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Water in Yeshua’s World

Without water a person will survive for about three days. People, animals and crops require water. Water is life! See the places where water flowed or would potentially flow when rains came in Israel. Yeshua and his fellow Jews would have been very aware of those locations. Locate the rivers on the map at -- http://cranfordville.com/Map-Palestine.jpg

A flowing spring was the preferred source, but if a spring wasn't nearby, a well, cistern or river was necessary. The well was the center of activity in a community and Yeshua would probably have accompanied his mother to a well in Nazareth many times. An underground spring in Nazareth traditionally served as the city’s main water source for several centuries, possibly millennia; however, it was not always referred to as "Mary's well" or "Mary's spring". According to the Rosicrucian Forum (1935), before the Christian era, it was known as the "spring of the guard house", so named because the few houses located by it at the time housed a number of local guards who patrolled an important highway that passed by the well.[i]

Click here to see what the well probably looked like -- http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Well-faced-with-stone.jpg

Pay close attention to the description of water sources Josephus provides in his description of Samaria:

Now as to the country of Samaria, it lies between Judea and Galilee; it begins at a village that is in the great plain called Ginea, and ends at the Acrabbene toparchy, and is entirely of the same nature with Judea; for both countries are made up of hills and valleys, and are moist enough for agriculture, and are very fruitful. They have abundance of trees, and are full of autumnal fruit, both that which grows wild, and that which is the effect of cultivation. They are not naturally watered by many rivers, but derive their chief moisture from rain-water, of which they have no want; and for those rivers which they have, all their waters are exceeding sweet: by reason also of the excellent grass they have, their cattle yield more milk than do those in other places; and, what is the greatest sign of excellency and of abundance, they each of them are very full of people.[ii]

One of the famous events in the life of Yeshua took place at a well in Samaria with a woman who had come to fill her container – click on http://www.evangelistsofjesuschrist.com/woman_at_the_well.jpg
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The Jordan River is a major water source that flows through the Jordan Rift Valley into the Dead Sea. The Jordan only reaches 20 yards across in some places, and its deepest point is around 17 feet. It extends from tributaries at the base of Mount Hermon to its main source, the Sea of Galilee, and then down to the Dead Sea a distance of 156 miles.[iii] The Jordan River has been from before the time of Yeshua to now, a key water source for Israel and its neighbors; water remains a central issue to the Middle East conflict today. For modern Israel, the water of the Jordan River is an absolute necessity for drinking water and for irrigation.[iv]

The Jordan River in the Upper Galilee cuts its canyon deep on its journey towards the Sea of Galilee – click here to see picture – http://bit.ly/18Ijht1

Here is a picture of the Jordan River flowing out of the Sea of Galilee -- http://bit.ly/1bQuA4e

This picture of the Jordan River would probably be a scene that Yeshua and his followers saw many times in their journeys. Think of how refreshing it would have looked after a long day of walking on the rough and many times steep roads -- http://bit.ly/1f0sSNg

As you read about Yeshua’s travels in the New Testament, take a few minutes to consider what the roads were like that brought him there and where he would find water that day. I know that if I had been walking with him, I would definitely have been thinking about them.

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