Daughter of Zion

Occurrences in Scripture

"Daughter of Zion" is used in the poetic and prophetic texts of the Old Testament as a way of addressing Jerusalem. The New Korean Revised Version renders the same expression in several ways, which correspond roughly to "daughter Zion," "daughter of Zion," and "Zion's daughter."

• Contexts of judgment and grief: Isaiah 1:8 depicts desolate Jerusalem as the daughter of Zion barely left standing, "as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers." Lamentations 2 repeatedly mourns the city destroyed by Babylon, calling it the "daughter of Zion."
• Contexts of restoration and joy: Micah 4:8 and 4:13, Zephaniah 3:14, and Isaiah 62:11 call on the daughter of Zion to rejoice and promise salvation and restoration.
• The coming of the King: Zechariah 9:9 declares, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion… behold, thy King cometh unto thee… lowly, and riding upon an ass."

Plural uses, such as "the daughters of Zion" in Isaiah 3:16, refer to the women of Jerusalem and are therefore distinct from the singular expression, which addresses the city as a whole.

Background

In the Hebrew bat tsiyyon, bat means "daughter." The expression is commonly understood not as "a daughter belonging to Zion" but as "Daughter Zion," that is, a way of addressing the city of Zion itself as a woman. Personifying cities as female was common in the ancient Near East, and the Old Testament applies the same pattern to other cities and peoples, as in "daughter of Babylon" (Psalm 137:8) and "daughter of Edom" (Lamentations 4:21). For this reason, the New Korean Standard Version in many places renders the expression as "city of Zion," making clear that it refers to the city. Zion was originally the name of one of Jerusalem's hills, but its meaning gradually broadened to denote Jerusalem as a whole and the place where God dwells.

Meaning in Scripture as a Whole

Through this title the prophets expressed the relationship between God and his people in the affectionate language of family. The same "daughter" grieves like a forsaken woman in the face of judgment and rejoices like a woman welcoming her king in the face of the promise of restoration.

The New Testament applies the expression directly to Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Matthew 21:5 combines Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9: "Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee," and John 12:15 reads, "Fear not, daughter of Sion." The Gospel writers present Jesus' entry on a donkey as the fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy of the coming of the humble king.

Interpretation and Debate

• Whom the title designates: Protestants generally regard the original referent as Jerusalem and the people of Israel and, from the New Testament onward, extend its application to the church as the people of God. Dispensationalism tends strongly to read the promises of restoration as yet to be fulfilled for national Israel, whereas covenant theology tends to read them as fulfilled in the whole people of God united in Christ.
• Application to Mary: The Catholic Church has a tradition of applying this title to Mary; the Second Vatican Council's dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, for example, calls her the "Daughter of Zion." Protestants generally do not accept this interpretation and hold that the texts themselves refer to the city and its people.

In Korean Churches

In Korean churches, the expression is frequently cited in sermons on Matthew 21 and Zechariah 9:9 during Palm Sunday and Holy Week. The aria "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion," a setting of Zechariah 9:9 from Handel's oratorio Messiah, is also sung at church choir concerts around Christmas.