Aijalon (Ayalon)
אַיָּלוֹן
Where was biblical Aijalon? At the ruins of Yalo in Canada Park, near Latrun, about 20 km west of Jerusalem. I mark it very likely.
Joshua called on the sun to stand still over Gibeon and the moon over the Valley of Ayalon, and the day lasted until Israel's victory was complete.
By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker
- Site today
- Ruins of Yalo in Canada Park, near Latrun
- How sure
- Very likely Strong evidence, with no serious rival.
- Other names
- Ajalon, Yalo, Yalu
- Location
- 31.8427° N, 35.0215° E (Google Maps)
How we know where it was
The Arab village here was called Yalo, which is Ayalon worn down by time. The broad valley below still carries the name Emek Ayalon. The neighbors fit too. Ayalon is listed with Shalabim and Beit Shemesh, and both are only a few kilometers away.
Geography explains why Ayalon keeps showing up in battles. It guarded the main western approach from the coastal plain up to the hill country. The Amorites fled down this way from Gibeon. The Philistines fled this way from Michmash, with Saul's army on their heels. That is why Rehoboam fortified it, and why the Philistines took it in the days of King Ahaz. Ayalon was also one of the cities given to the Levites.
Excavators have barely touched the mound. So the case rests on the name and the geography. Both are strong.
From the hilltop of Yalo you look straight down the valley where Joshua's long day ended.
Visiting today
Canada Park has walking trails, a viewpoint over the Ayalon Valley and the ruins of Yalo village.
Read it in the Bible
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.
See Ayalon on the interactive map →
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Get the print + free ebookNearby places
- Shaalbim 5 km northwest
- Eshtaol 7 km south
- Zorah (Tzorah) 8 km southwest
- Kiriath Jearim 9 km southeast
- Gezer 10 km west
- Beth Horon 10 km northeast