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•CISTERN the rendering of a Hebrew word bor, which means a receptacle for water conveyed to it; distinguished from beer, which denotes a place where water rises on the spot (Jeremiah 2:13; Proverbs 5:15; Isaiah 36:16), a fountain. Cisterns are frequently mentioned in Scripture. The scarcity of springs in Palestine made it necessary to collect rain-water in reservoirs and cisterns (Numbers 21:22). (See WELL.)
Empty cisterns were sometimes used as prisons (Jeremiah 38:6; Lamentations 3:53; Psalm 40:2; 69:15). The “pit” into which Joseph was cast (Genesis 37:24) was a beer or dry well. There are numerous remains of ancient cisterns in all parts of Palestine.
•CITIZENSHIP the rights and privileges of a citizen in distinction from a foreigner (Luke 15:15; 19:14; Acts 21:39). Under the Mosaic law non-Israelites, with the exception of the Moabites and the Ammonites and others mentioned in Deuteronomy 23:1-3, were admitted to the general privileges of citizenship among the Jews (Exodus 12:19; Leviticus 24:22; Numbers 15:15; 35:15; Deuteronomy 10:18; 14:29; 16:10, 14).
The right of citizenship under the Roman government was granted by the emperor to individuals, and sometimes to provinces, as a favour or as a recompense for services rendered to the state, or for a sum of money (Acts 22:28). This “freedom” secured privileges equal to those enjoyed by natives of Rome. Among the most notable of these was the provision that a man could not be bound or imprisoned without a formal trial (Acts 22:25, 26), or scourged (16:37). All Roman citizens had the right of appeal to Caesar (25:11).
•CITY The earliest mention of city-building is that of Enoch, which was built by Cain (Genesis 4:17). After the confusion of tongues, the descendants of Nimrod founded several cities (10:10-12). Next, we have a
record of the cities of the Canaanites, Sidon, Gaza, Sodom, etc. (10:12, 19; 11:3, 9; 36:31-39). The earliest description of a city is that of Sodom (19:1-22). Damascus is said to be the oldest existing city in the world. Before the time of Abraham there were cities in Egypt (Numbers 13:22). The Israelites in Egypt were employed in building the “treasure cities” of Pithom and Raamses (Exodus 1:11); but it does not seem that they had any cities of their own in Goshen (Genesis 46:34; 47:1-11). In the kingdom of Og in Bashan there were sixty “great cities with walls,” and twenty-three cities in Gilead partly rebuilt by the tribes on the east of Jordan (Numbers 21:21, 32, 33, 35; 32:1-3, 34-42; Deuteronomy 3:4, 5, 14; 1 Kings 4:13). On the west of Jordan were thirty-one “royal cities” (Joshua 12), besides many others spoken of in the history of Israel.
A fenced city was a city surrounded by fortifications and high walls, with watch-towers upon them (2 Chronicles 11:11; Deuteronomy 3:5). There was also within the city generally a tower to which the citizens might flee when danger threatened them (Judges 9:46-52).
A city with suburbs was a city surrounded with open pasture-grounds, such as the forty-eight cities which were given to the Levites (Numbers 35:2-7). There were six cities of refuge, three on each side of Jordan, namely, Kadesh, Shechem, Hebron, on the west of Jordan; and on the east, Bezer, Ramoth-gilead, and Golan. The cities on each side of the river were nearly opposite each other. The regulations concerning these cities are given in Numbers 35:9-34; Deuteronomy 19:1-13; Exodus 21:12-14.
When David reduced the fortress of the Jebusites which stood on Mount Zion, he built on the site of it a palace and a city, which he called by his own name (1 Chronicles 11:5), the city of David. Bethlehem is also so called as being David’s native town (Luke 2:4).
Jerusalem is called the Holy City, the holiness of the temple being regarded as extending in some measure over the whole city (Nehemiah 11:1).
Pithom and Raamses, built by the Israelites as “treasure cities,” were not places where royal treasures were kept, but were fortified towns where merchants might store their goods and transact their business in safety, or cities in which munitions of war were stored. (See PITHOM.)