Kidron Valley viewed from the Old City of Jerusalem, with in the lower bottom.The Kidron Valley ( transliteration, Cedron, from: נחל קדרון, Naḥal Qidron, literally Qidron River; also Qidron Valley;: وادي الجوز‎, Wadi el-Joz, 'Valley of the Walnut', for the upper segment near the, and Wadi en-Nar, 'Fire Valley', for the rest of it, with at least the segment at monastery also known in the 19th century as Wadi er-Rahib, 'Monk's Valley') is the valley originating slightly northeast of the of, which then separates the Temple Mount from the. It continues in a general south-easterly direction through the in the, reaching the near the of, and descending 4,000 feet (1,200 m) along its 20-mile (32 km) course. The ancient Mar Saba (') monastery is located in the lower part of the valley.In its upper part, the neighbourhood of bears the valley's Arabic name. The settlement, located on a ridge above the valley, is named after the valley's Hebrew name.The calls the upper course Emek, the ' '. It appears in Jewish prophecies, which include the return of, followed by the arrival of the, and the and Judgment Day.

Situated on the eastern side of ancient Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives is actually a mountain ridge with three peaks, offering spectacular views across Jerusalem and in particular, the Old City of Jerusalem. The mount runs down into the Kidron Valley, a wonder of its own that separates the Temple Mount (where the iconic Dome of the Rock is located) from the Mount of Olives and continues down. Zechariah 14:4-5. On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by My mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel.

Contents.Etymology The Hebrew name Qidron is derived from the root qadar, 'to be dark', and may be meant in this context as 'dusky'.In Christian tradition the similarity between the Greek word for, κέδρος ( kedros), and the Greek name of the valley as used in the, Kedron, has led to the Qidron Valley being wrongly called 'Valley of the Cedars'. Identification with biblical locations Valley of Jehoshaphat The talks of the ' - Emek Yehoshafat' (: עמק יהושפט‎), meaning 'The valley where Yahweh shall judge.' Not all scholars agree with the traditional view that the Kidron Valley, as the valley situated between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives to the east, is the location of the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The Kidron Valley was not associated with the Valley of Jehoshaphat until the 4th century AD, making this identification somewhat uncertain since no actual valley of this name is known to pre-Christian antiquity.Biblical commentator claims that the Valley of Judgment is a symbolic place.

King's Garden and King's Valley In the times of the kings, the Kidron Valley was identified with, at least in part, the King's Garden; the kings owned land in the area. That the upper Kidron Valley was also known as the King's Valley, in which Absalom set up his monument or 'pillar' (see; no connection to the much later '), is problematic. The Bible does not make this identification explicit, and the association can only be inferred as associated with En-rogel, which is farther down the Kidron Valley towards the desert.The name 'King's Valley' may be derived from its location just east of the palace of David in the City of David on the western slopes of the Kidron Valley and south of where the platform was built.

The so-called 'Tomb of Absalom' or the pillar of Absalom in Kidron ValleyThe three monumental tombs on the eastern side of the Kidron Valley are among the most well-known landmarks of ancient Jerusalem. These are, from north to south, the so-called ' (Hebrew: Yad Avshalom), which rises in front of the so-called 'Cave' or 'Tomb of Jehoshaphat', the (correctly named) ( Benei Hezir is the Hebrew for 'sons of Hezir', meaning the Hezir priestly family ), and the so-called ', which could quite likely be the of the Tomb of Benei Hezir.Absalom's Tomb consists of two parts.

First, a lower cube hewn out of the bedrock, decorated with engaged Ionic columns bearing a Doric frieze and crowned by an Egyptian cornice. This part of the monument contains a small chamber with an entrance and two (arched funeral niches) and constitutes the actual tomb.

The second part, built of ashlars, is placed on top of the rock-hewn cube. It consists of a square pedestal carrying a round drum, itself topped by a conical roof. The cone is slightly concave and is crowned by an Egyptian-style lotus flower. The upper part has the general shape of a and is interpreted as a or monument for the tomb below, and possibly also for the adjacent 'Cave of Jehoshaphat'.

The 'Pillar of Absalom' is dated to the 1st century CE.Literally, the word means 'soul', but in a funerary context it is the term applied to a form of funerary monument. Style me girl game cheats. In descriptions of the tombs of the Jewish nobility, the pyramid shape is also emphasized as the mark of a tomb. This would imply that nefesh and pyramid were synonymous. The Jewish tombs in the Kidron Valley are the best examples of this form of nefesh. They appear as a rectangular, pyramid-capped monument.

