Jehoshaphat, Valley of

The name now given to the valley which bounds Jerusalem on the East, and separates it from the Mount of Olives [JERUSALEM].

In Joe 3:2; Joe 3:12, we read, ’the Lord will gather all nations in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and plead with them there.’ Many interpreters, Jewish and Christian, conclude from this that the last judgment is to take place in the above-mentioned valley. But there is no reason to suppose that the valley then bore any such name; and more discreet interpreters understand the text to denote a valley in which some great victory was to be won, most probably by Nebuchadnezzar, which should utterly discomfit the ancient enemies of Israel, and resemble the victory which Jehoshaphat obtained over the Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites (2Ch 20:22-26). Others translate the name Jehoshaphat into God’s judgment, and thus read, ’the valley of God’s judgment,’ which is doubtless symbolical, like ’the valley of decision,’ i.e. of punishment, in the same chapter.

Or valley of the judgment of God, a metaphorical name of some place where God would judge the foes of his people, Joe 3:2,12 . There is no ground for applying it to any known locality, or for connecting it, unless for mere illustration, with the great battle of Jehoshaphat described in 2Ch 20:1-37 . Since the third century, however, the name has been appropriated to the deep and narrow glen east of Jerusalem, running north and south between the city and the Mount of Olives, called in the Bible the brook Kidron. See JERUSALEM.\par

Joe 3:2; Joe 3:12, parallel to Zec 14:2-4, where the mount of Olives answers to the "valley of Jehoshaphat" in Joel. Possibly "the valley of Berachah", where between Tekoa and the main road from Bethlehem to Hebron Jehoshaphat assembled the people to bless Jehovah for the victory over Ammon, Moab, etc. (2Ch 20:20-26). (See BERACHAH.) The valley with the Kedron at its foot is now called "the valley of Jehoshaphat." But it was not anciently so; Jerome and the Onomasticon of Eusebius first call it so in the fourth century A.D. As the Jews bury worn out rolls of Scripture (for which they have such a deep reverence) here, it is likely the Jehoshaphat from whom the valley is named was a rabbi held in veneration. The tomb called Jehoshaphat’s tomb (an excavation with an architectural front) is certainly not that of the king Jehoshaphat, for he was buried in the city of David (2Ch 21:1).

However, the phrases "the city of David" and "Zion" are applied in a general sense to the site of Jerusalem and to the hills around, among which the same name, "sunny mountain," still lingers. The word "city" comprises the surrounding suburbs (Num 35:25-28; 1Ki 2:36-37). Also "in" often means at or near (Conder, Palestine Exploration Quarterly Statement, Oct. 1877, pp. 178,195). Thus the burial "in the city of David" may apply to burial in the vicinity. The enemies Tyre, Sidon, the Philistines, Edom, and Egypt (Joe 3:4; Joe 3:19), are types of the last confederacy under antichrist (Revelation 16; Revelation 17; Revelation 19), which shall assail restored Israel and shall be judged by Jehovah. As Jehoshaphat means "the judgment of Jehovah," "the valley of Jehoshaphat" is probably the general name for the scene of His judgment, Jehoshaphat’s victory over the godless horde that sought to dispossess Judah typifying the last victory over the anti-Christian host that shall seek to dispossess restored Israel (Ezekiel 38-39).

That this shall be in the Holy Land seems likely from Zechariah’s definite mention of Mount Olivet (Zec 14:1; Zec 14:4-5) as the scene of Christ’s return and from its having been the scene of His ascension; the angels moreover announced, "this same Jesus ... shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven" (Act 1:11). The word in Joel is emeq, which means a "spacious valley", not a narrow ravine (for which the term is nachal) such as the valley of the Kedron. In Joe 3:14 "the valley of Jehoshaphat" is called "the valley of decision" or "excision," where the foes shall meet their determined doom. "Armageddon" in Rev 16:16 corresponds: from har "a mountain", and Megiddo "the valley of Jezreel", the great battle field of Canaan, where godly Josiah fell before Pharaoh Necho.(See ARMAGEDDON.)

