{
  "id": "dict_005900",
  "term": "Valley of Beracah",
  "slug": "valley-of-beracah",
  "letter": "V",
  "entry_type": "biblical_place_name",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "A place in Judah named after the people blessed the Lord there following Jehoshaphat’s victory over Judah’s enemies.",
  "simple_one_line": "A biblical place-name meaning “Valley of Blessing.”",
  "tooltip_text": "The Valley of Beracah is the place where Judah praised God after He gave victory in Jehoshaphat’s day.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Jehoshaphat",
    "2 Chronicles",
    "blessing",
    "thanksgiving",
    "Valley of Achor"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Jehoshaphat’s victory",
    "Achor Valley",
    "praise",
    "deliverance"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "The Valley of Beracah is a biblical place-name associated with Judah’s thanksgiving after God delivered the nation from its enemies in the days of King Jehoshaphat.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A valley in Judah commemorating a public act of blessing the Lord after divine deliverance.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Mentioned in 2 Chronicles 20:26.",
    "The name is tied to blessing or praise.",
    "It memorializes God’s rescue of Judah in Jehoshaphat’s reign."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "The Valley of Beracah appears in 2 Chronicles 20:26 as the place where Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah gathered to bless the Lord after He granted them victory. It functions as a memorial place-name, not as a distinct theological concept.",
  "description_academic_full": "The Valley of Beracah is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 20:26 after the Lord delivered Judah from a threatening coalition during the reign of King Jehoshaphat. The people assembled there on the fourth day to bless the Lord, and the place received its name from that act of praise. The valley therefore serves as a historical memorial to divine deliverance and public thanksgiving. While later readers may use the phrase more broadly as a symbol of blessing after trial, the biblical reference itself is to a specific location associated with Judah’s worship and gratitude.",
  "background_biblical_context": "In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat led Judah in seeking the Lord when faced with a military threat. The narrative emphasizes God’s intervention and the people’s response of worship and blessing. The Valley of Beracah becomes the remembered site where the nation acknowledged that victory came from the Lord.",
  "background_historical_context": "The event belongs to the reign of Jehoshaphat, one of the kings of Judah. The name preserves a historical memory of a battle aftermath in which the people did not boast in military strength but marked the occasion by blessing God.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In the Old Testament world, naming a place after an event was a common way of preserving collective memory. The Valley of Beracah fits that pattern, serving as a lasting reminder of divine favor and communal thanksgiving.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "2 Chronicles 20:26"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "2 Chronicles 20:22-30"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "The name is connected with the Hebrew root for “bless” or “blessing,” giving the sense of “Valley of Blessing.”",
  "theological_significance": "The valley illustrates that deliverance should lead to praise, not self-exaltation. It also highlights God’s faithfulness to hear and save His people when they trust Him.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "As a memorial place-name, Beracah shows how historical events can be preserved in language and geography. The naming reflects a worldview in which divine action is central to interpreting events.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "The Valley of Beracah is best understood first as a specific biblical location. It should not be turned into an allegory that overrides the historical context of 2 Chronicles 20.",
  "major_views_note": "Most interpreters treat the phrase as a place-name tied directly to the Jehoshaphat narrative. Some devotional uses extend it symbolically to seasons of blessing after testing, but that is secondary to the text’s historical meaning.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "The passage supports God’s providence, the legitimacy of public praise, and the importance of gratitude after deliverance. It should not be pressed into a claim that every trial will end in immediate outward success.",
  "practical_significance": "Believers can learn to respond to God’s help with worship and gratitude. The Valley of Beracah reminds readers to remember and name God’s mercies publicly.",
  "meta_description": "Valley of Beracah: the place where Judah blessed the Lord after God’s victory in Jehoshaphat’s day.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/valley-of-beracah/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/valley-of-beracah.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}