Beersheba (Sheba or Shibah) was an important city in southern Israel, associated with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Multiple references, see article for details)
Also known as Beer-sheba · Sheba · Shibah · Shebah
Beersheba, also known as Sheba or Shibah, was a significant city located in the Negev region of southern Israel. It is mentioned numerous times throughout the Old Testament and is closely associated with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (or 'Jacob').
The name "Beersheba" first appears in Genesis 21:31, where Abraham named the place after making a covenant with Abimelech, the king of Gerar. The name means "well of seven" or "well of the oath," referring to the seven ewe lambs that Abraham gave to Abimelech as a witness to the covenant (Genesis 21:28-31).
Abraham lived in Beersheba for a time (Genesis 22:19), and it was from there that he set out to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice in the land of Moriah (Genesis 22:1-19). Isaac also lived in Beersheba, where he built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 26:23-25, 33). Jacob left Beersheba to go to Haran (Genesis 28:10) and later returned there to offer sacrifices to God before going to Egypt (Genesis 46:1, 5).
In the later history of Israel, Beersheba marked the southern extent of the nation, as seen in the phrase "from Dan to Beersheba" (Judges 20:1; 1Sa.3.20; 2Sa.3.10; 17:11; 24:2, 15; 1Ki.4.25). The city was allotted to the tribe of Simeon (Joshua 19:2) and became part of the kingdom of Judah (2Sa.24.7).
Beersheba was also a center of idolatry, as evidenced by the references to the "way of Beersheba" (Amo.8.14) and the "sin of Samaria" (Amo.5.5). King Josiah removed the idolatrous priests and destroyed the high places from Geba to Beersheba as part of his religious reforms (2Ki.23.8).
In summary, Beersheba was a prominent city in the Negev, serving as a key location in the lives of the patriarchs and later as a boundary marker for the nation of Israel. Its history was marked by both faithfulness to God and idolatry.
Approximate location: 31.245, 34.841 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Well of the oath, or well of seven, a well dug by Abraham, and so named because he and Abimelech here entered into a compact (Gen. 21:31). On re-opening it, Isaac gave it the same name (Gen. 26:31-33). It was a favourite place of abode of both of these patriarchs (21:33-22:1, 19; 26:33; 28:10). It is mentioned among the “cities” given to the tribe of Simeon (Josh. 19:2; 1 Chr. 4:28). From Dan to Beersheba, a distance of about 144 miles (Judg. 20:1; 1 Chr. 21:2; 2 Sam. 24:2), became the usual way of designating the whole Promised Land, and passed into a proverb. After the return from the Captivity the phrase is narrowed into “from Beersheba unto the valley of Hinnom” (Neh. 11:30). The kingdom of the ten tribes extended from Beersheba to Mount Ephraim (2 Chr. 19:4). The name is not found in the New Testament. It is still called by the Arabs Bir es-Seba, i.e., “well of the seven”, where there are to the present day two principal wells and five smaller ones. It is nearly midway between the southern end of the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean.
(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, (Joshua 15:28) and then to Simeon, (Joshua 19:2; 1 Chronicles 4:28) In the often-quoted “from Dan even unto Beersheba,” (Judges 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.
the well of an oath; the seventh well
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
33 verses in 11 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H0884
Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagarʼs shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.
So that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.
After 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.
And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord, the Eternal God.
Abraham went back to his servants, and they got up and set out together for Beersheba. And Abraham settled in Beersheba.
From there Isaac went up to Beersheba,
So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba.
Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
So Israel set out with all that he had, and when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Then 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.
Hazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah,
and included Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah,
Then 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.
So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.
The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah. They were judges in 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.”
Instead, 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.
So 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.”
They 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.
So 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.
Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.
And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His motherʼs name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba.
Then 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.
They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual,
So 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.”
Jehoshaphat 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.
Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His motherʼs name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba.
So 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.
in Hazar-shual; in Beersheba and its villages;
Zanoah, 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.
Do 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.
Those 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.”
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.