Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna)
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The valley of the son of Hinnom curved around the west and south of Jerusalem and formed part of the border between Judah and Benjamin. In the days of wicked kings such as Ahaz and Manasseh, it became the site of Tophet, where children were burned in the fire as offerings, a practice God said He 'commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.' Josiah defiled Tophet so that no one could make a son or daughter pass through the fire to Molech there again, and Jeremiah announced that it would be called 'the valley of slaughter.' In later Jewish usage the valley's name, Ge-Hinnom, became Gehenna, the word Jesus used when He warned of 'hell fire' and 'the fire that never shall be quenched.'
Details
- Region
- Jerusalem
- Modern Location
- The valley curving along the west and south sides of the Old City of Jerusalem
Journey Paths
Key Passages
On Judah's Border
Joshua 15:8
The tribal boundary runs through the valley of the son of Hinnom, just south of the Jebusite city.
8nd the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward:
Ahaz Burns His Children
2 Chronicles 28:3
A king of Judah adopts the worst practices of the nations in this valley.
3oreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
The Valley of Slaughter
Jeremiah 7:31-32
God condemns Tophet and promises the valley will be renamed for judgment.
31nd they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
Josiah Defiles Tophet
2 Kings 23:10
Josiah's reform makes the site unusable for child sacrifice.
10nd he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
The Fire That Never Shall Be Quenched
Mark 9:43-44
Jesus uses the name of this valley, Gehenna, for final judgment.
43nd if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Explore Related
Did You Know?
Gehenna, the word Jesus used for hell, is the Greek form of the Hebrew Ge-Hinnom, 'valley of Hinnom.'
Tophet in the valley was the site of child sacrifice under kings Ahaz and Manasseh.
Akeldama, the field bought with Judas's thirty pieces of silver, is traditionally placed on the valley's southern slope.