Bible Dictionary
JACKAL'S WELL
The Jackal’s Well was a spring or well in the Valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem, mentioned when Nehemiah inspected the city walls. Its exact location is uncertain, and the water source may later have disappeared.
Definition
The Jackal’s Well was a well or spring in the Valley of Hinnom between the Gate of the Gai and the Dung Gate. It was noted when Nehemiah inspected Jerusalem’s walls.
Biblical Usage
The well is mentioned in Nehemiah’s account of his nighttime inspection of the city and its surrounding walls.
Historical Background
No corresponding source exists in the valley today. It may have been a spring produced by an earthquake and later disappeared, or it may have been named for jackals that haunted the valley.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>(`en ha-tannin; Septuagint has pege ton sukon, "fountain of the figs"; the King James Version dragon well): A well or spring in the valley of Hinnom between the "Gate of the Gai" and the Dung Gate (Ne 2:13). No such source exists in the Wady er Rababi (see HINNOM, VALLEY OF) today, although it is very probable that a well sunk to the rock in the lower parts of this valley might strike a certain amount of water trickling down the valley-bottom. G.A. Smith suggests (Jerusalem, I, chapter iv) that this source may have arisen as the result of an earthquake, hence, the name "dragon," and have subsequently disappeared; but it is at least as likely that it received its name from the jackals which haunted this valley, as the pariah dogs do today, to consume the dead bodies which were thrown there.</p><p>See HINNOM, VALLEY OF; JACKAL.</p><p>E. W. G. Masterman</p>