King’s Dale
Summary
A valley near Jerusalem where Absalom erected a pillar as a memorial to himself, and possibly the location where Abraham met Melchizedek.
☩Absalom's Pillar
The King's Dale, also called the Valley of Shaveh, is mentioned as the place where Absalom erected a pillar to preserve his name, since he had no son to carry on his memory. The text notes that "it is called Absalom's Monument to this day." This location is traditionally identified with a site in the Kidron Valley east of Jerusalem, where a monument still bears Absalom's name, though the existing structure dates from a much later period and cannot be the original pillar.
☩Abraham and Melchizedek
An earlier reference to the King's Dale appears in Genesis, where after Abraham's victory over the coalition of kings and rescue of Lot, the king of Sodom came out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh, "that is, the King's Dale." At this same meeting, Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine and blessed Abraham. However, the exact location of this ancient meeting place cannot be identified with certainty.