Wells and Springs
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Wells and Springs

By those living in a temperate climate, where the well or the aqueduct furnishes to every house a supply of water practically inexhaustible, no idea can be formed of the extreme distress caused by thirst, and of the luxury of relieving it by drinking pure water-a luxury which is said to excel all other pleasures of sense. One must reside or travel in a Syrian climate to realize the beauty and force of the allusions of Scripture to "water out of the wells of salvation," "cold water to a thirsty soul," "the fountain of living waters," and many others. The digging of a permanent well or the discovery of a spring was a public benefaction, and its possession was a matter of great importance. Its existence at a given spot decided the nightly resting-place of caravans, the encampment of armies, and the location of towns, 1 Samuel 29:1 2 Samuel 2:13. Hence BEER, the Hebrew name for a well or spring, forms a part of many names of places, as Beeroth, Beer-sheba. See also EN.

So valuable was a supply of water, that a field containing a spring was a princely dowry, Jude 1:13-15, and a well was a matter of strife and negotiation between different tribes. Thus we read that Abraham, in making a treaty with king Abimelech, "reproved him because of a well of water which Abimelich's servants had violently taken away," and the ownership of the well was sealed to Abraham by a special oath and covenant, Genesis 21:25-31. A similar transaction occurred during the life of Isaac, Genesis 26:14-33. In negotiating with the king of Edom for a passage through his territory, the Israelites said, "We will go by the highway; and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it," Numbers 20:17-19. Still stronger is the expression in La 5:4: "We have drunk our own water for money:" that is, we bought it of our foreign rulers, though we are the natural proprietors of the wells that furnished it. The custom of demanding pay for water of the traveler is still found in some parts of the East; while in many other towns a place is provided where cold water and sometimes bread are offered gratuitously to the stranger, at the expense of the village, or as an act of charity by the benevolent, Mark 9:41. In case of a hostile invasion, nothing could more effectually harass an advancing army or the besiegers of a city, than to fill with stones the wells on which they relied, 2 Kings 3:25 2 Chronicles 32:3.

Wells are sometimes found in Palestine furnished with a well-sweep and bucket, or a windlass; and in some cases there were steps leading down to the water, Genesis 24:15,16; but usually the water is drawn with pitchers and ropes; and the stone curbs of ancient wells bear the marks of long use. They were often covered with a large flat stone, to exclude the flying sand and secure the water to its owners, and also for the security of strangers, who were liable to fall into them unawares- a mischance which very often occurs in modern Syria, and against which the beneficent law of Moses made provision, Exodus 21:33-34. This stone was removed about sunset, when the females of the vicinity drew their supply of water for domestic use, and the flocks and herds drank from the stone troughs which are still found beside almost every well. At this hour, the well was a favorite place of resort, and presented a scene of life and gayety greatly in contrast with its ordinary loneliness, Genesis 24:11-28 29:1-10 Exodus 2:16-19 1 Samuel 9:11. Wells, however, were sometimes infested by robbers, Jud 5:11; and Dr. Shaw mentions a beautiful spring in Barbary, the Arabic name of which means, "Drink, and away!" a motto which may well be inscribed over even the best springs of earthly delight. See CISTERN.

The cut above given presents a view of "The Fountain of the Virgin" at Nazareth, so called from the strong probability that the mother of our Lord was wont to draw water from it, as the women of Nazareth do at this day. It is a copious spring, just out of the village; and the path that leads to it is well worn, as by the feet of many generations. All travelers in Palestine mention the throngs of females that resort to it, with their pitchers or goat-skins on the shoulder or head and loitering to gossip or gaily returning in companies of two or three. Every day witnesses there what might almost be described in the very words of Genesis 24:11: "And he made his camels to kneel down without the city, by a well of water, at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. And behold, Rebekah came out, with her pitcher upon her shoulder; and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up." It is an uncommon sight to see "a man bearing a pitcher of water," Mark 14:13.

Jacob's well, at the eastern entrance of the charming valley of Shechem, is still in existence, though now little used and often nearly dry. It is covered by a vaulted roof, with a narrow entrance closed by a heavy rock. Around it is a platform, and the remains of a church built over the spot by the empress Gelena. Close at hand is mount Gerizim, which the woman of Sychar no doubt glanced at as she said, "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain." On the west is the broad and fertile plain of Mukna, where the fields were "white already to the harvest." The woman intimated that the well was "deep," and had no steps. Actual measurement shows it to be seventyfive feet deep, and about nine feet in diameter. Dr. Wilson, in 1842, sent down with ropes a Jew named Jacob, to explore the well and recover a Bible dropped into it by Rev. Mr. Bonar three years before. This was found, almost destroyed by lying in water. As the traveler stands by this venerated well and thinks of the long series of men of a hundred nations and generations who have drunk of its waters, thirsted again, and died, he is most forcibly affected by the truth of Christ's words to the Samaritan woman, and made to feel his own perishing need of the water "springing up into everlasting life," John 4:1-54.