Similar forms of the nefesh decorate ossuaries, with the addition of a dome-capped column. In Jerusalem the nefesh as a tomb monument stood either above or beside the tomb; set on steps or on a base. Scriptural significance Hebrew Bible It was in this valley where King Jehoshaphat is thought to have overthrown the enemies of Israel ( ).fled through the Kidron Valley during the rebellion of ( ).Chapters 29, 30 and 31 of 2 Chronicles ( ) cover King Hezekiah's call for the sanctification of the ministers of the Lord, the purification of unclean things, an invitation to all Israel and Judah to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem, and liturgical reforms.

During the reforms of King around 700 BCE, as part of the of the, the removed the unclean items from the inner part of the Temple to the courts, and the carried the unclean items to Wadi Kidron ( ).Kidron Valley in Jewish eschatology The Book of Joel mentions that God will assemble all nations in the 'Valley of Jehoshaphat' (, ).Gospels According to the, crossed the valley many times travelling between Jerusalem. The valley contains the, where Jesus prayed the night before he was executed. The name Kidron was mentioned in John 18:1.Archaeological excavations Upper course The Akeldama Tombs The Akeldma Tombs were discovered in 1989 at theconfluence of the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys, south of Jerusalem's Old City, and were excavated and published by archaeologists.

In 1989, the conducted routine development work in the area. Upon widening a narrow street near one of the approaches to the village, bulldozers uncovered a number of square openings hewn into rock. The immediately stopped the road construction.

After uncovering the underground spaces, archaeologists found themselves standing inside large burial complexes which appeared intact. Moving carefully from one chamber to another, flashlights revealed an abundance of artifacts scattered on the floors, pottery and glass vessels, oil lamps and many ornamental. The three large caves proved to be part of an extensive Jewish burial ground in use at the end of the Second Temple period, which terminated in the year 70 AD, when Jerusalem was conquered and the Temple destroyed by the Roman legions.

Development, development plans Upper course As of 2010, there is a controversial proposal to reconstruct part of the Kidron Valley, an Arab neighborhood of Silwan in, and turn it into a park to be called the. Lower course A road crossing the very steep Wadi Naar (lower Kidron Valley) and connecting Arab towns has been substantially upgraded as part of the USAID effort to modernise the Arab infrastructure. An existing road has been widened and re-paved, and efforts were made to improve the route it takes. References. Retrieved 9 December 2019. ^ Land owners angered over new West Bank road plan.

Ma'an News Agency, 18 December 2010, accessed 20 September 2018. Smith, Eli (1841). Boston: Crocker & Brewster.

Retrieved 9 December 2019. John Kitto, ed. A Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature. New York: Mark H.

Retrieved 9 December 2019. ^ Goffart, Walter. After Rome's Fall. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998. The Necropolis from the Time of the Kingdom of Judah at Silwan, Jerusalem, David Ussishkin, The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol.

2 (May, 1970), pp. 33-46. ^ Hachlili, Rachel.

Boston: Brill, Leiden, 2005. Pages 2, 30-36, 237-242. Goodman, Martin. Jews in a Graeco-Roman World.

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. ^ Adler, Marcus Nathan. The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela.

London: Oxford University Press, 1907. And Exhaustive Concordance, via BibleHub.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017. (1991). Grand Rapids, Michigan:. Retrieved 18 November 2017.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Www.godrules.net. Kloner, Amos, and Boaz Zissu. The Necropolis of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period. Leuven: Peeters, 2007.

Asher, Adolf, trans. The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela. 1, Text, Bibliography, and Translation; vol 2, Note and Essays. New York: Hakesheth Publishing Co., 1840. ^ Finegan, J. The Archeology of the New Testament.

Princeton, 1969. Cohen, Shaye J. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1987. ^. Catholic Encyclopedia.

Gideon Avni and Zvi Greenhut,. Israel Antiquities Authority, 1996,.

Hirschfeld, Yizhar. Qumran in Context: Reassessing the Archaeological Evidence. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004., Israel Antiquities Authority website, accessed 25 September 2018. Selig, Abe (February 16, 2010). Jerusalem Post.Wikimedia Commons has media related to.External links.

