintship has been largely that of the cloister. But it is becoming more and more realized that Jesus lived His life in a crowd, that He was so seldom alone that occasions when He sought solitude are specially noted, and that it was the sight of great masses of people that most powerfully touched His emotions (&nbsp;Matthew 14:14, &nbsp;Luke 19:41). The gospel of Jesus is essentially a social gospel. Its ideal is a civic ideal. Its precepts have no meaning and no applicability except to those who are living in a community. Its ultimate goal is the ‘holy city, new Jerusalem, descending from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband’ (&nbsp;Revelation 21:2). The fact is noteworthy as showing the place and influence of Christianity in the natural evolution of humanity. For the history of civilization is the history of cities. Babylon, Nineveh, Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, Alexandria, Venice, Florence, and the mediaeval cities all mark stages in the development of the higher culture of the race. The modern city, indeed, still lacks its <i> raison d’être </i> . It is as yet a huge amorphous entity, presenting problems which, so far from finding solution, are only now beginning to be fully faced. And the supreme test of the [[Divine]] power of the religion of Jesus in our day will lie in its capability of giving to the city rational meaning, of transmuting the blind force of economic pressure to the law of reciprocal harmony, of so applying the principles of the gospel to the marvellous complexities of our civic life as to educe the noblest faculties of the individual while securing the unity of communal existence. </p> <p> Literature.—Schürer, <i> HJ </i> P [Note: JP History of the Jewish People.] ii. i. 154 ff., 160 f.; G. A. Smith, <i> HGH </i> L [Note: GHL [[Historical]] Geog. of [[Holy]] Land.] pp. 420–435; Fairbairn, <i> City of God </i> , pp. 349–370; Westcott, <i> Hebrews </i> , pp. 386–389. </p> <p> A. Miller. </p>

<p> <strong> CITY </strong> . The surprisingly large number of places in the ‘least of all lands’ which receive in [[Scripture]] the honourable designation of ‘city’ is in itself evidence that the OT ‘cities,’ like the NT ‘ships,’ must not be measured by modern standards. The recent excavations in Palestine have confirmed this conclusion. In his recent work, <em> [[Canaan]] d’après l’exploration récente </em> (1907), the [[Dominican]] scholar, Father Vincent, has prepared plans on a uniform scale of the various sites excavated (see <em> op. cit. </em> 27 ff. with plate). From these the modest proportions of an ancient [[Canaanite]] or Hebrew city may be best realized. The area of Lachish, for example, did not exceed 15 acres; [[Taanach]] and [[Megiddo]] each occupied from 12 to 13 acres an area about equal to the probable extent of the Jehusite city on [[Ophel]] captured by David (&nbsp; 2 Samuel 5:6 ff.). Gezer, at the time of its greatest expansion, did not exceed 23 acres, or thereby, the circuit of its outer wall being only 1500 yards, about 1 / 3 of the extent of the present wall of Jerusalem. </p> <p> With the exception of cities on the sea-board, the situation of the Canaanite city was determined, as elsewhere in that old world, by two supreme considerations the presence of an adequate water-supply and the capability of easy defence against the enemy. ‘The cities of Canaan,’ says Vincent, ‘were almost invariably perched upon a projecting spur of a mountain slope, or upon an isolated eminence in the plain: Megiddo, Gezer, Tell-es-Safy [Gath?] not to mention the hill of the primitive Jerusalem are characteristic examples of the former site, Taanach and [[Lachish]] of the latter.’ With this well-known fact agrees the mention of the ‘cities on their mounds’ (&nbsp;Joshua 11:13 RV [Note: Revised Version.] , &nbsp; Jeremiah 30:18 RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] [Heb. <em> tillîm </em> , the Arabic <em> tell </em> , now so common in the topographical nomenclature of Western Asia]). </p> <p> The relation between the city and the dependent villages was regarded as that of a mother (&nbsp;2 Samuel 20:19 ‘a mother in Israel’) and her daughters, a point lost in our rendering <strong> ‘villages’ </strong> ( <em> e.g. </em> &nbsp; Joshua 15:32; &nbsp; Joshua 15:36; &nbsp; Joshua 15:41 and <em> passim </em> ), though noted in the margins. From these the city was outwardly distinguished by its massive <strong> walls </strong> (cf. &nbsp; Numbers 13:28 , &nbsp; Deuteronomy 1:28 ‘walled up to heaven’), on the construction of which recent excavation has thrown a flood of new light (see Fortification). Close to, if not actually upon, the walls, houses were sometimes built, as we learn