Ariel
Ariel is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Jerusalem. It appears across 3 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Ariel is a poetic name for Jerusalem, used with particular intensity in the oracles of Isaiah. In Isaiah 29:1–8, the prophet addresses Jerusalem as "Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped," announcing divine judgment in the form of siege and distress, yet ultimately promising deliverance as God himself intervenes against Jerusalem's enemies. The name Ariel (Hebrew: אֲרִיאֵל) carries layered meanings: it may signify "Lion of God," "hearth of God" (a reference to the altar), or possibly connect to the Hebrew word for the altar's hearth (ariel) used in Ezekiel 43:15–16, where the altar top is called the ariel. This connection to the sacrificial altar gives the name its cultic resonance, identifying Jerusalem, and specifically the Temple Mount, as the sacred center of divine fire and sacrificial worship. Isaiah's oracle is darkly ironic: the city whose name evokes God's hearth will herself become like an ariel, a place of burning and sacrifice, unless she returns to the LORD. The three occurrences in Isaiah 29 make this one of the most theologically charged poetic designations for the holy city in prophetic literature.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
As a poetic designation for Jerusalem, Ariel does not correspond to an independent archaeological site but rather to the City of Jerusalem itself, particularly the Temple Mount precinct. Excavations in Jerusalem, notably those by Kathleen Kenyon, Benjamin Mazar, Eilat Mazar, and Ronny Reich, have extensively documented Iron Age Jerusalem's urban extent, water systems, administrative buildings, and the sacred precinct. The name Ariel's connection to the altar hearth (Ezekiel 43:15) is supported by textual parallels in cuneiform sources where similar terminology describes sacred fire altars. The Temple Mount itself remains largely unexcavated due to its ongoing religious significance to three faiths, though below-ground geophysical surveys have expanded knowledge of its ancient infrastructure.
Verse Appearances (3)
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]