Although the precise origin of the Hebrew name for Jerusalem,
Yerushalayim remains uncertain, scholars have come up with a variety of interpretations. Some say it means "legacy of peace" — a
portmanteau of
yerusha (legacy) and
shalom (peace). "Shalom" is a cognate of the Hebrew name "Shlomo," i.e., King Solomon," the builder of the First Temple.
[15][16] Alternatively, the second part of the portmanteau could be
Salem (
Shalem literally "whole" or "in harmony"), an early name for Jerusalem
[17] that appears in the Book of
Genesis.
[18] Others cite the
Amarna letters, where the
Akkadian name of the city appears as
Urušalim, a cognate of the Hebrew
Ir Shalem. Some believe there is a connection to
Shalim, the beneficent deity known from
Ugaritic myths as the personification of dusk.
[19]
A
Midrashic interpretation in
Genesis Rabba explains that
Abraham came to the city that was then called
Shalem after rescuing
Lot.
[20] Upon arrival, he asked the king and high priest
Melchizedek to bless him, and Melchizedek did so in the name of
God (indicating that he, like Abraham, was a
monotheist). This encounter between Melchizedek and Abraham was commemorated by renaming the city in their honor: the name
Yeru (derived from
Yireh, the name Abraham gave to the
Temple Mount) was combined with
Shalem,
[20] producing
Yeru-Shalem, meaning the "city of Shalem," or "founded by Shalem." If shalem means "complete," or "without defect, " Yerushalayim would mean the "perfect city," or "the city of he who is perfect".
[21] The ending
-im indicates the plural in Hebrew grammar and
-ayim the dual, leading to an interpretation of the name as representing two facets of the city, such as two hills.
[22][23] The pronunciation of the last syllable as
-ayim appears to be a late development, which had not yet appeared at the time of the
Septuagint.