from &nbsp; Joshua 2:15 (cf. &nbsp; 2 Corinthians 11:33 ). </p> <p> The streets are now seen to have been exceedingly narrow and to have been laid out on no definite plan, ‘a maze of narrow crooked causeways and blind alleys,’ as at Gezer. Only at the intersection of the more important streets, and especially near the city gates, were <strong> broad places </strong> (&nbsp; Jeremiah 5:1 , &nbsp; Nehemiah 8:1; &nbsp; Nehemiah 8:3; &nbsp; Nehemiah 8:16 RV [Note: Revised Version.] where AV [Note: Authorized Version.] , as often, has ‘streets’) the <strong> markets </strong> (&nbsp; Matthew 11:16 , &nbsp; Luke 11:43 ) and <strong> market-places </strong> (&nbsp; Matthew 20:3 , &nbsp; Luke 7:32 ) of NT where the citizens met to discuss public affairs, the children to play, and the elders to dispense justice. The importance of the <strong> gates </strong> , which were closed at nightfall (&nbsp; Joshua 2:5 ), is treated of in art. [[Fortification]] and Sieoecraft, § 5. During the night the <strong> watchmen </strong> mounted guard on the ramparts, or went ‘about the city’ (&nbsp; Song of [[Solomon]] 3:3 , &nbsp; Isaiah 62:6; cf. &nbsp; Psalms 127:1 ). A feature of an Eastern city in ancient as in modern times was the aggregation in a particular street or streets of representatives of the same craft or occupation, from which the name of the street or quarter was derived (see Arts and Crafts, § <strong> 10 </strong> ). </p> <p> The <strong> houses </strong> were absurdly small to Western ideas (see House), for the city folk lived their life in the courts and streets, retiring to their houses mainly to eat and sleep. Every city of any importance, and in particular every royal city, had its <strong> castle </strong> , citadel, or acropolis, as the excavations show, to which the inhabitants might flee as a last defence. Such was the ‘ <strong> strong tower </strong> within the city’ of [[Thebez]] (&nbsp; Judges 9:51 ). Indeed the common term for city ( <em> ‘ir </em> ) is often used in this restricted sense; thus the ‘ <strong> stronghold </strong> of Zion’ is re-named ‘David’s castle’ or citadel (&nbsp; 2 Samuel 5:7 , AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘city of David’), and the ‘city of waters’ (&nbsp; 2 Samuel 12:27 ) at Rabbath-ammon is really the ‘water fort.’ </p> <p> As regards the <strong> water-supply </strong> , it was essential, as we have seen, to have one or more springs in the immediate vicinity, to which ‘at the time of evening’ (&nbsp; [[Genesis]] 24:11 ) the city maidens went forth to draw (see Well). Against the long rainless summer, and especially against the oft-recurring cases of siege, it was not less necessary that the city should be provided with open <strong> pools </strong> and covered <strong> cisterns </strong> for the storage of water. Mesha, king of Moab, tells in his famous inscription how, as there was ‘no cistern in the midst of’ a certain city, he ‘said to all the people: make you each a cistern in his house’ (cf. Cistern). </p> <p> In the internal affairs of the city the king in Canaanite days was supreme. Under the Hebrew monarchy and later, law and justice were in the hands of ‘the <strong> elders </strong> of the city’ (&nbsp; Deuteronomy 19:12; &nbsp; Deuteronomy 21:3 ff., &nbsp; Ruth 4:2 etc.). In addition to freemen, possessing the full rights of <strong> citizenship </strong> the ‘men of the city’ <em> par excellence </em> with their wives and children, the population will have included many slaves, mostly captives of war, and a sprinkling of <strong> sojourners </strong> and passing <strong> strangers </strong> (see Stranger). </p> <p> No city, finally, was without its <strong> sanctuary </strong> or <strong> high place </strong> , either within its own precincts, as in most cities of note (see High Place), or on an adjoining height (&nbsp; 1 Samuel 9:12 ff.). With due religious rites, too, the city had been founded in far-off Canaanite, or even, as we now know, in pre-Canaanite days, when the <strong> foundation sacrifice </strong> claimed its human victim (see House, § <strong> 3 </strong> ). A survival of this wide-spread custom is almost certainly to be recognized in connexion with the rebuilding of Jericho, the foundation of which was laid by [[Hiel]] the Bethelite, ‘with the loss of [[Abiram]] his first born,’ and whose gates were set up ‘with the loss of’ his youngest son, [[Segub]] (&nbsp; 1 Kings 16:34 RV [Note: Revised Version.] ). </p> <p> A. R. S. Kennedy. </p>

