Valley Of Rephaim
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The Valley of Rephaim (, ''Emeq Rephaim'') (; , R.V.) is a valley descending southwest from
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
to Nahal Sorek below. It is an ancient route from the coastal plain to the Judean Hills, probably named after the legendary race of giants. Emek Refaim (), the German Colony in Jerusalem, takes its name from this valley.


Biblical narrative

When
David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
became king over all
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, the
Philistines Philistines (; LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philistines origi ...
, judging that he would now become their uncompromising enemy, made a sudden attack upon
Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...
, compelling David to retire from it. He sought refuge in "the hold" at Adullam (), and the
Philistines Philistines (; LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philistines origi ...
took up their position in (or raided) the valley of
Rephaim In the Hebrew Bible, as well as non-Jews, Jewish ancient texts from the region, the Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic term Rephaite or Repha'im (cf. the plural word in ; , ) refers either to a people of greater-than-average height and ...
, on the west and south-west of
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. Thus all communication between
Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
and Jerusalem was intercepted. While David and his army were encamped here, there occurred the battle narrated in and . Having obtained divine direction, David led his army against the Philistines, and gained a complete victory over them. The scene of this victory was afterwards called Baal-perazim. A second time, however, the Philistines rallied their forces in this valley ( and ). Again, warned by a divine saying about hearing a marching sound in the tops of the baka trees (הבכאים, KJV "
mulberry tree ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinate ...
s", most modern versions "balsam"), David led his army to Gibeon, and attacked the Philistines from the south, inflicting on them another severe defeat, and chasing them with great slaughter to
Gezer Gezer, or Tel Gezer (), in – Tell Jezar or Tell el-Jezari is an archaeological site in the foothills of the Judaean Mountains at the border of the Shfela region roughly midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It is now an List of national parks ...
. There David kept in check these enemies of Israel and in consequence his fame grew.


Archaeology

One of the ancient farming complexes excavated in the Valley of Rephaim is Er-Ras, an Iron age terraced farm.New Discoveries in the Rephaim Valley, Jerusalem
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Railway

The Tel Aviv – Jerusalem railway, originally known as the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway, uses the entire length of the Valley of the Rephaim from Jerusalem to its junction with Nahal Sorek.


See also

* 'Ain el-Haniya spring, also spelled Ein Haniya, Al-Walaja village, Refa'im Valley Park


References

;Attribution {{Coord, 31, 45, 47.53, N, 35, 13, 8.84, E, source:hewiki_region:IL, display=title Geography of Jerusalem
Rephaim In the Hebrew Bible, as well as non-Jews, Jewish ancient texts from the region, the Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic term Rephaite or Repha'im (cf. the plural word in ; , ) refers either to a people of greater-than-average height and ...