Bible Encyclopedia: En-rogel

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

EN-ROGEL

en-ro'-gel (`en roghel; pege Rhogel; meaning uncertain, but interpreted by some to mean "the spring of the fuller"):

No argument from this meaning can be valid because

(1) it is a very doubtful rendering and

(2) "fulling" vats are common in the neighborhood of most town springs and are today plentiful at both the proposed sites. G. A. Smith thinks "spring of the current," or "stream," from Syriac rogulo, more probable.

(1) En-rogel was an important landmark on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin (Joshua 15:7; Joshua 18:16). Here David's spies, Jonathan and Ahimaaz, hid themselves (2 Samuel 17:17), and here (1 Kings 1:9) "Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel," when he anticipated his father's death and caused himself rebelliously to be proclaimed king.

(2) The identification of this important landmark is of first-class importance in Jerusalem topography. Two sites have been proposed:

(a) The older view identifies En-rogel with the spring known variously as "the Virgin's Fount," `Ain sitti Miriam and `Ain Umm el deraj, an intermittent source of water which rises in a cave on the West side of the Kedron valley opposite Siloam (see GIHON). The arguments that this is the one Jerusalem spring and that this must have been a very important landmark are inconclusive. The strongest argument for this view is that put forward by M. Clermont-Ganneau, who found that a rough rock surface on the mountain slope opposite, an ascent to the village of Silwan, is known as es Zechweleh, a word in which there certainly appears to linger an echo of Zoheleth. The argument is, however, not as convincing as it seems. Firstly, Zoheleth was a stone; this is a natural rock scarp; such a stone might probably have been transferred from place to place. Secondly, it is quite common for a name to be transferred some miles; instances are numerous. Thirdly, the writer, after frequent inquiries of the fellahin of Silwan, is satisfied that the name is by no means confined to the rock scarp near the spring, but to the whole ridge running along from here to, or almost to, Bir Eyyub itself. The strongest argument against this identification is, however, that there are so much stronger reasons for identifying the "Virgin's Fount" with Gihon (see GIHON), and that the two springs En-rogel and Gihon cannot be at one site, as is clear from the narrative in 1 Kings 1.

(b) The view which places En-rogel at Bir Eyyub in every way harmonizes with the Bible data. It has been objected that the latter is not a spring but a well. It is today a well, 125 ft. deep, but one with an inexhaustible supply-there must be a true spring at the bottom. Probably one reason it only overflows today after periods of heavy rain is that such enormous quantities of debris have now covered the original valley bed that the water cannot rise to the surface; much of it flows away down the valley deep under the present surface. The water is brackish and is impregnated with sewage, which is not extraordinary when we remember that a large part of the rock strata from which the water comes is overlaid by land constantly irrigated with the city's sewage.

Although the well may itself be of considerable antiquity, there is no need to insist that this is the exact position of the original spring En-rogel. The source may in olden times have arisen at some spot in the valley bottom which is now deeply buried under the rubbish, perhaps under the southernmost of the irrigated gardens of the fellahin of Silwan. The neighborhood, at the junction of two deep valleys-not to count the small el wad, the ancient Tyropceon-is a natural place for a spring. There would appear to have been considerable disturbance here. An enormous amount of debris from various destructions of the city has collected here, but, besides this, Josephus records a tradition which appears to belong to this neighborhood. He says (Ant., IX, x, 4) that an earthquake took place once at Eroge-which appears to be En-rogel-when "half of the mountain broke off from the remainder on the West, and rolling 4 furlongs, came to stand on the eastern mountain till the roads, as well as the.king's gardens, were blocked." It is sufficient that En-rogel is to be located either at Bir Eyyub or in its immediate neighborhood; for practical purposes the former will do. En-rogel was an important point on the boundary line between Judah and Benjamin. The line passed down the lower end of the Kidron valley, past En-rogel (Bir Eyyub) and then up the Valley of Hinnom (Wady er Rababi)-a boundary well adapted to the natural conditions.

With regard to David's spies (2 Samuel 17:17), whereas the Virgin's Fount-the great source of the city's water supply (see GIHON)-just below the city walls (see ZION) was an impossible place of hiding, this lower source, out of sight of almost the whole city and removed a considerable distance from its nearest point, was at least a possible place. Further, the facts that it was off the main road, that it afforded a supply of one of the main necessities of life-water-and that there were, as there are today, many natural caves in the neighborhood, greatly added to its suitability.

Here too was a most appropriate place for Adonijah's plot (1 Kings 1:9). He and his confederates dared not go to Gihon, the original sacred spring, but had to content themselves with a spot more secluded, though doubtless still sacred. It is recorded (1 Kings 1:40, 41) that the adherents of Solomon saluted him at Gihon (the Virgin's Fount) and the people "rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them. And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him (at En-rogel) heard it as they had made an end of eating." The relative positions of these two springs allow of a vivid reconstruction of the narrative as do no other proposed identifications. The two spots are out of sight the one of the other, but not so far that the shout of a multitude at the one could not be carried to the other.

