The "Valley of Slaughter" is a term found in the prophetic writings of Jeremiah, specifically in Jeremiah 7:30-34 and Jeremiah 19:1-15. This term is used to describe a place of impending judgment and devastation due to the idolatrous practices of the people of Judah.

Biblical Context:

In Jeremiah 7:30-34, the prophet Jeremiah delivers a message from the LORD concerning the abominations committed by the people of Judah. They have defiled the house of the LORD by setting up idols and have built high places in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, a detestable practice in the eyes of God. The LORD declares that this valley will be called the "Valley of Slaughter" because it will become a place of great carnage and death as a result of divine judgment. The Berean Standard Bible (BSB) states:

“For the sons of Judah have done evil in My sight, declares the LORD. They have set up their abominations in the house that bears My Name and have defiled it. They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it enter My mind. So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when it will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. For they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.” (Jeremiah 7:30-32, BSB)

In Jeremiah 19, the LORD instructs Jeremiah to take a potter's clay jar and some of the elders and priests to the Valley of Ben Hinnom. There, he is to proclaim the words of the LORD, warning of the disaster that will come upon Jerusalem and Judah because they have forsaken God and filled the place with the blood of the innocent. The valley will become a burial ground, and the city will be desolate. The BSB records:

“Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the men who accompany you, and you are to proclaim to them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I will shatter this people and this city like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them. This is what I will do to this place and to its residents, declares the LORD. I will make this city like Topheth.’” (Jeremiah 19:10-12, BSB)

Historical and Theological Significance:

The Valley of Slaughter, identified with the Valley of Ben Hinnom, holds significant historical and theological implications. Historically, it was a site associated with the worship of foreign gods, particularly through child sacrifice, which was strictly forbidden in the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 18:21; Deuteronomy 12:31). Theologically, the Valley of Slaughter serves as a powerful symbol of God's judgment against idolatry and unfaithfulness. It underscores the seriousness with which God views the covenant relationship with His people and the consequences of violating that covenant.

The prophetic imagery of the Valley of Slaughter also foreshadows the ultimate judgment and the need for repentance. It serves as a stark reminder of the holiness of God and the call for His people to live in obedience and faithfulness, turning away from all forms of idolatry and sin.Valley of Slaughter

VALLEY OF SLAUGHTER

See HINNOM, VALLEY OF; SLAUGHTER, VALLEY OF; TOPHETH.

The Final Conflict.
... 15, 16. This was the name of the valley at the foot of Mount Megiddo
(Judg.5:19), which was famous as a valley of slaughter. In it ...
/.../bliss/a brief commentary on the apocalypse/the final conflict.htm

The Eternity of God
... while the godly suffer. Goats climb upon high mountains, while Christ's sheep
are in the valley of slaughter. But here is the comfort ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/3 the eternity of god.htm

Flight into Egypt and Slaughter of the Bethlehem Children.
... There were at that time about one million Jews in the Nile valley. ... Matthew does not
mean that Jeremiah predicted the slaughter at Bethlehem; but that his words ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xiv flight into egypt and.htm

The Cruelty of the Idumeans when they were Gotten into the Temple ...
... bound them, and shut them up in prison, and put off their slaughter, in hopes ... They
also threw him down from the temple immediately into the valley beneath it. ...
/.../chapter v the cruelty of.htm

Yea, Though I Walk in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I Will ...
... And though we pass through the valley and shadow of death, we need fear no ... God, go
bravely forth to the battle of life, or to the slaughter, calmly, hopefully ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/callan/the shepherd of my soul/vii yea though i walk.htm

Gethsemane
... there were) of the time of Jesus, since all trees in that valley - those also ...
unconsciously nor of necessity, but as the Lamb of God, He went to the slaughter. ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xii gethsemane.htm

The Prophet --His Youth and his Call.
... The floor of the Jordan valley is not visible, but across its felt gulf the ... in Anathoth,
and the other Saul who breathed threatenings and slaughter against the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/lecture iii the prophethis youth.htm

Jesus is Arrested.
... cords, as a butcher would strike the beast he is about to slaughter; and they ... this
bridge, but went by a private path which ran through the Valley of Josaphat ...
/.../the dolorous passion of our lord jesus christ/chapter iii jesus is arrested.htm

The Comparison, Found in the Gospel of St. ...
... I was led as a harmless lamb to the slaughter and knew it not: they took counsel ...
even when Moses, at the command of the Lord, sent spies to the Valley of the ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/chapter xii the comparison found.htm

Psalm LX.
... how transporting....Perchance because of the sheep of Jacob, "the valley of Tabernacles ...
to their might the Gentiles yielded, and when the slaughter had been ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm lx.htm

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