Hebrew word · H5883

עֵין רֹגֵל

'ein

En-rogel

A place name: 'spring/well of Rogel.' 'Ein is a spring or water source. Rōgēl is a participle from the root r-g-l (connected with regel, 'foot'). It is usually read as 'one who treads', that is a fuller who cleaned and thickened cloth by trampling it in water.

Appears 8 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ En-rogel = "fount of the fuller"

a place near Jerusalem on the border between Judah and Benjamin and from which the permanent source of the pool of Siloam comes

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Samuel 17:17

Range of meaning

A place name: 'spring/well of Rogel.' 'Ein is a spring or water source. Rōgēl is a participle from the root r-g-l (connected with regel, 'foot'). It is usually read as 'one who treads', that is a fuller who cleaned and thickened cloth by trampling it in water. The same root in another verb form means 'to go about as a spy' (e.g. Josh 2:1; 2 Sam 10:3), so 'spring of the spy' or 'of the traveller' has also been suggested.

Against the English

English versions transliterate it ('En-rogel', 'En Rogel'). That is correct, but a reader then misses that it names a spring, and a spring is the setting that makes the plan work.

Used elsewhere in the period

It marks the boundary between Judah and Benjamin (Josh 15:7; 18:16). Adonijah holds his feast to claim the throne 'by the Stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel' (1 Kgs 1:9). Josephus places that event at the spring in the royal garden (Antiquities 7.14.4). The Greek Septuagint has 'at the spring of Rōgēl'. The Aramaic Targum is generally reported to render it 'spring of the fuller'. Most scholars identify the site with Bir Ayyub ('Job's Well'), just south of the City of David where the Kidron and Hinnom valleys meet.

From the study of Joshua 18:16

Range of meaning

"Spring of Rogel." rōgēl is related to regel, "foot". Suggested meanings are "fuller's spring" (fullers trod cloth with their feet; the Aramaic Targum renders "spring of the fuller") or "spring of the traveller/spy". The meaning is uncertain.

Against the English

English versions transliterate it as "En-rogel", which is correct but hides that it means "spring".

Used elsewhere in the period

Josh 15:7; 2 Sam 17:17 (David's messengers wait there outside the city); 1 Kgs 1:9 (Adonijah's coronation feast by the Serpent's Stone near En-rogel). Usually identified with Bir Ayyub, below where the Kidron and Hinnom valleys meet.

Where it appears

Joshua · 4

  1. Joshua 15:7 עֵ֥ין רֹגֵֽל׃ En, Rogel

    Then the border went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, turning north to Gilgal, which faces the Ascent of Adummim south of the ravine. It continued along the waters of En-shemesh and came out at En-rogel.

  2. Joshua 18:16 עֵ֥ין רֹגֵֽל׃ En, Rogel

    Then it went down to the foot of the hill that faces the Valley of Ben-hinnom at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim and ran down the Valley of Hinnom toward the southern slope of the Jebusites and downward to En-rogel.

    Here: ʿayin, "spring" (literally "eye"), the first part of the place name.

2 Samuel · 2

  1. 2 Samuel 17:17 בְּעֵין־ רֹגֵ֗ל at En, Rogel

    Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, where a servant girl would come and pass along information to them. They in turn would go and inform King David, for they dared not be seen entering the city.

    Here: 'At' plus the first part of the place name. 'Ein means a spring of water, so a reader would hear 'at the spring of Rogel.'

1 Kings · 2

  1. 1 Kings 1:9 עֵ֣ין רֹגֵ֑ל En, Rogel

    And Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened calves near the stone of Zoheleth, which is next to En-rogel. He invited all his royal brothers and all the men of Judah who were servants of the king.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.