Gathering Stones in Sychar
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13)
Water is a precious commodity in Israel because of the arid conditions. From mid-April until mid-October, there is relatively little or no rainfall in the region to sustain life; therefore, in ancient Palestine, cisterns were hewn out of the limestone rock base. They were plastered on the inside walls to prevent the loss of water through cracks in the limestone foundation, and during the "early" and "latter" rains of winter, water would be diverted to the cisterns for storage until it was needed in the dry summer months.
Until the water was needed and used, it remained in the cisterns, uncirculated and growing stagnant by the stillness of the water. Animals or rodents might be found floating in the water that would later be used for cooking, drinking, and other household uses. In Hebrew, this water was termed "still waters" because of deadness of the water.
In contrast, the water of running streams was identified as "living waters" as the flowing water sustained life. Shepherds who were herding their flocks in the open would eventually be seeking the "living waters" to sustain them in the arid regions. Without the "living water" in the grazing lands, the shepherd and the sheep would die, therefore, the shepherd would seek out the "living waters" of river streams or Wadi flows.
"Living water" was also the source for the ritual purification baths whereas the water that was used in the seamless mikvah was received from water untouched by human hands.
So, where does this fit in the Bible?
5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:5-14)
Jacob's well has two sources of water, both from the surface and from the underground, so the water could be determined to be either "living water" or "still water" depending on the content of the water. The woman came to the well to draw water knowing that wells were normally a source of "still water". Jesus spoke to her and offered her the gift of God, the gift of "living waters" that would never die. Jesus offered her a sustaining, everlasting supply of life that could not be offered by any other person.
"Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst." Jesus doesn't give a drink from a "still water" source that will be stagnant and filled with bacteria. Jesus is the source of "living water" that will flow continuously and never run dry.
1890 Earthly Footsteps of the Man of Galilee.
~serapha~
Water is a precious commodity in Israel because of the arid conditions. From mid-April until mid-October, there is relatively little or no rainfall in the region to sustain life; therefore, in ancient Palestine, cisterns were hewn out of the limestone rock base. They were plastered on the inside walls to prevent the loss of water through cracks in the limestone foundation, and during the "early" and "latter" rains of winter, water would be diverted to the cisterns for storage until it was needed in the dry summer months.
Until the water was needed and used, it remained in the cisterns, uncirculated and growing stagnant by the stillness of the water. Animals or rodents might be found floating in the water that would later be used for cooking, drinking, and other household uses. In Hebrew, this water was termed "still waters" because of deadness of the water.
In contrast, the water of running streams was identified as "living waters" as the flowing water sustained life. Shepherds who were herding their flocks in the open would eventually be seeking the "living waters" to sustain them in the arid regions. Without the "living water" in the grazing lands, the shepherd and the sheep would die, therefore, the shepherd would seek out the "living waters" of river streams or Wadi flows.
"Living water" was also the source for the ritual purification baths whereas the water that was used in the seamless mikvah was received from water untouched by human hands.
So, where does this fit in the Bible?
5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:5-14)
Jacob's well has two sources of water, both from the surface and from the underground, so the water could be determined to be either "living water" or "still water" depending on the content of the water. The woman came to the well to draw water knowing that wells were normally a source of "still water". Jesus spoke to her and offered her the gift of God, the gift of "living waters" that would never die. Jesus offered her a sustaining, everlasting supply of life that could not be offered by any other person.
"Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst." Jesus doesn't give a drink from a "still water" source that will be stagnant and filled with bacteria. Jesus is the source of "living water" that will flow continuously and never run dry.
1890 Earthly Footsteps of the Man of Galilee.
Going northward to Judea of Galilee Jesus "must needs go through Samaria." On this journey He came to Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph, where Jacob's Well is still found. Here we are upon undisputed ground. ... Here the conversation took place between Jesus and the woman of Samaria. We could look to Mount Gerizim on our left and remember the temple to which the woman pointed when she said: "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain." ... The well is now seventy-five feet deep and seven feet six inches in breadth. The diameter of the opening is seventeen and a half feet.
~serapha~
posted by ~serapha~ at 8:50 PM
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