Cisterns in biblical times were essential structures used for collecting and storing water, particularly in arid regions where natural water sources were scarce. These man-made reservoirs were often hewn out of rock or constructed from clay and plaster to ensure they were watertight. Cisterns played a crucial role in the daily life and survival of the people in ancient Israel and surrounding regions.

Biblical References and Symbolism

Cisterns are mentioned several times throughout the Bible, often symbolizing spiritual truths or serving as metaphors for human behavior. In Jeremiah 2:13, the prophet uses the imagery of cisterns to illustrate Israel's spiritual apostasy: "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water." Here, God contrasts Himself, the source of life and sustenance, with the inadequate and unreliable cisterns that the Israelites have chosen.

In the historical context, cisterns were vital for survival, especially during the dry season. The Bible records instances where cisterns were used for purposes other than water storage. For example, in Genesis 37:24, Joseph's brothers cast him into an empty cistern: "And they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it." This pit, or cistern, becomes a place of confinement and despair, highlighting the dire situation Joseph faced.

Construction and Use

Cisterns were typically constructed by digging a large pit and lining it with plaster to prevent seepage. They were often covered to reduce evaporation and contamination. The size and complexity of cisterns varied, with some being simple pits and others featuring elaborate systems of channels and reservoirs. In urban settings, cisterns were crucial for maintaining a stable water supply, especially during sieges or droughts.

The importance of cisterns is further underscored in 2 Kings 18:31, where the Assyrian king Sennacherib attempts to persuade the people of Jerusalem to surrender by promising them their own cisterns: "Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern."

Spiritual Lessons

Cisterns also serve as a metaphor for self-reliance and the futility of seeking fulfillment apart from God. The broken cisterns in Jeremiah 2:13 symbolize the emptiness and inadequacy of human efforts to find satisfaction outside of a relationship with the Lord. This imagery calls believers to rely on God, the true source of living water, as Jesus Himself declares in John 4:14: "But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life."

In summary, cisterns in the Bible are not only practical structures for water storage but also carry deep spiritual significance. They remind us of the necessity of relying on God for sustenance and the futility of seeking satisfaction in anything apart from Him.Cisterns

And reservoirs were very common in Palestine, both in the country and in cities. During half the year no rain falls, and never- failing streams and springs are rare indeed. The main dependence of a large portion of the population was upon the water which fell in the rainy season and was preserved in cisterns, 2 Samuel 17:18. Dr. Robinson alludes to immense reservoirs within and under the area of the temple, supplied by rainwater and by the aqueduct from Solomon's pools, and says, "These of themselves, in case of a siege, would furnish a tolerable supply. But in addition to these, almost every house in Jerusalem, of any size, is understood to have at least one or more cisterns, excavated in the soft limestone rock on which the city is built. The water is conducted into them during the rainy season, and with proper care remains pure and sweet during the whole summer and autumn." Such cisterns, and others more properly called tanks and pools, were provided in the fields for irrigation, and at intervals along the highways, for the accommodation of travellers, Psalm 84:6. The same causes led to the erection, near all the chief cities, of large open reservoirs for public use. These were built of massive stones, and in places where the winter rains could be easily conducted into them. Many such reservoirs, and ruins of others, yet remain. See BETHESDA, SILOAM, SOLOMON's POOLS.

877. bor -- a cistern, pit, well
... 876, 877. bor. 878 . a cistern, pit, well. Transliteration: bor Phonetic
Spelling: (bore) Short Definition: cisterns. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/877.htm - 6k

1356a. geb -- a pit, trench, ditch
... 1356, 1356a. geb. 1356b . a pit, trench, ditch. Transliteration: geb
Short Definition: cisterns. Word Origin from gub Definition ...
/hebrew/1356a.htm - 5k

1374. Gebim -- "trenches," a place North of Jer.
... NASB Word Usage Gebim (1). Gebim. Plural of geb; cisterns; Gebim, a place in Palestine
-- Gebim. see HEBREW geb. 1373b, 1374. Gebim. 1375 . Strong's Numbers
/hebrew/1374.htm - 6k

953a. bor -- a pit, cistern, well
... Word Origin from baar Definition a pit, cistern, well NASB Word Usage cistern (14),
cisterns (3), death (1), dungeon (3), dungeon* (2), pit (35), pits (2 ...
/hebrew/953a.htm - 5k

