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Bible Encyclopedias
Fountain
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or the rendering in the A.V. of the following Hebrew terms:
1. Properly and usually עִיַן, a'yin (lit. the eye), so called from flowing (Gesenius, Thes. Heb. p. 1017), a natural source of living water. (See EN)
2. Likewise מִעְיָן, mayan' (from the same root), a well-watered place (Psalms 84:6, "well"); also a single spring (as rendered in Psalms 87:7; Psalms 104:10) of running water (Leviticus 11:36; Joshua 15:9; 1 Kings 18:5; 2 Chronicles 32:4; Psalms 74:15; Psalms 114:8; Proverbs 5:16; Proverbs 8:24; Proverbs 25:26; Song of Solomon 4:12; Song of Solomon 4:15; Isaiah 12:18; Hosea 13:15; Joel 3:18); spoken of the tide or influx of the sea (Genesis 7:11; Genesis 8:2). Its force and meaning are unfortunately sometimes obscured by the rendering in the A.V., "well," as in Exodus 15:27; in Elim "were twelve wells of water;" that is, not artificial wells, but natural fountains, as still seen in wady Ghurundel (Bartlett's Forty Days in the Desert, page 43). — These two words, on the contrary, like the corresponding Greek πηγή, always denote a stream of "living" or constantly running water, in opposition to standing or stagnant pools, whether it issues immediately from the ground or from thee bottom of a well. (See AIN).
3. מִבּוּעִ , mabbu'a (so called from gushing or bubbling forth), a native rill (fig. of the vital flow Ecclesiastes 12:6; elsewhere literally a "spring" in general, Isaiah 35:7; Isaiah 49:10). 4. מָקוֹר, makor' (so called from having been opened by digging), an artificial source of flowing water, used both literally and figuratively, but mostly in such phrases as fountains of life" (Proverbs 13:14), "fountain of wisdom" (Proverbs 18:4), etc.; occasionally rendered "spring," "well, etc.
5. Improperly בּוֹר, bor, or בִּיַר, ba'yir (Jeremiah 6:7), which designates only a pit or standing water. (See WELL). The idea of a fountain is also implied in the phrase מוֹצָא מִיַם, motsa' ma'yim, or going forth of waters ("spring," 2 Kings 2:21; Psalms 107:33; Psalms 107:35; Isaiah 12:18; Isaiah 58:11; "course," 2 Chronicles 32:30); as likewise in גִּל, gal (from its roll ing down the water), or גֻּלָּה, gullah', a purling stream or overflowing fountain ("spring," Song of Solomon 4:12; Joshua 15:19; Judges 1:15). (See TOPOGRAPHICAL TERMS).
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