The Kidron[1]Kidron, קִדְרוֹן (Hebrew) Κεδρών (Greek) means “dark,” or “turbid.” The Hebrew word is related to qāḏar קָדַר a word associated with mourning, to be ashy (by … Continue reading Valley in Jerusalem courses north to south dividing the eastern side of the Old City of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives east of the city. As tourists trek along the path adjacent to the Old City wall, they are met with a dazzling spectacle of the Kidron Valley and the beautiful churches on the Mount of Olives east of the city. This valley has captivating ancient tombs and monuments – monuments like the Tomb of the Sons of Hezir, and Zechariah’s tomb. My friends led me on a morning walk along this path in May of 2019 and it was something that has to be seen in person to truly appreciate. The pictures I have seen prior to my visit simply do not do justice to the place and the feeling one gets when walking these grounds, places where so much history has been experienced by the masses of cultures over centuries.
A widely held opinion suggests that when Jesus went to Gethsemane as recorded in the Gospels prior to his arrest, that his fellow disciples made the journey by traveling through the temple complex and out of the city through the east gate, possibly crossing the Kidron Valley on one of two bridges that may have crossed the ravine. Another possibility is that they went out of the city through a gate on the southeastern side and descended into the Kidron Valley via the now-ancient steps south of the city near the modern-day Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu owned by the Catholic Assumptionist Fathers.[2]Brown, DM, 1:148; L. C. Fillion, The Life of Christ. London: B. Herder Book Company, 1941, 3:441- The descent into the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem was sharp. Although the brook Kidron rarely runs … Continue reading
Along the Kidron Valley are olive trees, adding to the beauty of the place, and on the east side leading up to the Mount of Olives, more olive trees exist in what tradition says is the Garden of Gethsemane[3]Gethsemane, Γεθσημανῆ (Greek), a word meaning “an oil press,” of Aramaic origin, compare to gat גַּת (winepress, press) and shamen שֶׁמֶן (oil)., and contiguous with this location visitors can come and see the beauty of the Church of All Nations, a Roman Catholic church on the east side of the valley. This church has a section of bedrock partitioned within the structure where some traditions say that Jesus prayed before his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.
This church rests on the foundation of older structures from the 4th century and the Crusades and was built between 1919 and 1924. The workers at the church were very informative and willing to answer any question that I had about the place, in fact, one of them even connected my small group of four with a guide willing to take us into Bethlehem and the Herodian in the West Bank.
Instead of calling the spot a garden, Matthew and Mark in their gospel narratives indicate that Gethsemane is a “place” χωρíoν (chorion) called or named “Gethsemane” (Matthew 26.36, Mark 14.32).[4]Kraeling informs us that “there is nothing in the scriptures to indicate how far up the Mount of Olives the place of Gethsemane is to be sought. One can therefore only say: somewhere on the other … Continue reading χωρíoν (chorion) typically refers to a rural domain, such as a small country estate, property, farm, or villa. The exact meaning of Gethsemane may not be as clear and has been debated among scholars,[5]Joan Taylor, among others, has argued that the “oil press” name of Gethsemane refers to a cave on the hillside within the garden. Taylor points out that the synoptic gospels (Mark 14.32–42; … Continue reading with even the spelling of the name being uncertain.[6]Emil G. Kraeling, Bible Atlas, Rand McNally & Co., 1956, 404. St. Jerome (A.D. 390) settled upon the idea that the term derives from the Hebrew gě-šěmānîm, as found in Isaiah 28.1, גֵּֽיא־שְׁמָנִים, meaning “valley of fatness.”[7]Or valley of oil. Many scholars today contend that the name originated from the Hebrew/Aramaic gat-šěmānî, meaning “oil press,” and suggest that the location was named for the presence of one or more olive oil presses used at the site.[8]Truman G. Madsen, “The Olive Press: A Symbol of Christ,” in The Allegory of the Olive Tree, ed. Stephen D. Ricks and John W. Welch. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994, 6; Pierre Benoit, The … Continue reading Luke omits the name Gethsemane in his account and simply calls the location a τóφoς (topos), meaning a spot or place.
Although the most recognized portion of the Kidron Valley lies between the Mount of Olives and the Old City, this valley actually runs for about 20 miles towards the Dead Sea, continuing in a south-eastern direction through the Judean desert in the West Bank, descending about 4,000 feet until it reaches the Dead Sea.
