A sluice, in its most basic form, is a water channel controlled at its head by a gate. In ancient times, sluices were used for various purposes, including irrigation, water management, and even in mining operations. While the term "sluice" itself does not appear in the Bible, the concept of water management and controlled water flow is present in several biblical narratives and contexts.

Biblical Context and Usage

1. Irrigation and Agriculture: The ancient Near East, including the regions of Israel and surrounding territories, relied heavily on irrigation for agriculture. The use of channels and gates to control water flow would have been essential for sustaining crops, especially in arid regions. While the Bible does not explicitly mention sluices, the practice of irrigation is implied in several passages. For example, in Deuteronomy 11:10-11 , the land of Egypt is described as one "where you sowed your seed and irrigated it by hand, like a vegetable garden." This suggests a system of water management that could have included sluice-like mechanisms.

2. Water Management in Cities: Ancient cities often required sophisticated water management systems to ensure a steady supply of water. Jerusalem, for instance, had the Gihon Spring, which was a critical water source. King Hezekiah is noted for constructing a tunnel to bring water into the city, as described in 2 Kings 20:20 : "As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, along with all his might and how he made the pool and the tunnel to bring water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?" While not a sluice in the modern sense, this tunnel reflects the importance of controlled water flow in biblical times.

3. Symbolic Use of Water: Water is often used symbolically in the Bible to represent life, cleansing, and divine provision. In Isaiah 43:19-20 , God promises to provide water in the wilderness: "Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert." The imagery of streams and flowing water can be seen as analogous to the controlled and purposeful flow of water through a sluice, symbolizing God's provision and care.

4. Judgment and Destruction: Water is also used as a symbol of judgment and destruction. The flood narrative in Genesis 7-8 describes the unleashing of the "fountains of the great deep" and the "windows of the heavens" (Genesis 7:11), which could be likened to the opening of a massive sluice gate, releasing the waters of judgment upon the earth.

Cultural and Historical Insights

In the broader cultural and historical context of the Bible, the use of water channels and gates would have been a familiar concept to the original audience. The engineering skills required to construct and maintain such systems were highly valued, and the ability to control water flow was crucial for the survival and prosperity of communities.

The concept of a sluice, while not directly mentioned, aligns with the biblical themes of stewardship, resource management, and the divine provision of resources. The careful management of water resources reflects the broader biblical principle of wise stewardship over God's creation, as seen in Genesis 2:15 : "Then the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it."

In summary, while the specific term "sluice" is absent from the biblical text, the principles and practices associated with it are woven throughout the narratives and teachings of the Bible, highlighting the importance of water management in both practical and symbolic terms.1. (n.) An artificial passage for water, fitted with a valve or gate, as in a mill stream, for stopping or regulating the flow; also, a water gate or flood gate.

2. (n.) Hence, an opening or channel through which anything flows; a source of supply.

3. (n.) The stream flowing through a flood gate.

4. (n.) A long box or trough through which water flows, -- used for washing auriferous earth.

5. (v. t.) To emit by, or as by, flood gates.

6. (v. t.) To wet copiously, as by opening a sluice; as, to sluice meadows.

7. (v. t.) To wash with, or in, a stream of water running through a sluice; as, to sluice earth or gold dust in mining.

SLUICE

sloos (sekher, literally, "hire"): In Isaiah 19:10, the King James Version reads, "all that make sluices and ponds for fish." the Revised Version (British and American) entirely alters the translation of the whole verse. It reads, "And the pillars of Egypt shall be broken in pieces; all they that work for hire (margin "that make dams") shall be grieved in soul."

699. arubbah -- a lattice, window, sluice
... 698, 699. arubbah. 700 . a lattice, window, sluice. Transliteration: arubbah
Phonetic Spelling: (ar-oob-baw') Short Definition: windows. ...
/hebrew/699.htm - 6k

The Universal Gift
... which these things but symbolised is permanent; and we are not to think of Pentecost
as if it were a sudden gush from a great reservoir, and the sluice was let ...
/.../maclaren/romans corinthians to ii corinthians chap v/the universal gift.htm

The Spokesman of God.
... You can sense and feel and love. You can open the sluice-gates into your heart,
and have the blessed flood-tide lift and lift and bear you aloft and along. ...
/.../gordon/quiet talks on johns gospel/the spokesman of god.htm

September the Second Prayer and Revolution
... "Prayer," said Tennyson, "opens the sluice-gates between us and the Infinite."
It brings the frail wire into contact with the battery. ...
/.../my daily meditation for the circling year/september the second prayer and.htm

A Difficult Crossing
... to a considerable depth. And this in many parts ran over the causeway
with the swiftness and violence of a sluice. Once my mare ...
/.../wesley/the journal of john wesley/a difficult crossing.htm

The Charge to the Soldier of the Lord
... a sin. Then the amount of strength that we possess and wield is regulated
by ourselves. We have our hands on the sluice. We may ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/the charge to the soldier.htm

"For what the Law could not Do, in that it was Weak through the ...
... Christ's human nature, it was a great presumption to the world, who look and judge
according to the outward appearance, that sin was the sluice opened to let ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/sermon x for what the.htm

Secret Faults
... He does not know that the great current of his life has been turned aside, as it
were, by that sluice, and is taken to drive the wheels of his mill, and that ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture j/secret faults.htm

Camp-Meetings in Various States
... She bounded out of bed and went running through the house, saying that God had healed
her and that a sluice of praise was going through her soul. ...
/.../cole/trials and triumphs of faith/chapter xxi camp-meetings in various.htm

Drill and Enthusiasm
... There are too few wheels for the quantity of water in the river, and, partly for
that reason, the amount of water that runs waste over the sluice is deplorable ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/drill and enthusiasm.htm

"And if Christ be in You, the Body is Dead Because of Sin: but the ...
... Though it be true that sin was the first inlet of death, that it first opened the
sluice to let it enter and flow in upon mankind, yet that appointment of ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/sermon xxviii and if christ.htm

Sluice
... 5. (vt) To emit by, or as by, flood gates. 6. (vt) To wet copiously, as
by opening a sluice; as, to sluice meadows. 7. (vt) To wash ...
/s/sluice.htm - 7k

Trunk (3 Occurrences)
... of a traveler. 10. (n.) A flume or sluice in which ores are separated from
the slimes in which they are contained. 11. (n.) A large ...
/t/trunk.htm - 9k

Sluggish (1 Occurrence)

/s/sluggish.htm - 7k

Sluices (1 Occurrence)

/s/sluices.htm - 6k

Hatch (3 Occurrences)
... upper edge. 10. (n.) A frame or weir in a river, for catching fish. 11.
(n.) A flood gate; a sluice gate. 12. (n.) A bedstead. 13. (n ...
/h/hatch.htm - 8k

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