Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 11:17
David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David speaks from a military stronghold while Philistine forces occupy Bethlehem. He voices a direct craving for water drawn specifically from the well at that city's gate.
The words — The Hebrew verb יִתְאַוֶּה (yit.'av) literally means "he craved" or "he longed," marking a sharp physical desire. The phrase מִבּוֹר בֵּית־ (mi./Bor beit-) identifies the exact location as the well at Bethlehem's entrance.
The thread — This account runs parallel to the desire recorded in 2 Samuel 23:15. The imagery of drawing water connects to Isaiah 12:3 and Jesus' offer of living water in John 4:10.
Why it lands — The text records a specific craving that triggers a costly act of loyalty from David's warriors. It asks the reader to recognize how physical longing can reveal deeper commitments to God and to others.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Beth–lehem, that is at the gate!
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 23:15 David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”
- Isaiah 12:3 With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation,
- John 4:10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
- John 4:14 But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- Psalms 63:1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
- Numbers 11:4 Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?
- Psalms 42:1 For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
- Psalms 143:6 I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah