Deciphering Zechariah 14:5

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 between the hills will be filled in, yes, it will be blocked as far as Jasol, 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

These very different renderings 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 peasants called Wady Yasul (wady is Arabic for stream channel, or valley). Based on linguistic evidence and its proximity to Jerusalem, Clermont-Ganneau proposed that Wady Yasul is Azal. The Israelis, in apparent agreement with Clermont-Ganneau’s discovery, named the valley Nahal Etsel (נחל אצל). Nahal (נחל) means stream channel, or valley; and the Hebrew spelling of Etsel (אצל) is identical to the Hebrew spelling of Azal (אצל). Consequently, it is now common knowledge among Jerusalem’s locals that Wady Yasul is biblical Azal. Online examples of this include:

• An American Girl in Jerusalem (3rd paragraph): “This [photo shows] the Azel Valley mentioned in Zechariah 14:5 in reference to the earthquake that occurred during King Uzziah’s reign around 760 B.C.”
• 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”
• 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)”

And the trend seems to be (at least in academic circles) to call it Nahal Azal. For examples of this see:

• Israel Antiquities Authority, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, Journal 122
• Tombs in Nahal Azal
• West Bank Archaeological Map Database (possible slow load time due to large database)
• Digital Archaeological Atlas of the Holy Land

There is considerable evidence that both the LXX rendering of Zechariah 14:5 and Clermont-Ganneau’s theory are correct. The very similar pronunciations of Jasol (pronounced Yasol) 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. A paper published in 1984 by Israeli geologists Daniel Wachs and Dov Levitte identifies the location of a large landslide on the southernmost summit of the Mount of Olives directly adjacent to both Wady 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 in the area of the ancient kings’ gardens is covered with about fifty (50) feet of earthen debris.

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 colluvium (loose earth material) 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). 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 visible southwestern slope extending from the mouth of Azal to the kings’ gardens (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 up as far as Azal, just as a valley was filled in and blocked up during King Uzziah’s reign (as evidenced by the first photo).

The reason that there are two very different renderings of Zechariah 14:5 is because a 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 completely redacted, has one meaning (it shall be blocked), and the MT has the other (you shall flee). For a detailed analysis of this and other evidence (50+ pages), see The Truth Hidden Right in Front of Our Eyes.