<p> [[Cain]] first founded one (&nbsp;Genesis 4:16-17). The material civilization of the Cainite race was superior to that of the Sethite. To the former belonged many inventions of useful arts and luxury (&nbsp;Genesis 4:20-22). [[Real]] refinement and moral civilization are by no means necessary concomitants of material civilization; in these the Sethites took the lead (&nbsp;Genesis 4:25-26). The distinction between tent or nomadic and town life early began. The root meaning of the Hebrew terms for "city," 'ar or 'ir (from 'ur "to keep watch"), and kirat (from qarah "to approach as an enemy," &nbsp;Genesis 23:2) implies that a leading object of gathering into towns was security against marauders. </p> <p> So, "the tower of Edar," i.e. flocks (&nbsp;Genesis 35:21). Of course, the first "cities" would be mere groups of rude dwellings, fenced round together. Sir H. Rawlinson supposes Rehoboth, Calah, etc., in &nbsp;Genesis 10:11, denote only sites of buildings afterward erected. The later dates assigned to the building of Nineveh, Babylon, etc., refer to their being rebuilt on a larger scale on the sites of the primitive towns. [[Unwalled]] towns are the symbol of peace and security (&nbsp;Zechariah 2:4). [[Special]] cities furnished supplies for the king's service (&nbsp;1 Kings 9:19; &nbsp;1 Kings 4:7; &nbsp;1 Chronicles 27:25; &nbsp;2 Chronicles 17:12). So, our Lord represents the different servants having the number of cities assigned them in proportion to their faithfulness (&nbsp;Luke 19:17; &nbsp;Luke 19:19). </p> <p> Forty-eight cities were assigned to the Levites, of which 13 were for the family of Aaron, nine were in Judah, four were in Benjamin, and six were cities of refuge. The streets of eastern cities are generally narrow, seldom allowing more than two loaded camels to pass one another. But Nineveh's admitted of chariots passing, and had large parks and gardens within (&nbsp;Nahum 2:4). Those of one trade generally lived on the same street (&nbsp;Jeremiah 37:21). The [[Gates]] are the usual place of assembly, and there courts of judges and kings are held (&nbsp;Genesis 23:10; &nbsp;Ruth 4:1). </p>

<p> ‛Iyr (עָיַר, Strong'S #5892), “city; town; village; quarter [of a city].” Cognates of this word appear in Ugaritic, Phoenician, Sumerian, and old Arabic. This noun occurs about 1,092 times and in every period of biblical Hebrew.The word suggests a “village.” An unwalled village is represented by the Hebrew word <em> chatser </em> . <em> Qiryat </em> , a synonym of <em> ‛ı̂yr </em> is an [[Aramaic]] loanword. </p> <p> But <em> ‛ı̂yr </em> and its synonym do not necessarily suggest a walled city. This usage is seen in Deut. 3:5, where <em> ‛ı̂yr </em> may be a city standing in the open country (perhaps surrounded by dirt or stone ramparts for protection): “All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many.” A comparison of Lev. 25:29 and Lev. 25:31 shows that <em> ‛ı̂yr </em> can be used as synonym of <em> chatser </em> : “And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; … but the houses of the villages [ <em> chatser </em> ] which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country.…” </p> <p> ‛Iyr can signify not only a “village consisting of permanent houses” but also one in a permanent place, even though the dwellings are tents: “And Saul came to a <em> city </em> of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley” (1 Sam. 15:5). </p> <p> In Gen. 4:17 (the first occurrence), the word <em> ‛ı̂yr </em> means a “permanent dwelling center” consisting of residences of stone and clay. As a rule, there are no political overtones to the word; <em> ‛ı̂yr </em> simply represents the “place where people dwell on a permanent basis.” At some points, however, <em> ‛ı̂yr </em> represents a political entity (1 Sam. 15:5; 30:29). </p> <p> This word can represent “those who live in a given town”: “And when he came, lo, [[Eli]] sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, <em> all the city </em> cried out” (1 Sam. 4:13). </p> <p> ‛Iyr can also signify only “a part of a city,” such as a part that is surrounded by a wall: “Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion: the same is the <em> city </em> of David” (2 Sam. 5:7). [[Ancient]] cities (especially larger ones) were sometimes divided into sections (quarters) by walls, in order to make it more difficult to capture them. This suggests that, by the time of the statement just cited, <em> ‛ı̂yr </em> normally implied a “walled city.” </p>

