The Hollow, The Mortar

A place in Jerusalem mentioned in Zephaniah 1:11. The Hebrew name is Maktesh ("mortar"), referring to a bowl-shaped depression in the land. The BSB translates the name as "the Hollow" (Zephaniah 1:11). This was a business district where merchants carried out trade. Zephaniah warned that its merchants would soon grieve because their trade would come to an end.

Scholars have suggested several possible locations for the Hollow. These include the Phoenician quarter, the Kidron Valley, and the Tyropoeon Valley.

See also Jerusalem.