Achor

A valley near Jericho. From Josh. xv. 7 it would appear that it was situated upon the northern boundary of Judah. Its exact position has not, however, been ascertained. Eusebius ("Onomasticon," ed. Lagarde, p. 105) and Jerome ("Liber de Situ et Nominibus Locorum Hebraicorum," xxiii. 868) allude to it as a valley north of Jericho; whereas some modern writers identify it with Wadi el-Kelt, a deep ravine south of Jericho. According to Josh. vii. 24-26, Achan was stoned there; and, in view of the trouble that he brought upon his people and upon himself, the place assumed a typical character, symbolizing an accursed desolation that will only be redeemed in the times of the Messiah (Hosea, ii. 15; Isa. lxv. 10).

M. B.