Beersheba
VIEW:56 DATA:01-04-2020
the well of an oath; the seventh well
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
BEERSHEBA.A halting-place of Abraham (Gen_21:31), where Hagar was sent away (Gen_21:14), and where he made a covenant with Abimelech, from which the place is alleged to take its name (well of the covenant, according to one interpretation). Isaac after his disputes with the Philistines settled here (Gen_26:23), and discovered the well Shibah, another etymological speculation (Gen_26:33). Hence Jacob was sent away (Gen_28:10), and returned and sacrificed on his way to Egypt (Gen_46:1). It was assigned to the tribe of Judah (Jos_15:28), but set apart for the Simeonites (Jos_19:2). Here Samuels sons were judges (1Sa_8:2), and hither Elijah fled before Jezebel (1Ki_19:3). Zibiah, the mother of Joash, belonged to Beersheba (2Ki_12:1). It was an important holy place: here Abraham planted a sacred tree (Gen_21:33), and theophanies were vouchsafed to Hagar (Gen_21:17), to Isaac (Gen_26:24), to Jacob (Gen_46:2), and to Elijah (1Ki_19:5). Amos couples it with the shrines of Bethel and Gilgal (Amo_5:6), and oaths by its numen are denounced (Amo_8:14). It is recognized as the southern boundary of Palestine in the frequent phrase from Dan unto Beersheba (Jdg_20:1 etc.). Seven ancient wells exist here, and it has been suggested that these gave its name to the locality; the suffixed numeral being perhaps due to the influence of the syntax of some pre-Semitic language, as in Kiriath-arba (Tetrapolis). The modern name is Bir es-Seba, where are extensive remains of a Byzantine city; the ancient city is probably at Tell es-Seba, about 2 miles to the east. Till recently the site was deserted by all but Bedouin; now a modern town has sprung up, built from the ruins of the ancient structures, and has been made the seat of a sub-governor.
R. A. S. Macalister.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
Beersheba means "well of the oath". The southern limit of the Holy Land, as Dan in the N.: "from Dan to Beersheba" (compare in David's census, 1Ch_21:2; 2Sa_24:2-7) comprehends the whole. Called so from the oath of peace between Abraham and Abimelech, king of the Philistines (Gen_21:31), else from the seven (sheba' ) ewe lambs slain there: indeed sheba', an oath, is from the custom of binding one's self by seven things, as Abraham made the seven ewe lambs a pledge of his covenant with Abimelech. Again, from the like oath between Abimelech (with Phichol, his captain) and Isaac, it being not uncommon for an event to be recorded as occurring apparently for the first time, which has been recorded as occurring earlier before: so Bethel (Gen_26:31-33).
The well dug by Abraham and secured to him by oath had been covered and lost. It is found by Isaac's servants just after the covenant made between him and Abimelech. The series of events recalls to Isaac's mind the original name and that which gave rise to the name; so he restores both the well itself and the name. Seven (sheba' which also may explain the name) wells are at the place, so that a different one may have been named by Isaac from that named by Abraham. They all pour their streams into the wady es Seba, and are called Bir es seba, the largest 12 ft. diameter, and masonry round reaching 28 ft. down, and 44 from bottom to surface of the water. The second, at a hundred yards distance, 5 in diameter, 42 in depth. The other five further off. The stones around the mouth are worn into grooves by the action of ropes for so many ages. Around the large are nine stone troughs; around the smaller, five.
The water is excellent, and grass with crocuses and lilies abounds. Abraham planted here a" grove" ('eshel) (distinct from the idol grove, Asheerah, or Astarte Baal), or tree, the tamarisk, long living, of hard wood, with long, clustering, evergreen leaves, as a type of the ever enduring grace of the faithful, covenant keeping God (Gen_21:33), "and called on the name (the self manifested character and person) of Jehovah, the everlasting God." (See BAAL.) Here it was that Isaac lived when Jacob stole from his father the blessing already forfeited by Esau's profane sale of his birthright (Gen_26:33; Gen_26:27; Gen_28:10). Long afterward, on Jacob's descent to Egypt, he halted there, sacrificed unto the God of Isaac, and had a vision of God encouraging him to go down. The dispensation of the promise, which began with Abraham's call from Ur to Canaan, ended on the last night of the sojourn of his grandson Israel in Canaan.
