Imagine standing atop a sun-warmed hill, the air tinged with the scent of wild thyme and olive trees, as the first rays of dawn break over a land that is both ancient and ever-renewing. This is where our story begins: in the primordial heart of Jerusalem, a place whose stones remember the footsteps of forgotten peoples and whose springs once drew the earliest settlers to its rocky embrace.
Long before prophets, kings, or conquerors, Jerusalem was a humble Canaanite village. Its people, resourceful and reverent, built walls from massive stones and carved tombs into the hillside. Their lives revolved around the life-giving Gihon Spring, a natural marvel that made survival possible amidst arid heights. Here, the mysteries of water and earth intertwined, and the first shrines were raised, not for any one god but for the very spirit of place.
As the centuries flowed, new stories layered upon the old. The city’s name changed—Salem, Jebus, Zion—each echoing a different epoch. Yet always, there was a sense that this was no ordinary place. When Abraham journeyed through these hills, he met Melchizedek, the enigmatic priest-king, who blessed him with bread and wine. This fleeting encounter, recorded in the mists of scripture, would ripple through millennia, making Jerusalem a beacon for all who sought the divine.
The city’s geography—remote from the trade routes, yet perched between worlds—made it a crossroads of faith and fortune. Tribes gathered, stories grew, and the ground itself became a tapestry of memory. Archaeologists today still unearth fragments of pottery, bones, and ancient seals, each a whisper from the city’s first inhabitants. It is this layering of myth, memory, and material that forms the bedrock of Jerusalem’s identity.
As we leave these earliest days, let us carry with us the sense of wonder that the ancients felt: that here, on this unlikely hill, something sacred was always stirring. In the next part of our journey, we’ll see how this sense of destiny drew mighty figures—kings, prophets, and warriors—who would shape Jerusalem into the city of dreams and longing it would become.