For those interested in the texts of the Bible that relate to the Kidron Valley, these may be useful in your study of this place and its significance to Christians and Jews:
Vessels made for Baal and Asherah burned in the fields of Kidron: 2 Kings 23.4-12
Jesus prays in Gethsemane: Matthew 26.36-46; Mark 14.32-42; Luke 22.39-46
Jesus is arrested: Matthew 26.47-56; Mark 14.42-52; Luke 22.39-53; John 18.1-12
References
| ↑1 | Kidron, קִדְרוֹן (Hebrew) Κεδρών (Greek) means “dark,” or “turbid.” The Hebrew word is related to qāḏar קָדַר a word associated with mourning, to be ashy (by implication to mourn in sackcloth and ashes), to be dark, or to cause to mourn. |
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| ↑2 | Brown, DM, 1:148; L. C. Fillion, The Life of Christ. London: B. Herder Book Company, 1941, 3:441- The descent into the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem was sharp. Although the brook Kidron rarely runs and when it does it is usually after a good rain storm, it has managed to cut a deep crevasse between the Mount of Olives and the hills upon which ancient Jerusalem was built. It is thought that in Jesus’ day, the ravine was about sixteen yards deeper than it is now, leaving the floor of the valley “several hundred feet below the area that in Jesus’ time was the outer court of the temple.” See: Erich H. Kiehl, The Passion of Our Lord, Wipf & Stock, 2002, 67. |
| ↑3 | Gethsemane, Γεθσημανῆ (Greek), a word meaning “an oil press,” of Aramaic origin, compare to gat גַּת (winepress, press) and shamen שֶׁמֶן (oil). |
| ↑4 | Kraeling informs us that “there is nothing in the scriptures to indicate how far up the Mount of Olives the place of Gethsemane is to be sought. One can therefore only say: somewhere on the other side of the Kidron on the hillside. If we are willing to listen to tradition at all in this matter, our choice can only be the oldest tradition of which there is record. In the fifth century and up to the time of the Crusades, Gethsemane was held to lie on the ground now occupied by the Church of the Tomb of the Virgin. The place of Jesus’ prayer, however, was held to lie a stone’s throw up the hill (see Luke 22.41). Kraeling, 1962, p. 404. |
| ↑5 | Joan Taylor, among others, has argued that the “oil press” name of Gethsemane refers to a cave on the hillside within the garden. Taylor points out that the synoptic gospels (Mark 14.32–42; Luke 22.39–46, Matthew 26.36–46) say that Jesus prayed in a garden, while John (18.1–6) says that Jesus “goes out” to be arrested. Taylor says Christ may have slept in a cave and in the morning “went out” into the garden. See: Joan Taylor, “The Garden of Gethsemane: Not the Place of Jesus’ Arrest.” Biblical Archaeology Review 21.26 (1995): 26–35, 62.
The earliest possible mention of a church at this location is by Eusebius of Caesarea (ca. 260–339 CE) in his “Onomasticon” (“On the Place Names of the Holy Scriptures”), thought to have been written about 324. In it, Eusebius writes: “Gethsimane (Gethsimani). Place where the Christ prayed before the passion. It is located at the Mt. of Olives where even now the faithful fervently utter prayers.” The Byzantine basilica and the garden next to it were first mentioned explicitly in the travelogue written by an anonymous pilgrim from Bordeaux, France, which was a seat of the early Christian church in the 330s. See: K. Kris Hirst, Garden of Gethsemane: History and Archaeology, Nov. 20, 2018. |
| ↑6 | Emil G. Kraeling, Bible Atlas, Rand McNally & Co., 1956, 404. |
| ↑7 | Or valley of oil. |
| ↑8 | Truman G. Madsen, “The Olive Press: A Symbol of Christ,” in The Allegory of the Olive Tree, ed. Stephen D. Ricks and John W. Welch. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994, 6; Pierre Benoit, The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. New York: Herder and Herder, 1969, 9; Frederic W. Farrar, The Life of Christ. Portland, Oregon: Fountain Publications, 1972, 574; Raymond E. Brown, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1970, 807. Emil Kraeling, though, warns that this interpretation “faces serious philological objections.” Emil Kraeling, Bible Atlas, 1962, 404. |