Man's search for drinkable water has always been a concern for people around the world and people in ancient Israel were no exception. They built a variety of sources from water channels through rock y ground to water stations around springs and the traditional well according to author Andre Chouraqui.
Home builders designed their homes with enough of a slope to direct the rain towards underground cisterns cut into the ground where it was stored during the rainy season from October to April so they didn't go thirsty during the arid summer months.
On a national scale Israelite engineers cut channels into the rocky hillsides to capture the water thunderingdown the torrent valleys into large cisterns cut into rock near larger cities and towns such as the one that King Hezekiah built near Jerusalem to keep it supplied with cool, refreshing water. This one consisted of the underground pool as well as a conduit or channel to carry the water into the city.
Smaller cities villages such En-shemesh were built in locations were water that had sunk into the ground in the highlands emerged lower down the slopes as bubbling springs. Such springs are mentioned in numerous parts of the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament.
In still other parts of the country they built the traditional wells in order to tape into the underground water supply that was kept replenished by these underground rivers running from the highlands to the valleys.
According to Chouraqui the early Israelite engineers were quite remarkable in their design and construction of systems, especially the cisterns with their supply channels cut into the rock, to capture, store and transport water to the people.
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