Jerusalem, focal point of the world’s three major patriarchal religions was named for a Goddess. It is a city dedicated to Venus in Her aspect as the evening star.
As viewed from Earth, the planet Venus is special in the heavens because she exists in her twin aspects – morning star and evening star. Deities related to Venus are significant gatekeepers of thresholds. Because Venus appears in the sky at dawn and dusk when the light and dark are visibly blending.
In the land to the north of Israel, Canaan, there is a mythological traditions of divine twins who represent dawn (morning star) and dusk (evening star). Their names were Sahar and Salim. Their three letter roots are Šĥr and Šlm. (Š is pronounced “sh.”)
The modern-day equivalent of Salim, is the Hebrew shalom or Arabic salam meaning “peace.”
Genesis 14:18 has the first extant reference of Salem, a city that is to become vital to each of the three major patriarchal religions on Earth today.
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high GodIn this passage Melchizedek is meeting with Abram in the city that is to become Jerusalem.
Historian, John Day confirms the name derivation; “It is generally accepted that in origin this denoted ‘the foundation of [the god] Shalem,’ Shalem being the god of dusk. . .” (John Day, Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan; pg 180.)
