Water And The Places It Collects

Abstract

Biblical Hebrew has a rich vocabulary for clouds, rain, rivers, wadis, springs, wells, and cisterns, and this vocabulary indicates something of how ancient Israelites related to water. Water in all its forms was understood as a gift from God, especially when seasonal rain arrived according to expectation. Disruptions to the normal seasons were usually interpreted as a sign of judgment. By naming various forms of water and their divine origin, humans reveal their relationship with God and with water.

Introduction

In order to glimpse how ancient Israelites related to water, you need to forget the difference between the natural and the supernatural. Water is God’s power made manifest, and that is most true when water behaves exactly as you would expect. Rain arrives in its seasons, rivers flow when and where they should flow, and humans, animals, and plants have enough to drink. The authors of the Bible knew God through the regular, normal seasons and access to water, not through signs and wonders. Spectacular events like droughts and floods indicated God’s power too, though these were usually interpreted as signs of God’s judgment. The prime proof of God’s power was not the spectacular, but the ordinary, the early and the later rains, each in their time (Deut 11:14–15; see Jer 5:24; Joel 2:23–24; Zech 10:1; Ps 147:8).

I started thinking about the water in the Hebrew Bible because of a sentence in Angel Sáenz-Badillos’s A History of the Hebrew Language: “It has been pointed out that although the vocabulary of [biblical Hebrew] is very small compared to that of a living language. . .it is especially rich in certain areas relevant to the lives of farmers and shepherds, to mountains, clouds, every kind of naturally-occurring water and the places in which it collects, the desert, thorns, etc.” ¹ I teach Introduction to Hebrew Bible, and students inevitably get stuck on violence and gender dynamics in the text. I sympathize with these concerns, and I also want them to notice that the Bible is rich in water terms! I want to know more about this richness and what it might teach us about our relationships with God and water. Ancient Israelites saw water as a gift from God and knew, with an intensity of knowledge that I lack, that life depends on water. I want to learn from their respect for water and from their conviction that water and God are closely related.

Following Sáenz-Badillos’s citations led me to Eduard Yechezkel Kutscher’s A History of the Hebrew Language, where I searched his vocabulary lists for water-related words: clouds, rain, springs, rivers, and cisterns. ² I knew many of the terms, but I didn’t know their finer differences. What distinguishes ʿānān (cloud) from ʿab (cloud), besides the fact that the former occurs more than twice as often as the latter? Did ancient Israelites use different words for different kinds of clouds, something akin to our terms Cumulus, Cirrus, and Stratus? And if so, is it possible to discern those differences?

In this piece, I try to understand how ancient Israelites related to water by studying the Bible’s extensive vocabulary of water-related terms. ³ To think about water by means of dictionary terms may seem like an abstract exercise, but my interest in water is not abstract. A list of contemporary examples of water troubles could go on forever, but here is a sample: Standing Rock; Flint, Michigan; South Africa’s water crisis in 2018; the Colorado River water negotiations; border guards pouring out water left for migrants on the U.S. southern border; the recent Supreme Court decision denying the Navajo nation’s request that the federal government be forced to act in a timely matter to help them quantify, settle, and access its water rights; the Wet’suwet’en battle against Coastal GasLink and the RBC; drought and wildfires; the 2.2 billion people who live without access to safely managed water. Ancient Israelites were acutely aware of water precarity and the political aspects of water. I have until recently taken water for granted. But I have started to worry. Water does not feel as accessible and safe as it used to. Ancient Israel’s relationship with water was different than ours, but they, like us, faced water precarity. The Bible might offer a voice of wisdom for how to live well with water precarity.

The structure of the article reflects the ways ancient Israelites encountered water in the land. Clouds, rain, and mist encompass water that arrives from above. Rivers, springs, wadis, and wells are fed by ground and rainwater and are encountered as water in the land. Finally, cisterns (dug holes made waterproof with slaked lime plaster) were used to collect rainwater during the rainy season for use during the dry season.

Water From Above: Clouds, Rain, and Mist

God Gives Water

In the Hebrew Bible, rain and cloud belong to God, and God exercises power by providing rain. It was long a truism in biblical studies that a defining feature of the Hebrew Bible is that revelation takes place through history, not through nature. ⁴ This truism has come under significant criticism, especially by scholars working with an ecological hermeneutic. ⁵ The insufficiency of revelation-through-history becomes clear when focusing on how biblical writers speak of God’s power to provide rain.