E. W. G. Masterman

Strong's Hebrew

5883. En Rogel -- a place near Jer.
En Rogel. 5882, 5883. En Rogel. 5884 . a place near Jer. Transliteration: En
Rogel Phonetic Spelling: (ane ro-gale') Short Definition: En-rogel. ...
/hebrew/5883.htm - 6k

Library

In the Last, the Great Day of the Feast'
... farther up in the narrowest part of the Kedron Valley, which presently bears the
name of the Virgin's Fountain,' but represents the ancient En-Rogel and Gihon. ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter vii in the last.htm

Greek and Jew
... Thickly scattered like fallen patches of skies the pools of Siloam, Gihon, Shiloh,
En-Rogel, the Great Pool, the Serpent's Pool and the Dragon's Well reflected ...
/.../miller/the city of delight/chapter viii greek and jew.htm

Absalom the Ungrateful Son
... Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at Enrogel; and a maid-servant was to go and
bring them news, and they were to go and tell David, for they must not be ...
/.../sherman/the childrens bible/absalom the ungrateful son.htm

The Hebrews and the Philistines --Damascus
History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 6. <. ...
/.../chapter iiithe hebrews and the.htm

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

En-Rogel

the fuller's fountain; the well of searching

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Fountain of the treaders; i.e., "foot-fountain;" also called the "fullers' fountain," because fullers here trod the clothes in water. It has been identified with the "fountain of the virgin" (q.v.), the modern `Ain Ummel-Daraj. Others identify it, with perhaps some probability, with the Bir Eyub, to the south of the Pool of Siloam, and below the junction of the valleys of Kidron and Hinnom. (see FOUNTAIN.)

It was at this fountain that Jonathan and Ahimaaz lay hid after the flight of David (2 Samuel 17:17); and here also Adonijah held the feast when he aspired to the throne of his father (1 Kings 1:9).

The Bir Eyub, or "Joab's well," "is a singular work of ancient enterprise. The shaft sunk through the solid rock in the bed of the Kidron is 125 feet deep...The water is pure and entirely sweet, quite different from that of Siloam; which proves that there is no connection between them." Thomson's Land and the Book.

Thesaurus

Enrogel (4 Occurrences)
... And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him (at En-rogel) heard it as they
had made an end of eating." The relative positions of ...Enrogel (4 Occurrences). ...
/e/enrogel.htm - 15k

En-rogel (4 Occurrences)
En-rogel. Enrogel, En-rogel. En-ro'gel . Easton's Bible Dictionary Fountain ...
NAS). Enrogel, En-rogel. En-ro'gel . Reference Bible.
/e/en-rogel.htm - 15k

Zoheleth (1 Occurrence)
... The serpent-stone, a rocky plateau near the centre of the village of Siloam, and
near the fountain of En-rogel, to which the women of the village resort for ...
/z/zoheleth.htm - 9k

En (19 Occurrences)
... It occurs in numerous compound words, as EN-GEDI, EN-HADDAH, EN-HAKKORE,
EN-HAZOR, EN-RIMMON, EN-ROGEL, EN-SHEMESH (which see). ...
/e/en.htm - 14k

Rogel (4 Occurrences)
... river. The border passed along to the waters of En Shemesh, and ended at
EnRogel. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV). Joshua ...
/r/rogel.htm - 8k

En-ro'gel (3 Occurrences)
En-ro'gel. En-rogel, En-ro'gel. Enrol . Multi-Version Concordance En-ro'gel
(3 Occurrences). ... En-rogel, En-ro'gel. Enrol . Reference Bible.
/e/en-ro'gel.htm - 7k

Hinnom (11 Occurrences)
... The clearest geographical fact is found in Joshua 15:8; Joshua 18:16, where we find
that the boundary of Judah and Benjamin passed from En-rogel "by the valley ...
/h/hinnom.htm - 18k

Stone (290 Occurrences)
... he-leth, ('ebhen ha-zacheleth, "serpent's stone"): "And Adonijah slew sheep and
oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel" (1 Kings 1 ...
/s/stone.htm - 54k

Northward (41 Occurrences)
... river. The border passed along to the waters of En Shemesh, and ended at
EnRogel. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV). Joshua ...
/n/northward.htm - 21k

Fuller (5 Occurrences)
... At his transfiguration our Lord's rainment is said to have been white "so as no
fuller on earth could white them" (Mark 9:3). En-rogel (qv), meaning literally ...
/f/fuller.htm - 10k

Bible Concordance

En-rogel (4 Occurrences)

Joshua 15:7 and the border went up to Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is over against the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the river; and the border passed along to the waters of En-shemesh, and the goings out thereof were at En-rogel;
(ASV BBE DBY JPS WBS YLT NAS)

Joshua 18:16 and the border went down to the uttermost part of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the vale of Rephaim northward; and it went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel;
(ASV BBE DBY JPS WBS YLT NAS RSV)

2 Samuel 17:17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying by En-rogel; and a maid-servant used to go and tell them; and they went and told king David: for they might not be seen to come into the city.
(ASV BBE DBY JPS WBS YLT NAS)

1 Kings 1:9 And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel; and he called all his brethren, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants:
(ASV BBE DBY JPS WBS YLT NAS)

Subtopics

En-Rogel

En-Rogel: A Rebellious Feast At

En-Rogel: A Spring Near Jerusalem

Related Terms

En-rogel (4 Occurrences)

Zoheleth (1 Occurrence)

En (19 Occurrences)

Rogel (4 Occurrences)

En-ro'gel (3 Occurrences)

Hinnom (11 Occurrences)

Stone (290 Occurrences)