&nbsp;Genesis 4:17&nbsp;Numbers 13:22&nbsp;Exodus 1:11&nbsp;Genesis 46:34&nbsp;47:1-11&nbsp;Numbers 21:21,32,33,35&nbsp;32:1-3,34-42&nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:4,5,14&nbsp;1 Kings 4:13&nbsp;Joshua 12 <p> A fenced city was a city surrounded by fortifications and high walls, with watch-towers upon them (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 11:11; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:5 ). There was also within the city generally a tower to which the citizens might flee when danger threatened them (&nbsp;Judges 9:46-52 ). </p> <p> A city with suburbs was a city surrounded with open pasture-grounds, such as the forty-eight cities which were given to the Levites (&nbsp;Numbers 35:2-7 ). There were six cities of refuge, three on each side of Jordan, namely, Kadesh, Shechem, Hebron, on the west of Jordan; and on the east, Bezer, Ramoth-gilead, and Golan. The cities on each side of the river were nearly opposite each other. The regulations concerning these cities are given in &nbsp;Numbers 35:9-34; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 19:1-13; &nbsp;Exodus 21:12-14 . </p> <p> When David reduced the fortress of the [[Jebusites]] which stood on Mount Zion, he built on the site of it a palace and a city, which he called by his own name (&nbsp;1 Chronicles 11:5 ), the city of David. Bethlehem is also so called as being David's native town (&nbsp;Luke 2:4 ). </p> <p> Jerusalem is called the Holy City, the holiness of the temple being regarded as extending in some measure over the whole city (&nbsp;Nehemiah 11:1 ). </p> <p> [[Pithom]] and Raamses, built by the [[Israelites]] as "treasure cities," were not places where royal treasures were kept, but were fortified towns where merchants might store their goods and transact their business in safety, or cities in which munitions of war were stored. (See PITHOM .) </p>

<p> The towns and cities of Palestine were commonly built on heights, for better security against robbers or invaders. These heights, surrounded by walls, sometimes formed the entire city. In other cases, the citadel alone crowned the hill, around and at the base of which the town was built; and in time of danger the surrounding population all took refuge in the fortified place. Larger towns and cities were often not only defended by strong outer walls, with towers and gates, but by a citadel or castle within these limits-a last resort when the rest of the city was taken, &nbsp;Judges 9:46,51 . The "fenced cities" of the Jews, &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:5 , were of various sizes and degrees of strength; some being surrounded by high and thick stone walls, and others by feebler ramparts, often of clay or sun-dried bricks, and sometimes combustible, &nbsp;Isaiah 9:10 &nbsp; Amos 1:7-14 . They were also provided with watchmen, &nbsp;Psalm 127:1 Song of &nbsp; Song of Solomon 5:7 . The streets of ancient towns were usually narrow, and often unpaved. Some cities were adorned with vast parks and gardens; this was the case with Babylon, which embraced an immense at this day to form any reliable estimate of the population of the cities of Judea. Jerusalem is said by Josephus to have had 150,000 inhabitants, and to have contained, at the time of its siege by the Romans, more than a million of persons crowded in its circuit of four miles of wall. See GATE, REFUGE, CITIES OF, WATCHMEN. </p> <p> CITY OF DAVID, usually denotes mount Zion, the southwest section of Jerusalem, which David took from the Jebusites, and occupied by a palace and city called by his name. In &nbsp;Luke 2:11 , Bethlehem his native city is meant. </p> <p> CITY OF GOD, &nbsp;Deuteronomy 12:5 &nbsp; Psalm 46:4 , and the HOLY, [[Holiness]] CITY, &nbsp;Nehemiah 11:1 , names of Jerusalem. Its modern name is El-Kuds, the Holy. </p>

<p> Which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, (&nbsp;Hebrews 11:10) I think it not improper to notice this, in a work of this kind, inasmuch as we meet with the expression frequently in Scripture, both in allusion to the church of God upon earth, and the church triumphant in heaven. (See &nbsp;Psalms 46:4; Psa 48:1; Psa 48:8; Psa 87:3; &nbsp;Song of Song of Solomon 3:2-3 and also &nbsp;Hebrews 12:22; &nbsp;Revelation 3:12; Rev 21:2-10; Rev 22:19) The city of God in his church upon earth, and in heaven, is one and the same. It is peculiarly called his, because he hath founded it and built it, and dwells in it, and is the governor of it, and grants to the citizens the privileges and immunities of it. It is the Lord's property both by purchase, and by conquest, and he hath the whole revenue of it. And hence, all the inhabitants of this city are, in heart and mind, one and the same. For though the church here below is in a militant state, and the church above, freed from this warfare, is triumphant, yet, equally dear are the citizens of both to the Lord of the country. They all speak the same language, all wear the same garment, Christ's righteousness, all love the same Lord, and his Zion, and prefer her interests above their chief joy. (&nbsp;Psalms 137:6) Reader, what saith your heart to those characters? (See that Scripture, &nbsp;Revelation 22:14-15) </p>