So God's promise was repeated for the last time (Gen_46:1-5). Possibly the 430 years (Gal_3:17) dates from this, the end, not from the beginning, of the dispensation of the promise. Beersheba was given to Simeon, in the extreme S. of Judah (Jos_15:28; Jos_19:1-2; 1Ch_4:28). Samuel's sons, Joel and Abiah, were judges there (1Sa_8:2), its distance preventing his going in circuit to it, as he did to others yearly (1Sa_7:16-17). Here Elijah left his confidential servant (narow) on his way to Horeb (1Ki_19:3-4).
"From Geba to Beersheba" or "from Beersheba to mount Ephraim" was the formula comprehending the southern kingdom of Judah after the severance of Israel's ten tribes (2Ki_23:8; 2Ch_19:4), and on the return from Babylon still narrower, "from Beersheba to the valley of Hinnom" (Neh_11:30). Ahaziah's wife, Zibiah, mother of Joash, was of Beersheba (2Ki_12:1.) It became seat of an idolatry akin to that of Bethel or Gilgal, so that it was a formula of superstition, "the manner (cultus, or religion, as in Act_9:2 the new religion of Christ is designated "this way") of Beersheba liveth" (Amo_5:5; Amo_8:14). In Christian times, it became an episcopal city under the Bishop of Jerusalem.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Be-er'-sheba or Be-er-she'ba. (well of the oath). The name of one of the old places in Palestine, which formed the southern limit of the country. There are two accounts of the origin of the name. According to the first, the well was dug by Abraham, and the name given to Judah, Jos_15:28, and then to Simeon, Jos_19:2; 1Ch_4:28.
In the often-quoted, "from Dan even unto Beersheba," Jdg_20:1, it represents the southern boundary of Canaan, as Dan, the northern. In the time of Jerome, it was still a considerable place, and still retains its ancient name ? Bir es-Seba.
There are at present on the spot, two principal wells and five smaller ones. The two principal wells are on, or close to, the northern bank of the Wady es-Seba. The larger of the two, which lies to the east, is, according to Dr. Robinson, 12 1/2 feet in diameter, and at the time of his visit, (April 12), was 44 1/2 feet to the surface of the water. The masonry which encloses the well extends downward 28 1/2 feet. The other well is 5 feet in diameter, and was 42 feet to the water.
The curb-stones around the mouth of both wells are worn into deep grooves by the action of the ropes of so many centures. These wells are in constant use today. The five lesser wells are in a group in the bed of the wady. On some low hills, north of the large wells, are scattered the foundations and ruins of a town of moderate size.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
or the well of the oath; so named from a well which Abraham dug in this place, and the covenant which he here made with Abimelech, king of Gerar, Genesis 20:31. Here also he planted a grove, as it would appear, for the purpose of retirement for religious worship. In process of time, a considerable town was built on the same spot, which retained the same name. Beersheba was given by Joshua to the tribe of Judah, and afterward transferred to Simeon, Jos_15:28. It was situated twenty miles south of Hebron, in the extreme south of the land of Israel, as Dan was on the north. The two places are frequently thus mentioned in Scripture, as from Dan to Beersheba, to denote the whole length of the country.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
Originally Beersheba was the name given to a well that Abraham dug in the dry southern region of Palestine known as the Negeb. Some years later, opponents of the Hebrews filled the well in, and Isaac had to dig it again (Gen_21:25-33; Gen_26:18; Gen_26:32-33). The town that grew up around the well was also called Beersheba. Abraham, Hagar, Isaac, Jacob and the sons of Jacob all at some time either lived in or passed through Beersheba (Gen_21:14; Gen_22:19; Gen_26:23; Gen_28:10; Gen_46:1-5).
A number of important roads passed through Beersheba. Among these were the main north-south route from Canaan to Egypt, and the main west-east route from the Philistine coast to Edom (Gen_46:1-6; 2Ki_3:8). (For a map of Palestines main traffic routes see PALESTINE.)
