The Temple in the Days of our Savior Described, Chapter 23
CHAP. XXIII. The Draw-well roome. foreign
AT the weſt end of this famous roome Gazith, there was the Houſe which was called foreign the Houſe or roome of the Draw-well: and the reaſon of the name was, foreign [a]Mid. per. 5.Becauſe there was a well ſunke there, with a wheele over it, and from thence they fetched up water to ſerve all the Court.
It was not a little water that was uſed and ſpent at the Temple for the filling of the lavers boyling the offerings, waſhing the ſacrifices, nay for waſhing of the Court, and filling ciſterns for the Prieſts to bath in: It was not a ſmall quantity of water that did ſerve theſe turnes, and yet the Temple never wanted but had it alwaies in great abundance: The place it ſelf was dry rocky and without water,[b]Maym. in Biath. Mikdaſh per. 5. but they conveyed their water in pipes thither from a place at ſome diſtance where there was a ſpring-head that lay convenient for ſuch a purpoſe, which was called foreign The fountaine Etam: Of this the Babylon Talmud diſcourſeth in the place alledged in the margin and to this purpoſe[c]Zevachin per. 5. fol. 54. fac. 2. The houſe of the Sanctuary was higher then the land of Iſrael, and the land of Iſrael was higher then other lands: They knew not the like; as they produce in the booke of Ioſhua; It is written throughout. The border went down, and the border went up, and the border wrought &c. But of the tribe of Benjamin it is written the border went up, but it is not written the border went downe. Learne from hence, that this was a place thought fit to build the Sanctuary in, by the fountaine Etam, becauſe it was high: But they ſaid, let us bring it a little lower, becauſe it is written, And he ſhall dwell between his ſhoulders, Deut. 33.12. Their meaning is this; that whereas the Sanctuary was to be higher then the reſt of the land, and whereas the tenor and ſcope of the Scripture holdeth out the tribe of Benjamin to be higheſt, becauſe all aſcending and no going downe is mentioned in the chorography of his tribe, therefore they thought of building the Temple by the fountaine Etam which was the higheſt ground of Benjamin: but when they conſidered upon Moſes his prophecy that God ſhould dwell between the ſhoulders of Benjamin and not upon his head; they thereupon choſe Moriah a lower ground, and brought their water from Etam thither:[d]Talm. Ieruſ. in Joma per. 3. fol. 41. An Aquaeduct came from Etam, ſaith the Ieruſalem Talmud in the place quoted in the margin: It is ſcarſe within the bounds of the ſubject that we have in hand, to goe about to ſearch where this Etam was. There is a place in the tribe of Simeon that is called by this name, 1 Chron. 4.32. now though it is true that Simeon and Iudah lay intermixed in their habitations, yet I beleeve this intermixture was not ſo neere Ieruſalem as our Etam was. There is mention of the rock Etam, Iudg. 15.8. and of the city Etam, 1 Chron. 11.6. let the reader be his owne chooser whether of theſe he will take for the place that we are upon, or whether he will refuſe both: I onelyonly mention them; It belongeth rather to a ſurvey of the land, then of the Temple, to debate the matter to a determination: The gloſſe upon the place of the Talmud cited above, ſaith[e]Gloſſ. in Zenechin … ſupr. It ſeemeth that the fountaine Etam was the well of the waters of Nephtoah, of which there is mention Ioſh. 18.15. And to the like purpoſe ſpeaketh Kimchi in his comment upon that place of Ioſhua [f]Kimch. on Joſh. 18.They ſay (faith he) that the well of the waters of Nephtoah was the well Etam which is mentioned by our Rabbines: This place appeareth to have laine weſtward of the Temple, and the pipes from it to have come downe upon that quarter, and to have paſſed along on the South ſide of the houſe it ſelfe, in the place called the coming downe of the waters, of which we have ſpoken before, and ſo to have been diſpoſed of into the ſeverall offices about the Court: and that in ſuch abundance, as, that it ran continually, and yeelded water and to ſpare, upon all occaſions: we ſhall have occaſion to looke after it againe when we come to ſpeak of the molten ſea.
Of this conveyance of water, Ariſteas an eye-witneſſe and ſpectator of it, giveth teſtimony, in theſe words[g]Ariſteas Miſt. Lux. interp. in Biblioth. patr. tom. 2. Gracolat. pag. 866. foreign &c. There was a continunll ſupply of water: as if there had ſprung an abundant fountaine underneath. And there were wonderfull and unexpreſſible receptacles under ground, as appeared five furlongs ſpace about the Temple: each one of which had divers pipes, by which waters came in on every ſide, all theſe were of lead, under ground, and much earth laid upon them: And there were many vents on the pavement, not to be ſeen at all, but to thoſe that ſerved: ſo that in a trice and eaſily, all the blood of the ſacrifices could be waſhed away, though it were never ſo much. And I will tell you how I came to know of theſe underground receptacles: they brought me out more then foure furlongs ſpace out of the city, and one bade me ſtoope downe at a certaine place and liſten what a noiſe the meeting of the waters made.