Stiff-Necked Idolaters and Pliable Christians
... FOUNTAIN AND CISTERNS. ... It is this apostasy which is referred to here. The false gods
made by men are the broken cisterns. But the text embodies a general truth. ...
/.../stiff-necked idolaters and pliable christians.htm

The Rock and the Water
... As the old prophet says, in words that never lose their pathetic power, 'they have
hewn out for themselves cisterns'"one is not enough"they need many. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture i/the rock and the water.htm

Backsliding.
... For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living
waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no ...
/.../moody/the way to god and how to find it/chapter ix backsliding.htm

Things that Cannot be Shaken
... For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living
waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no ...
/.../smith/the god of all comfort/chapter 11 things that cannot.htm

A Short and Easy Method of Prayer
... "Come, all ye that are athirst, to these living waters"; nor lose your precious
moments in "hewing out cisterns, broken cisterns that will hold no water" (John ...
/.../guyon/a short and easy method of prayer/a short and easy method.htm

His Earliest Oracles. (ii. 2-iv. 4. )
... Twain the wrongs My people have wrought" 13 Me have they left, The Fount of live
water, To hew themselves cisterns, Cisterns broken, That cannot hold water! ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/1 his earliest oracles ii.htm

Circumcision Unknown Before Abraham.
... Nor do we receive that useless baptism of cisterns, for it has nothing to do
with this baptism of life. Wherefore also God has announced ...
/.../chapter xix circumcision unknown before abraham.htm

In Christ all are Free. The Jews Hope for Salvation in Vain ...
... And we are such; but you cannot comprehend this, because you cannot drink of the
living fountain of God, but of broken cisterns which can hold no water, as the ...
/.../chapter cxl in christ all are.htm

How God is Jealous of Us.
... making his complaint of sinners by way of jealousy: They have forsaken me, the fountain
of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter xiii how god is.htm

The Letter of Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, Concerning the ...
... For as is written in the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah "they have forsaken me the
fountain of living waters and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that ...
/.../chapter xviii the letter of athanasius.htm

Cisterns (7 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Cisterns (7 Occurrences). Genesis 37:20 Come now
therefore, and let's kill him, and cast him into one of ...
/c/cisterns.htm - 8k

Aqueduct (4 Occurrences)
... sis'-tern: Use of Terms 1. General 2. Wells or Cylindrical Cisterns 3. Private Cisterns
4. Public Cisterns 5. Pools and Aqueducts 6. Figurative Uses LITERATURE ...
/a/aqueduct.htm - 23k

Well (2882 Occurrences)
... sis'-tern: Use of Terms 1. General 2. Wells or Cylindrical Cisterns 3. Private Cisterns
4. Public Cisterns 5. Pools and Aqueducts 6. Figurative Uses LITERATURE ...
/w/well.htm - 39k

Cistern (21 Occurrences)
...Cisterns are frequently mentioned in Scripture. ... Empty cisterns were sometimes used
as prisons (Jeremiah 38:6; Lamentations 3:53; Psalm 40:2; 69:15). ...
/c/cistern.htm - 29k

Pool (25 Occurrences)
... The cisterns or pools of the Holy City are for the most part excavations
beneath the surface. Such are the vast cisterns in the ...
/p/pool.htm - 40k

Water (4571 Occurrences)
... and the Anti-Lebanon, the springs of water are scarce and the inhabitants of these
less favored places have always depended upon wells and cisterns for their ...
/w/water.htm - 23k

Hew (17 Occurrences)
... Deuteronomy 6:11 and houses full of all good things, which thou didst not fill,
and cisterns hewn out, which thou the didst not hew, vineyards and olive-trees ...
/h/hew.htm - 12k

Dug (45 Occurrences)
... Deuteronomy 6:11 and houses full of all good things, which you didn't fill, and
cisterns dug out, which you didn't dig, vineyards and olive trees, which you ...
/d/dug.htm - 20k

Hewed (22 Occurrences)
... 2 Chronicles 26:10 And he built towers in the wilderness, and hewed out many cisterns,
for he had much cattle; in the lowland also, and in the plain: and he ...
/h/hewed.htm - 14k

Fountain (57 Occurrences)
... 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 ...
/f/fountain.htm - 30k

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