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.
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"]
Gen 14:10, Gen 14:10, Gen 16:14, Gen 21:19, Gen 21:25, Gen 21:30, Gen 24:11, Gen 24:20, Gen 26:15, Gen 26:18, Gen 26:19, Gen 26:20 (+23 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
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…