Aenon

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

Aenon ( Αἰνών, probably from Aramaic עֵינָוָן ‘springs’).—Mentioned only in  John 3:23 ‘And John also was baptizing in aenon near to Salim, because there were many waters there’ ((Revised Version margin)). The place cannot be identified with certainty. Four sites have been proposed, two in Samaria and two in Judaea.

1. Eusebius and Jerome ( Onomast .2 [Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred] 229. 91, 99, 25) place aenon in the Jordan Valley, 8 miles south of Scythopolis ( Beisân ), ‘juxta Salem et Jordanem.’ About 7 miles south of Beisân and 2 miles west of the Jordan there are seven springs, all lying within a radius of a quarter of a mile, and numerous rivulets. Three-quarters of a mile to the north of these springs van de Velde found a tomb bearing the name of Sheikh Salim . But the fact that a modern sheikh bore the name Salim is far from satisfactory proof that the Salim of our narrative was at tins place. If we are to find Salim in Samaria at all, does not the mention of it as a well-known place suggest the well-known Salim 4 miles east of Shechem? And would it not be gratuitous for the Evangelist to say of a place so near the Jordan that there was much water there? But, in spite of these objections, Sanday ( Sacred Sites of the Gospels , p. 36) and others still think this site has the best claim.

2. Tristram ( Bible Places , p. 234) and Conder ( Tent Work in Palestine , i. pp. 91–93) place aenon at ‘ Ainun on a hill near the head of the great Fârʿah valley, the open highway from the Damieh ford of the Jordan to Shechem. Four miles southwest of the village of ‛Ainun, in the Wady Fârʿah, is a succession of springs, yielding a copious perennial stream, with flat meadows on either side, where great crowds might gather. Three miles south of the valley (7 miles from ‛Ainun) stands Salim. Conder says: ‘The site of Wady Fârʿah is the only one where all the requisites are met—the two names, the fine water supply, the proximity of the desert, and the open character of the ground.’ The situation is a central one also, accessible by roads from all quarters, and it agrees well with the new identification of Bethabara. But ( a ) ‛Ainun is not ‘near to Salim,’ the two places being 7 miles apart, and separated by the great Wady Fârʿah. ( b ) There is not a drop of water at ‛Ainun (Robinson, Bib. Res. iii. 305). ( c ) It is not likely that John the Baptist was labouring among the Samaritans, with whom the Jews had no dealings (cf.  Matthew 3:5;  Matthew 10:5). ( d ) It appears that both Jesus and John were baptizing in Judaea ( John 3:22-23), and their proximity gave occasion to the remarks referred to in  John 3:25, and that Jesus left Judaea for Galilee with the intention of getting out of the neighbourhood of John and removing the appearance of rivalry ( John 4:1). But if aenon was in Samaria, Jesus was nearer John than before.

3. Ewald and Hengstenberg prefer Shilhim (LXX Septuagint Σελεείμ) in the extreme south of Judaea, mentioned ( Joshua 15:32) in connexion with Ain. Godet says the reason given for John’s baptizing in aenon would have greater force as applied to a generally waterless region like the southern extremity of Judah than if the reference were to a well-watered district like Samaria. But elsewhere ( Joshua 19:7,  1 Chronicles 4:32,  Nehemiah 11:29) Ain is connected with Rimmon and not with Shilhim.

4. More probable as a Judaean site for aenon is Wady Fârʿah , a secluded valley with copious springs about 6 miles north-east of Jerusalem (quite different, of course, from the great Wady Fârʿah of Samaria). This is the view adopted by Professor Konrad Furrer in his article on the geographical allusions in the Gospel of St. John in the ZNT W [Note: NTW Zeitschrift für die Neutest. Wissen. schaft.] , 1902, Heft 4, p. 258. The suggestion is not new. It was put forward nearly fifty years ago by Barclay ( City of the Great King , pp. 558–570), but has never received the attention it deserves. Barclay says that ‘of all the fountains in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, the most copious and interesting by far are those that burst forth within a short distance of each other in Wady Fârʿah.’ He quotes the following description from The History of the Jerusalem Mission  :—

‘From the brow at Wady Fârʿah we descended with some difficulty into that “Valley of Delight,”—for such is the literal signification of its name,—and truly I have seen nothing so delightful in the way of natural scenery, nor inviting in point of resources, etc., in all Palestine. Ascending its bold stream from this point, we passed some half-dozen expansions of the stream, constituting the most beautiful natural natatoria i have ever seen; the water, rivaling the atmosphere itself in transparency, of depth varying from a few inches to a fathom or more, shaded on one or both sides by umbrageous Fig-trees, and sometimes contained in naturally excavated basins of red mottled marble—an occasional variegation of the common limestone of the country. These pools are supplied by some half-dozen springs of the purest and coldest water, bursting from rocky crevices at various intervals. Verily, thought i, we have stumbled upon Enon!… Portions of aqueducts, both of pottery and stone, and in a tolerable state of preservation, too, in many places, are still found remaining on each side of the valley, indicating the extent to which the valley was at one time irrigated; and richer land i have never seen than is much of this charming valley.… Several herds of cattle were voraciously feeding on the rich herbage near the stream; and thousands of sheep and goats were seen approaching the stream, or “resting at noonday” in the shadow of the great rock composing the overhanging cliff here and there.… Rank grasses, luxuriant reeds, tall weeds, and shrubbery and trees of various kinds, entirely conceal the stream from view in many places.… Higher up, the valley becomes very narrow, and the rocky precipices tower to a sublime height.’

