Valley of HINNOM [Gehennah]

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That Ghennah (lit "the valley of Hinnom") actually existed as a physical location is not contented amongst scholars. It seems historically that the eastern extremity of the valley of Hinnom junctioned with the with the ravine of the Kidron. An excavators’ study of southern portion of the Kidron Valley, revealed that that area had indeed been used as some kind of dump in ancient times (“The Jerusalem City-Dump in the Late Second Temple Period, Israel Exploration Journal 53 [2003], 17).

In view of the above there is no reason to doubt Kimhi's reference that nearby Hinnom was eventally used for similar purposes during a later period. In any case Jesus' negative references to the area would have been redundant had the first century inhabitants of Jérusalem been unfamiliar with the area or its use.