Bible Location
Meaning: complete or perfect peace · 4 cross references · Modern-day map available
Salem is the ancient place-name associated with Melchizedek and commonly linked with Jerusalem. It is important because it appears in the meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek and later becomes part of biblical reflection on priesthood and peace. First appears in Gen 14:18.1
AI summary: Salem holds a theological importance out of proportion to the number of references. In Genesis it is the setting for Abraham's encounter with Melchizedek, king-priest of God Most High, and later Psalms and Hebrews draw on that scene to connect Salem with divine dwelling, kingship, and priesthood. The name's association with peace deepens its symbolic force. The cross references present Salem as an ancient sacred city-name tied to blessing, priesthood, and the later interpretation of Jerusalem.1
Peace, commonly supposed to be another name of Jerusalem (Gen. 14:18; Ps. 76:2; Heb. 7:1, 2). 3
AI-assisted summary prepared for ai-BIBLE and stored as page content, based on dictionary material, place metadata, and linked Bible cross references.
Alistair de Blacquiere-Clarkson, “ai-BIBLE Bible Names JSON Factsheet Aggregating Material from Smith’s Bible Dictionary & Hitcocks’s New and Complete Analysis of the Bible.” ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
M.G.Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
Robert Rouse, “Theographic Bible Information,” Theographic-Bible-Metadata, 2020, https://github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata.