2702. And she saw a well of water symbolizes the Lord's Word–a source of truth, as can be seen from the following: A well of water and a spring symbolize the Word and also theology drawn from the Word. So they symbolize truth itself, too, as discussed just below. And water symbolizes truth.
Many passages show that a well with water in it and a spring symbolize the Lord's Word, theology drawn from the Word, and therefore truth itself. Because the current subject is spiritual religion, the text speaks of a well rather than a spring, as it also does later in the chapter: "Abraham denounced Abimelech on account of a well that Abimelech's slaves had seized" (verse 25). The same is true in Genesis 26:
All the wells that the slaves of Isaac's father dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up. And Isaac returned and dug the wells of water that they had dug in the days of Abraham his father and that the Philistines kept stopping up after Abraham's death. And Isaac's slaves dug in the valley and found there a well of living water. And they dug another well, and they feuded over it, too. And he moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not feud over it. And it happened on that day that Isaac's slaves came and told him the account of the well that they had dug and said to him, "We've found water." (Genesis 26:15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 32)
The wells actually mean teachings that they did and did not quarrel over. Otherwise the digging of the wells and the repeated strife over them would not have been significant enough to mention in the Word of God.
[2] A well likewise symbolizes the Word, or theology, concerning which Moses says:
They traveled to Beer. This is the well of which Jehovah said to Moses, "Gather the people and I will give them water." Then Israel sang this song: "Gush up, you well! Give answer from it! A well that the chieftains dug, the willing among the people excavated, in [the name of] the Lawgiver, with their staffs." (Numbers 21:16, 17, 18)
The fact that a well symbolized these things explains Israel's mystical song, which speaks of true theology, as all the particulars of the inner meaning show. It also explains the name Beer, the name Beer-sheba, and its inner-level symbolism as theology itself.
[3] A theology that contains no truth, however, is called a pit, or a dry well, as in Jeremiah:
Their notables have sent their little ones to the water; they came to the pits; they did not find water; they returned with their vessels empty. (Jeremiah 14:3)
The water stands for truth; the pits where they did not find water, for theology that contains no truth. In the same author:
Two evils my people have done: they have deserted me–the vein of living water"to carve out for themselves pits, broken pits that cannot hold water. (Jeremiah 2:13)
Here too pits stand for doctrines that are not true. The broken pits stand for doctrines that have been cobbled together.
[4] A spring symbolizes the Word, theology, and therefore truth. In Isaiah:
The afflicted and needy are seeking water, and there is none. Their tongue has failed from thirst. I Jehovah will listen to them; the God of Israel will not desert them. I will open rivers on the slopes, and springs in the middle of valleys; I will make the desert into a lake of water, and dry land into outlets of water. (Isaiah 41:17, 18)
This passage is talking about deprivation of truth, which is symbolized by the fact that the afflicted and needy were seeking water and there was none, and by the fact that their tongue failed from thirst. Then (like the current verses concerning Hagar) it turns to the comfort, restoration, and instruction they receive after their deprivation. These things are symbolized by Jehovah's promise to open rivers on the slopes, set springs in the middle of valleys, and make the desert into a lake of water and dry land into outlets of water. All of these have to do with true theology and a desire for it.
[5] In Moses:
Israel has lived securely, alone, at Jacob's spring, in a land of grain and new wine; its skies also drizzle dew. (Deuteronomy 33:28)
Jacob's spring stands for the Word and true doctrine taken from it. Since Jacob's spring symbolized the Word and true doctrine from it, when the Lord came to Jacob's spring he spoke with a Samaritan woman and taught her the significance of a spring and water. This is what John says about it:
Jesus came into a city of Samaria called Sychar. Jacob's spring was there. So Jesus, worn out with travel, therefore sat down at the spring. A woman from Samaria came to draw water, to whom Jesus says, "Give me something to drink." Jesus said, "If you knew God's gift, and who it is that says to you, 'Give me something to drink,' you would ask him to give you living water. Anyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But those who drink the water that I give them will never be thirsty to eternity; instead, the water that I give them will become a spring of water gushing up in them to provide eternal life." (John 4:5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14)
Jacob's spring symbolized the Word, water symbolized truth, and Samaria symbolized a spiritual religion, as these terms very frequently do in the Word. That is why the Lord talked with the woman from Samaria and taught her that true theology comes from him, and that when it comes from him or (to put the same thing another way) from his Word, it is a spring of water gushing up to provide life. He also taught her that truth itself is living water.
[6] Likewise in the same author:
Jesus said, "If any are thirsty, let them come to me and drink; any who believe in me, as the scripture says, from their belly will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37, 38)
And in the same author:
The Lamb who is in the middle of the throne will pasture them and lead them to lively springs of water, and God will erase every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 7:17)
In the same author:
To the thirsty I will give a drink from the spring of the water of life for free. (Revelation 21:6)
Rivers of living water and lively springs of water stand for truth from the Lord, or from his Word, since the Lord is the Word. A loving and charitable goodness, which comes from the Lord alone, is the life force of truth. People who love and desire truth are called thirsty; no one else can feel that thirst.
