Greek word · G4077

πηγή

pēgē

flow

A spring or fountain, meaning water that rises out of the ground by itself. More broadly it means a source or origin (a 'fount' of tears, of blood, of wisdom, of life). Its opposite is water you have to store or dig for: a cistern (λάκκος) or a dug well (φρέαρ).

Appears 11 times in 10 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

πηγή, -ῆς, ἡ

[in LXX chiefly for עַיִן, also for מָקוֹר, etc. ;]

a spring, fountain : James 3:11, 2 Peter 2:17; τ. δάτων, Revelation 8:10 14:7 16:4; of a well fed by a spring, John 4:6; π. τοῦ αἵματος, of a flow of blood, Mark 5:29; metaphorically, John 4:14, Revelation 7:17 21:6.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of John 4:14

Range of meaning: A spring or fountain, meaning water that rises out of the ground by itself. More broadly it means a source or origin (a 'fount' of tears, of blood, of wisdom, of life). Its opposite is water you have to store or dig for: a cistern (λάκκος) or a dug well (φρέαρ).
Against the English: BSB 'fount', NIV/ESV 'spring' and NLT 'bubbling spring' keep the sense. KJV, WEB and NASB 1995 say 'well'. In 1611 'well' could still mean a natural spring ('wellspring'), but a modern reader hears 'well' as a shaft with a bucket, which is the very thing Jesus is setting his gift against.
How it drifted: Old and Middle English wella meant a spring or fountain. Over time 'well' narrowed to mean mainly a dug shaft. KJV-tradition wording kept the older word after the sense had narrowed.
Used elsewhere in the period: The Greek Old Testament uses πηγή for God himself: 'they have forsaken me, the fountain (πηγή) of living water, and dug for themselves cisterns' (Jer 2:13; 17:13). Also 'with you is the fountain (πηγή) of life' (Ps 36:9 [35:10 LXX]). Proverbs speaks of 'the fountain of wisdom' (Prov 18:4). In John 4 itself, the narrator calls Jacob's well a πηγή (4:6), but the woman calls it a φρέαρ, a dug and deep well (4:11–12). Jesus then speaks of a πηγή inside the person.

From the study of Revelation 21:6

Range of meaning: πηγή: a spring or fountain, a source of flowing water. By extension it means any source. ζωή: life, especially life as a gift from God. In Jewish end-time hope, and throughout Revelation, it means the life of the age to come, beyond death.
Against the English: KJV "fountain" can bring to mind a decorative city fountain. "Spring" keeps the picture of water rising from the ground. "Water of life" is accurate, but it can be softened into "spiritual refreshment". In Revelation it means life that death can no longer touch (21:4).
Used elsewhere in the period: Jeremiah 2:13 in the LXX uses this exact phrase: God is the πηγὴ ὕδατος ζωῆς, "the spring of the water of life", whom Israel abandoned for cracked cisterns. Psalm 36:9 (LXX 35:10) says "with you is the spring of life." Other passages picture water flowing from God's presence: Ezekiel 47, Zechariah 14:8 and Isaiah 49:10, which Revelation 7:16–17 quotes. Compare Revelation 7:17 ("springs of waters of life"), 22:1 ("river of the water of life"), 22:17, and John 4:10–14; 7:37–38. In Hebrew, "living water" (mayim ḥayyim) meant fresh running water as opposed to standing water.

From the study of John 4:6

Range of meaning: A spring, fountain or source of running water. By extension, any source or origin, e.g. a 'fountain of life' or a 'source of tears'. It stands in contrast to φρέαρ (phrear), a dug shaft or cistern.
Against the English: Every major English version says 'well' here. That is accurate for the site: Jacob's well is a deep dug shaft. But it hides the fact that John's word is 'spring'. In v.11–12 the woman calls it a φρέαρ, a 'well/pit' that is 'deep'. In v.14 Jesus says the water he gives becomes a 'πηγή of water leaping up to eternal life'.
How it drifted: No real drift in meaning. Translators choose 'well' for the physical object, which is reasonable, and the wordplay is lost.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, or LXX), πηγή renders Hebrew ʿayin/maʿyan, 'spring', as in Genesis 24:13, 16, 29–30 at Abraham's servant's meeting with Rebekah. Jeremiah 2:13 calls God 'the spring (πηγή) of living water', set against 'broken cisterns'. That pairing of a living spring with a dug cistern stands behind John 4. Jacob's well (Bir Yaʿqub, at the foot of Mount Gerizim near ancient Shechem) gets its water from groundwater seeping in, so both words describe it truly.

Where it appears

Mark · 1

Mark 5:29 πηγὴ flow

Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

Here: Literally a spring of water. Used of the body, it means the source of the bleeding. It echoes the wording of Leviticus about a woman's bleeding.

John · 3

John 4:6 πηγὴ πηγῇ· [the] well, well;

Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Here: Literally a 'spring', a source of flowing water. Jacob's well is a dug shaft fed by groundwater, so the word fits. It also sets up Jesus' promise in v.14 of 'a spring (pēgē) of water leaping up'.
John 4:14 πηγὴ a spring

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.”

Here: A natural spring, water rising from the ground on its own. The woman has been calling Jacob's well a φρέαρ, a dug shaft you haul water out of (vv. 11–12). Jesus deliberately picks the other word.

James · 1

James 3:11 πηγὴ spring

Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

2 Peter · 1

2 Peter 2:17 πηγαὶ springs

These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.

Here: A natural spring, the place where water comes up out of the ground. It is a source of life, and in Israel's wisdom writing it is a picture of a teacher's words ("the teaching of the wise is a fountain of life").

Revelation · 5

Revelation 7:17 πηγὰς fountains

For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Here: Springs: water that rises fresh from the ground, the most precious thing in a dry land. These are not cisterns or stored water.
Revelation 8:10 πηγὰς springs

Then the third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star burning like a torch fell from heaven and landed on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.

Here: Natural springs where water comes up from the ground, the sources of rivers and wells. Hitting them poisons fresh water at its source.
Revelation 14:7 πηγὰς springs

And he said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the One who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and the springs of waters.”

Here: Springs: the sources of fresh water that every town depended on. This item is unusual in creation lists, and it matches the third trumpet and third bowl, which strike "rivers and springs of waters" (8:10; 16:4).
Revelation 16:4 πηγὰς springs

And the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they turned to blood.

Here: Fountains and sources where water comes up from the ground. The source of fresh water is struck, and not just the streams downstream.
Revelation 21:6 πηγῆς spring

And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.

Here: A spring, meaning water welling up from the ground. It is not stored water in a cistern but a living source that does not run dry.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.