Valley of Achor
Valley of Achor is a location mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Al Buqay’ah. It appears across 5 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
The Valley of Achor first appears in Scripture at a pivotal and solemn moment in Israel's history. Following the miraculous crossing of the Jordan and the fall of Jericho, the Israelite community suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of the men of Ai (Joshua 7). The cause was soon revealed: Achan son of Carmi had secretly taken devoted things from Jericho, a Babylonian garment, silver, and gold, in direct violation of God's command. After Achan's sin was exposed by lot, he and his family were brought to this valley, where they were stoned and burned, and a large pile of rocks was raised over them. The very name Achor means "trouble," commemorating how Achan "troubled" Israel (Joshua 7:26). Despite this dark beginning, later prophets transformed the valley's symbolism. Hosea 2:15 promises that God will make the Valley of Achor "a door of hope" in the restoration of Israel, and Isaiah 65:10 envisions it as a resting place for God's people in the coming age of blessing, a remarkable redemptive reversal from judgment to hope.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The Valley of Achor is widely identified with Al Buqay'ah, a broad plain in the Judean wilderness west of the Dead Sea, situated between the Judean hills and the Jordan Rift Valley. Archaeological surveys of the region, including work by Frank Moore Cross and others, have identified Iron Age sites consistent with early Israelite settlement patterns. The valley's topography, a flat alluvial basin, fits the biblical narrative of a public assembly and execution site. No specific archaeological remains have been confidently linked to the Achan narrative, but the area's strategic position on early Israelite routes from Jericho into the highlands supports its historical plausibility.
Verse Appearances (5)
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]