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Jacob's Well
JACOB’S WELL. Modern Bir Ya‘kub is doubtless the well mentioned in
JACOB’s WELL (πηγὴ του̂ ̓Ιακώβ). A well near Sychar in Samaria where Jesus talked with the Samaritan woman.
There is just one reference naming Jacob’s Well in the Bible (
There is a problem with the town named Sychar. The modern Askar, which sounds most like it, though in the vicinity, is not near enough to the well. Furthermore, Askar has its own spring. Perhaps it is that Sychar is an evolution of the name Shechem.
Shechem (Sychar of
According to her statement the well was deep (
Jacob’s Well is known for its soft, or light, water that is supplied in two ways—through underground sources that make it a true well and by percolated surface water, which makes it a cistern, as the Gr. word φρέαρ, G5853, indicates (
Bibliography
G. H. Dalman, Sacred Sites and Ways (1935), 212-215.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
(pege tou Iakob):
1. Position of Well:
In
See Sychar.
2. Why Dug:
In the chapter quoted, it is said that Jacob dug the well (
3. Consensus of Tradition:
Jew, Samaritan, Moslem and Christian agree in associating this well with the patriarch Jacob. This creates a strong presumption in favor of the tradition: and there is no good reason to doubt its truth. Standing at the brink of the well, over-shadowed by the giant bulk of Gerizim, one feels how naturally it would be spoken of as "this mountain."
4. Description:
For long the well was unprotected, opening among the ruins of a vaulted chamber some feet below the surface of the ground. Major Anderson describes it (Recovery of Jerusalem, 465) as having "a narrow opening, just wide enough to allow the body of a man to pass through with arms uplifted, and this narrow neck, which is about 4 ft. long, opens into the well itself, which is cylindrically shaped, and about 7 ft. 6 inches in diameter. The mouth and upper part of the well are built of masonry, and the well appears to have been sunk through a mixture of alluvial soil and limestone fragments, till a compact bed of mountain limestone was reached, having horizontal strata which could be easily worked; and the interior of the well presents the appearance of having been lined throughout with rough masonry." The depth was doubtless much greater in ancient times; but much rubbish has fallen into it, and now it is not more than 75 ft. deep. It is fed by no spring, nor is the water conducted to it along the surface, as to a cistern. Its supplies depend entirely upon rainfall and percolation. Possibly, therefore, the water may never have approached the brim. The woman says "the well is deep." Pege, "spring," does not, therefore, strictly apply to it, but rather "tank" or "reservoir," phrear, the word actually used in verses 11 f. The modern inhabitants of Nablus highly esteem the "light" water of the well as compared with the "heavy" or "hard" water of the neighboring springs. It usually lasts till about the end of May; then the well is dry till the return of the rain. Its contents, therefore, differ from the "living" water of the perennial spring.
From the narratives of the pilgrims we learn that at different times churches have been built over the well. The Moslems probably demolished the last of them after the overthrow of the Crusaders in 1187. A description of the ruins with drawings, as they were 30 years ago, is given in PEF, II, 174, etc. A stone found in 1881 may have been the original cover of the well. It measures 3 ft. 9 inches X 2 ft. 7 inches X 1 ft. 6 in. The aperture in the center is 13 in. in diameter; and in its sides are grooves worn by the ropes used in drawing up the water (PEFS, 1881, 212 ff).
5. Present Condition:
Some years ago the plot of ground containing the well was purchased by the authorities of the Greek church, and it has been surrounded by a wall. A chapel has been built over the well, and a large church building has also been erected beside it.
W. Ewing
See Jacob’s WELL.