Spring

The spring (Hebrew: 'ayin, literally "eye," the gleaming open source of water) was the vital resource around which settlement in ancient Palestine organized itself. Springs and wells determined the location of towns and encampments throughout the biblical world, and their ownership was worth fighting over (Gen. 21:25–31; 26:15–22). The spring is to be distinguished carefully from the well (beer), which is a dug shaft reaching groundwater; the spring flows naturally from the earth.

Springs appear throughout biblical narrative: the spring of Harod where Gideon's army camped (Judg. 7:1), the spring of En-gedi where David hid from Saul (1 Sam. 23:29), and the upper and lower springs of the Negeb given to Achsah as her inheritance (Josh. 15:19). Theologically, the spring becomes a figure of divine provision: "with thee is the fountain of life" (Ps. 36:9), and the messianic hope envisions "a fountain opened to the house of David" (Zech. 13:1) and Jesus offering "living water" welling up to eternal life (John 4:14).