Greek
4223. Potioloi -- Puteoli, a city on the Bay of Naples
... Puteoli. Of Latin origin; little wells, ie Mineral springs; Potioli (ie Puteoli),
a place in Italy -- Puteoli. (potiolous) -- 1 Occurrence. 4222, 4223. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4223.htm - 6k
Library

July the Twenty-Sixth the Wells of Salvation
... JULY The Twenty-sixth THE WELLS OF SALVATION. JOHN iii.1-21. The springs
of our redemption are found in infinite love. "God is love ...
/.../my daily meditation for the circling year/july the twenty-sixth the wells.htm

Mr. HG Wells and the Giants
... a difference. Mr. Wells must surely realize the first and simplest of the
paradoxes that sit by the springs of truth. He must surely ...
//christianbookshelf.org/chesterton/heretics/v mr h g wells and.htm

The Springs of Social Life.
... in whose bosoms, all the while, there are flowing inexhaustible springs of peace,
and ... There wells up in the heart the first strange gush of parental affection. ...
/.../chapin/humanity in the city/discourse v the springs of.htm

The Water of Life (Preached at Westminster Abbey)
... to the far East and the far South to understand the images which were called up
in the mind of an old Jew at the very name of wells and water-springs; and why ...
/.../kingsley/the water of life and other sermons/sermon i the water of.htm

Spiritual Religion in High Places --Rous, Vane, and Sterry
... They have wells and springs opened to them in this wilderness, whence they draw
the waters of salvation, without being in bondage to the life of sense."[22]. ...
/.../chapter xiv spiritual religion in.htm

The Rainbow
... The earth to thee her incense yields, The lark thy welcome sings, When, glittering
in the freshen'd fields, The snowy mushroom springs. ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/the rainbow.htm

The Lovliest Rose in the World
... The rose that is the expression of the highest and purest love springs from the
blooming cheeks of my sweet child when, strengthened by sleep, it opens its ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/the lovliest rose in the.htm

Happy Pilgrims
... For, he says, 'passing through the Valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs.'
They, as it were, pour their tears into the wells, and they become ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture j/happy pilgrims.htm

And Disputes
... nails, plaisters, and bandages, Hugh was looked upon as an enemy to superstition,
and was an eager suppressor of the worship of wells and springs, which still ...
/.../marson/hugh bishop of lincoln/chapter vii name disputes.htm

The Pilgrim's Progress
... burden. He looked therefore, and looked again, even till the springs that
were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks. Now ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/the pilgrims progress.htm

Resources
What is the river of life? | GotQuestions.org

What happened at the Pool of Siloam? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean to do good unto all men in Galatians 6:10? | GotQuestions.org

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Subtopics

Wells

Wells and Springs

Wells of Jacob

Wells of Solomon

Wells of the Holy Spirit in Saints

Wells of the Mouth of the Righteous

Wells of the Ordinances of the Church

Wells of Uzziah

Wells of Wisdom and Understanding in Man

Wells were a Frequent Cause of Strife

Wells were often Stopped up by Enemies

Wells: (A Fruitful Bough By) of Joseph's Numerous Posterity

Wells: (Drinking from One's Own) of Enjoyment of Domestic

Wells: (Without Water) Hypocrites

Wells: At Haran

Wells: Beer (East of Jordan)

Wells: Beerlahairoi

Wells: Beer-Sheba

Wells: Bethlehem

Wells: Canaan Abounded With

Wells: Elim

Wells: Esek

Wells: First Mention of

Wells: Flgurative of Salvation

Wells: Flgurative without Water

Wells: Frequented by Travellers

Wells: Frequented by Women Who Came to Draw Water

Wells: Frequently Made in the Courts of Houses

Wells: Frequently Made in the Desert

Wells: Frequently Made: Near Encampments

Wells: Frequently Made: Outside Cities

Wells: had Troughs Placed Near for Watering Cattle

Wells: Hagar

Wells: Haran

Wells: Jacob

Wells: Many Supplied from Lebanon

Wells: Names often Given To

Wells: Often Afforded No Water

Wells: Often Covered to Prevent Their Being Filled With Sand

Wells: Often Deep and Difficult to Draw From

Wells: Rehoboth

Wells: Sitnah

Wells: Strangers not to Draw From, Without Permission

Wells: Supplied by Springs

Wells: Supplied by the Rain

Wells: Surrounded by Trees

Wells: The Occasion of Feuds: Between Abraham and Abimelech

Wells: The Occasion of Feuds: Between Isaac and Abimelech

Wells: Water of, Frequently Sold

Wells
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