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Dhammapada · narration sample

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The Bible · 565 of 1189

Psalms 87

1.His foundation is in the holy mountains.

2.The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

3.Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.

4.I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.

5.And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.

6.The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.

7.As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

Asked of Guide

Why does the psalm name foreign cities like Rahab, Babylon, Tyre, and Ethiopia as born in Zion?

The psalm celebrates Zion as a spiritual homeland whose “foundation is in the holy mountains,” so citizenship in Zion transcends geography; naming Rahab, Babylon, Tyre, and Ethiopia shows outsiders included among God’s people. Verse 4–6 says “this man was born there” and that “the LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people,” framing membership as God’s declaration rather than ethnic descent.

This inclusion echoes Isaiah’s vision where foreigners join Mount Zion (see Isaiah 56:6–7) and Luke’s later scene of the church receiving Gentiles. The psalm pairs municipal praise—“Glorious things are spoken of thee”—with the theological claim that God registers and establishes inhabitants, making Zion a congregational reality as well as a city.

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