This valley begins north-east of Jerusalem, flanks the old city of Jerusalem on its east, separating it from the Mount of Olives, then joins the Tyropoeon and the Hinnom, before turning into the Judean wilderness and emptying into the Dead Sea near Bethlehem. In just over 35 km (20 miles) it plunges through 1.2 km to the Dead Sea at 380 m (1,200 ft) below sea level. Along the way, it picks up the sewage of all the Arab villages for which the Israeli government refuses to provide proper treatment facilities.
Though the name must be very old, and derived from the word meaning 'darkness' or 'gloom,' it appears for the first time in the OT only in the time of David, when forced by the rebellion of his son Absalom, he had to flee the city eastward across the Kidron (2 Sam 15:23).
The Arab village of Silwan
overlooking the Kidron.
See Where ☰
Several times, under Kings Asa, Hezekiah, and Josiah, the idolatrous articles that their foreparents had made and gathered in the temple were ordered brought out to the the Kidron and burned (1 Ki 15:13; 2 Ki 23ff; 2 Chron 15:16; 29:16).
Though mentioned by name only once in the NT (Jn 18:1), it was a valley Jesus would have crossed over several times as he traversed between the city and the village of Bethany—home of Mary and Martha—where he usually stayed when he was in Jerusalem. It is clear from Mk 11:1-11 that it was across this valley that Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Across this valley too, Jesus would have seen the soldiers coming, soon after he prayed, if possible, for the cup to be taken from him. He could have turned up Mount Olive and within fifteen minutes be 'lost' in the Judean wilderness. Having prayed, however, he stayed for us.
CONCORDANCE (NIV)
Kidron appears 11x spread over 11 vv in the Bible:
2 Sam 15:23 — The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on towards the desert.
1 Ki 2:37 — [Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, "Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else.] The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head."
1 Ki 15:13 — He [Asa] even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole. Asa cut the pole down and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
2 Ki 23:4 & 6 — The king [Josiah] ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel. . . . He took the Asherah pole from the temple of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder and scattered the dust over the graves of the common people.
2 Ki 23:12 — He [Josiah] pulled down the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof near the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courts of the temple of the Lord. He removed them from there, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble into the Kidron Valley.
2 Chron 15:16 — King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole. Asa cut the pole down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
2 Chron 29:16 — The priests went into the sanctuary of the Lord to purify it. They brought out to the courtyard of the Lord's temple everything unclean that they found in the temple of the Lord. The Levites took it and carried it out to the Kidron Valley.
2 Chron 30:14 — They removed the altars in Jerusalem and cleared away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.
Jer 31:40 — The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished."
Jn 18:1 — When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.
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