Kidron

2 definitions found

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Kidron
     = Kedron = Cedron, turbid, the winter torrent which flows
     through the Valley of Jehoshaphat, on the eastern side of
     Jerusalem, between the city and the Mount of Olives. This valley
     is known in Scripture only by the name "the brook Kidron." David
     crossed this brook bare-foot and weeping, when fleeing from


     Absalom (2 Sam. 15:23, 30), and it was frequently crossed by our
     Lord in his journeyings to and fro (John 18:1). Here Asa burned
     the obscene idols of his mother (1 Kings 15:13), and here
     Athaliah was executed (2 Kings 11:16). It afterwards became the
     receptacle for all manner of impurities (2 Chr. 29:16; 30:14);
     and in the time of Josiah this valley was the common cemetery of
     the city (2 Kings 23:6; comp. Jer. 26:23).
     
       Through this mountain ravine no water runs, except after heavy
     rains in the mountains round about Jerusalem. Its length from
     its head to en-Rogel is 2 3/4 miles. Its precipitous, rocky
     banks are filled with ancient tombs, especially the left bank
     opposite the temple area. The greatest desire of the Jews is to
     be buried there, from the idea that the Kidron is the "valley of
     Jehoshaphat" mentioned in Joel 3:2.
     
       Below en-Rogel the Kidron has no historical or sacred
     interest. It runs in a winding course through the wilderness of
     Judea to the north-western shore of the Dead Sea. Its whole
     length, in a straight line, is only some 20 miles, but in this
     space its descent is about 3,912 feet. (See {KEDRON}.)
     
       Recent excavations have brought to light the fact that the old
     bed of the Kidron is about 40 feet lower than its present bed,
     and about 70 feet nearer the sanctuary wall.
     

From Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's) [hitchcock]:

  Kidron, obscure; making black or sad