Beersheba
A town in the northern Negev, on the southern edge of the land. Abraham and Isaac dug wells and worshipped here, and “from Dan even to Beersheba” became the phrase for the whole of Israel.
Beersheba lies in the northern Negev. The mound of the ancient town, Tel Be’er Sheva, is a few kilometres east of the modern city. Genesis explains the name by an oath sworn between Abraham and Abimelech over a well (Genesis 21:27–33), and tells a similar story of Isaac (Genesis 26:26–33). Abraham returned here after the Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22:19). Jacob set out from here for Haran (Genesis 28:10) and offered sacrifices here on his way down to Egypt (Genesis 46:1–5). In later books the town marks the southern limit of the land, as in the phrase “from Dan even to Beersheba” (1 Samuel 3:20). Elijah fled this way from Jezebel (1 Kings 19:1–3), and Amos names it with Bethel and Gilgal among the sanctuaries that Israel is told not to seek (Amos 5:5).
What happened here
- about 2050 BC, traditional dateThe Binding of Isaac
In Genesis God tests Abraham by telling him to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering in the land of Moriah. Abraham obeys, an angel stops his hand, and a ram is offered in the boy’s place. The promise is confirmed with an oath.