preached in the marketplace, and here the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers laid hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus. (Acts 17:16-19) While en route from Puteoli to Rome, the apostle Paul was met by his Christian brothers at Appii Forum or Market Place of Appius, located forty-three Roman miles (39.6 statute miles; 63.6 kilometers) SE of Rome on the Appian Way. (Acts 28:13-15) The Forum of Appius, according to Horace, was the customary stopping place at the end of the first day’s journey from Rome, and this post station reportedly was filled with boatmen and dishonest innkeepers.

FOUNDATION

The base or substructure on which a building is erected, and which serves to distribute the weight of the superstructure equally over the ground. Since the strength and permanence of a building depends largely on the strength of its foundation, great care must be exercised in laying the foundation. Good foundations were vital in Palestine to withstand, not only the heavy rains, winds and floods, but also earthquakes, as this region is an earthquake area.

The Master Builder Jehovah, in answering Job out of the windstorm, compared the literal earth to a building. (Job 38:4-7) Though the earth hangs upon nothing, it has, as it were, durable foundations that will not be made to totter, for the unchangeable laws governing the universe hold it firmly in place, and God’s purpose toward the earth has remained unchanged. (Job 26:7; 38:33; Ps. 104:5; Mal. 3:6) On the other hand, injustice and disobedience to God’s law in effect tear down the foundations that give stability to the land, causing the foundations of the figurative earth (the people and their established systems) to totter.—Psalm 82; 11:3; Prov. 29:4.

The laying of the foundations of the earth is not to be confused with the “founding of the world.” From Jesus’ words at Luke 11:48-51, it is evident that Abel lived at the founding of the world, which has reference to mankind. The planet Earth’s foundations had long previously been laid.—See ABEL No. 1; WORLD.

The laying of a foundation was apparently a time for joy. At the ‘founding of the earth’ the angels shouted in applause. Also, great rejoicing attended the laying of the foundation of Zerubbabel’s temple, although those who had seen the glory of the former temple gave way to weeping.—Job 38:4, 6, 7; Ezra 3:10-13.

As Solomon had used large, expensive hewn stones for the foundation of the temple, so the foundation cornerstone of the spiritual temple, Jesus Christ, and the apostles and prophets, who constitute the foundation thereof, are precious with God. Most appropriately, the twelve symbolic foundation stones of the New Jerusalem, built on the primary foundation Jesus Christ and bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, are precious stones.—1 Ki. 5:17; 1 Pet. 2:4-6; Eph. 2:19, 20; Rev. 21:14, 19, 20.

Jesus Christ is the sure, unshakable foundation, and all built upon this foundation are selected by Jehovah. None can deceive Him and be built on the foundation if such one carries on unrighteousness. (2 Tim. 2:19) These two principles assure complete righteousness in the city, New Jerusalem, in the light of which “the nations will walk.” (Rev. 21:2, 24) It was this city with real foundations that faithful Abraham awaited as he continued dwelling in tents.—Heb. 11:10.

Jesus, who had in his prehuman existence worked alongside his Father as a Master Worker at the laying of earth’s foundations, fully appreciated the value of a solid foundation, as seen from his illustration of the discreet man who went down deep and laid the foundation for his house on a rock-mass, whereas the foolish man built his house upon the sand and suffered severe loss. (Prov. 8:29, 30; Matt. 7:24-27; Luke 6:47-49) Likewise, in comparing the task of making Christians to a building work, Paul stressed the importance of building with noncombustible materials on the foundation that has been laid, namely, Jesus Christ, so as not to experience loss.—1 Cor. 3:10-15.

Paul also compared certain primary Bible teachings to a foundation, and encouraged the Hebrews, not to become static upon having learned the primary doctrine about the Christ, but to press on to maturity.—Heb. 6:1, 2; see CORNERSTONE; EARTH; HOUSE.

FOUNTAIN GATE

See GATE, GATEWAY.

FOUNTAIN OF THE BIG SNAKE

The Hebrew expression carries the thought of a fountain, spring or well of a land or sea monster, and is variously translated as: the dragon well or fountain (AV, Dy, JB, Le); the jackal’s well (AS, RS); the fountain or well of the Serpent, snake or Big Snake (AT, NW, Ro). The Septuagint, however, reads “the well of fig trees.”

This water source was located along the route Nehemiah took on his first inspection of Jerusalem’s broken-down walls. (Neh. 2:12, 13) Since this name is not found again in the Scriptures, the fountain or well, if elsewhere referred to, must be under a different designation. En-rogel is commonly suggested as its alternate name. This could well be, for though En-rogel is a considerable distance down the Kidron valley, the account simply says that Nehemiah passed “in front of the Fountain,” and this could mean by the corner of the wall facing En-rogel and within sight of, but still some distance from, the fountain.—See EN-ROGEL.

FOUNTAIN, SPRING

Generally, a natural source of water (Ex. 15:27), in contrast to wells and cisterns that were usually dug (Gen. 26:15); also used with reference to a source of something other than water. Since springs were cleared and deepened at times, this may explain why “fountain” and “well” are sometimes used interchangeably for the same water source.—Gen. 16:7, 14; 24:11, 13; John 4:6, 12.

Moses described the Promised Land to the Israelites as a land of “springs and watery deeps issuing forth in the valley plain and in the mountainous region.” (Deut. 8:7) Springs or fountains are plentiful in Palestine, with an average of six or seven for approximately every thirty-nine square miles (c. 100 square kilometers). Because the mountains of Judah and Ephraim are mainly composed of porous rock, the winter rains readily filter down to a great depth. The waters finally reach a waterproof layer, run along it and then reappear as springs on the western side of the Jordan valley and the western bank of the Dead Sea, some even flowing into the Dead Sea underground. Many of the springs that empty directly into the Dead Sea and the lower waters of the Jordan have a high temperature. West of the mountain range the waters emerge as springs along the eastern part of the long seacoast lowlands, though some of the water finds its way underground to the Mediterranean. Some springs, such as those surrounding Jerusalem and Hebron, gush up at or near the very crest of the highlands of Palestine. The numerous springs resulting from the melting snows on the Lebanon and Hermon ranges provide the headwaters of the Litany, the Jordan and the rivers of Damascus.

The importance of springs or fountains becomes apparent from the frequence of town names beginning with “En,” meaning “spring,” “fountain.” (Josh. 15:62; 17:11; 1 Ki. 1:9) Towns and villages were often built near springs, as most of Palestine’s “rivers” are actually torrent valleys that dry up in the summer months. For defensive purposes cities were generally built on elevated sites, and, therefore, the springs were often outside the city walls in the valley below. This made the protection of the water supply vitally important. Conduits were constructed to convey the water from its source right into the city. King Hezekiah built such a conduit to bring the waters of Gihon