KIDRON (lad 'ron), (Heb. 177, kid-rone', d usky, gloomy). The brook or winter torrent which flows through the valley of Jehoshaphat (as it is now called), on the east side of Jerusalem.
'The brook Kidron' is the only name by which 'the valley' itself is known in Scripture ; for it is by no means certain, nor even probable, that the name 'valley of Jehoshaphat' in Joel (iii :12) was intended to apply to this valley.
(1) Brook. The word rendered, 'brook' (2 Sam. xv:23; Kings ii:37, etc.), is nachal, which may be taken as equivalent to the Arabic Wady, meaning a stream and its bed or valley, or properly the valley of a stream. even when the stream is dry. The Septuagint, Josephus, and the Evangelists (John xviii :1 ), designate it xelimeAos, a storm brook, or winter torrent.
The brook Kidron derives all its importance from its vicinity to the holy city, being nothing more than the dry bed of a winter torrent, bear ing marks of being occasionally swept over by a large volume of water. No stream flows through it, except during the heavy rains of winter, when the waters descend into it from the neighboring hills. But even in winter there is no constant flow, and the resident missionaries assured Dr. Robinson that they had not during several years seen a stream running through the valley.
(2) Ravine. The ravine in which the stream is collected takes its origin above a mile to the northeast of the city. This ravine deepens as it proceeds, and forms an angle opposite the tem ple. It then takes a southeasterly direction, and, passing between the village of Siloam and the city, runs off in the direction of the Dead Sea, through a singularly wild gorge, the course of which few travelers have traced (Pictorial Pales tine, Introd. p. 194). It is in this ravine that the celebrated monastery of Santa Saba is situ ated. Mr. Madden, who went through the val ley to the Dead Sea, thus speaks of the char acter which it assumes as it approaches the mon astery :=After traversing for the last hour a wild ravine, formed by two rugged perpendicular mountains, the sides of which contained innumer able caverns, which once formed a sort of troglo dyte city, in which the early Christians resided, the sight of the convent in this desolate place was like a glimpse of paradise.'
(3) Bed of the Kidron. On leaving the con vent the next day he says that he 'marched through the bed of the Kidron, along the horrible ravine which he entered the day before.' (Dr. Robinson, Biblical Researches, ii, 249), on pass ing along the westcrn borders of the lake, came 'to the deep and almost impassable ravine of the Kidron, running down by Mar Saba, and thence called \Vady-er-Rahib, "Alonk'sValley;" but hcre also bearing the name of Wady en-Nar,"Fire Val ley." At this place if was running east southeast, in a deep, narrow channel, between perpendicular walls of rock, as if worn away by the rushing waters between these desolate chalky hills. There was, however, no water in it then ; nor had there apparently been any for a long time.' (Barclay, City of the Great King, pp. 3o2, sq.) At last its dreary course brings the water (when there is any) to the precipice above the Dead Sea, info which it falls. The valley is only twenty miles long, but it has a descent of three thousand, nine hundred and twelve feet.
(4) Recent Explorations. Recent excava tions have brought to light the fact that the true bed of the Kidron is about forty feet lower than its present bed, and about seventy feet nearer to the sanctuary wall.
Reference is made to it in 2 Sam. xv :23 ; Kings ii :37 ; xv :t3 ; 2 Kings xi:16; xxiii:4; 2 Chron. xxix :16.