Rephaim, Vale of
Rephaim, Vale of
( , emek repha’m; , koilas Rhaphaem, , koilas ton Titanon): This was a fertile vale (Isa 17:5), to the Southwest of Jerusalem (Jos 15:8; Jos 18:16; the King James Version Valley of the Giants), on the border between Judah and Benjamin. Here David repeatedly defeated the invading Philistines (2Sa 5:18, 2Sa 5:22; 2Sa 23:13; 1Ch 11:15; 1Ch 14:9). It is located by Josephus between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (Ant., VII, iv, 1; xii, 4). It corresponds to the modern el-Bika, which falls away to the Southwest from the lip of the valley of Hinnom. The name in ancient times may perhaps have covered a larger area, including practically all the land between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, where the head-waters of Nahr Rubn are collected.