22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

Things slow down again as Jacob moves on to Joseph. He is described as a fruitful bough, which is certainly justified by how he has become a life-giving source of food and nourishment to all the land. Jacob extends the imagery by saying Joseph is a “bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall.” This well brings a constant source of nourishment to the bough, such that it thrives with abundance.

And the well, of course, is a symbol for living water, the spiritual refreshing that comes by being rooted in God and His gospel. This is a symbolism that we will see many times, trees that grow alongside rivers in the desert, immune to their harsh environment because they exist in a different reality from it, constantly nourished by cool, life-giving water. Surely that was Joseph when he was sold as a slave. It was a hostile environment all about him, but he was preserved by the grace of God within.