Fish-pools

Fish-pools (or simply "pools") appear in the Authorized Version of Song of Solomon 7:4, where the beloved's eyes are compared to "the fish pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim." The Revised Version renders the term simply as "pools," removing the implication that these reservoirs were specifically stocked with fish, though they may well have been.

Heshbon, the former capital of the Amorite king Sihon (Numbers 21:25-26), was known in antiquity for its water works. The comparison in the Song likens the beloved's large, calm, reflective eyes to the still, clear pools of this well-watered city. Other reservoirs and pools mentioned in connection with fish include those at Gibeon (2 Samuel 2:13), the pool of the king's garden (Nehemiah 3:15-16), and the pools at Jerusalem (Isaiah 7:3; 22:9). Artificial pools were important infrastructure in the water-scarce Palestinian landscape.