Wells were necessary in a dry and hot country like Palestine. They were deep, John 4:11, and difficult both to dig and preserve, and hence were a valuable part of the husbandman's property. Numbers 20:17-19. They were sometimes owned in common. Genesis 29:2-3. To protect them from the sand and from being used by others, they were covered, usually with a stone, and surrounded with a low wall. Genesis 29:2; Genesis 29:8. To stop them up was, and still is, regarded as an act of hostility, Genesis 26:15, and to invade the right of property in them was often the cause of sharp contention. Genesis 21:25. The water was generally drawn by pitchers and a rope. The well naturally became the halting-place of the traveller, Genesis 24:11; the camping-place of armies, Judges 7:1, etc.; and it furnished an appropriate emblem of rich blessings. Jeremiah 2:13; Jeremiah 17:13.
With more than 1,500 subjects and proper names defined and analyzed, this dictionary, authored by Dr. Edwin Rice, will provide unique insites into the Bible as it has since its introduction in 1893Wikipedia
Read More