<p> &nbsp;Proverbs 25:28 (a) The Christian is compared to a city filled with treasures, jewels and valuables. His treasures are patience, love, peace, zeal, et cetera, which, unless guarded, will be taken from him by critics, enemies, fault-finders and gossips. </p> <p> &nbsp;Revelation 18:10 (a) This city is a figure of the religious-political groups of earth which build huge buildings, manifest outward piety, have a mixture of Christian doctrines with heathen practices. This "city" is engaged in the business of buying and selling every kind of merchandise, and ruling in the affairs of men. Their merchandise includes the bodies and the souls of men ( &nbsp;Revelation 18:13 margin). GOD is telling us here that He will visit such religious movements in judgment, and will pour out His wrath upon them. This "city" is said to be decked or guilded with gold, whereas GOD's true city is said to be pure gold. (Compare &nbsp;Revelation 18:16 with &nbsp;Revelation 21:18). </p>

<p> CITY, n. </p> 1. In a general sense, a large town a large number of houses and inhabitants, established in one place. 2. In a more appropriate sense, a corporate town a town or collective body of inhabitants, incorporated and governed by particular officers, as a mayor and aldermen. This is the sense of the word in the United States. In Great Britain, a city is said to be a town corporate that has a bishop and a cathedral church but this is not always the fact. 3. The collective body of citizens, or the inhabitants of a city as when we say, the city voted to establish a market, and the city repealed the vote. <p> CITY, a. Pertaining to a city as city wives a city feast city manners. </p>

<p> '''(1):''' (n.) A large town. </p> <p> '''(2):''' (n.) A corporate town; in the United States, a town or collective body of inhabitants, incorporated and governed by a mayor and aldermen or a city council consisting of a board of aldermen and a common council; in Great Britain, a town corporate, which is or has been the seat of a bishop, or the capital of his see. </p> <p> '''(3):''' (n.) The collective body of citizens, or inhabitants of a city. </p> <p> '''(4):''' (a.) Of or pertaining to a city. </p>

<p> '''''sit´i''''' ( עיר , <i> '''''‛ı̄r''''' </i> , קריה , <i> '''''ḳiryāh''''' </i> ; πόλις , <i> '''''pólis''''' </i> ): </p> <p> I. The Canaanite City </p> <p> 1. Origin </p> <p> 2. Extent </p> <p> 3. [[Villages]] </p> <p> 4. Sites </p> <p> 5. External Appearance </p> <p> 6. General </p> <p> II. The City of the Jewish [[Occupation]] </p> <p> 1. Tower or [[Stronghold]] </p> <p> 2. High Place </p> <p> 3. [[Broad]] Place </p> <p> 4. [[Streets]] </p> <p> 5. General Characteristics </p> <p> III. [[Store]] Cities </p> <p> IV. [[Levitical]] Cities </p> <p> Literature </p> I. The Canaanite City <p> 1. Origin </p> <p> The development of the Canaanite city has been traced by Macalister in his report on the excavation at [[Gezer]] ( <i> Palestine Exploration Fund Statement </i> , 1904, 108ff). It originated on the slopes of a bare rocky spur, in which the Neolithic Troglodytes quarried their habitations out of the solid rock, the stones therefrom being used to form a casing to the earthen ramparts, with which the site was afterwards surrounded and which served as a protection against the intrusion of enemies. Later Semitic intruders occupied the site, stone houses were built, and high stone defense walls were substituted for the earthen stone-cased ramparts. These later walls were much higher and stronger than those of the Neilithic occupation and were the walls seen by the Israelites when they viewed the country of their promise. </p> <p> 2. Extent </p> <p> "The people that dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified, and very great" (&nbsp;Numbers 13:28 ) was the report of the spies sent by Moses to spy out the land of Canaan, to see "what cities they are that they dwell in, whether in camps, or in strongholds" (&nbsp;Numbers 13:19 , &nbsp;Numbers 13:20 ). The difficulties of the task set before the advancing Israelites and their appreciation of the strength of the cities, is here recorded, and also in &nbsp;Deuteronomy 1:28 : "The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the [[Anakim]] there." This assessment of greatness was based upon comparative ignorance of such fortifications and the want of war experience and the necessary implements of assault. It need not, therefore, be supposed that the cities were "great" except by comparison in the eyes of a tent-dwelling and pastoral people. On the contrary, most recent exploration has proved that they were small (see Père Vincent, <i> Canaan </i> , 