Sion or Zion, the mount upon which the Canaanite town of Jebus was situated, was a place with a fair and lovely climate, but it was blessed especially with the natural defenses found in its high aspect and in the three deep valleys that surrounded it. In addition, the city had a natural water source in the Kidron Valley just outside the city walls, the Spring of Gihon. Named from a verb meaning “gush forth,” the spring supplied fresh water in abundance, refreshing and cleansing the people, and providing ample water for their terraced gardens throughout the valley. King David...