[7] These truths are also called springs of salvation in Isaiah:
You will draw water in happiness from springs of salvation, and you will say on that day, "Acclaim Jehovah; call on his name!" (Isaiah 12:3, 4)
It is also plain in Joel that a spring is the Word, or theology from it:
It will happen on that day that the mountains will shower down new wine, and the hills will run with milk, and all the brooks of Judah will run with water, and a spring will issue from Jehovah's house and water the river of the sheetim. (Joel 3:18)
The water stands for truth; the spring from Jehovah's house, for the Lord's Word.
[8] In Jeremiah:
Watch: I am bringing them from the land of the north, and I will assemble them from the flanks of the land; among them are the blind and the lame. They will come with weeping, and I will bring them with prayers to springs of water on the path of uprightness; they will not stumble on it. (Jeremiah 31:8, 9)
Springs of water on the path of uprightness clearly stand for true doctrines. The land of the north stands for ignorance, or a complete loss of truth; weeping and prayers, for a time of grief and despair among the people involved. Being brought to springs of water means being restored and taught truth–just as in the current verse, which speaks of Hagar and her son.
[9] Isaiah speaks of the same people this way:
Wilderness and desert will rejoice in them, and the wasteland will exult and bloom like the rose; it will sprout luxuriantly, and also exult greatly with singing. The glory of Lebanon has been given to it, the honor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of Jehovah, the honor of our God. Make limp hands firm, and to sinking knees give strength. The eyes of the blind will be unclosed, and the ears of the deaf will open. In the wilderness, water will burst forth, and rivers in the wasteland, and dry land will turn into a lake, and the thirsty place into wellsprings of water. (Isaiah 35:1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7)
The wilderness stands for loss of truth. The water, rivers, lake, and wellsprings of water stand for truth, which will refresh and gladden people who have been devastated, whose joy is portrayed at length in this passage.
[10] In David:
Jehovah sends springs forth in valleys; among the mountains they will run. They will supply drink to every wild animal of the fields; wild donkeys will break their thirst. He waters the mountains from his chambers. (Psalms 104:10, 11, 13)
Springs stand for truth; mountains, for love of goodness and truth; supplying drink, for teaching. Wild animals of the fields stand for people whose lives depend on all these things; see §§774, 841, 908. Wild donkeys stand for people who focus only on logic-based truth; see §§1949, 1950, 1951.
[11] In Moses:
The child of a fertile woman is Joseph, the child of a fertile woman beside the spring. (Genesis 49:22)
The spring stands for a theology that comes from the Lord. In the same author:
Jehovah your God will bring you into a good land, a land of rivers of water, springs, gulfs issuing in the valley and on the mountain. (Deuteronomy 8:7)
The land stands for the Lord's kingdom and church (§§662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1413, 2571), which is described as good because of its loving, charitable goodness. The rivers, water, springs, and gulfs stand for truth that develops out of that goodness. In the same author:
The land of Canaan–land of mountains and valleys–drinks up water at the raining of the sky. (Deuteronomy 11:11)
[12] Water is truth on the planes of the spirit, of reason, and of fact, as the following passages show. In Isaiah:
Look: the Lord Jehovah Sabaoth is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah the whole staff of bread and the whole staff of water. (Isaiah 3:1)
In the same author:
Bring water to meet the thirsty; approach the wanderers with bread for them. (Isaiah 21:14)
In the same author:
Fortunate are you who sow seed along all the waters. (Isaiah 32:20)
In the same author:
Those who walk in justice and speak what is upright will live on the heights; they will be given their bread, their dependable waters. (Isaiah 33:15, 16)
In the same author:
Then they will not grow thirsty; in the wilderness he will lead them; water from rock he will bring flowing out for them. And he splits rock, and water gushes out. (Isaiah 48:21; Exodus 17:1-8; Numbers 20:11, 13)
[13] In David:
He splits rocks in the wilderness and gave the people gulfs (as it seemed) to drink much from; he brought rivulets out from rock and sent water down like a river. (Psalms 78:15, 16)
The rock stands for the Lord. The water, rivers, and gulfs coming from it stand for truth that comes from him. In the same author:
Jehovah makes rivers into a desert, and outlets of water into a dry gulch. He makes the desert into a lake of water, and thirsty land into outlets of water. (Psalms 107:33, 35)
In the same author:
Jehovah's voice is upon the waters; Jehovah is upon many waters. (Psalms 29:3)
In the same author:
A river"its currents will gladden the city of God, the sanctuary of the dwelling places of the Highest One. (Psalms 46:4)
In the same author:
By Jehovah's word were the heavens made; and by the spirit of his mouth, the whole army of them. He is gathering the waters of the sea like a heap; he is putting abysses in his treasuries. (Psalms 33:6, 7)
In the same author:
You visit the earth and take great pleasure in it; you enrich it; God's brook is full of water. (Psalms 65:9)
In the same author:
The waters saw you, God; the waters saw you; the abysses shook. The clouds gushed out water. On the sea is your route, and your path is on many waters. (Psalms 77:16, 17, 19)
Anyone can see that the waters here do not mean waters, that the abysses did not shake, and that Jehovah's route is not on the sea nor his path on the waters. Instead, the waters are spiritual ones–that is, spiritual qualities, which are forms of truth. Otherwise the text would be a heap of meaningless words. In Isaiah:
Oh, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water, and whoever does not have silver, come, buy! (Isaiah 55:1)
In Zechariah:
It will happen on that day that living water will go out from Jerusalem, half of it to the eastern sea and half of it to the western sea. (Zechariah 14:8)
[14] Moreover, where the Word describes the planting of a church (as either a future or a past event) and depicts the church as a paradisal park, a garden, a grove, or trees, it commonly speaks as well in terms of the water or rivers that water such a place. They symbolize spiritual, rational, and factual matters, which are forms of truth. One example is paradise (Genesis 2:8, 9), which is also described in terms of its rivers (Genesis 2:10-14). The rivers symbolize facets of wisdom and understanding; see §§107-121. It is the same in many other passages in the Word, such as this one in Moses:
They are planted as valleys are, as gardens beside the river; like sandalwoods has Jehovah planted them, like cedars beside the water. The waters will flow down from his buckets, and his seed will be on many waters. (Numbers 24:6, 7)
In Ezekiel:
[An eagle] took some of the seed of the land and put it in a field suitable for sowing; [the eagle] took it beside many waters. It sprouted and became a luxuriant grapevine. (Ezekiel 17:5, 6)
A grapevine and vineyard symbolize a spiritual church; see §1069. In the same author:
Your mother was like a grapevine that resembled you, planted next to the water; fruitful and full of branches she became because of the many waters. (Ezekiel 19:10)
In the same author:
Look–Assyria, [a cedar] in Lebanon: The water made it grow; the abyss made it tall; with its rivers [the abyss] was meandering all around its planting-place and sent out its channels of water to all the trees of the field. (Ezekiel 31[3,] 4)
[15] In the same author:
Look: on the bank of the river, very many trees on this side and that! He said to me, "This water is going out to the eastern boundary, and it runs down onto the plain and goes toward the sea, having been sent down into the sea, and the water [of the sea] is cured. And it will come about that every living soul that creeps in any place where [the water] of the two rivers goes will survive. And the fish will be very numerous, because this water goes there and is cured, so that everything may live, wherever the river goes. It has its marshes and its swamps, and they are not being cured; they will be given over to salt." (Ezekiel 47:7, 8, 9, 11)
This is about the New Jerusalem, or the Lord's spiritual kingdom. Water going out to the eastern boundary symbolizes spiritual elements that grow out of heavenly ones, or truth from a heavenly origin–that is, faith that develops out of love and charity (§§101, 1250). Running down onto the plain means flowing down into doctrines present in the rational mind (2418, 2450). Going toward the sea means approaching knowledge, the sea being a body of knowledge (28). The living soul that creeps symbolizes the pleasure these things give (746, 909, 994). Such pleasure survives on the water of the river, or in other words, on spiritual traits that come from a heavenly source. Numerous fish stand for a wealth of useful facts (40, 991). Marshes and swamps stand for those that are useless and impure; turning to salt stands for being purged (2455). In Jeremiah:
Blessed is the man who trusts in Jehovah. He will be like a tree planted by the water, and by the brook he will send out his roots. (Jeremiah 17:7, 8)
In David:
They will be like a tree planted beside brooks of water that will yield its fruit in its season. (Psalms 1:3)
In John:
He showed me a pure river of the water of life, brilliant as crystal, going out from the throne of God and the Lamb; in the middle of its street and of the river, on this side and that, was the tree of life, making twelve fruits. (Revelation 22:1, 2)
[16] Now, since in the Word's inner meaning, water symbolizes truth, the priests and Levites of the Jewish religion were ordered to wash with water when they came up [to the altar] to minister. (This was for the sake of the representation in the eyes of the angels, who looked at ritual from a spiritual viewpoint.) They were to do so in the washbowl between the tabernacle and the altar, and later in the bronze sea and the other washbowls around the Temple, which stood in place of a spring. The custom of the sin water or purifying water that was to be spattered on the Levites was likewise established for the sake of the representation (Numbers 8:7). The same holds true for the water for removing [sin], made from the ashes of a red cow (Numbers 19:2-19). Plunder from the Midianites was to be cleansed by water (Numbers 31:19-25).
[17] The water that came from the rock (Exodus 17:1-8; Numbers 20:1-13) represented and symbolized an ample supply of spiritual elements–religious truth, in other words–from the Lord. The bitter water that was cured with wood (Exodus 15:22-25) represented and symbolized unpleasant truth rendered welcome and pleasing by goodness, or positive desires. Wood symbolizes something good in our desires, or our will; see §643.
This evidence now reveals what water means in the Word and so what it means in baptism, of which the Lord said this in John:
Unless people have been born of water and spirit they cannot enter God's kingdom. (John 3:5)
To be specific, water is the spiritual side of religion, while spirit is the heavenly side. So baptism is a symbol of being regenerated by the Lord through religious truth and goodness. Not that baptism regenerates us, but rather the kind of life baptism symbolizes–the life that Christians need to enter into, since they possess religious truth because they have the Word.