After Israels settlement in Canaan, the people of Israel commonly thought of Beersheba as the southernmost town of the occupied territory. The expression from Dan to Beersheba meant from the northern boundary to the southern (Jdg_20:1; 2Sa_3:10; 2Sa_17:11; 2Sa_24:2; 1Ki_4:25). Centuries later, when the Jews reconstructed their nation after the captivity in Babylon, Beersheba again became an important settlement. The present-day town of Beersheba stands next to the ancient site and still marks the junction of well used traffic routes (Neh_11:25-30).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
bē-ẽr-shē?ba (בּאר שׁבע, be'ēr shēbha‛; Βηρσαβέε, Bērsabée): Allotted originally to Simeon (Jos_19:2), one of ?the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah? (Jos_15:28).
1. The Meaning of the Name
The most probable meaning of Beersheba is the ?well of seven.? ?Seven wells? is improbable on etymological grounds; the numeral should in that case be first. In Gen_21:31 Abraham and Abimelech took an oath of witness that the former had dug the well and seven ewe lambs were offered in sacrifice, ?Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.? Here the name is ascribed to the Hebrew root שׁבע, shābha‛, ?to swear,? but this same root is connected with the idea of seven, seven victims being offered and to take an oath, meaning ?to come under the influence of seven.?
Another account is given (Gen_26:23-33), where Isaac takes an oath and just afterward, ?the same day Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged (dug), and said unto him, We have found water. And he called it Shibah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.?
2. A Sacred Shrine
Beersheba was a sacred shrine. ?Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God? Gen (Gen_21:33). Theophanies occurred there to Hagar (Gen_21:17), to Isaac (Gen_26:24), to Jacob (Gen_46:2), and to Elijah (1Ki_19:5). By Amos (Amo_5:5) it is classed with Bethel and Gilgal as one of the rival shrines to the pure worship of Yahweh, and in another place (Amo_8:14) he writes ?They shall fall, and never rise up again,? who sware, ?As the way (i.e. cult) of Beersheba liveth.? The two unworthy sons of Samuel were Judges in Beersheba (1Sa_8:2) and Zibiah, mother of King Jehoash, was born there (2Ki_12:1; 2Ch_24:1).
3. Its Position
Geographically Beersheba marked the southern limit of Judah, though theoretically this extended to the ?river of Egypt? (Gen_15:18) - the modern Wady el‛Avı̄sȟ - 60 miles farther south. It was the extreme border of the cultivated land. From Dan to Beersheba (2Sa_17:11, etc.) or from Beersheba to Dan (1Ch_21:2; 2Ch_30:5) were the proverbial expressions, though necessarily altered through the changed conditions in later years to ?from Geba to Beer-sheba? (2Ki_23:8) or ?from Beer-sheba to the hill-country of Ephraim? (2Ch_19:4).
4. Modern Beersheba
Today Beersheba is Bı̂r es-Seba‛ in the Wady es Seba‛, 28 miles Southwest of Hebron on ?the southern border of a vast rolling plain broken by the torrent beds of Wady Khalil and Wady Seba? (Robinson). The plain is treeless but is covered by verdure in the spring; it is dry and monotonous most of the year. Within the last few years this long-deserted spot - a wide stretch of shapeless ruins, the haunt of the lawless Bedouin - has been re-occupied; the Turks have stationed there an enlightened Kaimerkhan (subgovernor); government offices and shops have been built; wells have been cleared, and there is now an abundant water supply pumped even to the separate houses. Robinson (BW, XVII, 247ff) has described how he found seven ancient wells there - probably still more will yet be found. The whole neighborhood is strewn with the ruins of the Byzantine city which once flourished there; it was an episcopal see. It is probable that the city of Old Testament times stood where Ṭell es Seba‛ now is, some 2 1/2 miles to the East; from the summit a commanding view can be obtained (PEF, III, 394, Sheet XXIV).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Beersheba
The last person who has carefully examined this locality is lieut. Conder, who thus describes it (Tent-work in Palestine, ii, 94 sq.):
