Endor ( ''ʽÊndōr'', ''En Dor'' in the

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 ...

) was a

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

ite city, which is listed in the Book of Joshua () as one of the cities the

Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

didn't manage to dispossess, neither the city nor its dependencies.Schmidt, 1994, p. 208. It was located between the Hill of Moreh and

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Joshua, Judges), Mount Tabor is the site of the Battle of Mount Tabo ...

in the

Jezreel Valley The Jezreel Valley (from the he, עמק יזרעאל, translit. ''ʿĒmeq Yīzrəʿēʿl''), or Marj Ibn Amir ( ar, مرج ابن عامر), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern Distr ...

. It is mentioned twice more in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' 1 Samuel and in Psalm 83.

Etymology

The original meaning of "Endor" is unknown and its spelling in

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 ...

varies.Freedman, et al., 2000, p. 406. It may be connected with the words ''ein'' meaning "spring" and ''dor'', meaning "generation".

In the Bible

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 097

Endor was first mentioned in , when Endor fell within the tribal allotments of

Manasseh Manasseh () is both a given name and a surname. Its variants include Manasses and Manasse. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh (died 1944), Singaporean rice and opium merchant and hotelier * Jacob Manasseh (die ...

. In ,

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...

consulted a medium or

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

at Endor (),Walton, et al., 2000, p. 318. who lived in the village, on the evening before the

Battle of Gilboa Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

, in which he perished. According to , it was the scene of the rout of

Jabin Jabin ( he, יָבִין ''Yāḇīn'') is a Biblical name meaning 'discerner', or 'the wise'. It may refer to: * A king of Hazor at the time of the entrance of Israel into CanaanJoshua 11:1, whose overthrow and that of the northern chiefs with w ...

and

Sisera Sisera ( he, סִיסְרָא ''Sîsərā'') was commander of the Canaanite army of King Jabin of Hazor, who is mentioned in of the Hebrew Bible. After being defeated by the forces of the Israelite tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali under the com ...

after being defeated by Barak and Deborah in .

Location

The location of the ancient site of Endor is widely debated and many locations have been suggested. From the biblical accounts, an Endor that is located on the south edge of the

seems to fit best. The tribal allotments of Manasseh, Saul's journey to Endor and the defeat of Sisera's army all fit well with a location that is on this side of the valley, somewhere between Ibleam and Ta'anach. However, there are difficulties with this location. From the origin of the name, a spring must also be located somewhere near, and archaeological evidence from the time of Joshua, Judges, and Saul is required. Many suggested sites are located on the north side of the Jezreel Valley, near or on the Hill of Moreh. The main reasons for this placement are due to tradition and name preservation. The major difficulty in a northern location for Endor is that it does not seem to fit the biblical accounts well. The city lists in Joshua 17:11 and would be mentioning Endor out of logical order. In spite of this, a supporting factor for a northern site is that Saul had to be disguised as he traveled to the witch at Endor. This is usually attributed to the fact that Endor was behind enemy lines, since the Philistines were camped at Shunem, just southwest of the most accepted Endor site. Those who hold to a southern site location explain the disguise as necessary not to transverse any enemy lines, but to hide Saul's identity from the medium. Both explanations are possible. The following sites have been suggested: * ''Khirbet Jadurah'': This site is located on the south edge of the Jezreel Valley, but with no spring the site has been deemed incorrect. * ''Tell Qedesh / Tell abu Qudeis''; This tell is a much better site than Khirbet Jadurah and it is located on the south edge of the Jezreel Valley. It has two springs nearby, remains from the right time periods, and a walled city area. Proponents for a southern Endor usually hold to this as the correct site for ancient Endor. * ''Tell el-Ajjul / el-Ajyul / Agol'' (): This tell is located on the north side of the Jezreel Valley east of Nain, on the right of the road to

Tamra Tamra ( ar, طمرة, he, טַמְרָה or ) is an Arab city in the North District of Israel located in the Lower Galilee north of the city of Shefa-Amr and approximately east of Acre. In it had a population of . History Tamra is an ancient ...

. The small hill, on the east side of the Hill of Moreh, is 211 meters high. Archaeologists have uncovered tombs and a spring inside a cave. The spring was named Fountain of Dor after it was believed to be the ancient site of Endor. This site is distinct from Tell el-Ajjul in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

and the ancient village of Ajjul north of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. * '' Indur, Endur, En-dor'' (): The

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

town of Indur, depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, preserved the name of the ancient site.Negev and Gibson, 2005, p. 166. Excavations were carried out on Indur, but with no remains found at the site, it was largely ruled out as being ancient Endor. * ''Khirbet Safsafeh / Es-Safsafa'' (): Many believe Khirbet Safsafeh to be the site of ancient En-dor, as reflected as being the site most normally marked on maps. This site is located northeast of modern Sulam/Shunem, south of

. Two wadis drain from this location, one to the northeast and the other to the northwest. During the Roman Period, there was a large population on the site. It was later inhabited by Arabs until they abandoned it in 1948 due to the war. After the war, Israelis settled it and named it

Ein Dor Ein Dor ( he, עֵין דּוֹר, lit. "Dor Spring") is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Lower Galilee, it falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council. As of it had a population of . It was the first Jewish settlem ...

. Tradition seems to be the best support for Khirbet Safsafeh. Since the 4th century CE, Endor has been recognized by early Christian pilgrims and by the Crusaders as Biblical Endor. During the Crusader Period it was mentioned by Brocardus, a 14th-century German priest. When Edward Robinson came upon the site, he described it as an ordinary village. C. Conder and H. Kitchener also recognized the site and described it as a small village. Name preservation also supports Khirbet Safsafeh as being ancient Endor, for although the site does not preserve the ancient name, its nearby neighbor to the northeast, Indur, did. The modern village could have easily moved from the ancient site, taking the name with it.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control Hebrew Bible cities Witch of Endor

Etymology

In the Bible

Location

See also

References

Bibliography