The Hinnom Valley (Gei Ben Hinnom) is a deep ravine that curves along the southern and western edges of the Old City, separating ancient Jerusalem from the hills beyond. In the Hebrew Bible, it was a site of unspeakable acts. In later Jewish and Christian theology, it became the very definition of damnation. The valley’s reputation as a place of horror and fire gave the English language one of its most powerful words: Gehenna, the word for Hell.
The Valley of Sacrifice
In the period of the Israelite monarchy, the Hinnom Valley was a place where, according to the biblical account, children were sacrificed to the Canaanite god Molech by being passed through fire. The practice was condemned by the prophets in the strongest terms: “They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind” (Jeremiah 7:31). The Topheth — believed to be the specific site where the rituals took place — was located somewhere in the valley, though its exact position has never been identified with certainty. King Josiah, in his sweeping religious reforms around 622 BCE, deliberately desecrated the Topheth in the Hinnom Valley, rendering it unfit for worship and putting an end to the sacrifices (2 Kings 23:10). He is believed to have spread human bones and refuse across the site to ensure it could never again be used for pagan ritual.
From Valley to Hell
By the time of the Second Temple period, the Hinnom Valley had become a metaphor for divine punishment. The Hebrew “Gei Hinnom” was shortened to “Gehinnom” in rabbinic literature and became the Greek “Gehenna,” which Jesus used repeatedly as a warning: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Matthew 10:28). The valley’s association with burning children made it the natural image for eternal fire and judgment. In this way, a physical place in Jerusalem — a valley one can walk through today — became the foundational concept of Hell in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alike.
The Valley Today
Today, the Hinnom Valley is a peaceful public park with walking trails, ancient tombs, and some of the best views of the Old City walls. The Sultan’s Pool, a large Ottoman-era reservoir in the valley originally built to supply water to the Old City, is now used as a striking outdoor concert venue that has hosted major international performers beneath the floodlit walls of Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Cinematheque, perched on the valley’s northern slope, hosts the acclaimed Jerusalem Film Festival each summer and offers year-round screenings in its terraced theaters overlooking the valley. The transformation from a place of child sacrifice and a byword for eternal damnation to a park for evening strolls, film festivals, and open-air concerts is one of the more dramatic reinventions in Jerusalem’s long history.
Ketef Hinnom
At the shoulder of the valley, the archaeological site of Ketef Hinnom produced the oldest known text from the Hebrew Bible: two tiny silver scrolls bearing the Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26), dating to the 7th century BCE, some 350 years older than the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Visit with Hoshen Tours
The Hinnom Valley connects the darkest chapter of biblical religion to the word that defines damnation in three world religions. Hoshen Tours walks the valley to tell the story of Molech, Gehenna, and the transformation of a place of horror into a place of beauty.