Topical Bible: Valleys

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Topical Encyclopedia

In biblical literature, valleys are significant both geographically and theologically. They often serve as settings for pivotal events and carry symbolic meanings throughout the Scriptures. Valleys are typically depicted as places of fertility and abundance, but they can also represent trials, battles, and moments of decision.

Geographical Significance

Valleys in the Bible are often lush and fertile, providing essential resources for agriculture and habitation. For instance, the Valley of Jezreel is known for its rich soil and strategic location, making it a vital area for the tribes of Israel. Genesis 13:10 describes the Jordan Valley as "well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD," highlighting its agricultural abundance.

Symbolic Meanings

1. Fertility and Abundance: Valleys are frequently associated with prosperity and divine blessing. Psalm 65:13 states, "The meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are decked with grain; they shout for joy and sing." This imagery underscores the valleys as places of God's provision and blessing.

2. Trials and Tribulations: Valleys can also symbolize difficult times or challenges. The "Valley of the Shadow of Death" in Psalm 23:4 is a metaphor for perilous situations, yet it is also a place where God's presence provides comfort and guidance: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me."

3. Battles and Conflicts: Many significant battles in the Bible occur in valleys. The Valley of Elah is where David famously defeated Goliath (1 Samuel 17). This setting emphasizes the valley as a place of confrontation and divine intervention.

4. Decisions and Consequences: Valleys can be places of decision-making and consequence. The Valley of Jehoshaphat, mentioned in Joel 3:2, is depicted as a site of judgment where God will gather the nations. This valley symbolizes the ultimate decision and divine justice.

Notable Valleys in Scripture

· Valley of Achor: Known as a place of trouble due to Achan's sin (Joshua 7:24-26), it later becomes a symbol of hope and restoration in Hosea 2:15 : "There I will give her back her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope."

· Valley of Dry Bones: In Ezekiel 37, the prophet's vision of the valley filled with dry bones represents the restoration of Israel. This vision signifies God's power to bring life and renewal to what seems dead and hopeless.

· Valley of Hinnom: This valley, located near Jerusalem, became associated with idolatry and child sacrifice (2 Kings 23:10). It later served as a symbol of judgment and was referred to as Gehenna in the New Testament, representing hell or eternal punishment.

Theological Implications

Valleys in the Bible often serve as metaphors for the human experience, encompassing both the highs and lows of life. They remind believers of God's presence in times of abundance and adversity. The imagery of valleys encourages faithfulness and trust in God's provision and guidance, regardless of the circumstances. Through the various narratives and symbols associated with valleys, Scripture reveals the depth of God's interaction with His people, offering hope, judgment, and redemption.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

(n.) Plural of Valley.

Strong's Hebrew

1237. biqah -- a valley, plain
... Word Origin from baqa Definition a valley, plain NASB Word Usage broad valley
(1), plain (7), valley (8), valleys (4). plain, valley. ...
/hebrew/1237.htm - 6k

1516. gay -- a valley
... Word Origin of uncertain derivation Definition a valley NASB Word Usage
Ge-harashim* (1), Valley (8), valley (43), valleys (7). valley. ...
/hebrew/1516.htm - 6k

6010. emeq -- a vale
... valley. Word Origin from amoq Definition a vale NASB Word Usage Emek-keziz*
(1), Valley (3), valley (55), valleys (10). dale, vale ...
/hebrew/6010.htm - 6k

5158a. nachal -- torrent, torrent-valley, wadi
... 5), flowing (1), ravine (2), ravines (2), river (13), rivers (5), shaft (1), stream
(5), streams (5), torrent (7), torrents (3), valley (39), valleys (4), Wadi ...
/hebrew/5158a.htm - 5k

Library

The Valleys --Experiences of Suffering and Sacrifice
... 3. The Valleys"experiences of Suffering And Sacrifice. The Never-absent
Minor. Here the road begins to drop down into the valleys. ...
/.../quiet talks on following the christ/3 the valleysexperiences of suffering.htm

Verse 1. I am the Flower of the Field, and the Lily of the Valleys ...
... CHAPTER II. VERSE 1. I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys. ... I
am the lily of the valleys, which only grows in annihilated souls. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/guyon/song of songs of solomon/verse 1 i am the.htm

