En-hakkore
En-hakkore is a location mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Khirbet es Siyyagh. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
En-hakkore, whose name means 'the spring of the caller' or 'spring of the partridge,' is a location mentioned in the dramatic narrative of Samson in Judges 15:19. After Samson killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey at Lehi, he was overcome with intense thirst and cried out to God in exhaustion. God miraculously split open a hollow place at Lehi, and water gushed out. Samson drank, his strength returned, and he named the spring En-hakkore — 'the spring of him who called out' — in memory of his desperate prayer and God's merciful response. The name thus preserves the theological memory of divine provision in extremity. The narrative is one of several Samson stories set in the Shephelah region between Judah and Philistia, where Samson's conflicts with the Philistines repeatedly played out. En-hakkore stands as a monument to answered prayer and divine faithfulness, a reminder that when God's servant cries out in need, God hears and provides.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
En-hakkore is identified in some traditions with Khirbet es-Siyyagh in the Shephelah region of Judah, though the identification remains tentative. The Lehi area where the spring is said to have appeared is generally associated with the region of Ramat Lehi or Khirbet Silag near the Sorek Valley. The Shephelah has been the focus of considerable archaeological investigation, with major excavations at Lachish, Gath, Azekah, and other sites that illuminate the Philistine-Israelite frontier during the Iron Age I period, the era of the judges. Spring and water sources in this region have been significant in settlement patterns throughout history, consistent with the biblical account of a miraculous water source appearing at Lehi.
Verse Appearances (1)
Judg
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →