Vale, Valley
1:
Valley — (1.) Heb. bik’ah, a “cleft” of the mountains (Deut. 8:7; 11:11; Ps. 104:8; Isa. 41:18); also a low plain bounded by mountains, as the plain of Lebanon at the foot of Hermon around the sources of the Jordan (Josh. 11:17; 12:7), and the valley of Megiddo (2 Chr. 35:22).
(2.) ‘Emek, “deep;” “a long, low plain” (Job 39:10, 21; Ps. 65:13; Cant. 2:1), such as the plain of Esdraelon; the “valley of giants” (Josh. 15:8), usually translated “valley of Rephaim” (2 Sam. 5:18); of Elah (1 Sam. 17:2), of Berachah (2 Chr. 20:26); the king’s “dale” (Gen. 14:17); of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:2, 12), of Achor (Josh. 7:24; Isa. 65:10), Succoth (Ps. 60:6), Ajalon (Josh. 10:12), Jezreel (Hos. 1:5).
(3.) Ge, “a bursting,” a “flowing together,” a narrow glen or ravine, such as the valley of the children of Hinnom (2 Kings 23:10); of Eshcol (Deut. 1:24); of Sorek (Judg. 16:4), etc.
The “valley of vision” (Isa. 22:1) is usually regarded as denoting Jerusalem, which “may be so called,” says Barnes (Com. on Isa.), “either (1) because there were several valleys within the city and adjacent to it, as the vale between Mount Zion and Moriah, the vale between Mount Moriah and Mount Ophel, between these and Mount Bezetha, and the valley of Jehoshaphat, the valley of the brook Kidron, etc., without the walls of the city; or (2) more probably it was called the valley in reference to its being compassed with hills rising to a considerable elevation above the city” (Ps. 125:2; comp. also Jer. 21:13, where Jerusalem is called a “valley”).
(4.) Heb. nahal, a wady or water-course (Gen. 26:19; Cant. 6:11).
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
2:
VALLEY. The rendering of the following Heb. and Gk. words:
1. Rather a plain than a valley, wider than the latter, but, like it, surrounded by mountains (Heb. biq˓â, “a split”). It denotes a wide alluvial bottom, and its levelness is referred to in Isa. 40:4; usually rendered “valley” (Deut. 8:7; 11:11; 34:3; Josh. 11:8, 17; 12:7; Ps. 104:8; Amos 1:5; etc.), but also “plain” (Gen. 11:2; 2 Chron. 35:22; Neh. 6:2; Ezek. 3:22–23; 8:4). This Heb. term is applied to the following places: The plain of Shinar (Gen. 11:2); valley of Jericho (Deut. 34:3); valley of Lebanon (Josh. 11:17); plain of Megiddo (2 Chron. 35:22; Zech. 12:11); valley of Mizpeh (Josh. 11:8); plain of Ono (Neh. 6:2); valley of Aven (Amos 1:5).
2. A long, broad sweep between parallel ranges of hills of less extent than no. 1, corresponding quite closely to our idea in general of a valley in its usual sense (Heb. ˓ēmeq, “a deep place”). It is applied to the following localities: valley of Achor (Josh. 7:24, 26; 15:7; Isa. 65:10; Hos. 2:15); valley of Aijalon (Josh. 10:12); valley of Hebron (Gen. 37:14); valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:2, 12), called (v. 14) figuratively the valley of decision; valley of Jezreel (Josh. 17:16; Judg. 6:33; Hos. 1:5). This term is sometimes used as an appellative for certain well-known localities, e.g., the valley of weeping (Ps. 84:6, “valley of Baca,” see marg.); the valley of blessing (2 Chron. 20:26, “valley of Beracah,” see marg.); valley of the oak (1 Sam. 17:2, 19; 21:9, “valley of Elah”); valley of giants (Josh. 15:8; 18:16; 2 Sam. 5:18, 22; etc., “valley of Rephaim”); valley of Shaveh (Gen. 14:17), or the King’s Valley (14:17; 2 Sam. 18:18); valley of the slime pits (Gen. 14:3, 8, 10, “valley of Siddim”); the valley of booths (Pss. 60:6; 108:7, “valley of Succoth”); etc.
3. A deep, narrow ravine with a stream in the bottom, either between hills or through an open plain (Heb. gê, or gê˒, “a gorge”): the valley of Hinnom (Josh. 15:8; 18:16; Neh. 11:30), or of the son of Hinnom (Josh. 15:8; 18:16; 2 Kings 23:10; etc., KJV; Ben-hinnom, NASB; Ben Hinnom, NIV), the ravine on the southwestern side of Jerusalem, whence the term Gehenna; the valley of Iphtahel, a ravine between Zebulun and Asher (Josh. 19:14, 27); the valley of Zephathah, a ravine in the tribe of Simeon (2 Chron. 14:10); the valley of Gedor, another ravine in Simeon (1 Chron. 4:39); the valley of Hamon-gog (Ezek. 39:11, 15), or of the passers-by (v. 11), a ravine on the E of the Sea of Galilee; the valley of the craftsmen (1 Chron. 4:14, marg.), a ravine in a ravine near Jerusalem; the valley of salt (2 Sam. 8:13; 2 Kings 14:7; 1 Chron. 18:12; 2 Chron. 25:11; Ps. 60, title), a ravine on the southwestern shore of the Dead Sea; the valley of Zeboim (1 Sam. 13:18), in the tribe of Benjamin. Others, such as the valley of vision (Isa. 22:1, 5), of the Slaughter (Jer. 7:32; 19:6), are fanciful names; and still more poetical is the valley of the shadow of death (Ps. 23:4).