Some great plain anti-typical to the two valleys will probably be the scene of the last conflict. Its connection with Jerusalem appears in the context; so "come up," the regular phrase for going to the theocratic capital, is used, but "down into the valley of Jehoshaphat" also (Joe 3:2; Joe 3:12). The Muslims bury their dead on one side of the valley; the Jews on the other. Absalom’s tomb and Zechariah’s, besides Jehoshaphat’s, are pointed out, but without good grounds for the tradition. The king’s (Melchizedek’s) dale or valley of Shaveh (Gen 14:17; 2Sa 18:18) is identified with "the valley of Jehoshaphat." Josephus (Ant. 7:10) says Absalom’s monument was two stadia from Jerusalem, probably in the valley of the upper Kedron, where were the judges’ tombs, a likely site for his erecting his sepulchral monument. (See ABSALOM.)

[Jehosh’aphat]

This is mentioned only in Joe 3:2; Joe 3:12, as a place where the nations will be judged for their treatment of God’s people, when Judah is being brought into blessing. The name signifies ’Jehovah is judge,’ and some think that it is used symbolically for the place where God will judge. In Joe 3:14 occurs ’the valley of decision,’ which is also connected with God’s judgements.

Others however associate the above with the valley lying between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, now called the Valley of Jehoshaphat; but no trace of this name as attached to that particular valley can be found earlier than the fourth century. It was and is otherwise known as the Valley of the KIDRON, q.v.

By: Emil G. Hirsch, Bernhard Pick

A valley mentioned by the prophet Joel (Joel iv. [A. V. iii.] 2, 12), where, after the return of Judah and Jerusalem from the Captivity, Yhwh would gather all the heathen and would sit in judgment on their misdeeds to Israel. On account of the significance of the name "Jehoshaphat" ("Yhwh judges") some commentators and translators have thought the designation "Valley of Jehoshaphat" to represent only an imaginary locality. Thus Theodotion renders τὴν χώραν τὶς κρίσεως ("the land of judgment"); Targum Jonathan, ("the plain of the settlement of judgment"). The name is first met with in the fourth century of the common era, having been applied by the unknown Pilgrim of Bordeaux in 333. It has since continued to be so used among Jews, Christians, and Mohammedans, who identify it with the valley of Kidron (the present Wadi Sitti Maryam, which separates Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, and through which at one time the stream Kidron flowed), and believe that the Last Judgment will be held there. According to the Midrash Tehillim (viii.; quoted by Neubauer, "G. T." p. 51) no "valley called Jehoshaphat" exists ().

JEHOSHAPHAT, VALLEY OF (Joe 3:2; Joe 3:12).—The deep valley to the E. of Jerusalem, between the city and the Mt. of Olives, has since the 4th cent. a.d. been identified by an unbroken Christian tradition with the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Moslems and Jews have also for centuries looked upon this valley as the scene of the Last Judgment. The Jews especially consider this of all places on earth the most suitable for burial, as it is taught that all bodies buried elsewhere must find their way thither at the last day. The valley was the ordinary place for graves in pre-exilic times (2Ki 23:6 etc.). In spite, however, of these traditions, it is quite probable that the name of this valley was at one time Wady Sha‘fât, from the neighbouring village of Sha‘fât, and that this suggested to early Christian pilgrims, in search of sites, the Biblical name Jehoshaphat. The so-called ‘Tomb of Jehoshaphat,’ which lies near the traditional ‘Tomb of Absalom,’ is an impossible site, for in 1Ki 22:50 and 2Ch 21:1 it is stated that he was buried in the city of David. The valley, moreover, does not suit the conditions, in that it is a nachal (wady)—the nachal Kidron (wh. see),—whereas the Valley of Jehoshaphat was in Heb. an ‘çmeq (a wide, open valley). It has been suggested that the valley (‘çmeq) of Beracah, where Jehoshaphat returned thanks after his great victory (2Ch 20:26), may be the place referred to by Joel. It is, however, at least as probable that the prophet did not refer to any special locality and gave the name Jehoshaphat, i.e. ‘Jehovah judges,’ to an ideal spot.

