Rogelim
Rogelim is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Bashan in modern-day Israel. Known today as Zaharet. It appears across 2 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Rogelim appears twice in Scripture, both times in connection with Barzillai the Gileadite, one of the most memorable figures of loyalty and generosity in the Old Testament. When David fled Jerusalem during Absalom's rebellion, Barzillai of Rogelim was among those who brought provisions to the exhausted king and his people at Mahanaim, supplying beds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, honey, curds, sheep, and cheese (2 Samuel 17:27-29). After Absalom's defeat and David's restoration, Barzillai accompanied the king to the Jordan crossing. David invited the elderly Barzillai to come live at the royal court in Jerusalem, but the eighty-year-old man declined, preferring to return home to Rogelim to die near his parents' graves. He sent his servant Chimham in his place (2 Samuel 19:31-39). Rogelim thus enters biblical history as the home of extraordinary hospitality and faithfulness, a place whose leading citizen risked everything to support God's anointed king in his darkest hour.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Rogelim is identified as a city in Gilead, east of the Jordan River, in the region of Bashan. Its precise location remains debated among scholars. One proposed identification places it at Zaharet or Bersimya in the northern Transjordan highlands. The name may derive from a Hebrew root related to "fullers" or textile workers, suggesting a settlement associated with cloth processing. The fertile, well-watered character of the Gilead region described in Scripture would support a prosperous settlement capable of producing the lavish supplies Barzillai provided to David. No definitive archaeological excavation has confirmed the site. The general region of Gilead contains numerous tells with Iron Age occupation layers that could correspond to biblical Rogelim.
Verse Appearances (2)
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →