Israel argues that, if God wants Israel to “come with singing unto Zion,” then Yahweh should powerfully intervene in political/military might. Israel believes that Zion, joy, and holiness will come through this manifestation of power. In this, they are mistaken, as Yahweh patiently explains.
Culture: In many cases, it is appropriate to equate Israel with Zion such as in 2 Nephi 8:3. However, we have Israel “coming” to Zion in this verse, which makes a separation. Zion is a concept that may be widely applied, but which originally had a more narrow focus. The oldest layer of meaning for Zion appears in the Psalms, which often retain images of the preexilic religion. Zion is identified as a mountain, an image that remains in other Old Testament texts:
Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. (Ps. 48:11)
Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. (Ps. 74:2)
They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. (Ps. 125:1)
For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hostsshall do this. (2 Kgs. 19:31)
The earliest forms of “mount Zion” correspond to the Ugaritic mountain homes of various gods. The oldest references would have been to the mountain associated with Yahweh, where Yahweh “lived.” The poetic application of the place of God eventually moves from a physical mountain to the symbolic “mountain” of the temple in Jerusalem. The association between Yahweh and the king and the location of the king, facilitates the shift:
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. (Ps. 2:6)
Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David. (2 Sam. 5:7)
And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David. (1 Chr. 11:5)
The meaning is not the city, however. The city is the location of the king. Because Yahweh has “set my king upon my holy hill of Zion,” the king is associated with the place where Yahweh dwells. Thus, the conceptual meaning of “Zion” is that place where Yahweh dwells:
Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings. (Ps. 9:11)
The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion; (Ps. 20:1–2)
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. (Ps. 50:2)
For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. (Ps. 132:13)
At the root, Zion is the mountain where Yahweh dwells. As Yahweh is more firmly associated with his people, he travels with them. When God invests the king, he symbolically “dwells” where the king dwells. Prior to the first temple, the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle provided that dwelling place. Thus, the city of David is Zion when the king and the Ark of the Covenant are there. When the king relocates to Jerusalem, and particularly after the building of the temple as the house of Yahweh, Jerusalem is Zion, for that is where God dwells. Poetically, Jerusalem can represent all of the people ruled from that location, so Israel may be poetically referenced as “Zion.” However, Israel may also “come” to Zion, representing not only the “coming” to a location, but particularly the location where Yahweh dwells. As they come singing to Zion, they return to Yahweh, their God.