En-rogel

Ein Rogel (Hebrew: ''ʿĒn Rōgēl''), also known as Well of Job, was a spring on the outskirts of Jerusalem mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the hiding-place of David's spies, Jonathan and Ahimaaz, during Absalom's uprising against the rule of King David (). It may also have been a sacred place in pre-Israelite times.

Name

In English it also appears as Enrogel (, King James Version), En-rogel (2 Samuel 17:17, American Standard Version and English Standard Version), or En Rogel (, NIV and NKJV). 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 (, ).

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, 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, Central 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" or "Job's Well". Today the ''Bir Ayoub'' Mosque of Silwan stands above the ''Bir Ayoub'' well.

As of 1901, the identification was uncertain, Charles Warren 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, 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, which describes how the water breaks through to the riverbed after a winter of plentiful rainfall.

Gustaf Dalman who visited Palestine in the early 20th-century mentions a custom of the local inhabitants of Silwan 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

Robinson, during his tour of Palestine 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''
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)