The scenery was tame and featureless, with a single dark tell in front, and white marl peaks capped with flint to the west.. We ascended the tell or mound of Seba, which is two and a half miles east of the wells of Beersheba, and thence we had a fine view of the great boundary valley which limited our work on the south, joiniing the long raville which comes down from Hebron, anil running west in a broad, flat, gravelly bed, between high walls of brown earth. The pebbles were white and dry, yet water-worn, for, as we found in the following spring, a river will occasionally flow for hours along the wady bed. East of us were remarkable chalk-hills called el Ghurrah, and on the west a low ridge shut out the maritime plain. To the north were the hills of Judah, dotted with lotus-trees; and to the south stretched the endless desert of the wanderings. The desert of Beersheial is a beautiful pasture-land in spring, when the grass and flowers cover the gray mud, as in the Jordan valley; but in November it is very desolate. Not a tree exists near the wells, and only the foundation of a once flourishing town of the 4th century remains. The sides of all the wells are furrowed with the ropes of the water-drawers; but we made one discovery which was rather disappointing, namely, that the masonry is not very ancient. Fifteen courses down, on the south side of the large well, there is a stone with an inscription in Arabic, on a tablet dated, as well as I could make out, A. H. 505, or in the 12th century. The stone must be at least as old as those at the mouth. The wells have no parapets. SEE WELL. Canon Tristram thus describes the ancient remains on the north of the wady (Bible Places, p. 22):
Long lines of foundations mark the ancient city, or rather village a very large, unwalled place with a garrison. The ruins are about half a mile in extent, but scattered, and include the foundations of a Greek church, with apse, sacristy, and aisles. Only a figment of the lapse remains above the pavement, although in the 14th century some of the churches were still standing among the ruins are the traces of a Jewish forrtress a circular tower or keep of double walls, each four feet thick, and with a like space between them. There are manly fragments of pottery strewn about, with occasional bits of glass, and the squares or tesserae of Roman mosaics.
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
BEERSHEBA.A halting-place of Abraham (Gen_21:31), where Hagar was sent away (Gen_21:14), and where he made a covenant with Abimelech, from which the place is alleged to take its name (well of the covenant, according to one interpretation). Isaac after his disputes with the Philistines settled here (Gen_26:23), and discovered the well Shibah, another etymological speculation (Gen_26:33). Hence Jacob was sent away (Gen_28:10), and returned and sacrificed on his way to Egypt (Gen_46:1). It was assigned to the tribe of Judah (Jos_15:28), but set apart for the Simeonites (Jos_19:2). Here Samuels sons were judges (1Sa_8:2), and hither Elijah fled before Jezebel (1Ki_19:3). Zibiah, the mother of Joash, belonged to Beersheba (2Ki_12:1). It was an important holy place: here Abraham planted a sacred tree (Gen_21:33), and theophanies were vouchsafed to Hagar (Gen_21:17), to Isaac (Gen_26:24), to Jacob (Gen_46:2), and to Elijah (1Ki_19:5). Amos couples it with the shrines of Bethel and Gilgal (Amo_5:6), and oaths by its numen are denounced (Amo_8:14). It is recognized as the southern boundary of Palestine in the frequent phrase from Dan unto Beersheba (Jdg_20:1 etc.). Seven ancient wells exist here, and it has been suggested that these gave its name to the locality; the suffixed numeral being perhaps due to the influence of the syntax of some pre-Semitic language, as in Kiriath-arba (Tetrapolis). The modern name is Bir es-Seba, where are extensive remains of a Byzantine city; the ancient city is probably at Tell es-Seba, about 2 miles to the east. Till recently the site was deserted by all but Bedouin; now a modern town has sprung up, built from the ruins of the ancient structures, and has been made the seat of a sub-governor.
R. A. S. Macalister.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
Beersheba means "well of the oath". The southern limit of the Holy Land, as Dan in the N.: "from Dan to Beersheba" (compare in David's census, 1Ch_21:2; 2Sa_24:2-7) comprehends the whole. Called so from the oath of peace between Abraham and Abimelech, king of the Philistines (Gen_21:31), else from the seven (sheba' ) ewe lambs slain there: indeed sheba', an oath, is from the custom of binding one's self by seven things, as Abraham made the seven ewe lambs a pledge of his covenant with Abimelech. Again, from the like oath between Abimelech (with Phichol, his captain) and Isaac, it being not uncommon for an event to be recorded as occurring apparently for the first time, which has been recorded as occurring earlier before: so Bethel (Gen_26:31-33).
