Encyclopedia entry
Fountain
(Heb. ‘ain; i.e., “eye” of the water desert), a natural source of living water. Palestine was a “land of brooks of water, of fountains, and depths that spring out of valleys and hills” (Deut. 8:7; 11:11).
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These fountains, bright sparkling “eyes” of the desert, are remarkable for their abundance and their beauty, especially on the west of Jordan. All the perennial rivers and streams of the country are supplied from fountains, and depend comparatively little on surface water. “Palestine is a country of mountains and hills, and it abounds in fountains of water. The murmur of these waters is heard in every dell, and the luxuriant foliage which surrounds them is seen in every plain.” Besides its rain-water, its cisterns and fountains, Jerusalem had also an abundant supply of water in the magnificent reservoir called “Solomon’s Pools” (q.v.), at the head of the Urtas valley, whence it was conveyed to the city by subterrean channels some 10 miles in length. These have all been long ago destroyed, so that no water from the “Pools” now reaches Jerusalem. Only one fountain has been discovered at Jerusalem, the so-called “Virgins’s Fountains,” in the valley of Kidron; and only one well (Heb. beer), the Bir Eyub, also in the valley of Kidron, south of the King’s Gardens, which has been dug through the solid rock. The inhabitants of Jerusalem are now mainly dependent on the winter rains, which they store in cisterns. (See WELL.)
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
(a spring in distinction from a well). The springs of Palestine, though short-lived, are remarkable for their abundance and beauty, especially those which fall into the Jordan and into its lakes, of which there are hundreds throughout its whole course. The spring or fountain of living water, the “eye” of the landscape, is distinguished in all Oriental languages from the artificially-sunk and enclosed well. Jerusalem appears to have possessed either more than one perennial spring or one issuing by more than one outlet. In Oriental cities generally public fountains are frequent. Traces of such fountains at Jerusalem may perhaps be found in the names of Enrogel, (2 Samuel 17:17) the “Dragon well” or fountain, and the “gate of the fountain.” (Nehemiah 2:13,14)
In the Bible
34
Verses where Fountain is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Samuel 29:1
Now the Philistines brought all their forces together at Aphek, while Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel.
- Deuteronomy 33:28
So Israel dwells securely; the fountain of Jacob lives untroubled in a land of grain and new wine, where even the heavens drip with dew.
- Ecclesiastes 12:6
Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well,
- Genesis 16:7
Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
- Hosea 13:15
Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come— a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder his treasury of every precious article.
- James 3:11
Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
+28 more verses naming Fountain.
Scripture on Fountain
34
See all 34 +−
- Leviticus 20Deuteronomy 8Deuteronomy 33Joshua 151 Samuel 292 Samuel 17Nehemiah 3Nehemiah 12Psalms 36Psalms 68Psalms 74Psalms 114Proverbs 5Proverbs 10Proverbs 13Proverbs 14Proverbs 16Proverbs 18Proverbs 25Ecclesiastes 12Jeremiah 2Jeremiah 6Jeremiah 9Jeremiah 17Hosea 13Joel 3Zechariah 13Mark 5Revelation 21
Entries that reference Fountain
11
Fountain references
10
Voices on Fountain
3
Surfaced by name match — accuracy varies by title clarity.
Sources · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.