עַ֫יִן
a.yin
Fountain (Gate)
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Hebrew word "a.yin" (Strong's number: H5869B) is a proper name that refers to a person. However, its short definition also includes the meaning of "Fountain (Gate)". This suggests that the name "a.yin" may be derived from a location or a significant geographical feature, possibly a gate or an entrance to a city, which was also a source of water, or a "fountain". Given its proper name status, "a.yin" likely refers to an individual who is associated with this location or feature. The fact that it occurs only three times in the Bible implies that this person may not have been a major figure, but their connection to this specific location or feature is significant enough to warrant mention. The significance of "a.yin" lies in its connection to a specific geographical feature, which may have held cultural or spiritual significance in the ancient Hebrew context. This association highlights the importance of geographical locations and features in the Hebrew Bible, which often serve as metaphors or symbols for spiritual or cultural concepts.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
3 total occurrences across the text
Then I went on to the spring gate and to the king’s pool, but there was no place for the animal that was under me to pass.
Nehemiah 3:15Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of the district of Mizpah repaired the spring gate. He built it, and covered it, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and the wall of the pool of Shelah by the king’s garden, even to the stairs that go down from David’s city.
Nehemiah 12:37By the spring gate, and straight before them, they went up by the stairs of David’s city, at the ascent of the wall, above David’s house, even to the water gate eastward.