Psalm CIV.
... "Who sendeth out springs in the little valleys" (ver.10). ... For to hills and mountains,
valleys and little valleys are opposed in contrary shape. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm civ.htm

Kumaon.
... Here and there are valleys of some extent, table-lands and open fields are occasionally
seen; but over a great part of the province hill is separated from hill ...
/.../kennedy/life and work in benares and kumaon 1839-1877/chapter xx kumaon.htm

The Description of Jerusalem.
... 1. The city of Jerusalem was fortified with three walls, on such parts as were not
encompassed with unpassable valleys; for in such places it had but one wall. ...
/.../chapter 4 the description of.htm

Palestine Eighteen Centuries Ago
... Eighteen and a half centuries ago, and the land which now lies desolate"its bare,
grey hills looking into ill-tilled or neglected valleys, its timber cut down ...
/.../sketches of jewish social life/chapter 1 palestine eighteen centuries.htm

The Voice of Stern Rebuke
... The pastures are clothed with flocks; The valleys also are covered over with
corn; ... They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys. ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 10 the voice of.htm

Yea, Though I Walk in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I Will ...
... There are deep and darksome valleys, walled round on all sides by towering rocky
hills, which at times the shepherd cannot easily escape. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/callan/the shepherd of my soul/vii yea though i walk.htm

The Advance of Xerxes into Greece.
... a continuation of the continent, as it is a part of the same conformation of country,
and is separated from the main land only by submerged valleys on the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/abbott/xerxes/chapter viii the advance of.htm

The Early Training of a Race.
... This wild, treeless region is divided by rocky ranges running from east to west.
Parallel to these are deep, hot and for the most part waterless valleys. ...
/.../kent/the making of a nation/study xi the early training.htm

Thesaurus

Valleys (38 Occurrences)
...Valleys (38 Occurrences). ... Numbers 21:14 Therefore it is said in the book of the Wars
of Yahweh, "Vaheb in Suphah, the valleys of the Arnon, (WEB JPS ASV RSV). ...
/v/valleys.htm - 18k

Ravines (17 Occurrences)
... Ravines (17 Occurrences). Numbers 21:14 Therefore it is said in the book of the
Wars of Yahweh, "Vaheb in Suphah, the valleys of the Arnon, (See NIV). ...
/r/ravines.htm - 11k

Watercourses (14 Occurrences)
... of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh: Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains
and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I ...
/w/watercourses.htm - 11k

Shephelah (2 Occurrences)
... But South of Ajalon the low hills do not so hang upon the Central Range, but are
separated from the mountains of Judah by a series of valleys, both wide and ...
/s/shephelah.htm - 15k

Fountains (29 Occurrences)
... Deuteronomy 8:7 For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks
of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills ...
/f/fountains.htm - 15k

Water-courses (9 Occurrences)
... of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the
mountains and to the hills, to the water-courses and to the valleys: Behold, I ...
/w/water-courses.htm - 9k

Moabites (26 Occurrences)
... About 13 miles back from the mouth of the river the gorge divides, and farther back
it subdivides, so that several valleys are formed of diminishing depth as ...
/m/moabites.htm - 28k

Clefts (10 Occurrences)
... strongholds. (See NIV). Job 30:6 So that they dwell in frightful valleys,
In holes of the earth and of the rocks. (See JPS WBS YLT). ...
/c/clefts.htm - 9k

Cliffs (10 Occurrences)
... and in pits. (DBY NAS). Job 30:6 To dwell in the cliffs of the valleys,
in caves of the earth, and in the rocks. (KJV). Psalms 104 ...
/c/cliffs.htm - 9k

Arnon (23 Occurrences)
... Amorites. "The valleys of Arnon" in the next verse undoubtedly indicate
the numerous wadies contributary to the main stream. It ...
/a/arnon.htm - 17k

Resources

What does it mean that God is the God of the hills and valleys (1 Kings 20:28)? | GotQuestions.org

What is the lily of the valley (Song of Solomon 2:1)? | GotQuestions.org

Other Places in the Bible ' Article Index | GotQuestions.org

Valleys: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Valleys (38 Occurrences)

