Azal: A Longtime Mystery Rediscovered

This is a synopsis of the detailed study, The Truth Hidden Right in Front of Our Eyes.

Azal (אצל), or Azel, is the location mentioned in Zechariah 14:5 in bibles that use the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT) as the source for this verse.

And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.
Zechariah 14:5, King James Version

In bibles that follow the Greek Septuagint (LXX) rendering, depending upon the source manuscript used, Azal is transcribed Jasol (ιασολ, pronounced Yasol), Jasod (a corruption of Jasol), or Asael (ασαηλ):

The valley of my mountains shall be blocked up; and the valley of mountains shall be closed up even to Jasod [Jasol/Azal]. It shall be blocked up as it was in the days of the earthquake in the days of Ozias [Uzziah] king of Juda. …
Zechariah 14:5, LXX, first English translation by Charles Thomson, Secretary to the first United States Congresss, published 1808

These very different translations from two authoritative sources obscure a clear understanding of Zechariah 14:5. Another obscurant factor is an almost universal ignorance, existent for many centuries until now, of what and where Azal is, or was. This is largely due to the fact that no known writing authored prior to the late 19^th century clarifies this mystery.

During the period 1873-1874, Charles Clermont-Ganneau, a renowned linguist and archaeologist in Palestine, explored many tombs in a valley immediately south of Jerusalem that the local Arab peasants called Wadyâsûl. Based on linguistic evidence and its proximity to Jerusalem, Clermont-Ganneau proposed that Wadyâsûl is Azal. Today, the Arabic name for this valley is Wadi Yasul (wadi is the Arabic word for river, or valley); and Israeli authorities, in apparent agreement with Clermont-Ganneau’s discovery, named the valley in Hebrew, נחל אצל (Nahal Etsel): nahal (נחל) means river, or valley; and the Hebrew spelling of Etsel (אצל) is identical with the Hebrew spelling of Azal (אצל).

Consequently, it is now common knowledge among Jerusalem’s locals that Wadi Yasul/Nahal Etsel (or Atzal) is biblical Azal. Online examples of this include (links open in new window):

• An American Girl in Jerusalem (3rd paragraph): “This is the Azel Valley mentioned in Zechariah 14:5 in reference to the earthquake that occurred during King Uzziah’s reign around 760 B.C.”
• City of David Jerusalem Segway Tour Company (2nd paragraph): “At the foot of the ridge is the deep channel of Atzal River (Zechariah 14:5), which advances toward the Kidron Valley. Its Biblical name was preserved by the Arabs as Wadi Yasul”
  (A panoramic view of the Azal Valley from its headwater in the Jerusalem Peace Forest to its juncture with the Kidron Valley at the foot of the Mount of Olives is viewable from 0:21 – 0:28 in this City of David YouTube video)
• Wikipedia: Jerusalem Peace Forest: “[The Jerusalem Peace Forest] was a location of the biblical Etsel river mentioned in the book of Zechariah (Zechariah 14:5) (currently only a riverbed is left in place)”
• Wikipedia (Hebrew version): נחל אצל (Nachal Atzal): “Atzal River (Arabic: Wadi Yasul) is one of the tributaries of the Kidron Valley southeast of Jerusalem, between the Armon Ha'Natziv ridge and the neighborhood of Abu Tor, in the Peace Forest. … This name originates in the prophet Zechariah’s end-time prophecy, ‘[content of the LXX version of Zechariah 14:4-5]‘. The biblical name of the river was preserved by the Arabs as Wadi Yasul.”

And the trend seems to be (at least in the realm of archaeology) to call it Nahal Azal. For examples of this see (links open in new window):

• Israel Antiquities Authority, Excavations and Surveys in Israel, Jerusalem, Nahal Azal
• Tombs in Nahal Azal
• Digital Archaeological Atlas of the Holy Land, Site 353104995: Nahal Azal

Nahal Azal is in fact so mainstream it’s viewable in Google Maps. In the screenshot below its name in Hebrew (נחל אצל) appears directly below the red marker (A); and the adjacent blue line represents the river channel itself that drains into the Kidron Valley at the foot of the Mount of Olives. (Click here if you wish to open this view in Google Maps; Nahal Azal is only visible in Hebrew in Map view with Terrain option enabled.)

