Ein Rogel (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: ''ʿĒn Rōgēl''), also known as Well of Job,
was a
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season)
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
on the outskirts of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
mentioned in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
as the hiding-place of
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
's spies, Jonathan and
Ahimaaz, during
Absalom
Absalom ( he, ''ʾAḇšālōm'', "father of peace") was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maacah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur.
2 Samuel 14:25 describes him as the handsomest man in the kingdom. Absalom eventually rebelled ag ...
's uprising against the rule of
King David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
(). It may also have been a sacred place in pre-Israelite times.
Name
In English it also appears as Enrogel (,
King James Version
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
), En-rogel (2 Samuel 17:17,
American Standard Version
The American Standard Version (ASV), officially Revised Version, Standard American Edition, is a Bible translation into English that was completed in 1901 with the publication of the revision of the Old Testament. The revised New Testament had b ...
and
English Standard Version
The English Standard Version (ESV) is an English translation of the Bible. Published in 2001 by Crossway, the ESV was "created by a team of more than 100 leading evangelical scholars and pastors." The ESV relies on recently published critic ...
), or En Rogel (,
NIV Niv may refer to:
* Niv, a personal name; for people with the name, see
* Niv Art Movies, a film production company of India
* Niv Art Centre, in New Delhi, India
NIV may refer to:
* The New International Version, a translation of the Bible into ...
and
NKJV
The New King James Version (NKJV) is an English translation of the Bible. The complete NKJV Bible was published in 1982 by Thomas Nelson, now HarperCollins. The NKJV is described by Thomas Nelson as being "scrupulously faithful to the origin ...
). It is derived from Hebrew words meaning "eye of a traveller;" springs were seen as an "eye" in the landscape.
Hebrew Bible accounts
En Rogel was one of the boundary marks between
Judah and
Benjamin
Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...
(, ).
During Absalom's uprising against David, Jonathan and
Ahimaaz stayed at Ein Rogel, "for they dared not be seen coming into the city (Jerusalem); so a female servant would come and tell them, and they would go and tell King David". However, "a lad saw them, and told Absalom", and so they had to flee to
Bahurim ().
Ein Rogel lay close to a stone,
Zoheleth, where
Adonijah
According to 2 Samuel, Adonijah ( he, , ''’Ǎḏōnīyyā''; "my lord is Yah") was the fourth son of King David. His mother was Haggith as recorded in the book of . Adonijah was born at Hebron during the long conflict between David and the ...
, Solomon's half-brother of, held a sacrificial feast when he attempted to assert his claims to the throne ().
[ The obviously sacred character of the spring suggests that it is the same as the Dragon Well or Serpent Well of .][
]
Meaning
As of 1901, the meaning of the name was uncertain.[ The interpretation 'Fuller's Well' does not bear the mark of antiquity. It is probable that, like Zoheleth, the original name had some sacred or mythic significance.][
]
Location
Recent scholars identify Ein Rogel with Bir Ayyub (''Bir Ayoub'') (also spelled Ayub, Ayoub), meaning, the "Well of Job." It is located just south of the junction of the three valleys - Hinnom
The Valley of Hinnom ( he, , lit=Valley of the son of Hinnom, translit=Gēʾ ḇen-Hīnnōm) is a historic valley surrounding Ancient Jerusalem from the west and southwest. The valley is also known by the name Gehinnom ( ''Gēʾ-Hīnnōm'', ...
, Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and Kidron. Today there is a modern pumping station there, drawing water from a 38 m deep well, whose stone lining may be partially of Roman date. ''Bir Ayoub'' ( ar, بئر أيوب) translates to "Fountain of Job
Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
" or "Job's Well". Today the ''Bir Ayoub'' Mosque of Silwan
Silwan or Siloam ( ar, سلوان, translit=Silwan; gr, Σιλωὰμ, translit=Siloam; he, כְּפַר הַשִּׁילוֹחַ, translit=''Kfar ha-Shiloaḥ'') is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, on the outskir ...
stands above the ''Bir Ayoub'' well.