The well dug by Abraham and secured to him by oath had been covered and lost. It is found by Isaac's servants just after the covenant made between him and Abimelech. The series of events recalls to Isaac's mind the original name and that which gave rise to the name; so he restores both the well itself and the name. Seven (sheba' which also may explain the name) wells are at the place, so that a different one may have been named by Isaac from that named by Abraham. They all pour their streams into the wady es Seba, and are called Bir es seba, the largest 12 ft. diameter, and masonry round reaching 28 ft. down, and 44 from bottom to surface of the water. The second, at a hundred yards distance, 5 in diameter, 42 in depth. The other five further off. The stones around the mouth are worn into grooves by the action of ropes for so many ages. Around the large are nine stone troughs; around the smaller, five.
The water is excellent, and grass with crocuses and lilies abounds. Abraham planted here a" grove" ('eshel) (distinct from the idol grove, Asheerah, or Astarte Baal), or tree, the tamarisk, long living, of hard wood, with long, clustering, evergreen leaves, as a type of the ever enduring grace of the faithful, covenant keeping God (Gen_21:33), "and called on the name (the self manifested character and person) of Jehovah, the everlasting God." (See BAAL.) Here it was that Isaac lived when Jacob stole from his father the blessing already forfeited by Esau's profane sale of his birthright (Gen_26:33; Gen_26:27; Gen_28:10). Long afterward, on Jacob's descent to Egypt, he halted there, sacrificed unto the God of Isaac, and had a vision of God encouraging him to go down. The dispensation of the promise, which began with Abraham's call from Ur to Canaan, ended on the last night of the sojourn of his grandson Israel in Canaan.
So God's promise was repeated for the last time (Gen_46:1-5). Possibly the 430 years (Gal_3:17) dates from this, the end, not from the beginning, of the dispensation of the promise. Beersheba was given to Simeon, in the extreme S. of Judah (Jos_15:28; Jos_19:1-2; 1Ch_4:28). Samuel's sons, Joel and Abiah, were judges there (1Sa_8:2), its distance preventing his going in circuit to it, as he did to others yearly (1Sa_7:16-17). Here Elijah left his confidential servant (narow) on his way to Horeb (1Ki_19:3-4).
"From Geba to Beersheba" or "from Beersheba to mount Ephraim" was the formula comprehending the southern kingdom of Judah after the severance of Israel's ten tribes (2Ki_23:8; 2Ch_19:4), and on the return from Babylon still narrower, "from Beersheba to the valley of Hinnom" (Neh_11:30). Ahaziah's wife, Zibiah, mother of Joash, was of Beersheba (2Ki_12:1.) It became seat of an idolatry akin to that of Bethel or Gilgal, so that it was a formula of superstition, "the manner (cultus, or religion, as in Act_9:2 the new religion of Christ is designated "this way") of Beersheba liveth" (Amo_5:5; Amo_8:14). In Christian times, it became an episcopal city under the Bishop of Jerusalem.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Be-er'-sheba or Be-er-she'ba. (well of the oath). The name of one of the old places in Palestine, which formed the southern limit of the country. There are two accounts of the origin of the name. According to the first, the well was dug by Abraham, and the name given to Judah, Jos_15:28, and then to Simeon, Jos_19:2; 1Ch_4:28.
In the often-quoted, "from Dan even unto Beersheba," Jdg_20:1, it represents the southern boundary of Canaan, as Dan, the northern. In the time of Jerome, it was still a considerable place, and still retains its ancient name ? Bir es-Seba.
There are at present on the spot, two principal wells and five smaller ones. The two principal wells are on, or close to, the northern bank of the Wady es-Seba. The larger of the two, which lies to the east, is, according to Dr. Robinson, 12 1/2 feet in diameter, and at the time of his visit, (April 12), was 44 1/2 feet to the surface of the water. The masonry which encloses the well extends downward 28 1/2 feet. The other well is 5 feet in diameter, and was 42 feet to the water.
