And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well's mouth.
And he looked ... - as he approached the place of his destination, he, according to custom, repaired to the well adjoining the town, where he would obtain an easy introduction to his relatives.
Three flocks ... and a ... stone, ... In Arabia, owing to the shifting sands, and in other places, owing to the strong evaporation, the mouth of a well is generally covered, especially when it is private property. Over many is laid a broad, thick, flat stone, with a round hole cut in the middle, forming the mouth of the cistern. This hole is covered with a small stone, which is fastened by a lock, the key of which is kept by the owner. There are numerous wells and cisterns of water of this description in the East. The well around which Jacob saw the shepherds with their flocks waiting was "in the field," and consequently was not that "without (outside) the city" (Genesis 24:11), down the hewn steps of which Rebekah descended to obtain water with a pitcher; neither were there any troughs into which the water was poured. It must have been at a distance from Haran, because Jacob does not appear as yet to have descried the city. Such was the description of the well at Haran.