From what I understand the Well of Miriam in the dessert was actually a rock which miraculously brought forth water. As such why do we refer to it as the well of Miriam and not the Rock of Miriam?
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asked May 11 '14 at 20:31
not-allowed to change my namenot-allowed to change my name
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Isn't it a A place where a liquid such as water surfaces naturally? – Double AA♦ May 11 '14 at 20:35
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1@DoubleAA I'm not particularly interested in the English definition, unless it is identical to the torah's definition of a b'er. But in any case it is a misnomer. – not-allowed to change my name May 11 '14 at 20:49
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1@not-allowedtochangemyname, if you're "not particularly interested in the English definition, unless it is identical to the torah's definition of a b'er", then why do you ask in your question about a "well" and not about a "b'er"? – msh210♦ May 11 '14 at 21:24
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@msh210 I was translating the hebrew term for the benefit of j.se users who are not familiar with it. It's the same reason I translated rock instead of using the term selah. – not-allowed to change my name May 11 '14 at 22:33
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@DoubleAA are you suggesting it was not miraculous like the torah claims? after all it was portable and gave water to 2 million people for 40 years. – ray May 12 '14 at 8:56
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My guess is that there was nothing special about the rock, which existed way before Miriam and lasted long after her. The only thing special about it was that it produced water like a well, which lasted only as long as Miriam was alive.
Hence, it wasn't the rock of Miriam, since she had nothing to do with it being a rock. It is the well of Miriam, since she caused it to be a well.
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i suspect there's some special story behind that "rock" or whatever it was see: chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/380282/jewish/… which shows it did alot more than just spew water. – ray May 12 '14 at 8:55
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In Bamidbar 21 it's referred to as a well, multiple times:
טז וּמִשָּׁם, בְּאֵרָה: הִוא הַבְּאֵר, אֲשֶׁר אָמַר יְהוָה לְמֹשֶׁה, אֱסֹף אֶת-הָעָם, וְאֶתְּנָה לָהֶם מָיִם. יז אָז יָשִׁיר יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶת-הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת: עֲלִי בְאֵר, עֱנוּ-לָהּ. יח בְּאֵר חֲפָרוּהָ שָׂרִים, כָּרוּהָ נְדִיבֵי הָעָם, בִּמְחֹקֵק, בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָם; וּמִמִּדְבָּר, מַתָּנָה
My guess is that as a result it's called the Well of Miriam, though the Ibn Ezra on that Pasuk says that it does not refer to Be'er Miriam.
וזאת הבאר גם היא היתה פלא ואיננה הבאר הנקרא באר מרים לפי דעתי
answered May 12 '14 at 14:29
