Decision, Valley of

The Valley of Decision appears in Joel 3:14 in the prophet's vision of the day of the LORD: "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision." Joel identifies this valley with the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:2, 12), where God will gather all nations to judge them for their treatment of Israel. The Hebrew word charuts means decision or determination and describes the irreversible nature of the divine verdict about to fall. The Valley of Jehoshaphat has been traditionally identified with the Kidron Valley east of Jerusalem, though the name is symbolic of divine judgment rather than necessarily indicating a specific geographic location.