Rimmon

1. The rock (;to-)(ri) pSp, ^ wirpa (toC) 'Pt/n/xiii') in the eastern highlands or wilderness (midbdr) of Benjamin, whither the remnants of the Beniamites (.Jg 20^ 21i^) fled. It has been identiKea bv Robinson (i. 440) as a lofty rock or conical chalky hill, visible in all directions, on the summit of which stands the villa-'e of RummCn. It forms a remarkable object in the landscape as seen from the village of JibA, some 6 miles distant. It is about 4 miles east of Beitin (Bethel) (cf. van de Velde, Memoir, 345 ; SWP ii. 292). A place of this name is mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome as existing in their day 15 miles north of Jerusalem {Onomast. s. 'Rimmon'). 2. (po-i) A city in the south of Judah, towards the border of Edom, Jos 15"^ {'Epufuie) ; in 19' (B 'Epfii/uip, A 'Pfij./xu9) counted to Simeon ; in Zee 14'" {'Peiiiiuf) named as lying to the far south of Jcru.salera. In the first two of these pas-sages Rimmon is coupled with Ain (in the first with, in the second without, the conjunction i), cf. 1 Ch 4''''. In Neh U'*, on the other hand, we read En-rimmon ('spring of the pomegranate '), and there are good grounds for holding that this is the correct reading in all the other passages as well. See En-rimmon. Van de Velde {Mem. 344) has identified Rimmon and En-rimmon witli Urnm er-Rum&min, between Beit-Jibrin and Bir esSeba, very nearly at the di.Mtance mentioned by Eusebius. He mentions that Grotius and Rosenmiiller suppose, as a solu- tion of the difficulty, that Ain and Rimmon were near together, and in later years united in one. 'Ain is probably identical with a site onlv half a mile north of Umm er-Iiumdmtn, now called Tell Khewel/eh, and opposite another ancient site. Tell Uora. Between the two tells is a copious fountiin filling a large ancient reservoir, which for miles around is the chief watering-place of the Bedawin population of this region. A city at the base of which such a remarkable fountain existed would well derive its name from "the fountain," and its vicinity to Rimmon would justify both its distinct enumeration and its collective appellation.' SWP (iii. p. 397) confirms tliis, stating tliat Khan KhuweilJ'ch is an extensive ruin near Bir Khu- weilfeh. Caves, cisterns, broken pillars, shafts, and traces of walls are found. The ruins extend along the valley and on the higher ground. The well is large, lined with well-dressed stones, and resembling the Beersheba wells. The tell has an artificially-levelled platform, and seems to have formed a fortress. The water-supply is perennial. At Khan umm er-Rumdmtn there are heaps of well- dressed stones, many of which are drafted. Tliere are also several large lintel stones, and part of a stone apparently representing the seven-oranched candlestick. These remains probably belong to the Bj'zantine period (SWP iii. 398). 3. In Jos 19'^ one of the boundaries of Zebulnn is given as ' Rimmon that stretched to the Ne'ah ' (li'aC iNirpn P"! ; AV wTongly ' Remmon-methoar to Neah'). In 1 Ch 6^ [""'>• ''-J the name appears as Rimmono Ciirai), and in Jos 21^" as Riramonah (for which, by a textual error, MT has Dimnah [which see]). See Dillm. Joshua, ad loc. Robinson proposes to identify Rimmon with the village of Rumm&tieh, north of Nazareth, and this site has since been accepted. Rummdneh is a small village built of stone, and containing about 70 Moslems. It is situated on a low ridge above the plain, and there are a few olive trees around. The water-supply is from cisterns and a well. There are rock-cut caves, and traces of ancient remains in the village (SWP i. 417). C. Warren.