©2013 Google – Map data ©2013 Mapa GISrael

An English translation of נחל אצל, i.e., Nahal Etsel, used to be visible in Google Maps (see red ellipse below; ignore red ‘A’ marker), but no longer appears for some reason.

 

Which Version of Zechariah 14:5 is Correct?

There is considerable evidence that both the LXX rendering of Zechariah 14:5 and Clermont-Ganneau’s theory are correct.

Linguistic Evidence

The very similar pronunciations of Jasol (pronounced Yasŏl) and Yasul suggest that Jasol is a Greek transcription of the Arabic word for Azal (i.e., Yasul), which has been preserved since Jerusalem’s destruction in 70AD by Arab culture local to the area. Clermont-Ganneau claimed the Arabic Yasul “corresponds exactly, satisfying all the rules of etymology, with the Hebrew” Azal.

Geological/Historical/Archaeological/Cartographic Evidence

A scientific paper published in 1984 by Israeli geologists identifies the location of a large landslide on the southernmost summit of the Mount of Olives directly adjacent to both Wadi Yasul and the area of the ancient kings’ gardens. Their discovery validates Jewish historian Flavius Josephus’ account of an earthquake-caused landslide on the western slope of the Mount of Olives during King Uzziah’s reign blocking up the kings’ gardens in the valley. It also accords with George Adam Smith’s field research in the early part of the 20^th century that revealed the valley floor near the area of the ancient kings’ gardens is covered with up to fifty (50) feet of earthen debris. A topographic map of Jerusalem in one of Smith’s books also shows evidence of the effects of landsliding in this area. All of the above evidence is corroborated by photographic evidence.

Photographic Evidence

The photo below, taken in the mid-1800s from the wall of Jerusalem looking southeast, shows this landslide location on the Mount of Olives. Slumping landslide rubble is visible on the western slope directly adjacent to the location of the ancient kings’ gardens at the juncture of the Hinnom and Kidron Valleys. The terraced look of this area is due to a geologic process called slumping, that occurs when landslide colluvium slowly creeps down a slope due to erosion and gravity over a long period of time. Though not clearly visible in this photograph, landslide rubble lies at the base of the southwestern slope all the way to the vally of Azal.

The photo below, taken sometime in the early part of the twentieth century by a member of the American Colony in Jerusalem, shows this same landslide location at the top of the Mount of Olives (right side of photo) from the opposite direction, and clearly does show landslide colluvium lying at the base of the entire southwestern slope (click picture for images with better detail). The view is towards Jerusalem to the north overlooking the valley of Azal in the foreground. Slumping landslide colluvium can be seen covering the lower half of the southwestern slope extending from the kings’ gardens to the mouth of Azal Valley (almost 0.3 mile, or 0.5 km). The massive volume of colluvial material at the base of the Mount of Olives makes it obvious that at some prior time landslide rubble filled in and blocked this entire section of valley. This evidence validates the LXX rendering of Zechariah 14:5, which states a valley will be filled in and blocked as far as Azal, just as a valley was filled in and blocked by an earthquake in the days of King Uzziah (as evidenced by the first photo).

The valley between the hills will be filled in, yes, it will be blocked as far as Jasol [Azal], it will be filled in as it was by the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.
Zechariah 14:5, New Jerusalem Bible

Why Two Very Different Versions of Zechariah 14:5 Exist

The reason that there are two very different renderings of Zechariah 14:5 is because a Hebrew verb that occurs three times in this verse can be pronounced two different ways, which results in two very different meanings. The LXX, which is a Greek translation of the ancient Hebrew scrolls made nearly 1000 years before the MT was fully redacted, has one meaning (it shall be closed up), and the MT has the other (you shall flee).

The LXX version of Zechariah 14:5 is found in bibles used by the entire Eastern Orthodox Church (225-300 million members) and some of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The two most popular bibles of the Roman Catholic Church (1.2 billion members), the New American Bible and the New Jerusalem Bible, both contain the LXX reading. The Jewish Publication Society, whose stated editorial policy is to favor the MT, has used the LXX version of this verse in a series of publications since about 1985. Just a few Protestant bibles have the LXX reading (e.g., New English Bible, Concordant Literal Version).

For a detailed analysis of this and other evidence with cited references, see The Truth Hidden Right in Front of Our Eyes.

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