14 Biblical Names for Jerusalem (and How to Read the Psalms like a Catholic)

Below are fourteen names for Jerusalem. Recall that it is Catholic Tradition to speak of Heaven as the New Jerusalem and so these titles apply also to Heaven, which is the eternal City of God.

Saint Paul identifies the communion of saints in Heaven as “Jerusalem” and as our mother: “But that Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother” (Galatians 4:26, D-R).

This is another reason why Catholics refer to the Church as the New Jerusalem and as Holy Mother Church. When Catholic priests, monks, and nuns chant the 150 Psalms of David, they often mentally apply the meaning of “Heaven” or “Church” to those passages that refer to “Jerusalem.” Saint Paul’s use of allegory in Galatians serves as an interpretive key to reading the Old Testament in a spiritual way.

In the Psalms, Jerusalem = Heaven. David = Christ. Sufferings of David = Sufferings of Christ. Sacrifice = the Mass. Thanksgiving = Eucharist. Priests = Priests. This makes the Psalms one of the most Christological books on the Old Testament and they very heart of New Testament worship.

Below are the various titles of Jerusalem in the Old Testament.