Background Information Old Testament New Testament New Testament (cont.) Gentile Period (cont.)
1-Biblical Jerusalem 16-Salem, Jebus 33-Ashlar Stones 51-Bethesda Pool 68-Saint Anne's Church
2-History of Jerusalem 17-Milo, Jebusite Wall 34-Temple Mount 52-Holy Sepulcher 69-Sultan's Pool
3a-Map of Today's City 18-Gihon Springs 35-NE of End of Wall 53-Garden Tomb 70-Citadel
3b-The Four Quarters 19-City of David 36-SE End of Wall 54-Fort Antonia 71-Colonnade Column
3c-Photos 20-David's Palace 37-Western Wall 55-Phasael Tower  
3d-Silwan 21-Temple Mount 38-West Wall Tunnel 56-Struthion Pool  
4-The Walls Today 22-Solomon's Walls 39-Mikvah, Ritual Baths 57-Gethsemane  
5-The Gates Today 23-Solomon's Quarries 40-The Large Mikvah 58-Tombs in Hinnom Miscellaneous
6-Archaeology Periods 24-Broad Wall 41-Wilson's Arch 59-Jerusalem Tombs Archaeological Finds
7-Archaeology History 25-Hezekiah's Tunnel 42-Warren's Gate Gentile Period Jason's Tomb
8-Old Ancient Core 26-Middle Gate 43-Barclay's Gate 60-Ecce Homo Lazarus' Tomb
9-Kidron Valley 27-Nehemiah's Wall 44-Robinson's Arch 61-Roman Inscription Tomb of David
10-Central Valley Hasmonean 45-Western Wall Street 62-Cardo Maximus Via Dolorosa
11-Hinnom Valley 28-Walls and Towers 46-Western Wall Shops 63-Roman Road Bazaars
12-Mount of Olives 29-Aqueduct 47-South Temple Wall 64-Nea Church Hezekiah's Pool
13-Mount Moriah 30-Acra 48-Archaeology Park 65-Al Aqsa Mosque Lachish and Assyria
14-Western Hill Mt Zion 31-Temple Mount 49-Siloam Road 66-Dome of the Rock Ancient Artifacts, Period Pieces
15-Ophel 32-Tombs in Kidron 50-Siloam Pool 67-Temple Mount  
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11- Hinnom Valley

The Hinnom Valley is also called “the valley of the son of Hinnom” or “Valley of Benhinnom.” This was shortened to “Valley Hinnom” which in Hebrew is pronounced, “Ge Hinnom” and transliterated into Greek as “Gehenna.” Thus, the Hinnom Valley is the Gehenna of the New Testament, which is associated with fire, judgment, the Lake of Fire, eternal fire and Hell. The border for the land allotted to the tribe of Judah is partially identified with this valley by Joshua in 1400 BC:

Then it ran up the Valley of Ben Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusite city (that is,
Jerusalem). From there it climbed to the top of the hill west of the Hinnom Valley at the northern end
of the Valley of Rephaim. - Joshua 15:8

At its lowest point, the Hinnom Valley is also the lowest point in the city of Jerusalem. If the Temple Mount on Mount Moriah is the highest point in the city and represents the presence of the Lord, then the lowest point of the city would also have illustrative value. This can be seen by comparing Amos and Isaiah’s use of topographical typology:

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. - Isaiah 2:3

Though they dig down to the depths of Sheol, from there my hand will take them. - Amos 9:2

Hinnom Valley, location, south of Jerusalem
Click above image to open a large view.
Hinnom Valley south of Jerusalem
Standing in the Hinnom Valley outside Jerusalem to the south looking up at the rising mount that becomes Jerusalem.
 

Today the Hinnom Valley is covered with green grass. This photo was taken on the west side of the Mount Zion near the southwest corner of the Old City walls.
An Arab family is resting in the shade of a tree while their children play in the Hinnom Valley.

Add to this the geographical fact that the wilderness began where the Hinnom Valley ended, and we have a perfect illustration of the realm of demons (Leviticus 16:10) and the chaos that was conquered (Genesis 1:2, 3). When the people of Judah began to worship demons and offer their children in the fire, they did it in the Hinnom Valley. When Josiah became king, he went down into the Hinnom Valley where children had been sacrificed to demons, and he desecrated the altar/
image (or, “the burner” called “Topheth”) that the wicked people used to burn their children as an offering to the god Molech:

He (Josiah) desecrated Topheth (“the burner”), which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, so no one could use it to sacrifice his son or daughter in the
fire to Molech. - 2 Kings 23:10

When God spoke through Isaiah of the coming judgment he also spoke of “the burner”:

Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its fire pit has been made deep and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze. - Isaiah 30:33

The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name
and have defiled it (Solomon’s Temple). They have built the high places of Topheth (“the burner”) in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire – something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind. So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when
people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no
more room. - Jeremiah 7:31-33

 

The Hinnom Valley had become a place associated not only with the lowest point and the path to the wilderness of demonic chaos, but also as a place of
hideous demon worship that demanded the burning of living children. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah had condemned this valley as surely as King Josiah
had shut it down. It became a rejected part of the city that was converted to a burning pit to dump the city’s garbage. In 27 AD Jesus made reference to this location calling it by the Greek name Gehenna when he said:

Anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell (or, in the Greek, “Gehenna”). - Matthew 5:22

Likewise, James, Jesus’ brother, writing from Jerusalem around 48 AD says of the tongue:

It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell (or, in the Greek, “Gehenna”). - James 3:6

The slopes of the Hinnom Valley were used for tombs by the wealthiest Jewish families in the first century. Josephus says the tomb of Annas the high priest is
located in this area and such a monument has been identified. There are more than 30 tombs cut and excavated in the lower southern side of the Hinnom Valley by a monastery dedicated to Saint Onuphrius.

 
Hinnom Valley meets the Kidron Valley SE of Jerusalem
In the Hinnom Valley among olive trees south of Jerusalem near where the Kidron Valley joins the Hinnom Valley SE of Jerusalem. En Rogel, the location where David's son Adonijah attepted to be declared king before Solomon was declared king at the Gihon Springs a little further up the Kidron Valley to the north, is near the spot where the Hinnom and Kidron Valley's meet.
Hinnom Valley south of Jerusalem near the meeting of the Kidron Valley
En Rogel is near where "KIDRON VALLEY" is written on the above photo.
Hinnom Valley on the west side of the Old City Jerusalem with the west wall of the city
West of the city of Jerusalem the Hinom Valley runs north and south before it turns east to join the Kidron Valley south and southeast of Jerusalem.
 

Looking south down the Hinnom Valley in the evening outside the Joppa Gate and the west wall of the city.
The Citadel can be seen in the top left corner of this photo.

Looking west over the Hinnom Valley from what is called Mount Zion today. The King David Hotel sits at the top in the middle of this photo.

Looking down into the Hinnom Valley from on top of Mount Zion near Jerusalem University College.
 
 

 

   
"Jerusalem: History, Archaeology and Apologetic Proof of Scripture - Revised Edition" 2022, Galyn Wiemers

 

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