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Valley of the Kedron

Valley of the Kedron


‎We have passed and repassed this valley many times as we have followed with our notes and illustrations the “Earthly Footsteps of the Man of Galilee.” Every view of it calls up associations pathetic and sacred. From time immemorial the Valley of Jehoshaphat or Kedron has been a place of burial for the Jews. According to tradition the Virgin Mary was entombed in this lonely and desolate ravine. Here rests the body of the Prophet Zacharias, who was slain between the temple and the altar, and here also is the tomb of Absalom, so imperious and wayward, and yet so loved and wept by his father. The tomb to Absalom, which stands in this valley, is said to have been constructed by David. Of course, this has no foundation except in fancy. This whole region is a place of tombs, and the Garden of Gethsemane quietly blooms here, as if, some one has said, forming the conclusion of some melancholy chapter in a history of great events. These tombs of prophets, princes and kings bring before us the condensed history of Israel. The west side of the valley is a lofty limestone cliff, and supports the walls of Jerusalem. The east side lifts itself into the Mount of Olives. The cliffs on either side contain the ruins of chapels, oratories and mosques. “From the dullness of Jerusalem,” says Chateaubriand, “whence no smoke arises, no noise proceeds; from the solitude of these hills, where no living creature is to be seen; from the ruinous state of all these tombs—overthrown, broken and half open—you would imagine that the last trump had already sounded, and that the Valley of Jehoshaphat was about to render up its dead.”

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