En-rogel

About En-rogel

En-rogel, also known as the Stone of Zoheleth, was a spring located near Jerusalem, on the border between the territories of Judah and Benjamin (Joshua 15:7; 18:16). It played a significant role in two events related to the succession of King David's throne.

First, Adonijah, one of David's sons, attempted to establish himself as king at En-rogel without David's knowledge or consent (1Ki.1.9). Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened cattle by the Stone of Zoheleth, which was near En-rogel, and invited his brothers and the king's officials to support his claim to the throne. However, his attempt was thwarted when the prophet Nathan and Bathsheba informed David of the situation, leading to Solomon being anointed as king (1Ki.1.11-40).

Later, during Absalom's rebellion against David, En-rogel served as a meeting place for David's supporters, Jonathan and Ahimaaz (2Sa.17.17). They would bring information from the city to David, who had fled from Jerusalem. A servant girl would go and tell them the information, and they would then go and tell King David, to avoid being seen entering the city.

The name En-rogel means "spring of the fuller" or "fountain of the treader," possibly referring to the presence of a water source used for washing or treading clothes. Its exact location is debated, but it is believed to be either the modern-day Bir Ayub (Job's Well) or the Virgin's Spring (Gihon Spring) in the Kidron Valley, south of the City of David.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.