Ain

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Fountain, spelt EN in the English Sisle, in compound words, as En- rogel. It is the name of a city of Judah, afterwards assigned to Simeon, Joshua 15:32; 1 Chronicles 4:32 . Also of a place in the north of Canaan, Numbers 34:11 .

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

("eye".)

1. Fountain, spring, which flashes in the landscape like a gleaming eye. Distinguished from beer , a dug well (Exodus 15:27), "wells," rather springs. Generally in compositions En-gedi, "fountain of kids," En-dor, "fountain of the house," etc. Plural in John 3:23, AEnon; like the Yorkshire Fountains Abbey. Riblah, E. of Ain (Hebrew the spring), marks the eastern boundary of Palestine (Numbers 34:11). Riblah is identified as on the N. E. side of the Hermon mountains; and Ain answers to Ain el 'Azy (nine miles from Riblah, on the N.E. side), the source of the Orerites.

2. A southern city of Judah, afterward of Simeon, then assigned to the priests (Joshua 15:32; Joshua 19:7; Joshua 21:16).

Holman Bible Dictionary

Numbers 34:11Joshua 15:32Joshua 19:7Joshua 21:161 Chronicles 6:59

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

AIN . 1 . A town in the neighbourhood of Riblah ( Numbers 34:11 ), probably the modern el-’Ain near the source of the Orontes. 2 . A town in Judah ( Joshua 15:32 ), or Simeon ( Joshua 19:7 ), where Ain arid Rimmon should be taken together. It is probably Umm er-Ramâmîn , to the N. of Beersheba.

W. Ewing.

AIN . The sixteenth letter of the Heb. alphabet, and so used to introduce the sixteenth part of Psalms 119:1-176 .

Morrish Bible Dictionary

The word ain signifies an 'eye,' or 'a fountain;' it is often used as a prefix, and signifies a fountain of living water in distinction from a well, cistern or tank. It is mostly represented by the prefix EN.

1. Ain, a fountain in the extreme north. There is a fountain still called Ain el-Asy, ten miles S.W. of the ancient Riblah. Numbers 34:11 .

2. One of the Levitical cities in the south. It was originally given to Judah but afterwards allotted to Simeon. Joshua 15:32; Joshua 19:7; Joshua 21:16; 1 Chronicles 4:32 . In 1 Chronicles 6:59 the margin intimates that ASHAN is the same as Ain as a Levitical city, although in 1 Chronicles 4:32 Ain and Ashan are both mentioned.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Ain (â'in), eye, spring. 1. A place, or probably a fountain, and one of the landmarks on the eastern boundary of Canaan. Numbers 34:11. It is now known as Ain el-Azy, a remarkable spring, one of the sources of the Orontes, and about ten miles west of Riblah. 2. A city of southern Palestine, first given to Judah, Joshua 15:32; afterward assigned to Simeon, Joshua 19:7; and then to the Levites, Joshua 21:16; 1 Chronicles 4:32. The same place as Ashan, 1 Chronicles 6:59; and possibly as En-rimmon, Nehemiah 11:29.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

A'in. (spring, well).

1. One of the landmarks on the eastern boundary of Palestine. Numbers 34:11. It is probably 'Ain el-'Azy, the main source of the Orontes.

2. One of the southernmost cities of Judah, Joshua 15:32, afterwards allotted to Simeon, Joshua 19:7; 1 Chronicles 4:32, and given to the priests. Joshua 21:16.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Hebrew A'yin, עיְַן , a fountain) signifies literally an eye, and also, in the simple but vivid imagery of the East, a spring, or natural burst of living water, always contradistinguished from the well or tank of artificial formation, and which latter is designated by the word "Beer" (בְּאֵר ) or "Bor" ( בּאר and בּוֹר ). Ain still retains its ancient and double meaning in the Arabic 'Ain. Such living springs abound in Palestine even more than in other mountainous districts, and, apart from their natural value in a hot climate, form one of the most remarkable features of the country. Prof. Stanley (Palest. p. 147, 509) has called attention to the accurate and persistent use of the word in the original text of the Bible, and has well expressed the inconvenience arising from the confusion in the Auth. Vers. of words and things so radically distinct as Ain and Beer. The importance of distinguishing between the two is illustrated by Exodus 15:27, in which the word Ainoth (translated "wells") is used for the springs of fresh water at Elim, although the rocky soil of that place excludes the supposition of dug wells.

Ain oftenest occurs in combination with other words, forming the names of definite localities: these will be found under EN- (q.v.), as En-gedi, En- gannim, etc. It occurs alone in two cases. (See Fountain).

1. (Sept. at Joshua 21:16, Ἀσά, at 1 Chronicles 4:32, ῎Ην ; elsewhere it blends as a prefix with the following names, Ε᾿ρ - εμώθ, Ε᾿ρ - εμών .) A city at first assigned to the tribe of Judah, on its southern border (Joshua 15:32), but afterward to Simeon (Joshua 19:7; 1 Chronicles 4:32). In all these passages it is mentioned as adjoining Remmon or Rimmon (q.v.), and it seems to be the EN-RIMMON (See N- Rimmon) (q.v.) of Nehemiah 11:29. It was one of the Levitical cities (Joshua 21:16). Reland (Palaest. p. 554, 625) thinks it the same with the Betane (Βετάνη) of Judith 1:9, and the Bethanin (Βηθανίν ) located by Eusebius (Onomast. s.v. Ἀρί, i e. Ἀϊ v ν ) at four Roman miles from Hebron. But these are rather the Bethanoth (q.v.) of Joshua 15:59. Dr. Robinson conjectures it may have been the same with the modern village el-Ghuwein, the ruins of which he saw in a valley a short distance to the right of the road a few hours south of Hebron (Researches, 2, 625). But this again is probably the Anim (q.v.) of Joshua 15:50. The margin of our Bibles identifies this Ain with the Ashan of Joshua 15:42, but in 1 Chronicles 4:32 both are mentioned. In the list of priests' cities in 1 Chronicles 6:59, Ashan (q.v.) appears to take the place of Ain.

2. (With the art., חָעִיַן, Ha-A'yin.); One of the landmarks on the northern or eastern boundary of Palestine as described by Moses (Numbers 34:11), near the lake Gennesareth, adjoining Shephan, and apparently mentioned to define the position of Riblah, viz. "on the east side of 'the spring'" (Sept. ἐπί πηγάς ). But the ambiguous phrase מַקֶּדֶם לָעִיַן (literally, from the east as to the spring), rather refers directly to the boundary as extending in general terms easterly to Ain, in the direction of Riblah (q.v.). By Jerome, in the Vulgate, it is rendered contra fontem Daphnin, meaning the spring which rose in the celebrated grove of Daphne dedicated to Apollo and Diana at Antioch. Riblah having been lately, with much probability, identified (Robinson, Research. new ed. 3, 542-6; Porter, 2:335) with a place of the same name on the north-east slopes of the Lebanon range, "the spring" of the text is probably the modern Ain, in Coele-Syria, between the Orontes and the Litany (Bibliotheca Sacra, 1847, p. 405, 408); so called from a large fountain of the same name a little to the north of the village, which "is strong enough to drive several mills, and about it are heavy blocks of hewn stone of a very antique appearance" (ibid. 1848, p. 698). Dr. Robinson, however, thinks it is rather an appellative, and refers to the fountain of the Orontes still farther south- west of Riblah (new ed. of Researches, 3, 534).

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

A French river, has its source in the Jura Mts., and falls into the Rhône; also a department of France between the Rhône and Savoy.