Bible Encyclopedia: Kidron

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

KIDRON

kid'-ron (Kedron; the King James Version Cedron): A place which, in obedience to Antiochus Sidetes, Cendebaeus fortified (1 Maccabees 15:39;), to which, when defeated, he fled, hotly pursued by John and Judas, sons of Simon the Maccabee, who burned the city (1 Maccabees 16:4;). It is named along with Jamnia (Yebna) and Azotus (Esdud). It is possibly identical with Katrah, a village about 3 miles Southwest of `Aqir (Ekron).

KIDRON, THE BROOK

(nachal qidhron; in John 18:1 (the King James Version Cedron), ho cheimarrhous ton Kedron, according to the Revised Version margin, the last two words are to be considered as meaning "of the cedars." The Hebrew word has been very generally accepted as from qadhar, "to become black," but it is an attractive suggestion (Cheyne) that it may be a phonetic variation of gidderon, "a spot for enclosures for cattle," of which latter there must have been many around the now buried caves which lay at the base of the cliffs around the spring Gihon):

1. Wady Sitti Miriam:

The Nachal Qidhron is the valley known today as the Wady Sitti Miriam, which lies between the eastern walls of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. It commences in the plateau to the North of the city, and after making a wide sweep Southeast, under the name Wady el Joz ("Valley of the Walnuts"), passes South until level with the southeastern corner of the temple-area where its bed is spanned by an old bridge; here the bottom of the valley, 40 ft. beneath the present surface level, is 400 ft. below the temple-platform. From this point it narrows and deepens gradually, bending slightly West of South, and, after receiving the Tyropoeon valley, joins a little farther Southwest with the Valley of Hinnom to form the Wady en Nar which winds on through the "wilderness of Judea" to the Dead Sea. Where the three valleys run together is a large open space filled with gardens (the KING'S GARDEN, which see), which are kept irrigated all the year round by means of the overflow waters from the `Ain Silwan (see SILOAM). It is where the Hinnom valley runs into the Kidron that some would locate TOPHETH (which see). Except at the irrigated gardens, the ravine is a dry valley containing water only during and immediately after heavy rain, but in ancient times the rocky bottom-now buried beneath many feet of rich soil-must have contained a little stream from Gihon for at least some hundreds of yards. This was the "brook that flowed through the midst of the land" (2 Chronicles 32:4). The length of the valley from its head to Bir Eyyub is 2 3/4 miles.

2. Traditions:

Since the 4th century A.D., this valley has been known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat (see JEHOSHAPHAT, VALLEY OF), and from quite early times it was a favorite situation for interments (2 Kings 23:4, 6, 12 2 Chronicles 34:4, 5); it is by Moslem and Jewish tradition the scene of the last judgment, and was known to the Moslems in the Middle Ages as Wady Jehannum; see GEHENNA. It is probable that the "graves of the common people," where King Jehoiakim cast the body of the prophet Uriah, were here (Jeremiah 26:23), and it has been suggested, with less probability, that here too may have been the scene of Ezekiel's vision of the "valley of dry bones" (Ezekiel 37; compare Jeremiah 31:40).

3. The Fields of Kidron:

The Fields of Kidron (2 Kings 23:4), though generally identified with the open, lower part of this valley, where it is joined by the Tyropoeon valley, may more probably have been in the upper part where the wide expanded valley receives the name Wady el Joz; this part is actually on the road to Bethel.

