Reference: Jebus, Jebusites
Hastings
The former is a name given to Jerusalem by Jahwist in Jg 19:11 and imitated by the Chronicler (1Ch 11:4); the latter is the tribe which inhabited Jerusalem from before the Israelitish conquest till the reign of David. It was formerly supposed that Jebus was the original name of Jerusalem, but the letters of Abdi-Khiba among the el-Amarna tablets prove that the city was called Jerusalem (Uru-salim) about b.c. 1400. No trace of Jebusites appears then. When they gained possession of it we do not know. Jahwist states that at the time of the Israelite conquest the king of Jerusalem was Adoni-zedek (Jos 10:3), and that the Israelites did not expel the Jebusites from the city (Jos 15:63; Jg 1:21). During the time of the Judges he tells us that it was in possession of the Jebusites (Jg 19:11), and gives a brief account of its capture by David (2Sa 5:6-8). Elohist mentions the Jebusites only once (Nu 13:29), and then only to say that, like the Hittite and Amorite, they inhabit the mountain. The favourite list of Palestinian nations which Deuteronomist and his followers insert so often usually ends with Jebusite, but adds nothing to their history. Priestly Narrative mentions them once (Jos 15:8). They are mentioned in Ne 9:8 and Ezr 9:1 in lists based on Deuteronomist, while Zec 9:7 for archaic effect calls dwellers in Jerusalem 'Jebusite' (so Wellhausen, Nowack, and Marti). The name of the king, Adoni-zedek, would indicate that the Jebusites were Semitic,