Two common sayings about rain read like creedal affirmations. Variations of the first are found in Deuteronomy and the Prophets:

I will give your land rain in its time, early rain and late rain, and you will gather your grain, your wine, and your oil, and I will give grass in your fields, and to your livestock, and you will eat and be satisfied. (Deut 11:14–15; see Jer 5:24; Joel 2:23–24; Zech 10:1; Ps 147:8) ⁶

The second saying speaks more generally of weather and appears in the Prophets and the Writings:

He raises clouds from the end of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings out wind from his storehouses. (Ps 135:7; see also Jer 10:13; 51:16; Job 36:27)

The first saying emphasizes God’s provision of rain at the right time as the precondition for agriculture. The second saying shows God’s overarching power over weather. Together, these sayings make it clear that God gives water. Water-related terms throughout the Hebrew Bible support and draw on this central affirmation that Israel depends on God for rain.

These are not the only affirmations in the Hebrew Bible that sound like creeds. Three others will sound more familiar, and it is helpful to consider them alongside the affirmation that rain comes from God. These are affirmations that God creates the world, that God saved Israel from Egypt, and that God is one:

YHWH is an eternal God, the creator of the ends of the earth. (Isa 40:28; see also Gen 1; Isa 42:5, 12, 18; Amos 4:13; Psa 148:5)

I am YHWH, your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. (Ex 20:2; Deut 5:6;)

Hear, O Israel: YHWH, our God, YWHH is one. (Deut. 6:4)

To be clear, none of these affirmations are “creeds” in the formal sense that most Christians understand. But they express key theological commitments. We are used to thinking of “God is one” (Deut 6:4) as a significant theological insight. It is more foreign to consider that “God makes rain” is also a theological insight and central affirmation of the Bible, perhaps because Israel’s neighbors shared this affirmation, in the sense that they claimed their gods brought rain. But statements that God makes rain and rain belongs to God are found repeatedly throughout the Hebrew Bible. Putting these affirmations next to “God is one” is my attempt at making visible how much emphasis the Bible places on God’s power to give rain. It is a statement of theology, of God’s involvement with the world.

Clouds

Clouds are a sign of God’s presence and power, and the power to make clouds belongs exclusively to God. All clouds are associated with God, so that theophany is, in a sense, a normal occurrence. Any time the sky is cloudy, the writers of the Bible think of God.

The fact that all clouds are associated with God is one indication that the division between the natural and the supernatural is of limited usefulness when talking about the Hebrew Bible. A. Irving Hallowell, in speaking about Ojibwa ontology, writes: “The concept of ‘supernatural’ presupposes a concept of the ‘natural’. . .It is unfortunate that the natural-supernatural dichotomy has been so persistently invoked by many anthropologists in describing the outlook of peoples in cultures other than our own.” ⁷ In the Hebrew Bible, there is a distinction between that which is created (everything that is not God) and that which creates (God). But this distinction is not the same as a distinction between the supernatural and the natural. When the writers of the Hebrew Bible saw clouds, especially storm clouds, they saw God’s presence. Not because the storm clouds were magical or supernatural. “Natural” clouds indicate that God is present.

The two most common words for clouds, ʿānān and ʿab, show the various ways in which clouds were associated with God. The first of these, ʿānān is overwhelmingly associated with God’s presence in the pillar of cloud and fire that first appears in Exodus (see Exod 13:21; 14:19, 24; 16:10; Num 14:14; Deut 1:33; Ps 78:14; 99:7; 105:39; Neh 9:12, 19), in the cloud that covers the mountain on which Moses speaks with God (Exod 19:9, 16; 24:15, 18; 34:5), and in the cloud that covers the tabernacle and the temple (Exod 33:9–10, 40:34-38; Num 9:15–22; 10:11; 12:5; 16:42; Deut 4:11; 5:22; 31:15; 1 Kgs 8:10; 2 Chr 5:13–14). Ezekiel’s vision of God draws on the same imagery (Ezek 1:4, 28). The association with fire and God’s speech suggest thunder clouds.

An ominous use of the same word appears in prophetic speech about the day of YHWH (see Joel 2:2; Zeph 1:15). Clouds here are associated with the coming of foreign armies: “A day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick darkness. Like dawn spread upon the mountains, a large and mighty people comes. . .” (Joel 2:2; see also Ezek 39:8, 22). Whereas God’s coming in cloud is usually described as an act of going down (using the verb yārad), foreign armies, when associated with cloud, are described as coming up (ʿālâ).