4. Historical Associations:

The most dramatic scene associated with the Kidron is that recorded in connection with its earliest Scriptural mention (2 Samuel 15:23), when David, flying before his rebellious son Absalom, here stood on the Jerusalem side of the valley while all his adherents passed over. "And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron.... toward the way of the wilderness." The passing over this brook appears to have been viewed as the solemn abandonment of the Jerusalem territory (compare 1 Kings 2:37). In 1 Kings 15:13 2 Chronicles 15:16, we read that Asa burnt at the brook Kidron "an abominable image for an Asherab" which Maacah, his mother, had set up. In the reforms of Hezekiah, "all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Yahweh" was carried by the Levites to the brook Kidron (2 Chronicles 29:16); "All the altars for incense took they away, and cast them into the brook Kidron" (2 Chronicles 30:14). This locality was again used in the reforms of Josiah when the king "brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast the dust thereof upon the graves of the common people" (2 Kings 23:6). The same treatment was given to the vessels made for Baal, the Asherah and the host of heaven (2 Kings 23:4), and the two idolatrous altars of Manasseh (2 Kings 23:12). Josephus (Ant., IX, vii, 3) states that Athaliah was slain in the valley of Kidron, but this does not quite tally with the account (2 Kings 11:16). It was a valley associated with graves and the ashes of abominations, but it was prophesied that it should be "holy unto Yahweh" (Jeremiah 31:40). Twice it is mentioned simply as "the valley," nachal (2 Chronicles 33:14 Nehemiah 2:15). Very different from these earlier scenes is the last Scriptural reference (John 18:1), when Jesus "went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron" for His last hours of spiritual struggle and prayer before the turmoil of the end.

E. W. G. Masterman

Greek

2748. Kedron -- Kidron, a brook and wadi near Jer.
... Kedron. 2749 . Kidron, a brook and wadi near Jer. ... Word Origin of Hebrew origin
Qidron Definition Kidron, a brook and wadi near Jer. NASB Word Usage Kidron (1). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2748.htm - 6k

1638. elaion -- an olive orchard, ie spec. the Mt. of Olives
... an olive orchard), referring to the Mount of Olives (J. Thayer) -- the
mountain-ridge that runs parallel to Jerusalem and separated from it by the Kidron ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1638.htm - 7k

1068. Gethsemani -- Gethsemane, an olive orchard on the Mt. of ...
... Gethsemani Phonetic Spelling: (gheth-say-man-ay') Short Definition: Gethsemane
Definition: Gethsemane, a small place between the brook Kidron and the Mount of ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1068.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

6939. Qidron -- perhaps "dusky," a wadi East of Jer.
... perhaps "dusky," a wadi East of Jer. Transliteration: Qidron Phonetic Spelling:
(kid-rone') Short Definition: Kidron. ... NASB Word Usage Kidron (11). Kidron. ...
/hebrew/6939.htm - 6k

Library

The Arrest.
... XVII. THE ARREST. "When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples
over the brook Kidron, where was a garden, into the which He entered ...
/.../dods/the expositors bible the gospel of st john vol ii/xvii the arrest.htm

Taken into the Innermost Life.
... They're outside the city-gate now, going down the path towards the Kidron
Brook. ... They're out in the open, down near the Kidron. ...
/.../gordon/quiet talks on johns gospel/taken into the innermost life.htm

The Girdle of the City. Nehemiah 3
... And all the valley of dead carcasses, and of ashes, and all the fields to the brook
Kidron, even to the corner of the horse-gate on the east, shall be Holiness ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 26 the girdle of.htm

How Peter Told Paul.
... saying to Paul, 'Would you like to take a walk?' and Paul said he would, so they
went down through the streets of Jerusalem, over the brook Kidron, arm in arm ...
/.../gordon/quiet talks with world winners/how peter told paul.htm

Gethsemane
... Passing out by the gate north of the Temple, we descend into a lonely part of the
valley of black Kidron, at that season swelled into a winter torrent. ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xii gethsemane.htm

The Last Discourses of Christ - the Prayer of Consecration.
... and His prayer, [5719] were certainly uttered after they had risen from
the Supper, and before they crossed the brook Kidron. [5720 ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xi the last discourses.htm

Going to Gethsemane, and Agony Therein.
... CXXIII. Going to Gethsemane, and Agony Therein. (a Garden Between the Brook
Kidron and the Mount of Olives. Late Thursday Night.) ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/cxxiii going to gethsemane and.htm

