Ein Rogel

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

En Rogel was one of the boundary marks between Judah and Benjamin (Joshua 15:7, 18:16).

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 (2 Samuel 17:17–18).

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 (1 Kings 1:9).[1][2] The obviously sacred character of the spring suggests that it is the same as the Dragon Well or Serpent Well of Nehemiah 2:13.[1]

As of 1901, the meaning of the name was uncertain.[1] 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.[1]

The modern Bir Ayoub mosque in Silwan, built on top of Job's Well

Recent scholars identify Ein Rogel with Bir Ayyub[2] (also spelled Ayub, Ayoub). It is located just south of the junction of the three valleys - Hinnom, Central and Kidron.[3] 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.[2] Bir Ayoub (Arabic: بئر أيوب‎) translates to "Fountain of Job" or "Job's Well", also known as Joab's Well. Today the Bir Ayoub Mosque of Silwan stands above the Bir Ayoub well.

As of 1901, the identification was uncertain, two locations being suggested:

(1) Virgin's fountain ('Ain Sitti Maryam), later 'Ain Umm ed-Deraj, 'the only real spring close to Jerusalem', exactly opposite to which lies ez-Zehweleh, perhaps Zoheleth;[1] and

(2) Bir Ayub, also known as the Well of Nehemiah, at the junction of two valleys, Wadi er-Rababi and Kidron. However, Bir-Ayub is a well, not a spring, and lies too far from ez-Zehweleh, although it lies near a large stone in Siloam village called Zehwillat. As Bir Ayub is in full view of the city, it does not suit the context of 2 Sam. 17:17, and its antiquity is uncertain.[1]

The chief points in favour of (1) are its antiquity and the evidence of Josephus, who places the well in the royal gardens.[4] Other arguments are based upon the fact that in later times the well was used by fullers.[1]

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.[5]

• 
  Bir Ayub on 1840 illustration from The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia
• 
  Nehemiah's Well on double, or stereoscopic photo card, Bonfils, ca. 1870.
• 
  Bir Ayub in 1910
• 
  Ein Rogel in the mid 19th century

• Sacred Springs and Sabils

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cheyne, Thomas Kelly; Black, J. Sutherland, eds. (1901). "En-rogel" . Encyclopaedia Biblica. 2. location: George N. Morang & Company.