The second common word for cloud, ʿab, is also associated with God, but while ʿānān is often described as descending with God as God’s cover, ʿab is more often used for preexisting clouds reacting to God’s coming: “YHWH, when you went out from Seir. . .the clouds dropped water” (Judg 5:4, see also Ps 77:18). ⁸ The word ʿab seems to be a more everyday word than ʿānān. For example, Ecclesiastes uses it as a general cloud word: “When clouds are filled, they empty rain on the earth” (Eccl 11:3). It describes rain clouds, and especially ones that move quickly (1 Kgs 18:44; Isa 19:1; 60:8).

Other cloud words include nāšîʾ, ʿărāpel, and ḥāzîz. The first describe God’s ability to make mist or cloud “rise from the end of the world” (Jer 10:13; 51:6; Ps 135:7). The second describes a darkness associated with God’s arrival, especially in judgment (see Exod 20:21; Deut 4:11; Ezek 34:12; Joel 2:22). The final word speaks of God’s power to make thunderbolts and to create a way for them (Zech 10:1; Job 28:26; 38:25).

Cloud words suggest two interrelated ideas. First, when you see clouds, God is near. Second, if you need clouds, the only reasonable place to turn is to God. There is no distinction in the Bible between “normal” clouds and “theophany” clouds (no “natural” vs. “supernatural”), though storm clouds (as opposed to fluffy white clouds) are most consistently part of the description of God’s entourage. This doesn’t mean that ancient Israelites would have been terrified any time that they saw clouds. Instead, it means that clouds are one aspect of the world that consistently signaled to them God’s active participation in the world. The water cycle is not a closed system, set in motion by God and then left to do its thing. God is involved with clouds on a daily basis. Without God’s involvement, there are no clouds.

Rain ⁹

Like clouds, rain belongs to God and shows God’s power. God’s power is not the abstract power to make rain, but the power to send rain at the right time. The writers of the Bible were aware that this was not a unique claim and that other peoples claimed that their gods were the ones to bring rain: “Can any among the idols of the nations bring rain or can the heavens give showers? Is it not you, YHWH, our God?” (Jer14:22). A more ambiguous statement about God and rain is Elihu’s description, in Job 37:6–7, of showers of rain as a seal on the hand, “so that all whom he has made may know.” This seems to point to rain as a proof of God’s power, but the exact meaning is unclear. ¹⁰

God’s judgement usually takes the form of withholding rain (Deut 11:17; 18:24; 1 Kgs 17:1; 2 Chr 6:26), though rain sent at the wrong time, especially during harvest, also can serve as a sign of judgment (1 Sam 12:17).

As the creedal-like statements with which I began show, rain is at the center of Israel’s worship life. One of the main functions of the temple is to be a place to pray for rain (1 Kgs 8:35; 2 Chr 6:26; 7:13). In Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Temple, Solomon asks God to hear petitions from his people, including petitions for rain: “When the heavens are restrained and there is no rain. . .and they pray towards this place. . .then may you hear in heaven” (1 Kgs 8:35–6).

The most common words for rain are derived from the stem mṭr. It often occurs with the verb nātan‪, to give: God gives rain (Deut 11:14; 28:12; 1 Kgs 8:35; 18:1) and withholds it (Deut 11:17; 18:24; 1 Kgs 17:1; 2 Chr 6:26). When used as a verb, the subject is God. ¹¹ Rain is God’s prerogative. Words that come from the stem mṭr are rarely mentioned without also mentioning God. As with clouds, rain always indicates God’s presence and God’s care for the world.

The second most common word for rain is gešem. It is also a general, not seasonal, rain, but should ideally arrive in “its time” (Lev 26:4; Jer 5:24). It often occurs with the verb nātan, to give, with YHWH as the subject (Lev 26:4; 1 Kgs 17:14; Jer.5:24; Zech 10:1), but unlike māṭār it is associated with a wider range of verbs and subjects. ¹² The association of gešem with God is often found in the context. The reader must sometimes look to the larger narrative. For example, in Gen 7:12, rain “was on the earth for forty days and forty nights.” It is clear from the context that God sends the rain (see Gen 7:4), but God’s involvement is not mentioned in 7:12. That gešem can be the subject of verbs also shows that while God gives rain, this does not rob rain itself of the ability to act. God gives life by providing rain. Rain also gives life. This relationship resembles human participation in God’s work. God saves Israel from Egypt—and Moses does too. Just, as rain participates in divine action, humans act together with God. ¹³

