Ensemes (spring of the sun), etc. But springs were comparatively rare; biblical language distinguishes the natural springs from the wells, which are water pits bored under the rocky surface and having no outlet. They belonged to and were named by the person who dug them. Many names of places, too, are compounded with B'er (the Hebrew word "well"), such as Bersable, Beroth, Beer Elim, etc. Cisterns Cisterns are subterranean reservoirs, sometimes covering as much as an acre of land, in which the rainwater is gathered during the spring. Jerusalem was so well supplied with them that in all the sieges no one within its walls ever suffered from want of water. Cisterns were hewed into the native rock and then lined with impervious masonry and cement. Their construction involved great labour; Yahweh promised to the children of Israel, when coming out of Egypt, the possession of cisterns dug by others as a special mark of favour (Deuteronomy 6:11; 2 Esdras 9:25). If the cement of the cistern gave way, the reservoir became useless and was abandoned. It was then one of the "broken cisterns, that could hold no water" (Jeremiah 2:13). The mouth of wells and cisterns was generally surrounded by a curb or low wall and closed with a stone, both to prevent accidents and to keep away strangers. If the owner neglected to cover the cistern, and a domestic animal fell into it, the Mosaic law obliged him to pay the price of the animal (Exodus 21:33-34; compare Luke 14:5). Sometimes the stone placed on the orifice was so heavy that one man was unable to remove it (Genesis 29:3). When dry, cisterns were used as dungeons, because, narrowed at the top, like "huge bottles", they left no avenue open for escape (Genesis 37:24; Jeremiah 38:6; 1 Maccabees 7:19). They also offered convenient places for hiding a person from his pursuers (1 Samuel 13:6; 2 Samuel 17:18). See also Abraham's well References Attribution Water wells Biblical topics