Sirah
Sirah is a location mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Ain Sarah. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
The well of Sirah appears in a single but momentous passage in the Old Testament, 2 Samuel 3:26, as the location where Joab intercepted and murdered Abner, the commander of Ish-bosheth's army. Abner had earlier defected to David's side and had been negotiating with David to unite all Israel under his kingship. After a successful meeting at Hebron, Abner was sent away in peace by David. Joab, however, harbored a blood-feud against Abner for the earlier killing of his brother Asahel at the battle of Gibeon (2 Samuel 2:18-23). Without David's knowledge, Joab sent messengers to call Abner back from the well of Sirah and then treacherously stabbed him at the gate of Hebron. David publicly mourned Abner, lamented his unjust death, and cursed Joab's household, making clear that the assassination was unauthorized. The well of Sirah thus marks a turning point in the narrative of the united monarchy, a place where political reconciliation was fatally interrupted by personal vengeance, and where David publicly distanced himself from Joab's ruthless methods.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The well of Sirah is identified with modern Ain Sarah (also rendered Ain Sirah), a spring located approximately two miles north of Hebron in the southern West Bank. The preservation of the name in the Arabic form Ain Sarah strongly supports this identification, as place name continuity in this region is generally reliable. The spring lies along the natural road northward from Hebron, consistent with the narrative of Abner's journey. The area around Hebron has been extensively documented through archaeological surveys and limited excavations, revealing significant Iron Age occupation. The specific site of Ain Sarah has not been subject to large-scale excavation, but the topographic and onomastic evidence presents a compelling case for its identification with the biblical well of Sirah.
Verse Appearances (1)
2Sam
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]