The name aenon does not seem to have survived in connexion with these springs, but within 2 miles of them there is another valley called by the Arabs Wady Saleim . It is at least possible that this name was once borne by one of the towns whose ruins still crown the neighbouring heights. A town thus placed would have been a conspicuous object from many parts of Judaea, and would have been naturally referred to by the Evangelist when describing the location of aenon.

Literature.—In addition to writers cited above, see artt. ‘aenon’ in Smith’s D B [Note: Dictionary of the Bible.] 2 [Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred] , and ‘Salim’ in Encyc. Biblica .

W. W. Moore.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Near Salim, where John baptized ( John 3:22-23;  John 3:26; compare  John 1:28), W. of Jordan. The name ("springs") implies" there was much water there." Robinson found a Salim E. of Nabulus , or Shechem, with two copious springs: compare  Genesis 33:18. This would require Aenon to be far W. of Jordan; it agrees with this that, had it been near Jordan, John would scarcely have remarked that "much water" was there: but if far from the river, it explains how the plentiful water at AEnon was convenient for baptisms.

There is an Ainun still near Shechem or Nabloos, with many beautiful streams and brooks. Ainun is as distant N. of the springs (three or four miles) as Salim is S. of them. The valley is called the wady Farah . (See Salim .) The Ainun site is on the main line from Jerusalem to Nazareth. Here most probably, at the upper source of the wady Farah stream, between Salim and Ainun, was John's Aenon. The Palestine explorer, Lieut. Conder, confirms this; moreover, this would explain  John 4:4, "Jesus must needs go through Samaria; ... one soweth and another reapeth," etc. ( John 4:37-38.) John the Baptist, the forerunner, prepared the way in Samaria; Jesus and His disciples must needs follow up by preaching the gospel there.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

AE'non. (Springs). A place "near to Salim," at which John baptized.  John 3:23. It was evidently west of the Jordan, compare  John 3:22 with  John 3:26 and with  John 1:28, and abounded in water. It is given in the Omomasticon as eight miles south of Scythopolis "near Salem and the Jordan."

Morrish Bible Dictionary

Place where John was baptising, because there was much water there.  John 3:23 . It was near SALIM, q.v.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

ÆNON .   John 3:23 , meaning ‘springs’; a site near Salim [wh. see].

Holman Bible Dictionary

 John 3:23

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 John 3:23

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

See Enon .

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( Αἰνών , from Chald. עֵינָוָן Enavan ’ , Fountains; Buxtorf, Lex. Talm. col. 1601), the name of a place near Salim, where John baptized ( John 3:23); the reason given, "because there was much water ( Ὕδατα Πολλά , Many Waters) there," would suggest that he baptized at the springs from which the place took its name. Eusebius (Onomast. s.v.) places it eight Roman miles south of Scythopolis (Bethshean), and fifty-three north-east of Jerusalem; and it was evidently (comp.  John 3:26 with 1:28) on the west side of the Jordan (contrary to Kuinol and Lampe in loc.; after Zorn, De Aenone, in his Olpusc. 2, 71-94; also in Ugolini Thesaur. 7), but not necessarily in Judaea (as Wieseler, Chronol. Synop. p. 248). See the curious speculations of Lightfoot (Cent. Chorog. 1, 2, 3, 4). Dr. Robinson ’ s most careful search, on his second visit (new ed. of Researches, 3, 333), failed to discover any trace of either name or remains in the locality indicated by Eusebius; but a Salim has been found by him to the east of and close to Nablus, where there are two very copious springs (Ib. 2, 279; 3, 298). This position agrees with the requirements of  Genesis 33:18. (See Shalem). In favor of its distance from the Jordan is the consideration that, if close by the river, the evangelist would hardly have drawn attention to the "much water" there. Dr. Barclay is disposed to locate A Enon at Wady Farah, a secluded valley about five miles to the N.E. of Jerusalem, running into the great Wady Fowar immediately above Jericho; but the only grounds for this identification are the copious springs and pools with which W. Farah abounds, and also the presence of the name Selam or Seleim, the appellation of another valley close by (City of the Great King, p. 558-570). See SALIM.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ē´non ( Αἰνών , Ainō̇n ): The place where John was baptizing "because there was much water there" ( John 3:23 ). it was on the west side of the Jordan, the place where John baptized at the first being on the east ( John 1:28;  John 3:26;  John 10:40 ). We may be sure it was not in Samaritan territory. Eusebius, Onomasticon locates it 8 Roman miles South of Scythopolis ( Beisān ), this stretch of land on the west of the Jordan being then, not under Samaria, but under Scythopolis. its position is defined by nearness to Salim. Various identifications have been suggested, the most probable being the springs near Umm el - ‛Amdān , which exactly suit the position indicated by Eusebius, Onomasticon. See discussion under Salim .

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Æ´non, fountain; the name of a place near Salem, where John baptized ( John 3:23); the reason given, 'because there was much water there,' would suggest that he baptized at the springs from which the place took its name.