Dew

Though it would be an overstatement to say that dew is not associated with God (see Gen 27:28; Mic 5:7), the writers of the Bible do not tie its provision as closely to God as they do with rain and cloud. For example, whereas Jer 14:22 says the heavens themselves cannot bring rain, Zech 8:12 promises that the heavens will give dew, the vine fruit, and the ground produce. The writers seem to consider dew a creaturely power. Rain and cloud are divine prerogatives. Dew is a metaphorical fruit that grows from the heavens, just like figs grow from trees. ¹⁴

Water in the Land: Rivers, Springs, Wadis, and Wells

Like rain and clouds, rivers, springs, wadis, and wells are associated with God and God’s power. When describing boundaries and locations, the writers of the Bible often name water sources and drainage paths. ¹⁵

When rivers and wadis occur in salvation oracles, it is usually to describe God’s promises to make water abundant. In judgment oracles, God threatens to dry up rivers. A good land, in the Hebrew Bible, is a land with rivers and wadis; they are essential water sources. A very good land, as imagined in salvation oracles, has more abundant and more reliable water.

Rivers

Rivers, like rain, have seasons. Perennial rivers have continual water flow throughout the year, while intermittent rivers usually cease to flow at least once a year, and ephemeral rivers only flow after heavy rainfall.

Biblical words for rivers distinguish only between rivers with continual flow (nāhār) and rivers with interrupted flow (naḥal, “wadi”), ¹⁶ an expression of the seasonal nature of water. The flow of intermittent and ephemeral rivers is tied to seasonal rain and groundwater. This may seem too obvious to need stating, but my point is that the entire water system, for ancient Israelites, had a seasonal character. Only during the early rains and the later rains would water in the form of rain and ephemeral streams have been abundant.

Both nāhār (river) and naḥal (wadi) are used in place names. Examples include the Euphrates (Gen 36:37; Exod 23:31), the Tigris (Gen 2:13; Dan 10:4), and the Wadi Gerar (Gen 26:17). Because of this, both words are important means to delineate territory. The book of Joshua often refers to wadis when describing the land holdings of specific tribes (Josh 13:9, 16; 15:4, 7, 47; 16:8; 17:9; 19:11). The phrase “beyond the river” is a shorthand for land that is outside of Israel and Judah. “Beyond the river” is where Abraham (and later Israel) comes from when they travel into the land (Josh 24:2–3, 14–15), where the Arameans and Assyria live (2 Sam 10:16; Isa 7:20; 1 Chr 19:16), where Israel/Judah will be scattered (1 Kgs 14:15), and it can also refer to Ethiopia (Isa 18:1; Zeph 3:10). ¹⁷

In oracles of salvation and judgmental and in psalms of praise, God cuts open rivers (Isa 41:18; 43:19–20; Ps 78:16; 105:41) and, more often, dries them up or restrains them (Isa 11:15; 19:5–6; 42:15; 44:27; 50:2; Ezek 31:15; Nah 1:4; Ps 74:15). With wadis, however, God is only ever described as filling them (Isa 35:6; 2 Kgs 3:16–17; Ps 74:15; 78:20; 104:10), never drying one up. Presumably, this is because the most common state for a wadi is to be dry. It is therefore interesting that in Ezekiel, the river that runs from under the temple is a wadi, not a perennial river (Ezek 47:5–6, 9, 12). ¹⁸ Perhaps the explanation is simply that wadis, not rivers, were the most common water courses in ancient Israel. Ezekiel’s temple vision, however idealized, is local. It reflects what water tends to look like in the land.

The word nāhār sometimes stands in parallel with yām, sea, suggesting that one of the features of rivers is that they contain a lot of water (Isa 11:15; 48:18; 50:2; Ezek 32:2; Jonah 2:4; Nah 1:4; Hab 3:8; Ps 46:5[4]; 66:6). Many of the uses of naḥal, in contrast, do not necessarily refer to water at all. While Deut 21:4 and 6 specify that for the ritual for an unsolved murder you need a “strong wadi,” one in which you can wash your hands, several texts refer to wadis in which towns are situated (Deut 2:36; Josh 13:9; 2 Sam 24:5). These texts seem to focus more on the larger valley than on the streams themselves, though they suggest an awareness that water shapes land and that water tends to gather in low-lying areas. ¹⁹

Narratives highlight the seasonal nature of wadis. In 1 Kgs 17:3–7, Elijah hides by the Wadi Cherith that provides him with water but dries up when the rain stops. The presence of wadis is one of the signs of a good land (Deut 8:7; 10:7), though when in flood, the water of a wadi can drown people (Judg 5:21; 2 Sam 22:5; Isa 30:28; Jer 47:2; Ps 18:5[4]; 124:4). In 2 Chr 32:4, the people stop up wadis as a defensive move in war.