4. Wadi (Heb. naḥal, “receiving”; sometimes “brook,” “river,” “stream”). Wadi expresses as no English word can the bed of a stream (often wide and shelving, and like a “valley” in character, which in the rainy season may be nearly filled by a foaming torrent, though for the greater part of the year dry) and the stream itself that after the subsidence of the rains has shrunk to insignificant dimensions. Many of the wadis of Syria, owing to the demolition of the trees that formerly shaded the country and prevented too rapid evaporation after rain, are now entirely and constantly dry. As Palestine is emphatically a land of wadis, so this Heb. term frequently occurs in the Bible. Stanley enumerated these water courses or torrent beds—those of Gerar, of Eshcol, of Zered, of Arnon, of Jabbok, of Kanah, of Kishon, of Besor, of Sorek, of Kidron, of Gaash, of Cherith, of Gad. This last could not be distinguished by a mere English reader from the “river of Egypt,” the Nile, although in the original an entirely different word is used.
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
3:
VALE, VALLEY. In Palestine, where rain falls only at a certain time of year, the landscape is cut by many narrow valleys and stream-beds (wadis), wet only in the rainy season (Heb. naḥal; Arab. wadı̂). Often water may be found below ground in such wadis during the dry months (cf. Gn. 26:17, 19). Perennial rivers flow through wider valleys and plains (Heb. ‘ēmeq, biq‘â) or cut narrow gorges through the rock. Heb. šep̱ēlâ denotes low ground, especially the coastal plain (*Shephelah); gay’ is simply a valley. For geographical details, see under proper names: *Hinnom; *Jehoshaphat; *Salt (Valley of); etc. a.r.m.
Wood, D. R. W., Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996, c1982, c1962). New Bible Dictionary. Includes index. (electronic ed. of 3rd ed.) (1222). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
4:
vale, valley, a depression in the earth’s surface. The land of Palestine features a wide variety of valleys, ravines, and gorges due to the presence of the Carmel and Central mountain ranges. The Hebrews used five different words to describe these valleys. In the north (Jezreel) and west there are many wide, fertile valleys or plains. The territory between the central ridge and the Jordan Valley is marked by numerous narrow gorges or precipitous canyons called wadis by the Arabs. Valleys served as the location for military battles (Gen. 14:8), cities (Gen. 19:29), crops (1 Sam. 6:13), springs (1 Kings 18:5), and grazing lands (1 Chron. 27:29).
Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (1109). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
5:
Vale, Valley
Valleys of various sizes and shapes are located throughout the land of Palestine. Some are deep and precipitous narrow gorges, such as those located between Bethlehem and the Dead Sea area. Others are wide fertile plains, such as the valley of Jezreel.
Several Hebrew words, translated variously in different versions, indicate a valley or plain. Heb. biq˓â denotes a cleaving or separation of mountains. The term most often indicates a widely extended plain, such as Babylon (Gen. 11:2; Ezek. 3:23; 37:1), Lebanon at the foot of Mt. Hermon (Josh. 11:17), and Megiddo (Zech. 12:11).
Heb. gayĕ˒ indicates a valley or low, flat region. The term specifically designates the valley of the craftsmen in the plain of Philistia (Neh. 11:35); the valley of the Sons of Hinnom (Ben-hinnom) outside Jerusalem, where sacrifices were offered to Molech (2 Kgs. 23:10); and the valley of vision (Isa. 22:1).
Another term, ˓ēmeq, derives from the verb “to be deep.” This can indicate a valley of wide extent fit for agriculture (Job 39:10; Ps. 65:13 [MT 14]) or warfare (Job 39:21). The Jordan Valley is indicated in Josh. 13:19, 27.
The word nāḥal can indicate a stream or torrent, or the valley which contains the torrent. Among the particular wadis so designated are Eshcol (Num. 32:9), Sorek (Judg. 16:4), Shittim (Joel 3:18 [4:18]), and the Wadi of Egypt, or Wadi el-˓Arish (Josh. 15:4).
A final word indicating a lowland region is šĕp̱ēlâ (“Shephelah”). Though translated variously, all references (except Josh. 11:2, 16b) are to the foothills W of the Judean highlands. The designation is a technical term for the low region near the Mediterranean Sea extending from Joppa to Gaza.
Bibliography. D. Baly, The Geography of the Bible, rev. ed. (New York, 1974).
Harold R. Mosley
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (1352). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
