Places in the Bible Today:
Valley of Aven
Data
| Translated Names | Aven, Valley of Aven, valley of Aven, Wicked Valley |
|---|---|
| Type | valley |
| Notes | may be Beqaa Valley; Aven may refer specifically to Baalbek |
| Geo Data |
KML (for Google Earth) GeoJSON (for GIS applications) |
3 Possible Identifications
- about 12 km around Baalbek (modern): 65% confidence
- Wadi Qelt (modern): less than 10% confidence
- another name for Beth-eden (ancient): less than 10% confidence
Verses (1)
Amos 1:5
Linked Data Identifiers
| Source | Identifier |
|---|---|
| Logos Factbook | Valley of Aven |
| OpenBible.info (2007) | Valley of Aven |
| OpenBible.info | a0c71dc (Valley of Aven) |
| TIPNR | Aven_Valley@Amo.1.5 |
| UBS Names Database | ot ID_622 |
Sources
- Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (1992): Aven (place)
- Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2013): Aven
- Baly, Atlas of the Biblical World (1971): Aven, plain of
- Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000): Aven
- HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (2011): Aven
- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1979)
- IVP Old Testament Bible Background Commentary (2000): Amos 1:5
- New Bible Dictionary (1996): Aven
- New Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary (2009)
- New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (1988): Aven
- Revised Expositor’s Bible Commentary (2012): Amos 1:5
- Tyndale Bible Dictionary (2001): Aven
- Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible (1956): Aven, Plain (Valley) of
- Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia (1975): Aven
- Zondervan Atlas of the Bible (2010)
- Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible (2010)
Confidence Trends over Time
This chart indicates how confidence in the identifications is changing over time. Each dot (connected by a dotted line) reflects the confidence of an identification over the preceding ten years (e.g., the 2009 dot reflects scholarship from 2000 to 2009), and the corresponding solid line reflects a best-fit line for the identification. Confidences that cluster near or below 0% indicate low confidence. Because of the small dataset, it's best to use this chart for general trends; if one identification is trending much higher than the others (in this case, about 12 km around Baalbek), then you can probably have higher confidence in the identification. This chart only reflects the sources I consulted (listed above), not an exhaustive review of the literature.
Thumbnail Image Credits
Saadedine AL SAIDI, Hardscarf, Bertramz
About
This page attempts to identify all the possible locations where this biblical place could be. The confidence levels add up to less than 100%, indicating that the modern location is uncertain. It's best to think about the confidences in relative rather than absolute terms. Often they reflect different schools of thought, each confident in their identifications.
The isobands you see on the map (gray areas with dark borders) attempt to give you confidence where a region is. Because many ancient regions aren't precisely defined, I consulted atlases to determine where the biblical region is located and used that data to build the isobands. The smaller isobands reflect more confidence that the given isoband is in the region, while the larger isobands reflect less confidence. Isobands are a kind of contour line that here indicate confidence levels.