JEBUS

(Jeʹbus) [possibly from a root meaning “tread down; stamp down”], Jebusite (Jebʹu·site).

Jebus was an ancient city of the Jebusites on the site now known as Jerusalem.

In only two passages is it referred to as Jebus. (Jg 19:10, 11; 1Ch 11:4, 5) In Joshua 18:28 Yevu·siʹ appears in the Hebrew, the ending i indicating people, the inhabitants of the city.

It therefore seems evident to most scholars that Jerusalem (or, possibly, Salem) was the city’s original name, and that only when occupied by the Jebusites was it occasionally called Jebus. It is also generally agreed that “Jebus” was not a contraction of Jerusalem but, rather, a contraction of Jebusites, the name of the occupants of the site for a time.