The Well: built by the Prophet Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, when he lived for a while in Beit Sahour, behind the tower of the flock, after the death of his wife Rachel and burial in Bethlehem, where the two were on the way to Efrata (Genesis 36: 19-20) (Efrata means the fertile and indicates the Bethlehem area).

When the flight of the Virgin Mary with St. Joseph to Egypt with the baby Jesus, for fear of Herod, the king, the Well was so deep with no bucket to draw water. Mary asked one of the women who was filling her bucket from the well for a bit of water to drink, but the woman refused. Then Mary addressed the Well, saying: “O well rise and rise … so that I drink from you and leave”. The miracle occurred, and the water began to rise, and Virgin Mary drank, then the water went down to the bottom again.

The traditions say that since that day, there is always water in the Well at the same level. It does not diminish or increase, although believers drink from it almost every day. Many miracles have occurred in the Well, from apparitions to healing patients.

The Well today is rectangular in shape with an area of about 27 X 4 meters with a height of approximately 9 meters. It is mainly carved into the rock except for the top-north section built with stones, and it can hold 972 cubic meters of water that is received from the streets of the town’s market in one hand and a water spring from inside it.

The Church building dates back to a miracle that occurred to a Greek woman in 1969 A.D. The woman was believed to have recovered from a serious illness upon drinking water from the Well, as she was told to do so by the Virgin Mary in a dream.

Traces of an ancient church under a house next to the Well were found, but no exploration was carried out in the region until today, although there is archaeological evidence. During the building of the Church, a door leading to the Well and a square hole located on the right side of it was found. Traces of human feet and seats carved in the rock next to the Well were also found but have been removed during the restoration.