Beracah, Valley Of

BERACAH, VALLEY OF [isbe]

BERACAH, VALLEY OF - be-ra'-ka, ber'-a-ka (the King James Version Berachah; `emeq berkhah; koilas eulogias): After the victory of Jehoshaphat and his people over Moab and Ammon, "On the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they blessed Yahweh: therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah (i.e. of blessing) unto this day" (2 Ch 20:26). In the Wady `Arrub there is a ruin called Breikut and the valley in its proximity receives the same name. This is on the main road from Hebron to Jerusalem and not far from Tekoa; it suits the narrative well (see PEF, III, 352).

E. W. G. Masterman