Numbers 14:25
Now the Amalekite and the Canaanite dwell in the Vale; tomorrow turn ye, and get you into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.'
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Numbers 21:14
Therefore it is said in the book of the Wars of Yahweh, "Vaheb in Suphah, the valleys of the Arnon,
(WEB JPS ASV RSV)

Numbers 21:15
the slope of the valleys that incline toward the dwelling of Ar, leans on the border of Moab."
(WEB JPS ASV BBE RSV)

Numbers 24:6
As valleys they are spread forth, as gardens by the riverside, as aloes which Yahweh has planted, as cedar trees beside the waters.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 8:7
For Yahweh your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of springs, and underground water flowing into valleys and hills;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 11:11
but the land, where you go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinks water of the rain of the sky,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Joshua 9:1
And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof;
(KJV WBS)

Joshua 12:8
In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:
(KJV WBS)

2 Samuel 23:30
Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the valleys of Gaash,
(BBE)

1 Kings 18:5
Ahab said to Obadiah, "Go through the land, to all the springs of water, and to all the brooks. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we not lose all the animals."
(See NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 20:28
A man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, "Thus says Yahweh,'Because the Syrians have said, "Yahweh is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys;" therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.'"
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 2:16
and say unto him, 'Lo, we pray thee, there are with thy servants fifty men, sons of valour: let them go, we pray thee, and they seek thy lord, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and doth cast him on one of the hills, or into one of the valleys;' and he saith, 'Ye do not send.'
(YLT)

1 Chronicles 12:15
These are those who went over the Jordan in the first month, when it had overflowed all its banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 27:29
and over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai:
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Job 6:15
My friends have been false like a stream, like streams in the valleys which come to an end:
(BBE)

Job 22:24
And put your gold in the dust, even your gold of Ophir among the rocks of the valleys;
(BBE YLT)

Job 30:6
So that they dwell in frightful valleys, and in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE WBS YLT NAS)

Job 39:10
Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness? Or will he till the valleys after you?
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 65:13
The pastures are covered with flocks. The valleys also are clothed with grain. They shout for joy! They also sing.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 74:15
You made valleys for fountains and springs; you made the ever-flowing rivers dry.
(BBE)

Psalms 104:8
The mountains rose, the valleys sank down, to the place which you had assigned to them.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 104:10
He sends forth springs into the valleys. They run among the mountains.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Psalms 110:6
He will be judge among the nations, the valleys will be full of dead bodies; the head over a great country will be wounded by him.
(BBE)

Song of Songs 1:17
The beams of our houses 'are' cedars, Our rafters 'are' firs, I 'am' a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys!
(YLT)

Song of Songs 2:1
I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 7:19
They shall come, and shall all rest in the desolate valleys, in the clefts of the rocks, on all thorn hedges, and on all pastures.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT)

Isaiah 22:7
It happened that your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen set themselves in array at the gate.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 41:18
I will open rivers on the bare heights, and springs in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 57:5
you who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree; who kill the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Jeremiah 49:4
Why do you glory in the valleys, your flowing valley, backsliding daughter? who trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come to me?
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 6:3
and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh: Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 7:16
But those of those who escape shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one in his iniquity.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 31:12
Strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: on the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 32:5
I will lay your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your height.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 35:8
I will fill its mountains with its slain: in your hills and in your valleys and in all your watercourses shall they fall who are slain with the sword.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 36:4
therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh: Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the cities that are forsaken, which are become a prey and derision to the residue of the nations that are all around;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 36:6
Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and tell the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my wrath, because you have borne the shame of the nations:
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Micah 1:4
The mountains melt under him, and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like waters that are poured down a steep place.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Valleys

Valleys of Israel Well Tilled and Fruitful

Valleys of the Church of Christ

Valleys: (Dark) of Affliction and Death

Valleys: (Filling up of) of Removing all Obstructions to the Gospel

Valleys: (Fruitful and Well Watered) of the Tents of Israel

Valleys: Abounded With: Doves

Valleys: Abounded With: Fountains and Springs

Valleys: Abounded With: Lily of the Valley

Valleys: Abounded With: Ravens

Valleys: Abounded With: Rocks and Caves