ENDOR. - A city in the territory of the tribe of Issachar, but given to the tribe of Manasseh (Josh. 17:11). Sisera and Jabin "were defeated at the torrent Kishon near E." (Ps. 83:10): indeed E. closes the eastern plain traversed by the Kishon, into whose waters the corpses of the slain were thrown (Judg. 4:7; 5:21). It was the seat of the pythoness or necromancer, to whom Saul, having himself brought there by night and in disguise, asked that she summon Samuel: the shade of the dead prophet appeared and confirmed to Saul the ancient prediction, to which he added that of the imminent catastrophe of Israel (1 Sam. 28:7-24).
Eusebius and Jerome (Onomasticon) place E. about 6 km south of Mount Tabor and near Nain: data to which the present-day Endor (450 inhabitants) corresponds. It is situated on the slopes of the small Hermon, a mountain of volcanic nature. Many caves, silos and cisterns hewn in the rock attest the ancient importance of the place. One notices there a certain number of ancient tombs and the spring from which E. takes its name ('[i]fʁ ddr'). From E. one enjoys a splendid view over Mount Tabor, from which it is separated by a broad plain, and over the volcanic peaks of the Gōlān beyond the Jordan.
Vincenzo M. Iacono