The Spring of Harod
עֵין חֲרֹד · “Ein Harod” on the map
Where was the Spring of Harod? At Ma'ayan Harod National Park, at the foot of Gilboa, about 30 km southwest of Tiberias. I mark it very likely.
Gideon brought his army down to this spring and watched how they drank. The 300 who scooped up the water in their hands became his force. That night, with trumpets, jars and torches, they routed the camp of Midian in the valley below.
By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker
- Site today
- Ma'ayan Harod National Park, at the foot of Gilboa
- How sure
- Very likely Strong evidence, with no serious rival.
- Other names
- En-harod, Ma'ayan Harod, Well of Harod, Ain Jalut, Ein Jalud
- Location
- 32.5515° N, 35.3577° E (Google Maps)
How we know where it was
The Book of Judges gives a clear layout. Gideon camped "above En-harod," and the camp of Midian lay north of him, by the Hill of Moreh, down in the valley. Ma'ayan Harod fits. It is the main spring at the foot of Gilboa, flowing out of a cave, and it faces the Hill of Moreh directly across the narrow Harod Valley. That is the plain where Midian, Amalek and the people of the east spread out.
The name helps too. The spring still gives its name to the valley and to its stream. And the story plays on it. Before the test at the water, Gideon sent home everyone who was yare ve-chared, fearful and trembling. Chared and Harod share the same letters. At the Trembling Spring, 22,000 trembling men went home.
Most atlases follow this identification. It rests on geography and the valley's name, not on an inscription. A few scholars place the Gideon stories near Shechem instead. But the layout in Judges, with Moreh to the north across a valley, matches this spot.
Visiting today
Ma'ayan Harod National Park has the spring cave, a large pool fed by the spring, lawns and a campground.
Read it in the Bible
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.
See Ein Harod on the interactive map →
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Get the print + free ebookNearby places
- The Spring in Jezreel 2 km northwest
- Jezreel 3 km west
- Mount Gilboa 6 km southeast
- Shunem 6 km north
- Endor 11 km north
- Taanach 14 km west