Endor
ENDOR (ĕn'dôr, Heb. ‘ên dor, spring of habitation). A village about seven miles (twelve km.) SE of Nazareth, in Manasseh’s territory in western Palestine. The hometown of the “witch of Endor,” the spiritist medium Saul visited before his last battle with the Philistines (1Sam.28.8-1Sam.28.25).
EN-DOR ĕn’ dōr (עֵֽינ־דֹּר, עֵ֥ין דֹּֽור, עֵינ־דֹּ֑אר, LXX ̓Αενδώρ, āndōr, fountain of habitation). A town in Issachar allotted to Manasseh because of the members of the tribe of Manasseh living there (Josh 17:11). Apparently, Manasseh did not drive out all the Canaanites from En-dor at the time of the conquest (17:12). It is identified with the historical Endūr, 4 m. S of Mt. Tabor and 6 m. SE of Nazareth, on the northern slope of Little Hermon (Nebi Dahi), where there are several ancient caves. In Roman days, it had a large population. In modern times, Endūr was occupied by Arabs who abandoned it in 1948 during the Arab-Jewish war, whereupon the Israeli established a settlement there and called it Ein Dor.
According to Psalm 83:9, 10, En-dor formed part of the plain of Kishon and thus a part of the battlefield of Megiddo. It was the scene of the defeat of Jabin and Sisera by Barak. En-dor was the site of the encampment of the army of King Saul before the battle with the Philistines (1 Sam 29:1). The town is perhaps most famous because Saul here sought the help of a medium in the uncertain hours before his final battle (28:7).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
`en dor, Jos 17:11; `en dor, 1Sa 28:7; `en do’r, Ps 83:10; Codex Alexandrinus, Nendor; Codex Vaticanus, Aeldor:
A town in the lot of Issachar assigned to Manasseh (Jos 17:11). Here dwelt the woman who had a familiar spirit, whom Saul consulted on the night before the battle of Gilboa (1Sa 28:7). Here also, according to Ps 83:10, perished fugitives of Sisera’s army, after their defeat at the Kishon. The place was therefore not far from the Kishon and Tabor.
It is generally identified with the modern Endur, a small village on the northern slope of Jebel ed-Duchy, with several ancient caves. It is not far from Nain and Shunem, and looks across the valley along which the broken ranks of Sisera may have attempted to make their way eastward to the open uplands, and thence to their native North. Coming hither from Gilboa, eluding the Philistine outposts under cover of the darkness, Saul would cross the Vale of Jezreel, and pass round the eastern base of the mountain, the Philistines being on the west.