H0875 H0875
A well dug for water; figuratively, a pit of destruction or moral danger.
Wells are landmarks of covenant and encounter throughout the Hebrew Bible. Abraham disputes over wells at Beersheba (Gen 21:25-30), Isaac re-digs his father's wells and names them after the conflicts they provoke (Gen 26:18-22), and Moses meets his future wife at a well in Midian (Exod 2:15-16). The word denotes a shaft intentionally dug to reach underground water, distinguishing it from a natural spring. In two poetic passages, the same image of depth and enclosure turns ominous: the 'pit of destruction' in Psalm 55:23 and the 'deep pit' of the adulteress in Proverbs 23:27, where the well becomes a trap from which there is no climbing out.
Senses
1. well, cistern (dug water source) — A shaft dug into the ground to access water (or, in Gen 14:10, bitumen). This is the patriarchal well of encounter and contention: Abraham at Beersheba (Gen 21:25-30), Isaac at Rehoboth (Gen 26:22), Jacob at Haran (Gen 29:2-3). Spanish 'pozo,' French 'puits,' and German 'Brunnen' all consistently translate the literal water-well. Numbers 21:17-18 preserves an ancient 'Song of the Well,' and Proverbs 5:15 uses 'your own well' as a metaphor for marital faithfulness — still literal in form, figurative in application. 35×
AR["البِئرِ", "الْبِئْرَ", "الْبِئْرُ", "الْبِئْرِ", "بِئراً", "بِئرَ", "بِئْرٌ", "بِئْرَ"]·ben["-কূপ", "-কূপের", "-সেই-কূপের", "কূপ", "কূপে", "কূপের", "খনন-করেছিলাম"]·DE["Brunnen", "dem-Brunnen", "den-Brunnen", "der-Brunnen", "der-gut", "der-well", "des-Brunnens", "ein-Brunnen", "einen-Brunnen"]·EN["a-well-of", "the-well", "well", "well-of"]·FR["le-bien", "le-puits", "puits", "puits-de", "un-puits-de"]·heb["באר", "ה-באר"]·HI["कुआ̃-के", "कुआँ", "कुआं", "कुएँ", "कुएँ-का", "कुएँ-की", "कुएँ-के", "यह-कुआँ"]·ID["-sumur", "sumur", "sumur-"]·IT["il-bene", "il-pozzo", "pozzo", "pozzo-di", "un-pozzo-di"]·jav["sumur", "sumur-punika"]·KO["그-우물", "그-우물을", "그-우물의", "우물", "우물을", "우물이"]·PT["Poço", "o-poço", "poço", "poço-de"]·RU["колодец", "колодца", "колодцу"]·ES["Pozo", "el-pozo", "pozo", "pozo-de"]·SW["Kisima", "bwawa", "hili", "kisima", "kisima-hicho"]·TR["-kuyudan", "-kuyunun", "-kuyuya", "-kuyuyu", "kuyu", "kuyunun"]·urd["-کنویں", "-کنویں-کے", "کنواں", "کنویں", "کنویں-اُس", "کنویں-کے"]
2. pit (of destruction or moral danger) — A pit envisioned as a trap or place of destruction, extending the literal sense of depth and enclosure into metaphor. In Psalm 55:23, God will cast the wicked into 'the pit of destruction' (be'er shakhat), and Proverbs 23:27 warns that an adulteress is 'a deep pit.' Spanish 'pozo-de' and German 'Grube-von' shift toward 'pit' rather than 'well,' reflecting the ominous connotation. The image depends on the literal sense — a well is inescapably deep — but the referent is Sheol or moral ruin rather than water. 2×
AR["إِلى-جُبِّ", "وَ-بِئْرٌ"]·ben["ও-সংকীর্ণ-কূপ", "প্রতি-কূপ"]·DE["[ובאר]", "zu-Grube-von"]·EN["and-a-well", "to-pit-of"]·FR["et-puits", "à-puits"]·heb["ו-באר", "ל-באר"]·HI["और-कुआं"]·ID["dan-sumur"]·IT["e-e-un-well", "pozzo"]·jav["lan-sumur", "panjenengan"]·KO["그리고-우물이니라", "우물-에"]·PT["ao-poço-de", "e-poço"]·RU["в-колодец", "и-колодец"]·ES["a-pozo-de", "y-pozo"]·SW["na-kisima-chembamba", "shimoni"]·TR["kuyusuna-", "ve-kuyu"]·urd["اور-کنواں", "لَ-کُنویں"]
Related Senses
H1129 1. Qal: build, construct (316×)H2691a 1. court, courtyard, enclosure (142×)G4864 1. synagogue, place of Jewish assembly (56×)G5438 1. prison, place of confinement (41×)H4013 1. fortress, stronghold (37×)H0352b 1. pillar or jamb of gateway (32×)H2474 1. window, opening in wall (32×)H1406 1. roof / rooftop (31×)H4609b 1. steps, stairs, stairway (31×)H1129 2. Nifal: be built, be established (30×)H0361 1. portico, porch (architectural structure) (27×)H1129 3. Qal participle: builder (27×)H1219 1. fortified, inaccessible (25×)H4581 1. fortress, stronghold (25×)H3805 1. capital of a pillar (24×)H4350 1. stand, base, pedestal (24×)H0759 1. palace, royal residence (21×)H4692 1. siege, besiegement (20×)G3618 1. build or construct physically (19×)H3332 2. cast molten metal (18×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† בְּאֵר n.f. Gn 26:21 well, pit, mostly Hex, Gn 23 times Ex 1 times Nu 5 times, 37 times in all; Arabic بِئْرٌ, Aramaic בְּאֵרָא, בֵּיר, בֵּירָא, ܒܻܪܳܐ, Sab. באר DHMZMG 1875, 608, Assyrian bêru, LyonSargon 61 (connexion with above √ not clear; Lagl.c. spring of water, as coming to light, appearing; possible, although meaning in use rather well, than spring; v. however, Gn 16:14 cf. v 7; 26:19 Nu…