Beersheba
Beersheba (Sheba or Shibah) was an important city in southern Israel, associated with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The name Beersheba means “the well of an oath; the seventh well”
PlaceOld Testament11 books33 verses
Summary
A location first mentioned at Genesis 21:14; referred to as Beersheba (בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע), Sheba (שֶׁבַע), or Shibah (שִׁבְעָה).
Location
- Identified as
- Tel Beer Sheva
- Certainty
- Likely (82% of scholarship) · 1 other possible location
- Coordinates
- 31.245° N, 34.841° E
Glossary entries
Alternative names
- שֶׁבַעShebameans “captivity; old man; repose; oath”
- שִׁבְעָהShibah
- בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַעBeersheba
Mentions
- Genesis 21:14בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaEarly in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.
- Genesis 21:31בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaSo that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.
- Genesis 21:32בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaAfter they had made the covenant at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army got up and returned to the land of the Philistines.
- Genesis 21:33בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaAnd Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.
- Genesis 22:19בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaAbraham went back to his servants, and they got up and set out together for Beersheba. And Abraham settled in Beersheba.
- Genesis 26:23בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaFrom there Isaac went up to Beersheba,
- Genesis 26:33בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · Beersheba; שִׁבְעָה · ShibahSo he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba.
- Genesis 28:10בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaMeanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
- Genesis 46:1בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaSo Israel set out with all that he had, and when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
- Genesis 46:5בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaThen Jacob departed from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him, along with their children and wives.
- Joshua 15:28בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaHazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah,
- Joshua 19:2בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · Beersheba; שֶׁבַע · Sheba…and included Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah,
- Judges 20:1בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaThen all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.
- 1 Samuel 3:20בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaSo all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 8:2בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaThe name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba.
- 2 Samuel 3:10בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · Beersheba…to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.”
- 2 Samuel 17:11בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaInstead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba—a multitude like the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, and that you yourself lead them into battle.
- 2 Samuel 24:2בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaSo the king said to Joab the commander of his army, who was with him, “Go now throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and register the troops, so that I may know their number.”
- 2 Samuel 24:7בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaThey went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beersheba.
- 2 Samuel 24:15בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaSo the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.
- 1 Kings 4:25בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaThroughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.
- 1 Kings 19:3בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaAnd Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
- 2 Kings 12:1בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaIn the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba.
- 2 Kings 23:8בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaThen Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which was to the left of the city gate.
- 1 Chronicles 4:28בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaThey lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual,
- 1 Chronicles 21:2בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaSo David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan and bring me a report, so that I may know their number.”
- 2 Chronicles 19:4בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaJehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and once again he went out among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers.
- 2 Chronicles 24:1בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaJoash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba.
- 2 Chronicles 30:5בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaSo they established a decree to circulate a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come to keep the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem. For they had not observed it in great numbers as prescribed.
- Nehemiah 11:27בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · Beersheba…in Hazar-shual; in Beersheba and its villages;
- Nehemiah 11:30בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaZanoah, Adullam, and their villages; in Lachish and its fields; and in Azekah and its villages. So they settled from Beersheba all the way to the Valley of Hinnom.
- Amos 5:5בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaDo not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal; do not journey to Beersheba, for Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing.
- Amos 8:14בְּאֵר שֶׁ֫בַע · BeershebaThose who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the way of Beersheba lives’—they will fall, never to rise again.”