The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1860-04-17
wells in the East.-sacob,s wen. :.

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Wells in the East---5acob's Wen.
BY those who live in a: temperate climate
where the well or the .aqueduct furnishes t.
every house a supply Of water practically mex
haustiblc, no idea can be formed of the extreme
distress caused by thirst, and of the luxury. o
relieving it by drinking pure water-a luxurJ
which is said to excel all other pleasures o
sense One must reside or. travel in Syfiar
climate torcalze the beauty and. force Of tht
allnsions OF Scripture to "waterout of the wells
of salvation" "cod water to thirsty soul,
"thc fountain ofiving waters" andmany others
The digging ola permanent wcll.or the dis
covory of spring was a, public bencfaction
and its possession was matter Of great impor
tance. It's existence at a given spot decided
the nightly rcsting-placc Of caravans, the en-
campmentof armies and the location of.towns
! Sam. 29:at 2 Sam. 2: l3. Hence BEER
tic Hebrew name for well Oh spring. forms 4
Part of many names fplacrs, as Bceroth
Bcerah, Becr-shcba, etc. So valuable was a
supply OF water, that field containing a spring
was princely dowry, Judg. 4: 1915, and a
well was a matter of strife and negotiation be.
tween different tribes Thus we read that
Abraham, in making a treaty with king
Abilnelecll, "reprovtd him because Of well Of
water which ALimelcch's servants had violently
takcnaway,p and the ownership of the well
was sealed to Abraham by'a special oath and
covenant, Gen. 21:: 25-3l. A similar transac-
ton occurred during tile life Of Isaac, Gen. 90
1888. In negotiating with the king of Edom
fora passage through his territory, the Isracltcs
s,id, "We will go by the highway; and if i
and my cattle drink Of thy water, then will
pay for it,. Mum. 90: 1910. Still stronger
is the expression, in Lam. 5y:-4 "We have
drunk our own water for MONEY!. that is, we
boughtit of ,ourtoreigu rulers, though wc are
tile natural proprietors- ofthe wells that fur
nished it.. The custom OF, demanding pay for
water of the .travellcris still found in some
parts of the East; while in many other parts a
place is provided dwhere cold water and some
times bread arc offered gratuitously to the
stranger, attle expense Of the yillage. or>as an
act Of charity by the benevolent, Mark o: Al.
In case olga hostile Invasion, nothing could
more. cfcctually harass al advancing army or,
the bcsegers Of. a city, than to fill with stonus
the wells on which they relied, Q Kings 8: 25;
9, sCllronyiSS2s:: 81.
fe}AVells are sometimes found in Palestine
fur. sled with n &cll-swecp and bucket, or a
windass bat usually the water is drawn5wilh
pitchers and ropes and the stone curbs of
anciept Wells bear the marks oflong use They
were often covered with a large fiat stone, to
exclude the fyingjsand ard secure Tire water
to its owners, and also for the scs,l:rityTsof
strangers, who were liable to fall into them;
unawares ainisehanee which Yeryoftcn occurs
in modern Syria, and against which the bene-:
6cent: t:lawof Moses made provision, Exod. 81:
33, .34 This Stone was removed aboat sunset,
when the. femal cs,of the Vicinity drew their,
supply ofswater fordomestic s.se nCciis:
AID herds drank from il'ougls which.
atS still found beside alnost every well. AT
hour tie vel was a if;tgorite pi,sce of.r
presented. 4 scene OF lie and atIi.,
2sclontTSt oruTII:FTy 1orrcirrrt7-'
"a: lips; 90: 1-1O; EX. 2: 1913; Sam.
Oil. Wells, however, were sometimes III
tested 10y robbers, Julg. jill; and Us. Shaw
mentions a beautiful spring in Barbary, the
Arabic name of which means, Drink, and
awayw motto which may well be inscribed
over even the best springs Of earthly delight.
JACOBS WELL" is for ever memorable for
the conversation there. held by or Lord with
the Samaritan woman. John 4. 1t was pro-
badly dug in the "parccl Of ground which
Jacob bought of the sons of Halnor, the father
OF Shcchcm. for hundred pieces of silver; and
it became the possession Of the children Of
Joseph" 1t lay at the eastern. opening Of the
valley Of S!lcchem Or Sychar, into
which the disciples went to buy food, ere they
continued their journey sonthward 10 Jcrusa-
lcin1 and ssti in existence, though ROW little
used and often nearly dry. 1t is coveicd by y
vanltcd root, with narrow entrance closed by
Il heavy rock. Around ii is Il platform, and
The remains of church built over the spot hy
the empress Helena. Close at hand is mount
Gcrizinl, which the woman Of Sychar 10 doubt
glanced at as she said, "Our fathers worshipped
in this mountain" On the west is the broad
and fertile r'ain Of Mulihna, where the fields
were white already to the harvest" The
woman intnatcd that the well WIS deep,
and had 10 steps Actual measurement shows
it to be sevcuty-fvc feet deep, and about nine
feet in diameter. DR.. Wilson, in 1912, scmt
down with ropes Il CIV named Jacob, to en-
pIorc the well and recover 4 Bible dropped into
it by Rev. Mr.. Bonar three years before. This
was found, almost destroyed by lying in water,
Our Saviourhcrc said, "Whosocvcr drinkcth
of this water shall thirst again: but whosoevcr
drrketh of the water that | shall give him
shall never thirst but the water that shall
give him shall be in him well ofwatcr, spring
inc up into everlasting lif.." How strikingly
true these words, rs We look back. Eighteen
hundred Years had passed since that ancient
well was dug; and eighteen hundred years
more have siI,cc rolled away. Men Of a hun,
drcd generations and rs many different tribes
have drunk ip turn Of its waters, hnt not one
las thereby qucnchcd his souls thirst. They
as restless lis before with the fever OF
sin, and are still subject to everlasting thirst,
unless they resorted to Him who has opened
the true and living fountain. We may never
drink of jacobs well. and neither it FOR any
other earthly good can meet our spiritual waits;
but Christ still procIains, "Ho, every one that
lhirs.cth, come rc to the watcrs--vea, come,
buy WING and milk without money and without
price"
O
REVOLUTIONARY PREsIDESTs.-llon Thomas
Corwin, in his late speech in Connecticut.
alluded to John Quincy Adams as the lust o!
the Revolutionary stock of Presidents. Mr.
Corwin is mistaken. says the Cincinnati En-
onirey. General Andrew Jackson came after
NIr, Adams General Jackson had more per.
sonal experience in the Revolutionary War
y, IL ,.:,l :r lr1.ti,rr rrnS