REPHAIM, LOW PLAIN OF

A broad plain or valley near Jerusalem. Presumably it got its name from the tall people named the Rephaim who must have lived there at one time. It is listed as a boundary between the territories of Judah and Benjamin. (Jos 15:1, 8; 18:11, 16) At its northern end was a mountain or a ridge that faced the Valley of Hinnom. The traditional identification for the Low Plain of Rephaim is the plain of the Baqaʽ to the SW of the Temple Mount. It descends for about 1.5 km (1 mi) and then narrows into the Wadi el Werd (Nahal Refaʼim).

The plain’s fertility (Isa 17:5) as well as its proximity to Jerusalem and Bethlehem would have made it desirable to the Philistines. (2Sa 23:13, 14; 1Ch 11:15-19) After David had been anointed as king over Israel, the Philistines made raids in the Low Plain of Rephaim. David followed God’s directions, however, and was victorious over them.​—2Sa 5:17-25; 1Ch 14:8-17; see BAAL-PERAZIM.