27, note 3, and Pl. I, where comparative measurements of the areas of ancient cities show that, in nine cities compared, Tell Sandahannah (barely 6 acres) is the smallest). Gezer measures approximately 22 1/4 acres and Tell el-Hesy somewhat greater. By way of illustration, it is interesting to note that the Acropolis at Athens, roughly computed, measures &nbsp;Deuteronomy 7:1 /4 acres, while the [[Castle]] Rock at [[Edinburgh]] is about 6 acres, or the same as the whole Seleucidan city of Tell Sandahannah. The Acropolis at Tell Zakarîya measures about 2 acres or nearly one-fourth of the area of the whole city (about 8 1/2 acres). It is unlikely that [[Jebus]] (Jerusalem) itself was an exception, although in Solomonic and later times it extended to a far greater area. </p> <p> 3. Villages </p> <p> Besides the walled cities there were "unwalled (country) towns a great many" (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:5 ), "villages," unfortified suburbs, lying near to and under the protection of the walled cities and occupied by the surplus population. The almost incredible number of cities and their villages mentioned in the Old Testament, while proving the clannishness of their occupants, proves, at the same time, their comparatively small scale. </p> <p> 4. Sites </p> <p> Traces of similar populations that rise and fall are seen in China and Japan today. As a little poem says of Karakura: </p> <p> "Where were palaces and merchants and the blades of warriors, </p> <p> Now are only the cicadas and waving blades of grass." </p> <p> "Cities that stood on their mounds" (&nbsp;Joshua 11:13; &nbsp;Jeremiah 30:18 ) as at Lachish and Taanach are distinguished from those built on natural hills or spurs of hills, such as Jebus, Gezer, Tell es [[Sail]] (Gath?), [[Bethshemesh]] (see Vincent, <i> Canaan </i> , 26ff). The Arabic name "Tell" is applied to all mounds of ancient cities, whether situated on a natural eminence or on a plain, and the word is common in the geographical nomenclature of Palestine Sites were chosen near a water supply, which was ever the most essential qualification. For purposes of defense, the nearest knoll or spur was selected. Sometimes these knolls were of no great height and their subsequent elevation is accounted for by the gradual accumulation of débris from town refuse and from frequent demolitions; restoration being effected after a levelng up of the ruins of the razed city (see Fig. 2: Tell el-Hesy, <i> Palestine Exploration Fund </i> , which shows a section of the Tell from which the levels of the successive cities in distinct stratification were recovered). Closely packed houses, in narrow alleys, with low, rude mud, brick, or stone and mud walls, with timber and mud roofs, burned readily and were easily razed to the ground (&nbsp;Joshua 8:1; &nbsp;Joshua 11:11 ). </p> <p> It would seem that, viewed from the outside, these cities had the appearance of isolated forts, the surrounding walls being strengthened at frequent intervals, with towers. The gates were approached by narrow roads, which mounted the slopes of the mound at the meeting-point of the meandering paths on the plain below. </p> <p> 5. External Appearance </p> <p> The walls of Tell ej-Judeideh were strengthened by towers in the inside, and presented an unbroken circuit of wall to the outside view (see Fig. 4, <i> PEF </i> ). [[Houses]] on the wall (&nbsp;Joshua 2:15; &nbsp;2 Corinthians 11:33 ) may have been seen from the outside; but it is unlikely that any building within the walls was visible, except possibly the inner tower or stronghold. The whole of the interior of the early Jerusalem (Jebus) was visible from the hills to the East, but this peculiarity of position is uncommon. Strong and high walls, garrisoned by men-at-arms seen only through the battlements, showed no weakness, and the gates, with their narrow and steep approaches and projecting defense towers, looked uninviting traps. The mystery of these unseen interiors could therefore be easily conjured into an exaggeration of strength. </p> <p> 6. General </p> <p> The inhabitants of the villages (בּנות , <i> '''''bānōth''''' </i> , "daughters," &nbsp;Numbers 32:42 margin) held feudal occupation and gave service to their lord of the city ( אם , <i> ''''''ēm''''' </i> , "mother," &nbsp;2 Samuel 20:19 ), in defense of their own or in attacks on their neighbor's property. Such were the cities of the truculent, marauding kings of Canaan, whose broken territories lent themselves to the upkeep of a condition, of the weakness of which, the Israelites, in their solid advance, took ready advantage. </p> II. The City of the Jewish Occupation <p> After the conquest, and the abandonment of the pastoral