Jebus

Jebus (meaning treading under foot; manger) was the Canaanite name for the city later known as Jerusalem, inhabited by the Jebusites (Josh. 15:8; 18:16, 28; Judg. 19:10–11; 1 Chr. 11:4–5). Despite being assigned to Benjamin (Josh. 18:28), the Israelites failed to conquer it after the initial campaigns. It remained a Jebusite stronghold throughout the period of the judges. When David became king over all Israel, he captured "the stronghold of Zion" — the fortress of Jebus — which the Jebusites boasted even the lame and blind could defend (2 Sam. 5:6–9; 1 Chr. 11:4–8), and he renamed it the City of David. Jerusalem's pre-Israelite name Jebus is a reminder that the most sacred city of Israel was originally a foreign stronghold transformed by divine purpose.