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KIDRON

(Heb. qiḏrôn; Gk. Kedrṓn)

The valley (and the brook running through it during times of heavy rain) that lies E of Jerusalem. The old walled city of Jerusalem is on its west and the Mount of Olives on its east. It is suggested that the name means “dark,” “not clear,” or “turbid,” because the stream is thick and opaque with sediment. On the western slope of the valley is the Gihon Spring, ancient Jerusalem’s primary water supply. This spring flowed into the valley, but with the building of Hezekiah’s tunnel (2 Kgs. 20:20) its waters were diverted to the Pool of Siloam inside the city. On the eastern slope of the valley are many ancient tombs where certain royal officials, possibly some of Judah’s kings, may have been buried. From the vicinity of Jerusalem the Kidron Valley follows a southeastern course, extending through the Wilderness of Judah, meeting the Dead Sea ca. 16 km. (10 mi.) below the mouth of the Jordan River.

This valley is first mentioned in the Bible as the place David crossed (i.e., the eastern boundary of the city) as he fled Jerusalem because of the rebellion of his son Absalom (2 Sam. 15:23). During the Monarchy it was probably to be identified as the place of the King’s Garden (2 Kgs. 25:4; Neh. 3:15).

Adjacent to the temple mount, the Kidron (valley/brook/field) served as a convenient place where images and altars of idols were taken to be destroyed by reformer kings: Asa (1 Kgs. 15:13), Hezekiah (2 Chr. 29:16; 30:14), and Josiah (2 Kgs. 23:4-6; cf. v. 12).

The Kidron is mentioned only once in the NT. After the farewell discourse, Jesus along with his disciples went “across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden [named Gethsemane in Matt. 26:36], which he and his disciples entered” (John 18:1). Tradition identifies the Kidron Valley as the valley of Jehoshaphat (“Yahweh judges”), where God will gather all the nations and sit in judgment upon them (Joel 3:2, 12[MT 4:2, 12]).

John L. Gillman

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

KIDRON

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)