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BEERSHEBA

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Originally appearing in Volume V03, Page 644 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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BEERSHEBA , a See also:

place midway between See also:Gaza and See also:Hebron (28 m. from each), frequently referred to in the See also:Bible as the See also:southern limit of See also:Palestine ("See also:Dan to Beersheba," Judg. xx. 1, &c.) Its See also:foundation is variously ascribed to See also:Abraham and See also:Isaac, and different etymologies for its name are suggested, in the fundamental documents of See also:Genesis (xxi. 22, See also:xxvi. 26). It was an important See also:holy place, where Abraham planted a sacred See also:tree (Gen. xxi. 23), and where divine manifestations were vouchsafed to Hagar (Gen. xxi. 17), Isaac (xxvi. 24), See also:Jacob (xlvi. 2) and See also:Elijah (1 See also:Kings xix. 5). See also:Amos mentions it in connexion with the shrines of See also:Bethel and See also:Gilgal (Amos v. 5) and denounces oaths by its numen (viii.

14). The most probable meaning of the name is " seven See also:

wells," despite the non-Semitic construction involved in this See also:interpretation. Seven See also:ancient wells still exist here, though two are stopped up. See also:Eusebius and See also:Jerome mention the place in the 4th See also:century as a large See also:village and the seat of a See also:Roman See also:garrison. Extensive remains of this village exist, though they are being rapidly quarried away for See also:building; some See also:inscriptions of See also:great importance have been found here. Later it appears to have been the site of a bishopric; remains of its churches were still See also:standing in the 14th century. Some See also:fine mosaics have been here unearthed and immediately destroyed, in sheer wantonness, by the natives See also:quarrying building-See also:stone. The Biblical Beersheba probably exists at Bir es-Seba', 2 M. distant.

End of Article: BEERSHEBA

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