En-shemesh

En-shemesh, meaning spring of the sun, was a spring on the boundary between the territories of Judah and Benjamin, lying east of Jerusalem on the road toward Jericho. It served as a landmark point on the dividing line between the two tribes as described in the book of Joshua, lying between Adummim and the waters of En-rogel.

The site is identified with the modern Ain Haud (Spring of the Apostles), located about two miles east of Jerusalem on the Jericho road, just before the descent toward the Jordan valley begins. The name suggests the spring was oriented or visible such that it caught the morning sun, or that it lay in the direction of sunrise from Jerusalem. En-shemesh's role as a tribal boundary marker reflects the careful geographical precision of the Joshua land allotments, in which springs, ridgelines, and valleys served as the demarcation points between tribal inheritances.