1. Psalm 87:2 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What are the gates of Zion?

Psalm 87:2 (ESV)

2 the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.

In the ancient Near East, the city gates were the centre of civil and economic life.1

By referring to the gates of Zion, the psalmist uses a synecdoche, that is, a figure of speech wherein the part is meant to refer to the whole. The gates thus represent the whole city.2