(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 Chronicles 29:16;
30:14); and in the time of Josiah this valley was the common cemetery of
the city (2 Kings 23:6; comp. Jeremiah 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.
- KINAH an elegy, a city in the extreme south of Judah (Joshua 15:22). It
was probably not far from the Dead Sea, in the Wady Fikreh. - KINE (Hebrews sing. parah, i.e., “fruitful”), mentioned in Pharaoh’s
dream (Genesis 41: 18). Here the word denotes “buffaloes,” which fed on
the reeds and sedge by the river’s brink. - KING is in Scripture very generally used to denote one invested with
authority, whether extensive or limited. There were thirty-one kings in
Canaan (Joshua 12:9, 24), whom Joshua subdued. Adonibezek subdued
seventy kings (Judges 1:7). In the New Testament the Roman emperor is
spoken of as a king (1 Peter 2:13, 17); and Herod Antipas, who was only a
tetrarch, is also called a king (Matthew 14:9; Mark 6:22).
This title is applied to God (1 Timothy 1:17), and to Christ, the Son of
God (1 Timothy 6:15, 16; Matthew 27:11). The people of God are also
called “kings” (Daniel 7:22, 27; Matthew 19:28; Revelation 1:6, etc.).
Death is called the “king of terrors” (Job 18:14).
Jehovah was the sole King of the Jewish nation (1 Samuel 8:7; Isaiah
33:22). But there came a time in the history of that people when a king