En-rimmon (Hastings' Dictionary)

One of the settlements of Judahites after the return from the Exile, Neh 11. In Jos iri-' amongst the towns assigned to Judah we find ' Ain and Rimmon,' and in 19' (cf. 1 Ch 4") amongst those assigned to Simon are 'Ain, Rim- mon.' In all these instances there can be little doubt that we ought to read neither itoi] pv nor py py^, but ib-i pv (En-rimmon). This reading is accepted by Uennctt and Kittel in Joshua and Chronicles in Uaupt's OT.

En-riramon is probably to be identified with tliemoderuUmjn-er-Jiumdmin, about 9 miles N. of Beersheba. LlT«aiTO»l.— Ij»(r»rde, Onom. 120, 2,16 ; Robinson, BRP lU. tSS : Tu da Vtlda, Memoir, 344 ; PSf Mem. UL 892, SW). J. A. Sklbik. EN-ROGEL (SjT py ' spring of the fuller '), a spring in the immediate vicinity of Jerus., on the bound- arj' between Judah and Benjamin (Jos 15' IS'*).

Owing to its position close to but yet out of view of the city, Jonathan and Ahlmaaz, the sons cf the priests, were stationed there during the rebellion of Absalom, in order that they might secretly receive and carry news from Hushai in Jerus. to David in his camp by the Jordan (2 S 17").

At a later period of history it was the scene of a great feast given by Adonijah, the eldest son of David, presumably with a view to forcibly seizing the crown (1 K 1" by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside E.') Jos. {Ant. \ai. xiv. 4) describes it as being ' without the city, in the royal gardens'; and again (Ant. EX. x. 4) speaks of a place called Eroge (clearly, as Mr.

Grove has pointed out, a mistake for En-rogel), at which the earthquake consequent on the sacrilegious act of Uzzian dislodged a portion of the eastern hill, 'so as to obstruct the roads and the royal gardens.' Modem authorities are somewhat divided as to the exact site of the spring ; but the bulk of the evidence is certainly in favour of the identification of E. with 'the Fountain of the Virgin.'

This spring, now called 'Ain Umm ed-Deraj = ' the siiring of the steps,' lies in the Kidron valley, close to the village of Siloam, and is, in fact, the source from which the Upper Pool of Siloam derives its supply of water ; the latter flows through a rock-newn tunnel ' dating from the time of the Kings' (Sir C. Wilson).

The latter autho- rity further considers that originally this supply of water was carried as far as the Lower Pool (Hirket el-Hamra), and that it was stored there for irrigat- ing the king's gardens. The arguments brought forward in support of this identification are, briefly, as follows:^!) The 'Fountain of the Virgin ' is the only real spring near to Jerusalem.

(2) Immediately fronting it, on the farther side of the valley, tliere is a rude flight of steps, cut out of the precipitous face of the cliff, which leads to the village of Siloam; this place is called at the present time ez-Zehwclch, and is identified by M. Clermont-Ganneau (PEFSt, 1869-70, p. 253) with the stone of Zoheleth. (3) The spring must have always been well known, and so would naturally form a landmark on the boundary-line between Judah and Benjamin. (4) In the account of St.

James' martyrdom, he is said to have been cast from the temple wall into the valley of Kidron, and finally slain by a fuller with his stick. From this it has been inferred that St. James was cast down near the spot where the fullers were work- ing. (5) This spring is still the great resort of the women of Jerus. for washing and treading their clothes. Others, however, identify E. with Blr Eyiib = ' the well of Job,' or ' the well of Nehemiah (ace. to a later tradition).

Three points are urged in favour of this view : (1) that in the Arab. vS of Jos 15' E. is translated by 'Ain Eyflb ; (2) that in an early Jewish itinerary (Uri of liiel in Hottinger's t'ijipi Hebrairi) it is called 'the well of Joab,' as if referring to Joab's connexion >vith Adonijah ; and (3) that its situation agrees better with the common boundary of Judah and Benjamin.

But these arguments are not sufficiently weighty to counter- balance the following objections: (I) The liir Eyiib is a well, not a spring, its waters, aa a rule, being 70 to 80 ft. below the level of the ground. (2) Its situation does not snit the narrative of 2 S 17. Lying below the junction of the valleys of Kidron and Hinnom, it is at once too far from the city and from the direct road over the Mt.

of Olives to the Jordan ; and if ez-Zehweleh is the game as Zoheleth, it would also be too far from this latter spot. (3) Its date is uncertain ; but it 712 ENROLMENT ENVY is hardly probable that it goes back to the time of Joshua. LiTERATt'RB- — Besides the authorities cited above, see BaedokcrSocin, Pat.'' 113 ; Robinson, BRP i. 331 f. ; Williams, Ho/j/ Vily, U. 489 fl.; PEF Mem. 'Jerusalem,' p. Sir, tf. ; Benzinger, Beb. Arch. 42; W. R. Smith, US^ \~i, 48fl ; I'EF.

St, 1874, 70; 1884, 186; 1885, 20, 184, 228; ISSC, SB; 18S9, 45 3.; 1890, 125. J. F. STENNINQ.