Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still upon Gibeon, and Moon in the valley of Ayalon.” And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies (Joshua 10:12-13)”
The enchanting Ayalon Park Canada is centrally located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv has it all: beautiful (family-friendly) trails with lots of greenery and wildflowers, planted forests of fruit trees (when in season, the blooming white flowers of the almond trees are gorgeous), picnic tables, and well preserved, archeological ruins (beautifully integrated into the park's landscape).
The park offers stunning views of the biblical Ayalon Valley below, our main focus for today.
The Ayalon Valley, given to the tribe of Dan, was (and remains today) one of the most strategic valleys in all of Israel. Today’s two highways (the same routes as the ancient highways) connect Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and the rest of the coast (highways 1 and 443) and go through the valley.
Due to its central location, many wars were fought here, including arguably the most dramatic event in biblical history. Joshua and his army defeated the city-states of Jericho and Ai. The powerful city of Gibeon made an alliance with the Israelites (see previous article on Hazor where I discuss the structure of Canaanite city-states, Tel Hazor).
Five Canaanite kings attacked Gibeon sending a message that making peace with the Children of Israel was not in their interest. When they attacked, Joshua felt bound by his oath and came to their rescue. As the armies of the five kings saw him coming, G-d put panic into their hearts and they were smitten, with the survivors fleeing by way of the “Ascent of Beth-horon.” As they started to descend from Beth-Horon, G-d sent a hailstorm that finished off most of the remaining troops (Joshua 10).
According to Jewish sources, these actual hailstones were left over from the plague of hail in Egypt. When Moses asked G-d to stop the plague (see Exodus 9:33), the remaining hail was saved. With the death of most of the Canaanite troops, the remainder kept fleeing westward through this valley and the sun was quickly setting (according to Jewish sources, it was Friday evening and therefore almost Shabbat). In order to take care of the job before sundown, Joshua prayed to G-d for the sun to stand still (which it did), and it didn’t set until the enemies had been destroyed and the war was over (see Joshua 10).
Not only was the area important to control for strategic reasons, but also for agriculture, as the Ayalon Valley, including around Emmaus, had abundant (underground) water springs. For this reason, sophisticated Roman aqueducts have been found in Park Canada that led water from springs above to the fertile fields of the Ayalon valley below. This is why the entire Ayalon Valley (even today) is filled with so many Israeli agricultural towns and Kibbutzim.
On your next trip to Israel, come and explore Park Canada, ancient Emmaus, Latrun, and all the other great sites located in the Biblical Ayalon Valley!