Meaning of WATER

In the East it is one of the most important budgets in life. Water in Holy Scripture means happiness and security (Ez. 47:1). The Israelite addresses God as the fountain of living water (Jer. 17:13), in whose nearness the godly can live (Ps. 1:3; Jer. 17:8); Jesus also calls himself living water (John 4:10, 13ff.); Whoever believes in Him will also become a source of life (Jn. 7:37f).

Water being poured or running past are symbols of the vanity of life and its expiration (Ps. 22:15; 2 Sam. 14:14). The sinful man swallows his sins as one drinks water (Jb. 15:16).

In Hebrew, the word "water" is always used in the plural ("mayim"). The waters covered the earth in the primitive chaos (Gen. 1:2), and then, when God separated them, the upper or heavenly waters remained (Gen. 1:7; 7:10; Ps. 148:4) and the inferior ones (Gen. 1:6).

Water also appears in Scripture in the multiple forms it exists on earth:
the water of the sea (Is. 11:9; Am. 5:8),
of a river (Josh. 3:8),
from a pond or a well (John 4:7),
rainwater or snow (Jb. 24:19),

from a fountain (James 3:11); fresh water is called living or running water (Gen. 26:19; Lev. 14:5).
The waters of the Flood are notable (Gen. 7:7; Is. 54:9; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 3:6).

In Palestine, as in Antiquity, water was of great value; Thus, each one took care to have his own water, and foreigners and the poor had to buy it (Num. 20:19; 2 Kings 19:24; Is. 55:1; Lam. 5:4; Pr. 5 :15; 9:17).

The water in the fountains was free. Water was used to irrigate the land (Ez. 17:7; Ps. 1:3; 65:10; 104:10). As well as for religious hygienic lavatories.

Some Hebrew expressions are difficult to translate into Spanish, but they can be interpreted like this:
"head water" means sleeping water;
"water from the knees" means urine (Isa. 36:12).
In a figurative sense, a mortal danger is called water (Ps. 18:17; 32:6; Jb. 27:20); Discouragement is also called waters (Jer. 7:5).

Water is a symbol of spiritual cleansing, but it can never regenerate on its own. The Hebrews used it in ablutions, which were quite frequent. The Qumram sect performed these ablutions several times a day, strictly adhering to the ritual prescriptions of the Law of Moses.

John the Baptist practiced baptism for the forgiveness of sins, a precursor to Christian baptism, which is believer's baptism and follows faith, because water cannot wash away sins if there is no prior repentance.