Jacob's Well (Israel)
City:
Nablus
State, Province, Region, or District:
West Bank
Country:
Israel
Overview
Jacob's Well (also known as Jacob's Fountain or the Well of Sychar) is located in Biblical Shechem in the Samaria region of Israel in the territory of Ephraim during Bible times. This area is known as Sychar in the New Testament, and today as Tel Balata village, a suburb of the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank.
The well is currently situated inside the Church of St. Photina, an Eastern Orthodox church at the Bir Ya'qub monastery. The well has been associated in religious tradition with the biblical patriarch Jacob for roughly two millennia. The site is also famously known as the site where Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink and offered her “living water” (John 4:1-26). (Photina is the name traditionally given to the woman at the well.)
Alternate Names
Jacob's Fountain, The Well of Sychar, Bir Ya'qub (Arabic)
Geography & Location
Jacob's Well is located 249 feet (76 meters) from Tell Balata in the eastern part of the city of Nablus within the grounds of the Bir Ya'qub monastery. The well is accessed by entering the church on the monastery grounds, and descending the stairs to a crypt where the well still stands, along with "a small winch, a bucket, ex-voto icons and lots of lit candles."
Biblical, Historical, & Archaeological Background Information
Shechem
Biblical & Historical References
Shechem is the place where God first appeared to Abraham after he entered the Promised Land (Genesis 12:4-7).
Spiritual Lessons and Application
Of all the events that happened at Shechem, Jesus summed up God’s desire for us when He told the woman at the well, “The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 2:23–24).
Site Visit
Access to Jacob’s Well is by entering the Church of St Photina and descending stairs in front of the iconostasis to the crypt.
Places of Interest
Tel Balata