Endor

From BibleWiki

Meaning: fountain of Dor; i.e., "of the age".

Town in the territory of Issachar allotted to Manasseh (Josh 17:11) near the scene of the great victory which was gained by Deborah and Barak over Sisera and Jabin (comp. Ps 83⁹f). To Endor, Saul resorted to consult one reputed to be a witch on the eve of his last engagement with the Philistines (1Sam 28:7).

It is identified with the modern village of Endur, on the northern slope of Little Hermon, about 7 miles from Jezreel. This is now abandoned, in Roman days had a large population. Cheyne, following Graetz, reads "'En Ḥarod" (see Jdg 7:1; Budde, "Richter und Samuel," p. 112).

According to the Hebrew text, the author of Psalm 83 considers Endor to have formed part of the plain of Kishon and, as such, of the battle-field of Megiddo. In 1Sam 29:1 the Septuagint (Manuscript A) reads Αενδὼρ, which is "Endor," not, as Cheyne and Klostermann propose, "'En Ḥarod." If the second half of 1Sam 29:1 is not to be considered as a later addition (Budde, "Die Bücher Samuel" [1902], in Marti's "Kurzer Hand-Commentar zum Alten Testament"), Endor was the place of Saul's encampment, as well as the residence of the witch whom he consulted before the battle of Gilboa (1Sam 28:7).