Now what is the non-textual evidence for the Valley of Achor and Israelite conquest of Ai?
This post was sadly delayed due to Blogger crashing and subsequent need to do a bit of re-writing and re-researching. But with that extra work I do now have extra information on the Valley of Achor. This requires splitting up the original post into at least two parts. Examination of evidence for Ai will be in the second part. I'd better post what I have about Achor forthwith to avoid another crash.
Facts, Traditions, and Widespread Beliefs regarding the Valley of Achor and Ai:
- Geographical Valley of Achor:
- Joshua 7:24-26, "Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the
silver, the mantle, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen,
his donkeys, his sheep, his tent and all that belonged to him; and they
brought them up to the valley of Achor. Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD
will trouble you this day.” And all Israel stoned them with stones; and
they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. They raised over him a great heap of stones that stands to this day, and the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the valley of Achor to this day."
- The valley of Achor lay in hill country
- One should look for reference or sign of a stone heap (not yet discovered to my knowledge)
- The modern name of the valley should relate to the original name of Achor
- Achor - Hebrew for "disturbance" or "trouble"
- Jerusalem.com - The Prat River running along the Wadi Kelt is considered the River Perath named in Jeremiah 13:3-5. Among the springs supplying the River Perath, the Spring of Ein Kelt is associated with the River Kerith belonging to the Kerith Ravine named in 1 Kings 17:3.
- Strong's Concordance - "Perath" in Jeremiah 13:3-5 is also translated as the "Euphrates". The word derives from a root meaning "to break forth" or "rushing"
- Strong's Concordance - "Kerith" in I Kings 17:3 derives from "karath" which means "to cut off" or "cut down".
- Joshua 15:1, 5-8, "Now the lot for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families . . . And the border of the north side was from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan. Then
the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and continued on the north of
Beth-arabah, and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of
Reuben. The
border went up to Debir from the valley of Achor, and turned northward
toward Gilgal which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the
south of the valley; and the border continued to the waters of
En-shemesh and it ended at En-rogel. Then the border went up the valley of Ben-hinnom to the slope of the Jebusite on the south (that is, Jerusalem) . . ."
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| Modern walk from Ein Hajla Spring to Gey Ben Hinom St, Jerusalem. This is the region of Joshua's Judah-Benjamin border, on which the Valley of Achor lay, just south or southwest of Jericho. |
- Travel Palestine - The name of Beth Hoglah in Joshua 15 is retained by the modern day Ain Hajla Spring.
- Wikipedia - The modern West Bank settlement of Beit HaAravah is named after the town of Beth Aravah named in Joshua 15, whose general location it shares on the Aravah/Arabah plain. In the 1930s-1940s, Jewish settlers began cultivating the soil of Beit HaAravah (after washing out the salt), making it known for its produce of vegetables and fruit throughout the country (see Hosea 2 verses below).
- Joshua 15 implies that the stone of Bohan lay in the Valley of Achor. Therefore the Valley of Achor lay "above" (likely in altitude) and North-west of Beth-arabah, since the northern boundary of Judah was being described from east to west in Joshua 15. North-west of modern day Beit HaAravah lie Aqabat Jabr and the east entrance to the Wadi Kelt valley.
- Joshua 18:11-20, "Now the lot of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to
their families, and the territory of their lot lay between the sons of
Judah and the sons of Joseph. Their
border on the north side was from the Jordan, then the border went up
to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill
country westward, and it ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven. From
there the border continued to Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel)
southward . . . The border extended from there and turned round on the west side southward . . . Then the south side was from the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went westward and went to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah. The
border went down to the edge of the hill which is in the valley of
Ben-hinnom, which is in the valley of Rephaim northward; and it went
down to the valley of Hinnom, to the slope of the Jebusite southward,
and went down to En-rogel. It
extended northward and went to En-shemesh and went to Geliloth, which
is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and it went down to the stone of
Bohan the son of Reuben. It continued to the side in front of the Arabah northward and went down to the Arabah. The
border continued to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the border
ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan.
This was the south border. Moreover, the Jordan was its border on the east side."
- It is clear that Judah's northern border shared much of Benjamin's southern border.
- Therefore, the Valley of Achor (Joshua 15) lay on the southern side of Benjamin.
- Jericho lay on the northern border of Benjamin.
- Therefore, the Valley of Achor lay south (or south-west) of Jericho.
- Shalom Israel Tours - The Jewish Mitzpe Jericho ("Jericho Lookout") community of 450 families has a clear view of Jericho from the southeast mountains. This community is adjacent to the Wadi Kelt/Nachal Prat nature reserve.
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| View from Mitzpe Jericho of the Jericho plain (Shalom Israel Tours) |
- Isaiah 65:9-10, "'I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
And an heir of My mountains from Judah;
Even My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And My servants will dwell there.
'Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks,
And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who seek Me.'"
- Hosea 2:14-15, "'Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Bring her into the wilderness
And speak kindly to her.
'Then I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will sing there as in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.'"
- The Shalom Israel Tours link above already mentioned Israelite settlement in the vicinity of Wadi Kelt (as suggested by Isaiah's "for My people")
- Look for a roadway in the Vally of Achor (Hosea's "door of hope")
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| Shepherd in the vicinity of the Wadi Kelt (Israel Tour Guide) |
- Israel Tour Guide
- The Wadi ("valley") Qelt/Kelt and Nahal ("stream bed") Prat run east
from Jerusalem to Jericho, where the Nahal Prat runs into the Jordan
River. The Nahal Prat is supplied by three springs. Shepherds with their sheep can be
seen along the Wadi Kelt/Qelt. Hasmonean period aqueducts
enabled cultivation of figs, dates, pomegranates, and citrus up through
the early Arab period. Palaces, settlements, monasteries, and an Israelite Iron Age ruin dating to the time of the Israelite kings are also found in the valley.
- Shalom Israel Tours - In the En Prat nature reserve is the Firan Monastery, which is surrounded by cultivated terraces, orchards, and cisterns.
- See the Holy Land - The Wadi Qelt's 35 km winding course provided the route for a large section of a Roman roadway running from Jerusalem to Jericho. St. George's Monastery built in the 5th century into the cliff face of the Wadi Qelt is known for hospitality.
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| Monastery of St. George built into the cliff face of the Wadi Kelt (See the Holy Land) |
. . . Part B to follow.
