Bible Locations

Azal appears in Zechariah 14:5, in a prophecy about the day of the Lord. When the Lord stands on the Mount of Olives, it will split in two from east to west, forming a great valley. "You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah." That earthquake, around 760 BC, is also mentioned in Amos 1:1, and archaeologists have found signs of it at sites like Hazor. Azal's location is unknown. Some scholars connect it with Wadi Yasul, a valley southeast of Jerusalem that joins the Kidron. Others think the word isn't a place name at all but means "the side" or "nearby." The Mount of Olives rises just east of Jerusalem, across the Kidron Valley.