Valley of Rephaim

Biblical Text

The Valley of Rephaim appears in several books of the Old Testament.

• Tribal boundary: Joshua 15:8 records that the northern boundary of the tribe of Judah passed over the top of the mountain west of the Valley of Hinnom, describing that point as the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. Joshua 18:16 describes the same line as the southern boundary of the tribe of Benjamin.
• David's battles with the Philistines: According to 2 Samuel 5, when David was anointed king over all Israel, the Philistines came up and "spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim" (2 Samuel 5:18). David inquired of God, fought, and prevailed, and he named the place Baal-perazim (5:20). When the Philistines came up again into the same valley (5:22), God told him not to go up directly but to "fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees," attacking when he heard "the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees" (5:23–24). David struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer (5:25). The same events are recorded in 1 Chronicles 14:8–16.
• The water of Bethlehem: When the Philistine army was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim and had a garrison in Bethlehem, three of David's mighty men broke through the enemy camp and drew water from the well of Bethlehem. David would not drink it but poured it out to the LORD (2 Samuel 23:13–17; 1 Chronicles 11:15–19).
• A prophetic image: Isaiah 17:5 likens Israel under judgment to one "that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim."

Background

The valley is thought to have been a relatively broad, level tract extending southwest from Jerusalem toward Bethlehem. As Isaiah's image suggests, it appears to have contained fields where grain was harvested. For a Philistine army ascending from the coastal plain into the hill country, it was a strategic position from which the route between Jerusalem and Bethlehem could be cut off. In modern Jerusalem, a street and a valley still bear the name. Scholars differ, however, on the valley's precise location and extent in biblical times.

In Scripture, Rephaim can refer to an ancient people of great stature (Deuteronomy 2:11) and can also denote the shades of the dead (Isaiah 26:14). For this reason the King James Version renders the place name in Joshua 15:8 as "the valley of the giants." The text does not, however, explain how the valley's name is actually related to the Rephaim people.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The battles fought in the Valley of Rephaim form one episode in the process by which David's kingship overcame the Philistine threat and became firmly established. The text emphasizes that before each battle David first inquired of God. The place name does not appear in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Debated Points

• Order of events: 2 Samuel 5 records the capture of Jerusalem (5:6–10) before the battles with the Philistines. Some scholars, however, pointing to expressions such as David's going "down to the hold" (5:17), hold that the battles took place before Jerusalem was captured.
• Identity of the "mulberry trees": It is uncertain what kind of tree is meant by the Hebrew word rendered "mulberry trees" in the New Korean Revised Version. English translations likewise differ, rendering it as balsam trees, mulberry trees, and other species.
• Connection with giants: Claims that giants lived in this valley or that David fought giants here are conjectures drawn from the name; the text says nothing of the kind.

In the Korean Church

In Korean preaching, 2 Samuel 5:17–25 is frequently used as a text on inquiring of God anew, rather than relying on past methods, when facing the same enemy a second time. "The sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees" is cited as an expression of God going before His people. The account of the water from the well of Bethlehem in 2 Samuel 23 is used in sermons on devotion and loyalty.