2982. Yebus
Lexical Summary
Yebus: Jebus

Original Word: יְבוּס
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Ybuwc
Pronunciation: yeh-BOOS
Phonetic Spelling: (yeb-oos')
KJV: Jebus
NASB: Jebus
Word Origin: [from H947 (בּוּס - squirming)]

1. trodden, i.e. threshing-place
2. Jebus, the aboriginal name of Jerusalem

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Jebus

From buwc; trodden, i.e. Threshing-place; Jebus, the aboriginal name of Jerusalem -- Jebus.

see HEBREW buwc

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from bus
Definition
an early name of Jer.
NASB Translation
Jebus (4).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
יְבוּס proper name, of a location Jebus, name of Jerusalem according to Judges 19:10 יְבוּס הִיא יְרוּשָׁלַםִ, compare also Judges 19:11; 1 Chronicles 11:4 יְרוּשָׁלַםִ הִיא יְבוּס, compare 1 Chronicles 11:5.

Topical Lexicon
Name and Setting

Yebus (Jebus) designates the Canaanite city that later became Jerusalem. The term appears only four times, all marking the interval between Israel’s entry into the land and David’s establishment of his capital.

Occurrences and Narrative Function

1. Judges 19:10–11 places Jebus on the travel route of the Levite and his concubine. The city is explicitly identified for later readers: “…he came to a place near Jebus (that is, Jerusalem)” (Judges 19:10).
2. 1 Chronicles 11:4–5 recalls David’s assault on the stronghold: “You will never get in here. Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion (the City of David)” (verse 5).

These references frame Jebus as (a) a city under pagan control that offered no covenantal safety (Judges 19) and (b) a seemingly impregnable fortress overcome by the anointed king (1 Chronicles 11).

Historical Background

The Jebusites were a branch of the Canaanites inhabiting the central hill country. Archaeology confirms an ancient settlement on the southeastern ridge of modern Jerusalem, defended by steep valleys and early water-tunnel technology. Although Joshua defeated Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem (Joshua 10), the city itself remained under Jebusite control (Joshua 15:63). Centuries later, David’s decisive capture around 1000 BC brought the last major Canaanite enclave under Israelite rule.

From Jebus to Jerusalem

David’s choice of Jebus was strategic and theological. Strategically, the neutral site lay on the border of Judah and Benjamin, uniting north and south. Theologically, the conquest fulfilled earlier promises that Israel would dispossess every nation (Genesis 15:18–21) and set the stage for the sanctuary’s permanent location (2 Chronicles 6:6). The city’s old name therefore becomes a literary foil: what was once “trampled” (a nuance of the root) now becomes the place where the Lord “is enthroned between the cherubim” (Psalm 99:1).

Theological Themes

1. Covenant fulfillment: Jebusite resistance is finally broken under David, demonstrating the reliability of God’s word across generations.
2. Kingship and worship: The same site that resisted Israel in Judges becomes the seat of Davidic rule and, ultimately, the Temple Mount—pointing ahead to the Messiah who will rule from Zion.
3. Hospitality contrasted: Judges 19 highlights the absence of covenantal hospitality in Jebus, anticipating the righteous order David brings (2 Samuel 8:15).

Prophetic and Messianic Foreshadowing

Psalm 2, Isaiah 2:1–4, and Zechariah 8 envision Zion as the global center of divine rule and instruction. The transition from Jebus to Jerusalem prefigures Christ’s triumph over entrenched spiritual strongholds (Hebrews 12:22–24). As David’s victory inaugurated an era of peace, so the greater Son of David secures everlasting peace through His cross and resurrection.

Ministry Reflections

• Strongholds fall: No cultural fortress is beyond God’s reach; persistent obedience in leadership can reclaim territory for His glory.
• Holiness of place: What begins as pagan ground can become sacred when surrendered to the Lord—an encouragement for church planting and community transformation.
• Hospitality and justice: Judges 19 warns that neglecting covenant ethics brings tragedy; believers are called to model the hospitable righteousness later embodied in Jerusalem’s Temple worship (Isaiah 56:7).

Summary

Yebus represents both the last vestige of Canaanite resistance and the raw material from which God fashions His chosen city. Its brief but pointed appearance in Scripture showcases divine faithfulness, the ascendancy of the Davidic kingdom, and the anticipation of a future, universal Zion under the reign of Jesus Christ.

Forms and Transliterations
יְב֑וּס יְב֔וּס יְבוּס֙ יבוס yə·ḇūs yəḇūs yeVus
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Englishman's Concordance
Judges 19:10
HEB: עַד־ נֹ֣כַח יְב֔וּס הִ֖יא יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם
NAS: to [a place] opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem).
KJV: over against Jebus, which [is] Jerusalem;
INT: to opposite Jebus he which Jerusalem

Judges 19:11
HEB: הֵ֣ם עִם־ יְב֔וּס וְהַיּ֖וֹם רַ֣ד
NAS: When they [were] near Jebus, the day
KJV: [And] when they [were] by Jebus, the day
INT: When they near Jebus the day gone

1 Chronicles 11:4
HEB: יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם הִ֣יא יְב֑וּס וְשָׁם֙ הַיְבוּסִ֔י
NAS: to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus); and the Jebusites,
KJV: to Jerusalem, which [is] Jebus; where the Jebusites
INT: to Jerusalem he which Jebus there the Jebusites

1 Chronicles 11:5
HEB: וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּ יֹשְׁבֵ֤י יְבוּס֙ לְדָוִ֔יד לֹ֥א
NAS: The inhabitants of Jebus said
KJV: And the inhabitants of Jebus said
INT: said the inhabitants of Jebus to David shall not

4 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2982
4 Occurrences


yə·ḇūs — 4 Occ.

2981
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