Add year to year;
Let feasts come around." v.1
Read chapter 29
So who's Ariel? The little mermaid? The ghost in Shakespeare's The Tempest? No, Ariel is Jerusalem, "the city where David dwelt" and where all Israel's feast were held, one of many names for that city and only occurs as this name here in this chapter. Ariel has somewhat of an obscure meaning. Originally it probably meant "altar hearth" that is to say covered in ashes and reeking of blood. This could be of the great altar at the temple and all the sacrifices that took place there. Jerusalem also was pictured like this from the invasion, destruction and captivity by Assyria. The name also means "lion of God," which is how it's been understood since early times. The lion was a symbol of a mighty hero or lion-like men and so called for its victory over Sennacherib. Other reasons for this name could be "1. For its eminent strength in regard of its situation and fortifications, by reason whereof it was thought almost impregnable, both by themselves and others, Lamentations 4:12. Or, 2. For its lionlike fierceness and cruelty, for which she is called the bloody city, Ezekiel 7:23 22:2, and, in effect, Isaiah 1:15 59:3 Jeremiah 19:4; and for which her princes are called lions, Ezekiel 19:2 Zephaniah 3:3. Or, 3. In respect of the altar of God, which was erected in and confined to that city, and in which the strength and glory of that city did chiefly consist " (Matthew Poole's Commentary). What other (or find other) names do you know of Jerusalem and why its so called?
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