life for that of agriculture and general trade, the condition of the cities varied but little, except that they were, from time to time, enlarged and strengthened. Solomon's work at Jerusalem was a step forward, but there is little evidence that, in the other cities which he is credited with having put his hands to, there was any embellishment. Megiddo and Gezer at least show nothing worthy of the name. Greek influence brought with it the first real improvements in city building; and the later work of Herod raised cities to a grandeur which was previously undreamed of among the Jews. Within the walls, the main points considered in the "layout" were, the Tower or Stronghold, the High Place, the Broad Place by the Gate, and the Market-Place. </p> <p> 1. Tower or Stronghold </p> <p> The Tower or Stronghold was an inner fort which held a garrison and commander, and was provisioned with "victuals, and oil and wine" (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 11:11 ), to which the defenders of the city when hard pressed betook themselves, as a last resource. The men of the tower of Shechem held out against [[Abimelech]] (&nbsp;Judges 9:49 ) who was afterward killed by a stone thrown by a woman from the Tower of Thebez "within the city" (&nbsp;Judges 9:51 , &nbsp;Judges 9:53 ). David took the stronghold of Zion, "the same is the city of David" (&nbsp;2 Samuel 5:7 ), which name (Zion) was afterward applied to the whole city. It is not unlikely that the king's house was included in the stronghold. Macalister ( <i> Palestine Exploration Fund Statement </i> , 1907, 192ff) reports the discovery of a Canaanite castle with enormously thick walls abutting against the inside of the city wall. The strongholds at Taanach and Tell el-Hesy are similarly placed; and the Acropolis at Tell Zakarîya lies close to, but independent of, the city wall. </p> <p> 2. High Place </p> <p> The High Place was an important feature in all Canaanite cities and retained its importance long after the conquest (&nbsp;1 Samuel 9:12; &nbsp;1 Kings 3:2; &nbsp;Amos 7:9 ). It was a sanctuary, where sacrifices were offered and feasts were held, and men did "eat before Yahweh" (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 14:26 ). The priests, as was their custom, received their portion of the flesh (&nbsp;1 Samuel 2:12 ). The High Place discovered at Gezer ( <i> Bible Sidelights </i> , chapter iii) is at a lower level than the city surrounding it, and lies North and South. It is about 100 ft. in length, and when complete consisted of a row of ten rude undressed standing stones, of which eight are still remaining, the largest being 10 ft. 6 inches high, and the others varying to much smaller sizes. See [[High Place]] . </p> <p> 3. Broad Place </p> <p> The Broad Place (&nbsp;Nehemiah 8:1 , &nbsp;Nehemiah 8:3 , &nbsp;Nehemiah 8:16; &nbsp;Jeremiah 5:1 ) seems to have been, usually, immediately inside the city gate. It was not, in early Jewish cities, an extensive open area, but simply a widening of the street, and was designated "broad" by comparison with the neighboring alleys, dignified by the name of street. It took the place of a general exchange. [[Justice]] was dispensed (Rth 4:2) and punishment was administered. Jeremiah was put in "the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin" (&nbsp;Jeremiah 20:2 ), proclamations were read, business was transacted, and the news and gossip of the day were exchanged. It was a place for all classes to congregate (&nbsp;Job 29:7 m; &nbsp; Proverbs 31:23 ), and was also a market-place (&nbsp;2 Kings 7:1 ). In later times, the market-place became more typically a market square of the Greek agora plan, with an open area surrounded by covered shelters. The present market-place at [[Haifa]] resembles this. Probably it was this type of market-place referred to in &nbsp;Matthew 11:16; &nbsp;Matthew 20:3 and &nbsp; Luke 7:32; &nbsp;Luke 11:43 . The street inside the Damascus gate of Jerusalem today is, in many ways, similar to the Broad Place, and retains many of its ancient uses. Here, Bedouin and Fellahin meet from the outlying districts to barter, to arbitrate, to find debtors and to learn the news of the day. Lying as it did immediately inside the gate, the Broad Place had a defensive value, in that it admitted of concentration against the forcing of the gate. There does not seem to have been any plan of either a Canaanite or early Jewish city, in which this question of defense did not predominate. Open areas within the city were "waste places" (&nbsp;Isaiah 58:12 ) and were not an integral part of the plan. </p> <p> 4. Streets </p> <p> The streets serving these quarters were not laid out on any fixed plan. They were, in fact, narrow, unpaved