Valleys

Valleys used as places of permanent settlement

Genesis 26:17 See also Numbers 14:25; Joshua 17:16; Judges 18:28; 1 Chronicles 12:14–15

So Isaac left that place and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.

Valleys as places for camp-sites

Judges 6:33 See also Numbers 21:10–12; Deuteronomy 3:29; Judges 7:8–12; 1 Chronicles 11:15

Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.

Valleys used for pasture and crops

1 Chronicles 4:39–40 Palestine was noted as a dry land, but valleys provided the necessary moisture for pastures and crop growth. See also 1 Chronicles 27:29; Psalm 65:13

and they journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, in search of pasture for their flocks. There they found rich, good pasture, and the land was spacious, peaceful, and quiet; for some Hamites had lived there formerly.

Valleys used for battles

Genesis 14:8 See also Joshua 11:7–8; 1 Samuel 17:1–3; 2 Samuel 8:13; 2 Chronicles 25:11–12 parallel 2 Kings 14:7

Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Valley of Siddim

Valleys as places of worship and sacrifice

2 Chronicles 28:3 See also Deuteronomy 21:1–9; 2 Chronicles 20:25–26; Jeremiah 2:23–25, Jeremiah 32:35

Moreover, Ahaz burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

Valleys on the day of the LORD

Isaiah 22:5; Micah 1:3–4; Zechariah 14:3–5

The metaphorical use of valleys

The valley of death

Psalm 23:4 See also Job 21:32–33

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

The valley of decision

Joel 3:14 See also Joel 3:1–2, Joel 3:12

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

The valley of dry bones

Ezekiel 37:1–14

The levelling of valleys as a preparation for the coming of the Lord

Luke 3:4–5 See also Isaiah 40:3–4

as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. Every valley shall be filled in, and every mountain and hill made low. The crooked ways shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth.

The Valley of Hinnom

The Valley of Hinnom as part of the boundary between Judah and Benjamin, lying to the south of Jerusalem

Joshua 15:8, Joshua 18:16

The Valley of Hinnom as a place of child sacrifice

2 Chronicles 28:3 See also Jeremiah 32:35

Moreover, Ahaz burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

The Valley of Hinnom as a place of God's judgment

Jeremiah 7:30–32 See also Jeremiah 19:1–15

For the people of Judah have done evil in My sight, declares the LORD. They have set up their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it. They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire — something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind. So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. For they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.

The Kidron Valley

The Kidron Valley as a boundary of Jerusalem

1 Kings 2:36–37 See also 2 Samuel 15:23; Jeremiah 31:38–40; John 18:1

Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”

The Kidron Valley as a place for the destruction of pagan cult objects

1 Kings 15:11–13; 2 Kings 23:4–6 parallel 2 Chronicles 34:3–4 See also 2 Kings 23:12

And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done. He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests second in rank, and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven. And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. Josiah also did away with the idolatrous priests ordained by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem — those who had burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. He brought the Asherah pole from the house of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem, and there he burned it, ground it to powder, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.

The Kidron Valley in prophetic visions

Ezekiel 47:1–8; Joel 3:1–2 See also Zechariah 14:8

Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. Next he brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and there I saw the water trickling out from the south side. As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and led me through ankle-deep water. Then he measured off a thousand cubits and led me through knee-deep water. Again he measured a thousand cubits and led me through waist-deep water. Once again he measured off a thousand cubits, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough for swimming — a river that could not be crossed on foot. “Son of man, do you see this?” he asked. Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived, I saw a great number of trees along both banks of the river. And he said to me, “This water flows out to the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah. When it empties into the Dead Sea, the water there becomes fresh.

“Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore Judah and Jerusalem from captivity, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My people, My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations as they divided up My land.