Rivers and wadis, like rain, were essential water sources in ancient Israel and were closely tied to God’s power. But words for river have a wider usage than words for rain, primarily because of their use in place names. Like a hiking guide that tells you where you can find streams and springs, place names in ancient Israel mark the land according to water. Just by knowing the names of a place, you would know whether you could expect water to be present year around, or whether water was only likely to be present at particularly wet times of the year.

Springs and Wells

Though springs and wells may sound more closely related to cisterns, they belong conceptually to rivers, because wells, like rivers, supply humans with water that humans have not themselves collected. Springs and wells give humans access to ground water. The vocabulary for springs is varied and includes words like ʿayin, maʿyān, mĕqôr, môṣāʾ, gullâ, ʾăgam, and mabbûaʿ. Together, these words have similar characteristics as the words for rivers and wadis.

First, they are associated with God and God’s saving and judging actions. YHWH opens springs to provide drink to humans, animals, and plants (Isa 35:7; 49:10; Ps 74:15; 104:10–11; 107:33, 35; 114:8) and to rescue or cleanse them (Isa 41:18; Joel 3:18; Zech 13:1). YHWH closes springs in judgment (Jer 51:36; Hos 13:15). The word ʾăgam, perhaps a pond rather than a spring, is common in images of reversals. God turns sands, wilderness, rock, and Babylon into ponds (Isa 14; 23; 35:7; 41:18; Ps 107:35; 118:8).

Second, springs are a common element in place names (Num 34:11; Josh 15:9, 32; 18:15; 19:7; 21:16; Neh 2:14; 3:15: 12:37). They are also an important water source, especially in dry regions like the Negev and during droughts, because they give people access to ground water (Josh 15:19; Judg 1:15; 1 Kgs 18:5).

Springs are sometimes associated with cities and their water supply (2 Kgs 2:21; 2 Chr 32:30). In war, springs can be closed up either offensively (2 Kgs 3:19, 25) or defensively (2 Chr 32:4).

A unique use of words for spring, especially the word mĕqôr, is in divine titles, including “spring of living water” (Jer 2:13; 17:13), and “spring of Israel” (Ps 68:27). Understanding the difference between a spring and a cistern shows how stinging is the rebuke in Jer 2:13: “For my people have done two evils: they have left me, a spring of living water, to hew for themselves cisterns.” They have replaced a reliable source of groundwater with holes that store rainwater. This is a powerful image of how water is at the heart of Israel’s relationship with God. To forget that God is the source of water, and instead rely on yourself, is a major religious mistake, one so serious that God instructs the heavens to be appalled, horrified, and dry in response (Jer 2:12).

While springs occur naturally in the landscape, ancient Israelites also dug wells. The most common word for a human-dug well is bĕʾēr. A well is a method for finding ground water and is distinct from a cistern that is used to store rainwater (Gen 21:30; 26:15, 18–22; 26:25). This is clear from texts like Gen 26:32, where Isaac’s servants dig a well and tell Isaac “We have found water.” Wells are often covered by a stone, which was moved to water animals (Gen 24:11, 20; 29:2–3, 8, 10). In 2 Sam 17:18–21, a well serves as a hiding place. In Psalms and Proverbs, bĕʾēr sometimes is used as a word for a pit into which people fall (Psa 55:24[23]; 69:16[15]; Prov 23:27).

Containers for Water: Cisterns

Cisterns (bôr) and reservoirs (bĕrēkâ) are the only sources of water associated with human work. ²⁰ Wells may be dug, but the water they supply is not a result of human effort. Cisterns and reservoirs, however, are human means of either storing excess rainwater, or bringing water from a source into a city. Their mention among the basic infrastructure of a city (Deut 6:11; 2 Sam 23:15; Jer 41:9; Neh 9:25) and their presence in grazing lands (2 Chr 26:10) show their importance. Cisterns extend the too-short seasonal availability of water to the whole year, making it possible for humans, animals, and plants to drink during the dry seasons. Cisterns and reservoirs also make it possible for cities to withstand sieges (Jer 41:9), because urban populations can gather their water from cisterns within the city, rather than going outside city walls for their water supply. Like rivers, wadis, and springs, cisterns and reservoirs appear in place names and as landmarks (1 Sam 19:22; 30:30; 2 Sam 2;13; 3:26; 4;12; 10:14; 1 Kgs 23:38).

