Kidron Valley
"You can't plant anything in the Kidron Valley, so they plant dead people." - Prof. SapirPart of what made Jerusalem a stronghold is the valleys that partially surrounded it – the Kidron, the Hinnom, and the Tyropoeon. My Historical Geography of Jerusalem teacher said that when you understand the features of the land you can gain a greater understanding of its archaeology and history.
Take the Hinnom valley for example. In Hebrew, Hinnom means hell and from what I understand, much of todays concepts of hell (i.e. hell being below us, an evil place filled with torment, fire, and brimstone) derive from what once took place there. In a description by Philip King in The Valleys of Jerusalem he says that in ancient times the Hinnom gained a sinister reputation because in one spot, close to the junction with the Kidron, was the site of the cultic shrine called Tophet (Aramaic form of tepat denoting “hearth” or “fireplace”). He goes on to explain that the Tophet was a pagan open-air sanctuary or high place where human sacrifices were offered (see also 2 Kings 16:3; 21:6; 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31-32; 32:35). This valley is also known as Gehenna (Hebrew=GeHinnom, or “the Valley of Hinnom). According to Philip King, Gehenna became a metaphor used in the scriptures to designate a place of unquenchable fire (Matt 5:22; Mark 9:43-48), a fiery furnace (Matt 13:42,50), and eternal fire (Matt 25:41; see also Isaiah 66:24 and Mark 9:48). The Kidron Valley is what separates ancient Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. David passed through the Kidron while fleeing Jerusalem from his son Absalom (who is also buried in this valley; see 2 Samuel 15:23). It is also the valley Jesus and his disciples crossed on their way to spend the night in the Garden of Gethsemene (John 18:1). The upper part of the Kidron valley is located between the temple mount and the Mount of Olives and is also known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The name Jehoshaphat means, “Yahweh shall judge” in Hebrew. This is where the more popular name, “the Valley of Decisions,” comes from, and a belief that God’s final judgment will occur there. That is the reason why there are so many graves in this valley, outside the eastern walls of the Temple Mount, and upon the Mount of Olives itself. |