As of 1901, the identification was uncertain, Charles Warren
General Sir Charles Warren, (7 February 1840 – 21 January 1927) was an officer in the British Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of the Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of the Temple Mount. Much of his mi ...
being one of its skeptics. Two locations have been suggested:
# Virgin's fountain (''ʻAin Sitti Maryam''), later ''ʻAin Umm ed-Deraj'', 'the only real spring close to Jerusalem', exactly opposite to which lies ''ez-Zehweleh'', perhaps Zoheleth;[ and
# ''Bir Ayub'', also known as the Well of Nehemiah, at the junction of two valleys, Wadi er-Rababi and Kidron. However, ''Bir-Ayoub'' is a well, not a spring (although it may have formerly been a spring), and is said to lie too far from ''ez-Zehweleh'', although it lies near a large stone in Siloam village called ''Zehwillat''. As ''Bir Ayoub'' is in full view of the city, it does not suit the context of , and its antiquity is uncertain.][
The chief points in favour of (1) are its antiquity and the evidence of ]Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
, who places the well in the royal gardens. Other arguments are based upon the fact that in later times the well was used by fullers.[
Ein Rogel is mentioned in "Topography of Jerusalem", a document found in the ]Cairo Geniza
The Cairo Geniza, alternatively spelled Genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 Jewish manuscript fragments and Fatimid administrative documents that were kept in the '' genizah'' or storeroom of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat or Old Cairo, Eg ...
, which describes how the water breaks through to the riverbed after a winter of plentiful rainfall.
Gustaf Dalman
Gustaf Hermann Dalman (9 June 1855 – 19 August 1941) was a German Lutheran theologian and orientalist. He did extensive field work in Palestine before the First World War, collecting inscriptions, poetry, and proverbs. He also collected physic ...
who visited Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
in the early 20th-century mentions a custom of the local inhabitants of Silwan
Silwan or Siloam ( ar, سلوان, translit=Silwan; gr, Σιλωὰμ, translit=Siloam; he, כְּפַר הַשִּׁילוֹחַ, translit=''Kfar ha-Shiloaḥ'') is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, on the outskir ...
to visit the nearby ''Bir Ayoub'' (Well of Job) and to recite a blessing for the coming rain. During periods of great rain downpour, as happened in February 1927, a gushing spring would issue out of the earth some downstream from the Well of Job.
Description
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Geography
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, during his tour of Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
in 1838, describes ''Bir Ayoub'' (Job's Well) as being "a very deep well, of an irregular quadrilateral form, walled up with large squared stones, terminating above in an arch on one said, and apparently of great antiquity. There is a small rude building over it, furnished with one or two large troughs." The well, he said, went down to a depth of .
A water plant was established near ''Bir Ayoub'', which involved large expenses and a lot of labor. A canal was hewn in the rock, 2 meters high and 0.5 to 1 meter wide. The conduit is more than 600 meters long and passes under the western side of the stream channel at a depth of 23 to 30 meters below the surface. The place can be reached by a staircase that is interrupted in some places. It appears that the purpose of this conduit was to store the water flowing between the layers of limestone.[ ]
Bir Ayub: gallery
File:David Roberts - Fountain of Job, Valley of Hinnom - 1927.83 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, Bir Ayub on 1840 illustration from ''The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia
''The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia'' is a travelogue of 19th-century Palestine and the magnum opus of Scottish painter David Roberts. It contains 250 lithographs by Louis Haghe of Roberts's watercolor sketches. It was fi ...
''
File:Well of En-Rogel, (Nehemiah's Well) (28700151844).jpg, Nehemiah's Well on double, or stereoscopic photo card, Bonfils, ca. 1870.
File:JOAB'S WELL AT THE FOOT OF THE SHILOAH IN JERUSALEM. (COURTESY OF AMERICAN COLONY) באר יואב למרגלות השילוח בירושלים.D826-058.jpg, Bir Ayub in 1910
File:Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, from the Well of En Rogel MET DP116364.jpg, Ein Rogel in the mid 19th century
External links
Sacred Springs and Sabils
References
* {{Biblica , wstitle= En-rogel, volume=2
Hebrew Bible places
Springs (hydrology)