The curb-stones around the mouth of both wells are worn into deep grooves by the action of the ropes of so many centures. These wells are in constant use today. The five lesser wells are in a group in the bed of the wady. On some low hills, north of the large wells, are scattered the foundations and ruins of a town of moderate size.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
or the well of the oath; so named from a well which Abraham dug in this place, and the covenant which he here made with Abimelech, king of Gerar, Genesis 20:31. Here also he planted a grove, as it would appear, for the purpose of retirement for religious worship. In process of time, a considerable town was built on the same spot, which retained the same name. Beersheba was given by Joshua to the tribe of Judah, and afterward transferred to Simeon, Jos_15:28. It was situated twenty miles south of Hebron, in the extreme south of the land of Israel, as Dan was on the north. The two places are frequently thus mentioned in Scripture, as from Dan to Beersheba, to denote the whole length of the country.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
Originally Beersheba was the name given to a well that Abraham dug in the dry southern region of Palestine known as the Negeb. Some years later, opponents of the Hebrews filled the well in, and Isaac had to dig it again (Gen_21:25-33; Gen_26:18; Gen_26:32-33). The town that grew up around the well was also called Beersheba. Abraham, Hagar, Isaac, Jacob and the sons of Jacob all at some time either lived in or passed through Beersheba (Gen_21:14; Gen_22:19; Gen_26:23; Gen_28:10; Gen_46:1-5).
A number of important roads passed through Beersheba. Among these were the main north-south route from Canaan to Egypt, and the main west-east route from the Philistine coast to Edom (Gen_46:1-6; 2Ki_3:8). (For a map of Palestines main traffic routes see PALESTINE.)
After Israels settlement in Canaan, the people of Israel commonly thought of Beersheba as the southernmost town of the occupied territory. The expression from Dan to Beersheba meant from the northern boundary to the southern (Jdg_20:1; 2Sa_3:10; 2Sa_17:11; 2Sa_24:2; 1Ki_4:25). Centuries later, when the Jews reconstructed their nation after the captivity in Babylon, Beersheba again became an important settlement. The present-day town of Beersheba stands next to the ancient site and still marks the junction of well used traffic routes (Neh_11:25-30).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
bē-ẽr-shē?ba (בּאר שׁבע, be'ēr shēbha‛; Βηρσαβέε, Bērsabée): Allotted originally to Simeon (Jos_19:2), one of ?the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah? (Jos_15:28).
1. The Meaning of the Name
The most probable meaning of Beersheba is the ?well of seven.? ?Seven wells? is improbable on etymological grounds; the numeral should in that case be first. In Gen_21:31 Abraham and Abimelech took an oath of witness that the former had dug the well and seven ewe lambs were offered in sacrifice, ?Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.? Here the name is ascribed to the Hebrew root שׁבע, shābha‛, ?to swear,? but this same root is connected with the idea of seven, seven victims being offered and to take an oath, meaning ?to come under the influence of seven.?
Another account is given (Gen_26:23-33), where Isaac takes an oath and just afterward, ?the same day Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged (dug), and said unto him, We have found water. And he called it Shibah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.?
2. A Sacred Shrine
Beersheba was a sacred shrine. ?Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God? Gen (Gen_21:33). Theophanies occurred there to Hagar (Gen_21:17), to Isaac (Gen_26:24), to Jacob (Gen_46:2), and to Elijah (1Ki_19:5). By Amos (Amo_5:5) it is classed with Bethel and Gilgal as one of the rival shrines to the pure worship of Yahweh, and in another place (Amo_8:14) he writes ?They shall fall, and never rise up again,? who sware, ?As the way (i.e. cult) of Beersheba liveth.? The two unworthy sons of Samuel were Judges in Beersheba (1Sa_8:2) and Zibiah, mother of King Jehoash, was born there (2Ki_12:1; 2Ch_24:1).
