Qumran and the Valley of Achor
This article will attempt to answer questions pertaining to places referenced in texts such as sefer Yehoshua/Joshua. These places include Beit Hoglah, Sucacah, Gilgal and the Valley of Achor to name a few.
What you see below is a map of the area from Jericho to Kibbutz Kaliya. It shows the modern paved road out of Jericho (shown as a narrow red line) as it heads south. This modern north/south road connects with the main highway that runs east/west (shown as a wide red line on the map). The main highway was the route (ascent) toward Jerusalem in biblical times from places to the east like the Jordan River Valley. You’ll see why this is important as we proceed.
If you travel south from Jericho, and then turn east on the main highway, it takes you to the center of the Jordan River Valley. Here the road turns abruptly south. When it reaches the north end of Yam HaMelakh, it heads back toward the west, before finally turning south, at which point it runs along the coast of Yam HaMelakh (the ‘Salt Sea’ or ‘Dead Sea’).
Most of this main highway (at least the part that is in the center of the Jordan River Valley) is not shown on the map because it is too far east. However, if you look at the map below, you will note there is a more direct route south because the road out of Jericho crosses over this main highway and continues directly south. The road out of Jericho is an ancient road that goes back to biblical times. Today it is paved most of the way.
If you have a jeep you can stay on this road and travel all the way to Kibbutz Kalia/Kalya. Why would you need a jeep? Because after it passes Almog, the paving disappears and it becomes a dirt road (shown by the wide beige line on the map below). This road descends into Wadi Og (for those who don’t know, a wadi is a dry river bed). During the rainy season these dry riverbeds often fill with raging torrents of water that come down out of the mountains and rush toward Yam HaMelakh. Either way, the terrain is largely inaccessible to normal vehicles even when dry.
The dirt portion of the road is likely all that remains of the ‘ancient' road from Jericho to Sucacah. The rest has disappeared under the modern paving. You may have noticed that the valley we mentioned above starts near, and follows the beige, then red outline of the road. It continues south until it reaches Kibbutz Kalia where the paving begins again.
North
East West
South
WADI OG
Some believe that the wadi was named after Og the giant. However, this is a modern myth. The name of this wadi is H(OG)lah, or just “ohg" for short. In the Tanach (Joshua 15:6) we read: “...the border [when referring to the border between Yehudah and Binyamin] went (as far north as) Beit Hoglah" (Wadi Hoglah) which was the habitation for a species of partridge/quail (חָגְלָ֔ה/Hoglah) that gives rise to the name. Beit Hoglah provides this partridge with water, food and a place of habitation among its steep cliffs (Beit Hoglah).
The border of Yehuda/Judah and Binyamin follows Wadi Hoglah as it comes down from higher elevations. It continues east until it reaches a small tributary (shown as a dotted green line below) then leaves the wadi behind and turns southeast until it reaches the long valley we mentioned above, that heads due south (we have traced this long valley with a thin magenta line to make it easier to identify on the map below.) The cliffs above the valley appear as a dark brown contour on the map. You will note that it continues south and eventually follows the coast of Yam HaMelakh. When this valley reaches the middle of the wide beige line, there is a natural pillar of stone. At the bottom of the pillar you can see the remains of a stone column (the column was at one time attached to the pillar and it extended much higher). This pillar is Evan Bohan (the stone of Bohan) that marked the border of Yehuda south of Wadi Og. As it says: "“and the border went up to Beth Hoglah [before heading west] and [so it] passed... north of Beth-Aravah [and] Evan Bohan…” (e.g. the stone pillar just mentioned) Joshua 15:6-7. You can see Evan Bohan on the map below, with the location of the pillar marked with an “x”.
North
East West
South
THE VALLEY OF ACHOR
There are several sources that would suggest that the long valley running south (that we’ve traced with a magenta line on the above map) is the Valley of Achor. The first is the Copper Scroll. Cryptic though it may be, it references the valley in the context of this general area: “In the ruins which are in the Valley of Achor” (Col 1, Line 1) “on the road from Jericho to Sucacah” (Col 5, Line 13) (Waltors Translation).
In Sefer Yehoshua (Joshua 7:24) it says “they went up to the Valley of Achor.” Generally, one does not go up to a valley. However in this case, they were traveling westward from biblical Gilgal. The aravah to the immediate north of Yam HaMelakh is the lowest “elevation" on earth, so they had to "go up” to get to this particular valley (Gilgal is where Israel crossed the Yarden/Jordan River in the time of Yehoshua ben Nun).
In speaking of the border mentioned above, we quoted the Tanach which says “and the border went up to Beth Hoglah and [so it] passed... north of Beth-Aravah; ...to Even Bohan... [then from there it went even further] north toward Debir from the Valley of Achor… [until it] faced Gilgal [which was] before the ascent to (Maale) Adummim” (Joshua 15:6,7). It doesn’t get much more precise.
So the Valley of Achor ends before getting to the modern (at that time ancient) east/west highway to Jerusalem. The modern city of Maale Adumim is on this route as you head toward Jerusalem. Biblical Gilgal was southeast of this ascent. You may have noticed that the northern end of the dark brown contour is just below Wadi Og, which is just below the ascent to (Maale) Adumim. It may help to know that the “Gilgal” shown on modern maps is much further to the north. It is not the biblical Gilgal of Yehoshua ben Nun mentioned in the above passage for what should by now be obvious reasons. Given the above, this valley is likely “Achor” and the road, in fact, the ancient road from Jericho to Sucacah. Despite this, some have asserted otherwise. For example, some believe that Hyrcania may have been Sucacah.
