Places in the Bible Today:

Valley of Zephathah

Data

Translated Namesvalley of Zepah, Valley of Zephathah, valley of Zephathah, Zephathah Valley
Typevalley
NotesWadi el Feranj and Wadi Safiyeh are the upper and lower sections of the Nahal Guvrin, respectively
Geo Data KML (for Google Earth)
GeoJSON (for GIS applications)

4 Possible Identifications

  1. Wadi Safiyeh (modern): 50% confidence

    1. aerial panorama looking east at Wadi SafiyehWadi Safiyeh

  2. another name for the Valley of Elah (ancient): less than 10% confidence

    1. panorama looking east of the Valley of ElahValley of Elah

  3. Wadi el Feranj (modern): less than 10% confidence

    1. panorama of Wadi el FeranjWadi el Feranj

  4. not a proper name (north): less than 10% confidence

Verses (1)

2Chr 14:10

Linked Data Identifiers

SourceIdentifier
Logos FactbookValley of Zephathah
OpenBible.info (2007)Valley of Zephathah
OpenBible.infoa6bf8d4 (Valley of Zephathah)
TIPNRZephathah_Valley@2Ch.14.10

Sources

  1. Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (1992): Zephathah (place)
  2. Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2013): Zephathah
  3. Baly, Atlas of the Biblical World (1971): Zephathah, valley of
  4. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000): Zephathah
  5. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2003)
  6. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1979): Zephathah
  7. IVP Atlas of Bible History (2006): Zephathah, Valley of
  8. IVP Old Testament Bible Background Commentary (2000): 2Chr 14:10
  9. New Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary (2009)
  10. New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (1988): Zephathah
  11. Oxford Bible Atlas, Fourth Edition (2007)
  12. Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible (1956): Zephathah, Valley of
  13. Zondervan Atlas of the Bible (2010)
  14. Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible (2010)
  15. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (2009): 2Chr 14:9-15

Confidence Trends over Time

This chart indicates how confidence in the identifications is changing over time. Each dot (connected by a dotted line) reflects the confidence of an identification over the preceding ten years (e.g., the 2009 dot reflects scholarship from 2000 to 2009), and the corresponding solid line reflects a best-fit line for the identification. Confidences that cluster near or below 0% indicate low confidence. Because of the small dataset, it's best to use this chart for general trends; if one identification is trending much higher than the others (in this case, Wadi Safiyeh), then you can probably have higher confidence in the identification. This chart only reflects the sources I consulted (listed above), not an exhaustive review of the literature.

Thumbnail Image Credits

Amos Meron, Shabatashtiot, Anghv

About

This page attempts to identify all the possible locations where this biblical place could be. The confidence levels add up to less than 100%, indicating that the modern location is uncertain. It's best to think about the confidences in relative rather than absolute terms. Often they reflect different schools of thought, each confident in their identifications.