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Bible Encyclopedias
Beer-Sheba
The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia
or A place situated on the southern boundary of Judea (compare Judges 20:1; 2 Samuel 17:11; 1 Kings 19:3) which was allotted to the tribe of Simeon (Joshua 19:2). It is referred to in Genesis 22:19 as the dwelling-place of Abraham; and according to Genesis 21:31, Abraham and Abimelech made a treaty there, whence it derives its name Beer-sheba, the "well of the oath." According to Genesis 26:23 et seq., the place derived its name from the fact that Isaac and Abimelech made a treaty there. Isaac also built a shrine at Beersheba; and again, according to Genesis 28:10 and 46:5, it was Jacob who sojourned there for a time. As early as the days of Samuel, Beer-sheba was animportant place, since it is stated that the sons of Samuel "were judges in Beer-sheba" (1 Samuel 8:2). Amos (5:4 et seq., 8:14) speaks of the shrine and of its impure ritual. The importance of the place is further shown by the fact that the mother of King Jehoash came from Beer-sheba (2 Kings 12:1). In post-exilic times Beer-sheba is mentioned in Nehemiah 11:27,30. Later, it belonged to that part of the country held by the Idumeans. At the time of Eusebius and Jerome, Beer-sheba was an important garrisoned city. After this, however, it fell into decay; and now nothing remains of it but the well, the name "Bi'r es-saba," and some unimportant ruins.
In the Old Testament, as already mentioned, the name is said to mean "the well of the oath"; others, as Stade, explain it as meaning the "seven wells." But grammatically this is questionable on account of the order of the words; and according to careful investigation of travelers (see especially Gautier, "Souvenirs de la Terre Sainte," pp. 149 et seq.; "The Expository Times," 10:328), there are only three wells on the site.
- G. A. Smith, Historical Geography of the Holy Land, pp. 279-286;
- Robinson, Biblical Researches, 1:204;
- Guérin, Judée, 2:278-283;
- Hull, Mount Seir, Sinai, and Western Palestine.
These files are public domain.
Singer, Isidore, Ph.D, Projector and Managing Editor. Entry for 'Beer-Sheba'. 1901 The Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tje/b/beer-sheba.html. 1901.