Sacrifice Renewed
... the Temple been that a strong force of priests and Levites took a fortnight to
'carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place to the brook Kidron,' and to ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/sacrifice renewed.htm

Asa
... Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an
idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron ...
//christianbookshelf.org/milligan/men of the bible some lesser-known/asa.htm

The Shadow of Death
... The Ministry VIII The Shadow of Death. 196. Of the garden of Gethsemane it is only
known that it was across the Kidron, on the slope of the Mount of Olives. ...
/.../rhees/the life of jesus of nazareth/viii the shadow of death.htm

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Kidron

obscure; making black or sad

Easton's Bible Dictionary

= Kedron = Cedron, turbid, the winter torrent which flows through the Valley of Jehoshaphat, on the eastern side of Jerusalem, between the city and the Mount of Olives. This valley is known in Scripture only by the name "the brook Kidron." David crossed t

Thesaurus

Kidron (11 Occurrences)
... This valley is known in Scripture only by the name "the brook Kidron."
David crossed t. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. KIDRON. ...
/k/kidron.htm - 17k

Ashe'rah (18 Occurrences)
... his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image
for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. ...
/a/ashe'rah.htm - 12k

Grove (23 Occurrences)
... John 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples over
the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples ...
/g/grove.htm - 16k

King's (375 Occurrences)
... dale was identical with the KING'S GARDEN (which see), which he places at the open
valley formed at the junction of the Tyropoen with the Kidron (see JERUSALEM ...
/k/king's.htm - 46k

Torrent (49 Occurrences)
... 2 Samuel 15:23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed
over; the king also himself passed over the torrent Kidron, and all the ...
/t/torrent.htm - 22k

Shrine (34 Occurrences)
... aside from being mistress, in that she made a horrible thing for a shrine, and Asa
cutteth down her horrible thing, and burneth 'it' by the brook Kidron; (YLT). ...
/s/shrine.htm - 18k

Gihon (6 Occurrences)
... only natural spring of water in or near Jerusalem is the "Fountain of the Virgin"
(qv), which rises outside the city walls on the west bank of the Kidron valley ...
/g/gihon.htm - 16k

Hinnom (11 Occurrences)
... In favor of the eastern or Kidron valley we have the facts that Eusebius and Jerome
(Onom) place "Gehennom" under the eastern wall of Jerusalem and the Moslem ...
/h/hinnom.htm - 18k

Gethsemane (2 Occurrences)
... topos). From John 18:1 it is evident that it was across the Kidron, and
from Luke 22:39, that it was on the Mount of Olives. Very ...
/g/gethsemane.htm - 11k

Powder (14 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 23:6 And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem,
unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped ...
/p/powder.htm - 12k

Bible Concordance

Kidron (11 Occurrences)

John 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered.
(WEB ASV NAS RSV NIV)

2 Samuel 15:23 All the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 2:37 For on the day you go out, and pass over the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall surely die: your blood shall be on your own head."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 15:13 Also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 23:4 The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring forth out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the army of the sky, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Bethel.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 23:6 He brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh, outside of Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast its dust on the graves of the common people.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 23:12 The altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, did the king break down, and beat them down from there, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 15:16 Also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 29:16 The priests went in to the inner part of the house of Yahweh, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Yahweh into the court of the house of Yahweh. The Levites took it, to carry it out abroad to the brook Kidron.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 30:14 They arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took they away, and cast them into the brook Kidron.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 31:40 The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook Kidron, to the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy to Yahweh; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more forever.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Kidron

Kidron or Cedron

Kidron or Kedron

Kidron: A Valley and Stream Between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives

Kidron: David Flees from Absalom Across

Kidron: Destruction of Idols At, by Asa, Josiah, and the Levites

Kidron: Jesus Crossed, on the Night of his Agony

Kidron: Source of, Closed by Hezekiah

Related Terms

Ashe'rah (18 Occurrences)

Grove (23 Occurrences)