Cisterns however, are the only water source whose metaphorical and symbolic uses are primarily negative. Perhaps because cisterns were often dry and because they were common, their metaphorical uses draw on experiences and dread of falling down one. Cisterns were sometimes used as makeshift prisons or as a place to dump bodies (Gen 37:20, 22, 24, 28–29; Jer 38:6–7, 9-11, 13; 41:7, 9). The phrase “those who go down to the pit/cistern” is a common euphemism for death (Isa 38:18; Ezek. 26:20; 31:14, 16; 32:18, 24–25, 29–30; Ps 28:1; 30:4[3]; 88:5[4]; 143:7; Prov 1:12), and bôr also appears in parallel with Sheol (Isa 14:15; Ps 30:4[3]; Prov 1:12).

While I do not think the negative metaphorical uses of cisterns are direct consequences of their association with human work (human work as such is not associated with death), it is likely that the lack of a close tie with God make it possible for cistern to function as a synonym for death. God exercises God’s power through rain and wadis, and that power is sometimes overwhelming and destructive. But rain and wadis are not therefore associated with death. God’s power as expressed through rain and water is simply bigger than humans are and is capable of hurting humans. Cisterns are much tamer. They don’t have the power to sweep away or cause major flooding. One can, however, die by falling down one. The dread of being in a cistern suggests a similar removal from God as in Sheol: “For in death there is no memory of you. In Sheol, who gives you praise?” (Ps 6:5[6]).

While families had their own cisterns (2 Kgs 18:31; Isa 36:16), the building of reservoirs and their tunnel systems is associated with kings. The summary of Hezekiah’s deeds includes “how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city” (2 Kgs 20:20). Nehemiah mentions the “the pool of the king” and the pool of Shelah found in the king’s garden (Neh 2:14; 3:16). The royal boast in Ecclesiastes includes a claim to have built pools (Eccl 2:6). ²¹

Reservoirs, unlike cisterns, are not associated with death, perhaps for both practical and theological reasons. Reservoirs were fewer in numbers and not as accessible, so falling into one might have been a rare occurrence. Furthermore, perhaps because kings built reservoirs, and the royal house was thought to be appointed by God, reservoirs are not as suited to metaphors about death and removal from God.

Conclusion

In the Bible, God gives water. People need water, collect it, and name their land after it. God names Godself after it: Spring of Living Water, Spring of Israel. Water is one of the ways God cares for God’s people. The people’s dependence on God for water is not otherworldly and it does not replace knowledge of water. The people know the seasons of water, its locations, and the ways in which it travels. They keep that knowledge in names, stories, and poetry. The people who wrote the Bible knew much better than I do that they could not live without water, and they that could not make water by their own effort. They recognized that water comes to them as a gift from God.

How we name the world matters. I believe learning from people who have a rich vocabulary for the world is part of becoming intimate with the world, of learning again how to care for it and live well in it. Robin Kimmerer, in Gathering Moss, writes: “It is a sign of respect to call a being by its name, and a sign of disrespect to ignore it. Words and names are the ways we humans build relationship, not only with each other, but also with plants.” ²² For plants, read water. Read rain. Read clouds.

Being able to name rain and clouds in ways that indicate our relationship with them and their relationship with God is part and parcel of learning how to respect rain and cloud as providers of life. I am particularly struck by the seasonal nature of all water in the Hebrew Bible. Water is no less seasonal now, but because my life does not depend on knowing the seasons of water, my knowledge is patchy at best. The language of water in the Hebrew Bible motivates me to better understand when and how water flows in my landscape and my time. ²³

Robert MacFarlane, in his book Landmarks, a monograph-length collection of landscape words, speaks of our need for a “language of tact and of tenderness.” ²⁴ Considering the language of rain in the Bible is for me a work of sympathy. I am learning sympathy with ancient Israelite farmers, so that they may teach me sympathy with water. I hope also to learn sympathy with present-day water protectors, with the Standing Rock Sioux and the Wet’suwet’en and the Navajo, who through their determined efforts to protect the waters of their peoples are protecting life for all of us. ²⁵ Mni Wiconi, “Water is life.” ²⁶ Today’s water protectors know that. So did the writers of the Bible. I am hoping to learn.