Beersheba

Beersheba (Hebrew, beer, “well”; sheba, “oath” or “seven”), ancient city in the Negev, now in Israel, south-west of Jerusalem, referred to in the Bible in conjunction with Abraham and Isaac. According to the Bible (see Genesis 21:22-31), it was the place where Abraham, father of the Israelites, swore an oath of loyalty to King Abimelech of Gerar and gave him a tribute of seven ewe lambs as proof that Abraham had dug the well, hence the dual meaning of the name Beersheba, “well of the oath” and “well of seven”. Abraham also planted a tamarisk tree here, invoking the name of God. Another account (see Genesis 26:26-33), however, attributes the naming of the site to Isaac; it was the place where both he and his son Jacob lived. Various other biblical events are also set here (see 1 Samuel 8:2; 1 Kings 19:3; Amos 5:5; Nehemiah 11:27-30).

Beersheba was situated in the territory of the tribe of Simeon, in the southernmost part of ancient Palestine; the phrase “from Dan to Beersheba” refers to the full extent of Hebrew territory from north to south (see Judges 20:1).

The modern town stands slightly south-west of the old city. The continuing excellence of the water supply in and around the town makes it an important source of irrigation for the surrounding area, and it has developed as the cultural, administrative, and industrial centre of the Negev. The Ben Gurion University of the Negev is in Beersheba. In 2005 an ancient tell—a prehistoric settlement mound—in the town was designated as part of the Biblical Tells UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with two similar nearby sites (at Megiddo and Hazor). Population 184,200 (2004 estimate).