E. W. G. Masterman.

(JEHOSHAPHAT).Mentioned in only one passage of the Bible (Joel 3 -- Hebrew text, 4). In Verse 2 we read: "I will gather together all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Josaphat: and I will plead with them there for my people, and for my inheritance Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations" (cf. verse 12). According to one interpretation which has gained currency, the prophet has presented as the scene of Jahveh’s judgment on the Gentiles that valley where, in the presence of Josaphat, King of Juda, He annihilated the coalition of Moab, Ammon, and Edom. This Valley of the desert of Teqo’a, which was called by the Jews êmêq Berâkâh, that is, "valley of blessing", is to be sought in the vicinity of the Khirbet Berêkût, some distance to the west of the Khirbet Teqû’a (about eleven miles from Jerusalem). It is also credible that the prophet meant to designate an ideal, indeterminate valley -- the valley of judgment, and no more -- for Josaphat signifies "Jahveh judges". This valley is, in fact, spoken of under the name of "valley of destruction" (A. V. valley of decision") in verse 14 of the same chapter. According to the context, the Divine judgment will be exercised upon the nations who afflicted Juda and Jerusalem at the time of the captivity and the return from exile.In the fourth century, with the Pilgrim of Bordeaux, the Cedron takes the name of Valley of Josaphat. Eusebius and St. Jerome strengthen this view (Onomasticon, s.v.), while Cyril of Alexandria appears to indicate a different place; early Jewish tradition denied the reality of this valley. Subsequently to the fourth century, Christians, Jews, and, later, Mussulmans regard Cedron as the place of the last judgment. What has lent colour to this popular belief is the fact that since the time of the kings of Juda, Cedron has been the principal necropolis of Jerusalem. Josias scattered upon the tombs of the children of Israel the ashes of the idol of Astarte which he burned in Cedron (2 Kings 23:4). It was in Cedron that the" hand" of Absalom was set up, and the monument of St. James, and of Zachary. The ornamental facade of the tomb said to be that of Josaphat has been completely walled up by the Jews, who have their cemeteries on the flanks of the Valley of Cedron. They wish to stand in the first rank on the day when God shall appear in the Valley of Josaphat.-----------------------------------RELAND, Palæestina. (Utrecht, 1714): GEYER, Itinera Hierosolymitana (Vienna, 1898); VAN HOONACKER, Les douze petits praphètes (Paris); GUY LE STRANGE, Palestine under the Moslems (London, 1890); NEUBAUER, La géographie du Talmud (Paris, 1868).F.M. ABEL Transcribed by Tom Burgoyne In memory of Father Baker, founder of Our Lady of Victory Homes The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIIICopyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

(עמק יהושׁפט, ‛ēmeḳ y^ehōshāphāṭ); the latter word means “Yahweh judgeth,” and ‛ēmeḳ, “wide,” “open valley”; Septuagint hē koilás Iōsaphát): The name is used in Joe 3:2, Joe 3:12 of the scene of Judgment: “Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about” (Joe 3:12). “The valley of decision” (or “sharp judgment”) is another name the prophet gives to this spot (Joe 3:14). Some have identified it with the valley (‛ēmeḳ) of BERACAH (which see) of 2Ch 20:26, where King Jehoshaphat obtained a great victory, but this is improbable.

Since the 4th century ad the KIDRON (which see) valley has been named the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The tradition is now strongest among the Moslems who point out the exact scene of the Judgment; the Bridge As Sirât, dividing heaven and hell, is to stretch across this valley from the Ḥaram area to the Mount of Olives. It is, however, the ambition of every pious Jew to be buried on the slopes of this valley, to be at hand at the resurrection. This, too, was an ordinary place for Jewish graves in preëxilic times (2Ki 23:6, etc.). The valley today, especially that part adjacent to the temple, is crowded with Moslem and Jewish graves. A worthless tradition indicates the tomb of Jehoshaphat himself close to the so-called “Pillar of Absalom.” Se KING’S VALE. There is not the slightest reason for believing that this is the spot referred to by Joel - indeed he may have spoken of an ideal spot only. The valley of the Kidron is a naḥal (“ravine”), not an ‛ēmeḳ (“broad valley”). It is impossible not to suspect that there is some connection between the name Jehoshaphat and the name of a village near the head of this valley - Sháphat; perhaps at one time it was Wâdy Sháphat, which name would readily suggest the traditional one. See GEHENNA.