.The Mount of Olives and Garden of GethsemaneBy Mary Jane ChaignotCategories:,QuestionWhat is the difference between the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane?AnswerThe Mount of Olives is also known as Mount Olivet. It is named for the many olive groves that once graced its slopes. It is part of a mountain ridge that extends over two miles on the eastern side of the Old City of Jerusalem and separates it from the Judaean desert.

There are three peaks in this range. The Mount of Olives is the center peak and, at its tallest point, is 2684 feet (about 4319 km).

The northern peak is Mount Scopus at roughly 2700 feet (4345 km); the southern peak is known as the Mount of Corruption, which is approximately 2400 feet (3862 km).The mount is actually a hill comprised of a sedimentary rock that is made up of a soft chalky substance along with hard flint material. The chalk was easily crafted, but it was not useful for construction, which is why the ancients did not cover the Mount with cities. Instead, the Mount became an important burial place dating back to the days of the First Temple. Most of those graves are found on the southern slope; the graves on the northern slope date back to the Second Temple period. Though there have been periods when the Mount was not used as a burial site, it has been a popular place to visit through the ages.After the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, the Jordanians were in control of the region. Jews were prevented from going to the area because they were not allowed to enter Jordan.

During this time, the cemeteries were desecrated, and many tombstones were destroyed. Roads were established through the cemetery, and a new hotel was built on its summit. That led to the building of a parking lot, a gas station, and even an army barracks – all on top of the graves.

After the Six Day War, fought during the summer of 1967, the cemetery was returned to Jewish control and was re-opened for use. The Israeli government also began to restore the cemetery by repairing the damage. The cemetery continues to be used as a Jewish burial site today and is the final resting place for many notable Jews, including Menachem Begin, who was Israel's sixth Prime Minister who served from 1977-1983.The Mount of Olives is one of Jerusalem's holiest places.

References to it can be found in both the Old and New Testaments. The earliest reference is found in 2 Samuel 15:30 when David ascended the Mount of Olives in order to flee Absalom's coup.

Ezekiel 11:20 states that the glory of God stood upon 'the mountain on the east side of the city.' Zechariah also referred to it in his vision of future warfare against Jerusalem (14:4ff). In that apocalyptic time, the Lord will stand upon the Mount and it will split in two. The people will flee through this valley. This prophecy formed the basis for the tradition that from the Mount of Olives God would redeem the dead when the Messiah came. Needless to say, many Jews want to be buried there.Most of the biblical references to the mount of Olives, however, can be found in the New Testament. It is mentioned in all four gospels.

Jesus travels along the Mount, but more often he can be found teaching from the Mount of Olives. It is also where he wept over Jerusalem (see John 18:1). And that also brings us to the garden of Gethsemane, which is located at the base of the Mount of Olives, on a slope directly across the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem. It is a garden of about 1200 square meters, located close to the route from the Temple to the summit and crest that led to the town of Bethany. According to Matthew and Mark, Jesus went to a 'place called Gethsemane to pray,' while John reports that he went to 'a garden.' Luke states that he went to the Mount of Olives (see 22:43-44).In Hebrew, the name of the garden means, 'Oil press.'

In the garden are eight very old, gnarled trees that are surrounded by an iron fence with a Byzantine motif. The timelessness of these trees inspires a sacred atmosphere, but efforts to link them to the time of Jesus have faltered. Radiocarbon dating conducted in 1982 indicated that some of the wood might have been 2300 years old. More recently, in 2012, the Italian National Research Council conducted studies and determined that the trees were in excess of 1000 years old.

Moreover, they all derived from one parent tree. So it is possible that these trees were offshoots of trees dating to the time of Jesus. This is made more plausible by the fact that if the parent tree is cut down, shoots come back from the same roots.The oil that is derived from the trees in Gethsemane is used for sanctuary lamps, and the pits become rosary beads.

There is a natural grotto in the garden that's believed to be unchanged since the first century. It is thought to be the place where the disciples fell asleep while Jesus prayed, as well as the site of his arrest. Near this grotto is a place known as the tomb of Mary. Christians believe that she was buried there after she 'fell asleep.' Others claim this is where she ascended. But other traditions have claimed at least three other locations for the exact same events.

Modern scholars concede that the exact places are unknown.If you have any questions related to the Bible, please feel free to.Topics.