{
  "id": "dict_002377",
  "term": "Well of Harod",
  "slug": "well-of-harod",
  "letter": "H",
  "entry_type": "biblical_place_name",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "The Well of Harod is the spring near Mount Gilboa where Gideon camped before God reduced his army in Judges 7. It is a biblical place-name, not a doctrinal term.",
  "simple_one_line": "A spring near Mount Gilboa linked to Gideon’s victory over Midian.",
  "tooltip_text": "A spring near Mount Gilboa mentioned in Gideon’s account in Judges 7.",
  "aliases": [
    "Harod, Well of"
  ],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Gideon",
    "Midianites",
    "Judges",
    "Mount Gilboa"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "En Harod",
    "Gideon’s army",
    "Judges 7"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "The Well of Harod is a biblical location in the Gideon narrative, identified as the spring where Gideon’s army camped before the Lord reduced its numbers.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "Biblical place-name; spring near Mount Gilboa in the story of Gideon.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Mentioned in Judges 7:1",
    "serves as the setting for Gideon’s army reduction",
    "its significance is narrative and historical rather than doctrinal."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "The Well of Harod is the spring named in Judges 7:1, where Gideon encamped before the Lord reduced Israel’s fighting force prior to victory over Midian. The site functions as part of the narrative setting and is best treated as a biblical place-name rather than a theological concept.",
  "description_academic_full": "The Well of Harod is a geographic location named in Judges 7:1, identified as the spring where Gideon and his men camped before God reduced the army that would defeat the Midianites. In the narrative, the site provides the setting for a decisive demonstration that victory comes by the Lord’s power rather than by human strength or numbers. The name is commonly associated with the idea of trembling or fear, though interpreters should be cautious about building doctrine on that etymology alone. As a biblical place-name, it is historically and literarily significant within the Gideon account, but it is not a theological term in the doctrinal sense.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Judges 7 places Gideon at the Well of Harod before the reduction of his army and the subsequent victory over Midian.",
  "background_historical_context": "The site is linked to the narrative geography of the Gideon account, near Mount Gilboa in the region associated with Israel’s struggle against Midian.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Ancient readers would have known the place mainly as part of Israel’s history in Judges, not as a doctrinal category. The name may evoke trembling or fear, but Scripture uses the location chiefly as narrative setting.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Judges 7:1"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Judges 7:2-8",
    "Judges 7:16-22"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Hebrew: ʿEn-Harod, commonly understood as “spring of trembling” or “spring of fear,” though the exact nuance should not be overstated.",
  "theological_significance": "The location underscores a recurring biblical theme: God saves by his power, not by human strength or superior numbers.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "The place serves as a narrative marker showing that meaning in Scripture often comes through historical setting as well as explicit teaching.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not turn the place-name into a separate doctrine or press the etymology beyond what the text supports.",
  "major_views_note": "There is broad agreement that this is a place-name in Judges 7, not a theological concept requiring doctrinal elaboration.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "This entry should not be used to teach doctrine from the name itself; its significance comes from the Gideon narrative.",
  "practical_significance": "Believers are reminded that God often works through weakness and reduced resources to display his sufficiency.",
  "meta_description": "Biblical place-name near Mount Gilboa where Gideon camped before God reduced his army in Judges 7.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/well-of-harod/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/well-of-harod.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}