5879. Eynayim
Lexical Summary
Eynayim: Eynayim

Original Word: עֵינַיִם
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: `Eynayim
Pronunciation: ay-nah-yeem
Phonetic Spelling: (ay-nah'-yim)
KJV: Enaim, openly (Genesis 38
Word Origin: [dual of H5869 (עַיִן - eyes)]

1. double fountain
2. Enajim or Enam, a place in Israel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Enaim, openly Genesis 38:21

Or meynam {ay-nawm'}; dual of ayin; double fountain; Enajim or Enam, a place in Palestine -- Enaim, openly (Genesis 38:21).

see HEBREW ayin

Brown-Driver-Briggs
עֵינַ֫יִם proper name, of a location (on form see Ges§ 88c); — Genesis 38:14,21 (J), Αιναν#NAME?

עֵינָם proper name, of a location in the Shephelah of Judah, ׳חָע Joshua 15:84 (Μαιανει, A ᵐ5L Ηναειμ) = עֵנַיִם .above

Topical Lexicon
Enayim

Geographical setting

Enayim (“Eyes” or “Springs”) lay in the Shephelah—the low-hills that slope westward from the Judean highlands toward Philistia. Its placement “on the way to Timnah” (Genesis 38:14) situates it along the strategic north–south route that linked Timnah, Adullam, and Hebron with the coastal plain. The list of towns in Joshua 15:33-36 frames it between Socoh and Azekah to the west and Keilah to the east, indicating a site inside the Elah Valley region. Several proposals have been advanced—Khirbet Umm er-Rakham, ‘Ain en-Naj, and Khirbet el-Ghanim among them—but no excavation has produced definitive proof. What is certain is that Enayim lay close enough to Timnah for regular traffic yet far enough from Judah’s family seat at Adullam to provide anonymity for the events recorded in Genesis 38.

Biblical occurrences

1. Genesis 38:14-22. “She sat at the entrance to Enayim, on the way to Timnah”. Judah’s daughter-in-law Tamar, denied the levirate marriage due her, veiled herself and waited for Judah beside the road. The meeting led to the conception of Perez and Zerah, ancestors of King David and, ultimately, of Jesus Christ (Ruth 4:18-22; Matthew 1:3).
2. Joshua 15:34. Enayim appears in the territorial catalogue of Judah’s Shephelah towns, reflecting Israel’s post-conquest occupation of the region.

Historical context

Genesis 38 occurs during the patriarchal age, before Israel’s sojourn in Egypt. Enayim, therefore, already existed as a way-station or small settlement in Canaanite territory. By Joshua’s generation—more than four centuries later—the site had been absorbed into Judah’s inheritance, bearing witness to the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would possess the land.

Theological and ministry significance

1. Providence in obscure places. Enayim is scarcely mentioned, yet the Lord used this modest roadside location to advance the messianic line. The sovereignty that orchestrated history at Jerusalem and Bethel also directed events at an otherwise unremarkable hill-town.
2. Faithfulness versus compromise. Judah’s moral lapse (“he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law,” Genesis 38:16) contrasts with Tamar’s determination to secure the covenantal blessing. Enayim becomes a vivid reminder that God’s purposes prevail even when human actors falter.
3. Eyes that truly see. The name (“Eyes”) forms an ironic backdrop: Judah’s physical vision failed him, yet God’s penetrating gaze ensured justice and redemption. For ministries today, Enayim underscores the call to spiritual discernment and the danger of superficial perception.

Archaeological and scholarly notes

• Textual tradition. Older English versions, following the Masoretic pointing, render פֶּתַח עֵינַיִם as “an open place.” Most modern translators treat it as a toponym, “entrance to Enayim,” aligning Genesis 38 with Joshua 15:34.
• Continuity of settlement. Pottery surveys throughout the Elah Valley show Middle Bronze and Late Bronze occupation at multiple tells, any of which could match the chronological framework of Genesis 38.
• Identity with Enam. Some link Enayim to Enam (Joshua 15:56), suggesting scribal assimilation or dialectal variation; others keep them distinct. Either view holds no doctrinal tension, reflecting normal processes of place-name development.

Lessons for today

• God often accomplishes pivotal kingdom work in overlooked settings; therefore, no act of obedience in a “small” place is insignificant.
• Moral vigilance is required when traveling or ministering “on the way”; roadside choices can shape generations.
• Faith that clings to covenant promises, like Tamar’s at Enayim, becomes an instrument through which God furthers His redemptive plan.

Forms and Transliterations
בָעֵינַ֖יִם בעינים וְהָעֵינָֽם׃ והעינם׃ ḇā‘ênayim ḇā·‘ê·na·yim vaeiNayim vehaeiNam wə·hā·‘ê·nām wəhā‘ênām
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Genesis 38:21
HEB: הַקְּדֵשָׁ֛ה הִ֥וא בָעֵינַ֖יִם עַל־ הַדָּ֑רֶךְ
NAS: was by the road at Enaim? But they said,
INT: Where the harlot who Enaim was by the road

Joshua 15:34
HEB: גַּנִּ֔ים תַּפּ֖וּחַ וְהָעֵינָֽם׃
NAS: and En-gannim, Tappuah and Enam,
KJV: and Engannim, Tappuah, and Enam,
INT: and En-gannim Tappuah and Enam

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 5879
2 Occurrences


ḇā·‘ê·na·yim — 1 Occ.
wə·hā·‘ê·nām — 1 Occ.

5878
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