Now whereas it ſeemeth by this teſtimony, that water came to the Temple from ſeverall other places about Jeruſalem, as well as from Etam, we ſhall not be much ſcrupulous about it, though among the Talmudicks I meet with no ſuch intimation, but ſince they name Etam as the moſt eminent, and from whence the chiefeſt veſſels in the Temple were continually ſupplied, it may ſuffice to looke after that onelyonly, and this may be enough to have ſpoken of it.
The Draw-well, which and whoſe roome we are now ſurveying[h]Gloſſ. in Miſh…ioth in Svo in Midd. per. 5. is ſaid to have been ſunke or digged by the children of the captivity upon their returne and building of the Temple. But whether to a ſpring that was in that place, or whether as a ciſterne to receive the water from Etam, if it ſhall be queſtioned, there might be ſeverall reaſons given to prove that it was for the latter purpoſe: As 1. Becauſe it not eaſie to conceive a ſpring in that rocky place as mount Moriah was, eſpecially there having been none there looked after under the firſt Temple. 2. Becauſe both the Talmudiſts and Ariſteas cited before, doe bring all the ſupply of water from other places. 3. Becauſe the Laver is ſaid in the teſtimony alledged out of the Jeruſalem Talmud, to be ſupplied from the well Etam, which that it was ſupplied from this Draw-well we ſhall ſee hereafter. And 4. becauſe there is mention of foreign The place of the comming downe of the water on the South ſide of the Temple, which hath been ſhewed in its due place not capable of any conſtruction ſo proper as this, that the pipes from Etam came downe along there.
The waters then from that fountaine Etam being gathered into this well or great ciſterne, were from hence diſperſed into the ſeverall offices and places where water was neceſſary (as the new river from the water houſe into London) a wheele being uſed to raiſe it and force it up into the pipes or conveyances that were to carry it into the ſeverall receptacles and uſes: For in ſome places there were bathes on the very top of the gates and buildings, as we ſhall obſerve as we goe along, and to keepe them full and in a continuall ſupply of water, was required, ſome inforcing of the water up, which was done by the uſe and activity of this wheele.
Now over this well there was a faire building, ſutable to the reſt of the buildings about the Court, and it had a doore into the Court, that the prieſts might readily and without going about, ſtep out of the Court into it, when they had occaſion to fetch up water for any uſe. And ſo are we to underſtand of that paſſage in the treatiſe Tamid, where ſpeaking of him to whoſe lot it had fallen to cleanſe the burnt-offering altar in a morning, it ſaith thus:[i]Talm. in Tamid per. 1. He that had it allotted to him to cleauſe the altar muſt cleanſe it: And they ſay to him, Take heed that thou touch not the veſſell, untill thou haſt waſhed thy hands and thy feete: (now the diſh into which he was firſt to take up the aſhes, was ſet between the riſe of the Altar and the Altar in a corner on the weſt ſide of the riſe:) No man went into the Court with him (for all the reſt of the prieſts ſtaid ſtill in the lottery roome) nor bad be any candle in his hand, but he went by the light of the fire on the Altar: and they ſaw him not neither heard they his voyce, untill they heard the noiſe of the engine that Ben Kattim made, namely the engine of the lover: and then they ſaid he is about waſhing his hands and feete at the laver. Now whatſoever this engine of Bin Kattims making was, which we ſhall inquire into afterward, it is undoubted that the water in which he waſhed at the laver, was drawne out of the Draw-well and conveyed into it after what manner we ſhall ſee anon, for the water might not ſtand in the laver all night: And ſo it is apparent that this prieſt that thus waſhed his hands and feet, was got into the well-roome out of the Court, when the gates of the Court were not yet opened, but went into it through a doore that went into that roome out of the Court.
This helpeth to underſtand that paſſage of Ezekiel of the living waters Ezek. 47. which are ſaid there to come down on the right ſide of the houſe on the South ſide of the Altar ver. 1. alluding to the comming of the water into the Temple from Etam a ſpring ſhut up and a fountaine ſealed for that purpoſe: for the pipes that brought the water from it, came downe on the South ſide of the Temple, in the place that was called foreign The comming drums of the water, of which we have ſpoken already, and ſo into this ciſterne in the well-roome, juſt over againſt the Altar, on the South ſide of it, and ſo was carried into the ſeverall offices of the Temple, &c.