Valley of Josaphat

By one interpretation, this describes the place where, in the presence of Jehoshaphat (Josaphat), King of Judah, Yahweh will annihilate the Gentile coalition of Moab, Ammon and Edom.

Eusebius (in his Onomasticon) and St. Jerome strengthen this view, while Cyril of Alexandria appears to indicate a different place; early Jewish tradition denied the reality of this valley.

What has lent colour to this popular belief is the fact that since the time of the kings of Judah, Cedron has been the principal necropolis of Jerusalem.

Josias scattered upon the tombs of the children of Israel the ashes of the idol of the goddess Astarte which he burned in Cedron (2 Kings 23:4).

The chapter in question describes how the nations that afflicted Judah and Jerusalem during their Babylonian captivity and return from exile shall receive Divine judgment.

In this historic map of biblical Jerusalem, the Cedron valley (German Kidron Thal oder Josaphat Thal – Kidron Valley or Josaphat Valley) runs along the eastern wall of the city ( Meyers Konversationslexikon , 1885).