3. Its Position
Geographically Beersheba marked the southern limit of Judah, though theoretically this extended to the ?river of Egypt? (Gen_15:18) - the modern Wady el‛Avı̄sȟ - 60 miles farther south. It was the extreme border of the cultivated land. From Dan to Beersheba (2Sa_17:11, etc.) or from Beersheba to Dan (1Ch_21:2; 2Ch_30:5) were the proverbial expressions, though necessarily altered through the changed conditions in later years to ?from Geba to Beer-sheba? (2Ki_23:8) or ?from Beer-sheba to the hill-country of Ephraim? (2Ch_19:4).
4. Modern Beersheba
Today Beersheba is Bı̂r es-Seba‛ in the Wady es Seba‛, 28 miles Southwest of Hebron on ?the southern border of a vast rolling plain broken by the torrent beds of Wady Khalil and Wady Seba? (Robinson). The plain is treeless but is covered by verdure in the spring; it is dry and monotonous most of the year. Within the last few years this long-deserted spot - a wide stretch of shapeless ruins, the haunt of the lawless Bedouin - has been re-occupied; the Turks have stationed there an enlightened Kaimerkhan (subgovernor); government offices and shops have been built; wells have been cleared, and there is now an abundant water supply pumped even to the separate houses. Robinson (BW, XVII, 247ff) has described how he found seven ancient wells there - probably still more will yet be found. The whole neighborhood is strewn with the ruins of the Byzantine city which once flourished there; it was an episcopal see. It is probable that the city of Old Testament times stood where Ṭell es Seba‛ now is, some 2 1/2 miles to the East; from the summit a commanding view can be obtained (PEF, III, 394, Sheet XXIV).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Beersheba
The last person who has carefully examined this locality is lieut. Conder, who thus describes it (Tent-work in Palestine, ii, 94 sq.):
The scenery was tame and featureless, with a single dark tell in front, and white marl peaks capped with flint to the west.. We ascended the tell or mound of Seba, which is two and a half miles east of the wells of Beersheba, and thence we had a fine view of the great boundary valley which limited our work on the south, joiniing the long raville which comes down from Hebron, anil running west in a broad, flat, gravelly bed, between high walls of brown earth. The pebbles were white and dry, yet water-worn, for, as we found in the following spring, a river will occasionally flow for hours along the wady bed. East of us were remarkable chalk-hills called el Ghurrah, and on the west a low ridge shut out the maritime plain. To the north were the hills of Judah, dotted with lotus-trees; and to the south stretched the endless desert of the wanderings. The desert of Beersheial is a beautiful pasture-land in spring, when the grass and flowers cover the gray mud, as in the Jordan valley; but in November it is very desolate. Not a tree exists near the wells, and only the foundation of a once flourishing town of the 4th century remains. The sides of all the wells are furrowed with the ropes of the water-drawers; but we made one discovery which was rather disappointing, namely, that the masonry is not very ancient. Fifteen courses down, on the south side of the large well, there is a stone with an inscription in Arabic, on a tablet dated, as well as I could make out, A. H. 505, or in the 12th century. The stone must be at least as old as those at the mouth. The wells have no parapets. SEE WELL. Canon Tristram thus describes the ancient remains on the north of the wady (Bible Places, p. 22):
Long lines of foundations mark the ancient city, or rather village a very large, unwalled place with a garrison. The ruins are about half a mile in extent, but scattered, and include the foundations of a Greek church, with apse, sacristy, and aisles. Only a figment of the lapse remains above the pavement, although in the 14th century some of the churches were still standing among the ruins are the traces of a Jewish forrtress a circular tower or keep of double walls, each four feet thick, and with a like space between them. There are manly fragments of pottery strewn about, with occasional bits of glass, and the squares or tesserae of Roman mosaics.
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
BUSCADAVERDADE
Visite o nosso canal youtube.com/buscadaverdade e se INSCREVA agora mesmo! Lá temos uma diversidade de temas interessantes sobre: Saúde, Receitas Saudáveis, Benefícios dos Alimentos, Benefícios das Vitaminas e Sais Minerais... Dê uma olhadinha, você vai gostar! E não se esqueça, dê o seu like e se INSCREVA! Clique abaixo e vá direto ao canal!
Saiba Mais
-
Nutrição
Vegetarianismo e a Vitamina B12 -
Receita
Como preparar a Proteína Vegetal Texturizada -
Arqueologia
Livro de Enoque é um livro profético?
Tags