Originally, the term "Zion" or "Mount Zion" referred to a stronghold or fortress that King David captured from the Jebusites. It was located on one of the hills that the city of Jerusalem was built on and became David's residence.
* Mount Zion and Mount Moriah were two of the hills that the city of Jerusalem was located on. David's son Solomon built a temple for God on Mount Moriah, which was where Abraham had offered his son Isaac to God many years before that.
* Later, "Zion" and "Mount Zion" became used as general terms to refer to both of these mountains and to the city of Jerusalem. They were also used to refer to the temple that was located in Jerusalem.
* The term "Zion" is used in other figurative ways, to refer to Israel or to God's spiritual kingdom or to the new, heavenly Jerusalem that God will create.