H0877 H0877
A cistern, pit, or well — a hewn water reservoir, often contrasted with living springs
Refers to a dug-out water storage cavity, whether a cistern, pit, or well. The word appears memorably in Jeremiah 2:13 where God contrasts himself as a fountain of living water with the 'broken cisterns' Israel has hewn for itself. In 2 Samuel 23:15–16 it designates the well of Bethlehem from which David's warriors drew water. The form is a variant of the more common beer/bor, and the multilingual glosses — Spanish 'cisternas/pozo,' French 'puits' — confirm the water-containment sense throughout.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A hewn cistern, pit, or well used for water storage. In 2 Samuel 23:15–16 the word denotes the well of Bethlehem beside the gate, while in Jeremiah 2:13 it appears as 'broken cisterns' in a devastating metaphor for Israel's forsaking of the living God. Spanish 'cisternas' and 'pozo' reflect the same concrete water-holding sense across all attestations. 4×
AR["آبَارًا", "مِنْ-بِئْرِ"]·ben["কূপ-থেকে", "কূপগুলি"]·DE["[בארות]", "[בארת]", "von-gut-von"]·EN["cisterns", "from-well-of"]·FR["[בארות]", "[בארת]", "de-bien-de"]·heb["בורות", "מ-בור"]·HI["कुएं", "कुएं-से", "कुओं"]·ID["dari-sumur", "sumur-sumur"]·IT["[בארות]", "[בארת]", "da-bene-di"]·jav["saking-sumur", "sumur-sumur"]·KO["-에서-우물", "웅덩이들-을"]·PT["cisternas", "do-poço-de"]·RU["водоёмы", "из-колодца"]·ES["cisternas", "del-pozo-de"]·SW["kutoka-kisima-cha", "visima"]·TR["kuyusundan", "sarnıçlar"]·urd["کنوئیں", "کنویں-سے"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [בֹאר] n.m. Je 2, 13 cistern, pit, well (for בְּאֹר cf. בּוֹר)—sg. Kt באר 2 S 23:15, 16, 20 (Qr בֹּר); appar. well v 15, 16 (read perhaps בְּאֵר), pit v 20; pl. Je 2:13 me they have forsaken, the fountain of living water, לַחְצֹב לָהֶם בֹּארוֹת בֹּארֹת נִשְׁבָּרִים, to hew out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, etc.