Alma 7:10 : Bakit Ba Land Of Jerusalem?
By Bro. Nathan
" And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God." (Alma 7:10)
This is the Messianic words of prophecies na inaadress ni Alma sa people in Gideon. This is often taken out of context ng mga critics by saying na "sa Bethlehem pinanganak si Jesus at hindi sa Jerusalem" which is one example ng hasty generalization. Why? first, again as said, the passage is taken out of context and second, it doesn't even read in light of its Historical backround. We do believe that the Savior is born in Bethlehem, so bakit nga ba sinulat ni Alma na "Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers"?
Ang city of Jerusalem ay isang political center ng Israel from the times ni King David hanggang sa mafall ito sa hands ng mga Babylonians, which is at the times after Lehi and his family left Jerusalem at during sa pagtakas ni Mulek. After the reign ni King David, hinati ni King Solomon ang Kingdom into 12 districts, in order na magkaroon ng order sa kanilang taxations (1 Kgs. 4:7-27), thereafter, ay pinagjoin again ni King Hezekiah ang 12 districts into 4, and here, ang Jerusalem ay ang District capital.
(*Notice that Alma 7:10 says land of our forefathers, and not city)
Ang name ng Jerusalem ay ang common na ginagamit ng mga tao noon para matukoy ang buong Southern Kingdom, which is Judea. E.g ay si Prophet Jeremiah na dinescribe ang siege of Babylon by saying na inatake ng Babylon ang Jerusalem "and it's sorrounding towns" (Jer. 34:1) in which sa kanyang description ay possible na magrefer sa ibang cities (v. 7). ang usage ng pagtukoy sa capital city para irefer ang buong kingdom ay common throughout the scriptures (2 Kgs. 21:13; Isa. 10:10—11; Ezek. 23:4; Micah 1:1-5). ang iba pang cities sa isang particular na area ay nagagamit din in the same way, like the city of Samaria, which is ang capital ng Northern Kingdom (Israel) na tinatag ni King Omri (1 Kgs. 16:24). Even though it's only a single city, on the other hand, we read in the scriptures na "cities of Samaria" (1 Kgs. 13: 13; 2 Kgs. 17: 23, 26; 23:19; Ez. 4:16) or even the "mountains of Samaria" (Jer. 31:5). King Achab is the the king of the city of Samaria, and ang kanyang rulership ay hindi limited sa city of Samaria, but sa buong monarchy ng Northern Kingdom/Israel.
Just as Jerusalem and Samaria, ang sorrounding towns ng Canaanite city ng Hazor—has the same name (Kitchen, Ancient Orient and Old Testament pg. 68) at ang towns ng Hamath at Riblah sa Syria (2 Kgs. 23:33; 25:21; Jer. 39: 5; 52: 9, 27). ang city of Bethlehem being described sa terminology na "lupain ng" Jerusalem" in fact meron tayong parallel na "lupain ng kanilang mga lungsod" (Heb. eretz sha'aray-u) in the context ng 1 Kgs. 8:37, implies na sa Hebrew, ay ginagamit ito bilang isang generic grammatical form. ang Hebrew ng passage is read as follows :
רעב כי־יהיה בארץ דבר כי־יהיה שׁדפון ירקון ארבה חסיל כי יהיה כי יצר־לו איבו בארץ שׁעריו כל־נגע
כל־מחלה׃
Thus, although the specific phrase "land of Jerusalem" is not itself found in the Bible, it is perfectly acceptable biblical usage for the region around a major city, including smaller towns, to be referred to as "the land of" that city.
Ang naming ng isang lupain or teritorry after sa leading city or capital nito ay present sa Near East. So familiar na si Lehi dito. it doesn't disprove the authenticity of the book of Mormon, but instead it proves its authenticity.