alleys, all seeming of equal importance, gathering themselves crookedly to the various centers. Having fixed the positions of the City Gates, the Stronghold and the High Place, the inhabitants appear to have been allowed to situate themselves the best way they could, without restriction of line or frontage. Houses were of modest proportions and were poorly built; planned, most often, in utter disregard of the square, and presenting to the street more or less dead walls, which were either topped by parapets or covered with projecting wood and mud roofs (see Architecture F ig. 1; [[House]] ). </p> <p> The streets, as in the present day in Palestine,were allocated to separate trades: "bakers' street" (&nbsp;Jeremiah 37:21 ), place "of the merchants" (&nbsp;Nehemiah 3:31 , &nbsp;Nehemiah 3:32 the King James Version), "goldsmiths," etc. The Valley of the Cheesemakers was a street in the [[Tyropceon]] Valley at Jerusalem. </p> <p> For a discussion of the subject of "cisterns" , see the separate article under the word </p> <p> 5. General Characteristics </p> <p> The people pursued the industries consequent upon their own self-establishment. [[Agriculture]] claimed first place, and was their most highly esteemed occupation. The king's lands were farmed by his subjects for his own benefit, and considerable tracts of lands belonged to the aristocracy. The most of the lands, however, belonged to the cities and villages, and were allotted among the free husbandmen. Various cereals were raised, wheat and barley being most commonly cultivated. The soil was tilled and the crops reaped and threshed in much the same manner and with much the same implements as are now used in Syria. Cities lying in main trade routes developed various industries more quickly than those whose positions were out of touch with foreign traffic. [[Crafts]] and trades, unknown to the early Jews, were at first monopolized by foreigners who, as a matter of course, were elbowed out as time progressed. Cities on the seaboard of [[Phoenicia]] depended chiefly on maritime trade. Money, in the form of ingots and bars of precious metals, "weighed out" (&nbsp;2 Kings 12:11 ), was current in preëxilic times, and continued in use after foreign coinage had been introduced. The first native coinage dates from the Maccabean period (see Madden, <i> Jewish Coinage </i> , chapter iv). Slavery was freely trafficked in, and a certain number of slaves were attached to the households of the more wealthy. Although they were the absolute property of their masters, they enjoyed certain religious privileges not extended to the "sojourners" or "strangers" who sought the protection of the cities, often in considerable numbers. </p> <p> The king's private property, from which he drew full revenue, lay partly within the city, but to a greater extent beyond it (&nbsp;1 Samuel 8:15 , &nbsp;1 Samuel 8:16 ). In addition to his private property, he received tithes of fields and flocks, "the tenth part of your seed." He also drew a tax in the shape of certain "king's mowings" (&nbsp;Amos 7:1 ). Vassal kings, paid tribute; Mesha, king of Moab, rendered wool unto the king of Israel" (&nbsp;2 Kings 3:4 ). </p> <p> See G. A. Smith, <i> Jerusalem </i> , I, chapters v-x, for detailed account of the conditions of Jewish city life. For details of government, see [[Elder]]; [[Judge]]; Sanhedrin . </p> III. Store Cities <p> These were selected by Solomon and set aside for stores of victuals, chariots, horsemen, etc. (&nbsp;1 Kings 9:19 ). Jehoshaphat "built in Judah castles and cities of store" (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 17:12 ). Twelve officers were appointed by Solomon to provision his household, each officer being responsible for the supply in one month in the year (&nbsp;1 Kings 4:7 ). There were also "storehouses in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages" (&nbsp;1 Chronicles 27:25 the King James Version). </p> IV. Levitical Cities <p> These were apportioned 13 to the children of Aaron, 10 to Kohath, 13 to Gershon, 12 to Merari, 48 cities in all (&nbsp;Joshua 21:13 ), 6 of which were cities of Refuge (&nbsp;Numbers 35:6 ); see [[Refuge]] , Cities Of . For further details see [[Architecture]]; House . </p> Literature <p> <i> PEFS </i> ; Bliss and Dickie, <i> Excavations at Jerusalem </i> ; Macalister, <i> Excavation at Gezer </i> ; Bliss and Macalister, <i> Excavations in Palestine </i> ; Sellin, <i> Excavation at Taanach </i> ; Schumacher, <i> Excavation at Tell Mutesellim </i> ; Macalister, <i> Bible Sidelights </i> ; G. A. Smith, <i> Jerusalem </i> ; <i> Historical [[Geography]] of the Holy Land </i> ; Bliss, <i> Mounds of Many Cities </i> ; Vincent, <i> Canaan </i> . </p>