{
  "id": "dict_000139",
  "term": "Ajalon Valley",
  "slug": "ajalon-valley",
  "letter": "A",
  "entry_type": "biblical_place",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Ajalon Valley is a biblical place in Israel, best known as the setting for Joshua’s battle account in which the moon is said to have stood still over the valley.",
  "simple_one_line": "A biblical valley in Israel, remembered especially from Joshua 10:12.",
  "tooltip_text": "Ajalon Valley is a real place-name in the Bible, closely associated with Joshua’s battle narrative and the common spelling variant Aijalon.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Aijalon",
    "Joshua",
    "Joshua 10",
    "Gibeon",
    "Shephelah",
    "biblical geography"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Aijalon (variant spelling)",
    "Valley of Aijalon",
    "Joshua 10:12",
    "Israel’s conquest of Canaan"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Ajalon Valley is a place in the land of Israel, not a theological concept. It is best known from Joshua 10:12, where Joshua addresses the moon as standing still over the Valley of Aijalon during Israel’s battle.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A biblical valley in Israel associated with Joshua 10 and several other Old Testament place references.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "A real geographic location in the land of Israel. • Best known from Joshua 10:12. • The name is often spelled Aijalon in English Bible translations. • The entry belongs under biblical geography, not theology."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Ajalon Valley is a biblical place-name associated with Joshua’s battle narrative, especially Joshua 10:12. The term is best treated as a geographic entry, with attention to the common transliteration Aijalon.",
  "description_academic_full": "The Ajalon Valley, more commonly rendered in many English Bible translations as the Valley of Aijalon, is a geographic location in Israel’s lowland region. It is most famously mentioned in Joshua 10:12, where Joshua speaks of the moon standing still over the Valley of Aijalon during Israel’s battle against the Amorite coalition. Other Old Testament texts also use Aijalon as a place-name in territorial, military, and administrative contexts. Because the term identifies a real biblical location rather than a doctrinal or abstract theological concept, it should be classified as a biblical place entry rather than a theological term. The spelling varies between Ajalon and Aijalon due to transliteration.",
  "background_biblical_context": "In Scripture, Ajalon Valley appears as part of the geographic setting for Israel’s conquest and settlement accounts. Its best-known mention is in Joshua 10, where the valley forms part of the battle narrative in which the Lord gives Israel victory.",
  "background_historical_context": "Ajalon was located in a strategic corridor in the Shephelah, the lowland between the coastal plain and the hill country. That geography helps explain why it appears in military narratives and boundary or settlement lists.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "As with many ancient Near Eastern place-names, the valley is identified in biblical texts by its role in tribal territory, military movement, and settlement patterns. Ancient Jewish readers would have recognized it as a concrete location tied to Israel’s history.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Joshua 10:12"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Joshua 19:42",
    "Joshua 21:24",
    "1 Samuel 14:31",
    "2 Chronicles 11:10",
    "2 Chronicles 28:18"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Hebrew Ayyālôn; English spellings vary, commonly appearing as Aijalon or Ajalon.",
  "theological_significance": "The valley itself is not a doctrine, but its biblical role highlights God’s aid in Israel’s history, especially in Joshua 10, where the Lord’s power is displayed in battle.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "This is a place-name, so its meaning is primarily historical and geographic rather than conceptual. Biblical geography matters because Scripture presents redemption in real space and time.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not confuse the valley with a separate theological idea, and do not build doctrine from the place-name itself. The spelling difference between Ajalon and Aijalon reflects transliteration, not a different location.",
  "major_views_note": "Most readers and translations treat Ajalon/Aijalon as the same biblical location. The main editorial question is spelling and classification, not interpretation of the place-name itself.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "This entry should not be used to support speculative claims about cosmology or physics. Its doctrinal use is limited to the historical reliability of the biblical narrative and God’s providential action in Israel’s history.",
  "practical_significance": "Ajalon Valley reminds readers that biblical events happened in actual places. It also helps Bible students track geography when reading Joshua and related Old Testament narratives.",
  "meta_description": "Ajalon Valley is a biblical place in Israel best known from Joshua 10:12, where the moon is said to have stood still over the valley.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/ajalon-valley/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/ajalon-valley.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}