I. Name
Sources (Heb. ʿên, maʿăyān) have great significance in the ancient Near East. Often essential as a water-supply in arid regions, sources could acquire the status of holy places. As such they were either identified as gods or as divine dwelling-places. Also in the Hebrew Bible, there are several traces of a cult of sources and source deities.
II. Identity
Sources are revered in most cultures, especially in arid regions. In the ancient Near East, the more distant they are fr…