Hyrcania is situated high above, in yet another valley, and it too has an ancient road, although the road through this valley is 10 to 15 kilometers to the west of Qumran. It is easy to see how some might draw this conclusion. If Hyrcania was Sucacah, then the valley shown as a dark brown contour on the map could not be the Valley of Achor. The problem with Hyrcania being Sucacah, is that it was built as a fortress during the second Temple Period, long after Shimur HaLevi and his companions wrote the Copper Scroll, wherein reference to Sucacah was made. It simply did not exist at the time. There are other references as well, that we’ll get into in a moment.
Others believe that Qumran is Sucacah, which would mean that the valley (shown on our maps) was likely that mentioned in the scroll (“In the ruins which are in the Valley of Achor”). The archaeological “ruins” at Qumran would seem to confirm this. The problem is that Qumran was built around the same time as Hyrcania, and the word “ruins” does not necessarily mean archaeological ruins. Rather, it may be in the context of a desolate place where no one would want to live, except under very unusual circumstances. Was Sucacah the village of Qumran? None of the references in the scroll are sufficient to draw conclusions about Sucacah or the Valley of Achor. However, the portions of the Tanach we quoted above would seem sufficient. Before we draw any conclusions, let's consult a different source altogether. To do this, we have to answer two questions and provide a bit more background information.
The valley where the village/fortress of Qumran was built, is characterized by a general lack of water. Not until you get to En Feshka (also called Ein Tzukim which is further to the south) do you find an abundance of water. At Ein Feshka there are streams of water that flow through the area year-round; pools of fresh water; tall trees are everywhere. This is not true of Qumran and even less true of Hyrcania. The locations to the north of En Feshka are dry as a bone. The only water that continuously flows through these places is found in underground streams, if at all. These would need to be diverted into cisterns to provide a reasonably stable water supply.
Whether the streams are above ground, or whether they are below the surface, they all converge near the shore of the “Sea of Salt,” which as anyone in the area knows is not potable. The water has a much higher saline content than the ocean and it is saturated with minerals as well. If you have a cut or similar abrasion on your skin, and try to swim in it, you’ll feel the pain. Drink it, and you may swell up like a balloon. What on earth does this have to do with ACHOR?
Where exactly is Achor? Or more appropriately: What is ACHOR? What does it mean? Why would something be “ACHOR” in the first place? The word is generally translated as trouble. In Hebrew however, letters themselves have specific meaning. The letters of Achor allude to something that is pure that becomes impure, or something clean that becomes unclean. In a sense this portends “trouble,” but the more pressing question is why? Why does this valley “spell” trouble? If you’ve spent anytime in the hot sun of this valley, the lack of fresh drinkable water definitely presents a problem. Might the letters of ACHOR refer to the fresh-clean water coming down from the mountains that mixes with the salty, mineral-laden waters along the shore of the Dead Sea making it un-drinkable? Is it because clean water quickly becomes unclean in this valley?
If you look at the contour shown on our map, you can see that the valley runs along the shore of the Dead Sea. It starts just south of Wadi Hoglah but continues well south of Qumran and Ein Feshka. Some contend that the valley extends further north as well, perhaps even above Jericho. However, Jericho is so far north that the shores of Yam HaMelakh become quite distant. Because of this distance from the Dead Sea, the waters coming down from Wadi Kelt do not become salty. Jericho therefore has a supply of natural fresh water and it flows above-ground year-round. However, if you head south from Yericho, you won’t find another place flowing with water until you reach Einot Tzukim (which means “cliff springs”). This is well south of Qumran. At Einot Tzukim, the water is even more abundant. In fact, there is so much water, that today people travel from Jericho/Yericho just to swim in its natural pools. To positively identify the Valley of Achor, we need to understand what is Sucacah, and why the road leading to it is important.
SUCACAH
Where is Sucacah? Was it Qumran as some contend? As we did in the case of Achor, perhaps we should be asking not where, but what is Sucacah? As we mentioned above, Qumran is dry as a bone. Yes, the people who lived there had a water source, but it was likely underground. Available water was not nearly as abundant as it would have been in a place with springs, where above-ground streams flow year-round, or where pools of fresh water accumulate in the shade of its trees. At Qumran, there is no evidence of trees, at least not like those found at Einot Tzukim. Nor at Hyrcania for that matter. Here again we turn to the Hebrew letters. The root of Sucacah is succah. You know what a succah is. It is a place of shelter; a place where you find a certain amount of natural shade; a place to protect you from the sun. Is it possible that Sucacah is the name of the place where weary souls could always find water, a place where they could rest in the shade of its trees to shield themselves from the searing hot sun in the desolate valley where fresh water quickly turned bitter as it mingled with the waters of the salt sea?
Qumran was made habitable by those who decided to live there, but Ein Feshka (Ein Tzukim) was naturally habitable. You could get wet and cool off in its natural pools while under the shade of its many trees. Could the natural springs, pools and the trees of En Feshka have been "the succah” that made it Sucacah?
In many ways the question is largely irrelevant because either way, the nature and location of the valley that runs north/south along the shore is “Achor” (a place where fresh water quickly becomes tainted water). The exact location of Sucacah, whether it be Qumran or "the Paradise" further south (at En Feshka) is not relevant to our excavations. We mention it for those who are interested in such things. When we find mention of certain places in ancient documents it helps to provide orientation and context.
PROJECT QUMRAN
and the Mystery of the Judean Man-Made Tunnels