Hebrew word · H5885

עֵין שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ

'ein

En-shemesh

A place name: ʿayin "spring, eye" + shemesh "sun", giving "Spring of the Sun".

Appears 4 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ En-shemesh = "fountain of the sun"

a spring on the boundary of Judah on the south and Benjamin on the north

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 Joshua 18:17

Range of meaning

A place name: ʿayin "spring, eye" + shemesh "sun", giving "Spring of the Sun".

Against the English

English versions leave it as a name, "En-shemesh", which hides the meaning from readers.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same place appears in Josh 15:7. Other place names with Shemesh include Beth-shemesh ("House of the Sun") and Ir-shemesh. Because shemesh is also the name of the Canaanite sun deity (Shapash in Ugaritic texts), some scholars see a remnant of pre-Israelite worship. The name may simply describe the spring.

Where it appears

Joshua · 4

  1. Joshua 15:7 עֵ֣ין שֶׁ֔מֶשׁ En, Shemesh

    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 18:17 עֵ֣ין שֶׁ֔מֶשׁ En, Shemesh

    From there it curved northward and proceeded to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth facing the Ascent of Adummim, and continued down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.

    Here: First half of the place name. ʿayin is a spring or water source, the most reliable kind of landmark in dry hill country.

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