Bible Atlas: A Manual of Biblical Geography and History

by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut

IV. Valleys. The peculiar natural features of Jerusalem, and much of its history, are due to the arrangement of its three valleys. These unite near the southeastern corner of the city. 1. The Valley of the Kedron, called also "the Valley of Jehoshaphat" (perhaps referred to in Joel 3:2, 12); and "the king's dale" (Gen. 14:17; 2 Sam. 18:18). This lies on the east of the city, between Mount Moriah and the Mount of Olives. During the summer it is dry; but in the rainy season it is the bed of a brook, from which it receives its name. 2. The Valley of the Tyropœon (a word supposed to mean "cheesemongers," though the meaning and derivation are questioned) branches from the Kedron Valley at the southern end of Mount Moriah, and extends in a northwesterly direction. The principal ravine curves in crescent form around Mount Zion, but a shallower and less noticeable branch extends further to the north. This valley is now almost obliterated by the accumulation of debris, but its ancient course has been established by recent soundings. 3. The Valley of Hinnom, called also, "the valley of the son of Hinnom" (Josh. 15:8), forms the western and southern border of the city, and unites with the Kedron Valley near its junction with the Tyropœon. Its lower portion, near the Kedron, was called Tophet, or "place of fire" (Jer. 7:31), and Gehenna (Ge-Hinnom). It was at one time the seat of idolatrous worship to Molech, and afterward became a cesspool, and place where the offal of the city was burned. Gihon (1 Kings 1:33) is located by most in the upper portion of this valley; but, by Conder and a few others, in the lower portion of the Kedron Valley, at the spring en Rogel.

V. Mountains. Jerusalem is and has ever been emphatically a place of mountains; as it stood anciently upon four distinct hills, with others around its walls on every side. The names of these hills are well known, but the identification of them is neither easy nor unanimous among investigators. We name the locations as given by the largest number of leading scholars.

1. Mount Zion is the largest and highest of the four hills within the city. It lies on the southwestern section, between the Valleys of the Tyropœon on the east and north, and Hinnom on the south and west. Its crown is 2,540 feet high. Upon it, probably, stood the Jebusite fortress which so long defied the Israelites, but was finally taken by David.

2. Acra is a little east of north from Zion, and is an irregularly shaped eminence, now 2,490 feet high, but anciently higher, as its crest was cut down by the Maccabean princes, in order to bring it nearer to the level of the Temple-hill. It is surrounded upon the south, east and north by the two arms of the Tyropœon Valley. On this may have stood the castle, or Millo. (2 Sam. 5:9.)

3. On the eastern side of the city is Mount Moriah, the place once occupied by the Temple, and now by the Dome of the Rock, mistakenly called the Mosque of Omar. It lies between the two valleys of the Kedron on the east and the Tyropœon on the west, and is 2,432 feet high. Its southern end is a steep declivity, called Ophel (in Josephus, Ophlas), running southward to the junction of the valleys.

4. Bezetha is a little west of north from Mount Moriah, and separated from it by a slight depression. It lies between the Kedron Valley and the northern branch of the Tyropœon. Only in the later age of New Testament history was it within the walls of the city. Its height is a little over 2,500 feet.

These four mountains are all that are named as within the ancient walls. Calvary was not a mountain, but merely a place outside the city where the crucifixion of Jesus took place; so that it is not to be counted in the list. But we must notice, in addition, the most important of the "mountains round about Jerusalem."

5. The Mount of Olives lies east of the Kedron Valley, and is a range of hills having several summits, which are a little under 3,000 feet in height. (1.) The northern peak, called Scopus, lies northeast of the wall, and is supposed to be the point from which Titus obtained his first view of the doomed city. (2.) The second is called Viri Galilæi, "men of Galilee," from a tradition that the angels, at the time of Christ's ascension, appeared upon it. (Acts 1:11.) (3.) The central summit is the Mount of Ascension, 2,665 feet high, and directly east of the Temple. It is probable that the true place of the ascension is to be found on the eastern slope of this hill, near Bethany, and not in sight of Jerusalem. (4.) The next peak southward is called "The Prophets," from a tradition that some of the prophets were buried upon its side near the Kedron. (5.) The southern peak is called the Mount of Offense, from the idol worship which Solomon established upon it. (1 Kings 11:7.)

6. South of the Valley of Hinnom, and directly opposite to Mount Zion, is an eminence known as the Hill of Evil Counsel, where Judas is said to have bargained for the betrayal of his Lord. Upon the slope of this hill is the traditional Aceldama, "the field of blood." (Matt. 27:7, 8.)

VI. Walls. Of these, three are named by the early historians and mentioned in the Bible. 1. The first wall was built by David and Solomon, and surrounded what was known as "the city of David." It included Zion, Moriah, Ophel, and the southern portion of the Tyropœon Valley. The lines of this wall may still be traced and the ancient foundations shown in various places. 2. The second wall, including Acra, extended in a curved line from the tower Antonia, north of the Temple, to a point not yet marked with certainty, on the northern border of Mount Zion. The location of Calvary and the place of the Saviour's burial depend upon the question, whether this wall ran outside or inside of the place where now stands the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. For, as these were "outside the gate," if the wall include the traditional localities, they are wrongly located, and the true places must be sought elsewhere, perhaps near the so-called Grotto of Jeremiah, north of the city. We indicate both localities, but regard the northern as preferable. 3. The third wall was not built until after the time of Christ, but was begun by Herod Agrippa, and was completed not long before the Roman siege. This section was called "the new city," and included Mount Bezetha, and the region north and northwest of Mount Zion. Only a small portion of the wall can be located with certainty.