Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they swore both of them.
31. Beer-sheba ] LXX : the derivation here given is “because there they sware both of them.” The word in Heb. “they sware” ( nishb‘u) is the reflexive form of the verb shaba‘. This derivation of Beer-sheba, as “the well of swearing,” is clearly not a complete explanation of the word. The correct derivation “the well of seven” is probably hinted at in Abraham’s pledge of the seven lambs. At Beer sheba, there were also “seven” wells, which can even now be identified. But there is a close connexion between the Heb. word “seven,” and the Heb. word “to swear”; and if, as seems probable, the Heb. nishba‘ “to swear” meant originally “to bind oneself by staking, or pledging, seven things,” we can see that the well of “seven” and the well of “swearing” were practically identical in significance.
Beer-sheba stood on the southernmost boundary of Palestine, at the edge of the desert, about 50 miles S.W. of Jerusalem. In later days it was famous as a sacred place of pilgrimage, Amo 5:5; Amo 8:14.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 31. He called that place Beer-sheba] Beer-shaba, literally, the well of swearing or of the oath, because they both sware there-mutually confirmed the covenant.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Which name was communicated unto a city adjoining: of which see Gen 26:23; Jos 15:28; 2Sa 17:11; 24:2.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Wherefore he called that place Beersheba,…. Either Abraham or Abimelech, or both, called it so; or it may be read impersonally, “therefore the place was called Beersheba” t, for two reasons, one implied, the other expressed; one was, because of the seven lambs before mentioned; so the Targum of Jonathan,
“and therefore he called the well the well of seven lambs;”
“Beer” signifying a well, and “sheba” seven; the other, and which is more certain, being expressed, is as follows;
because there they sware both of them; by the living God, to keep the covenant inviolably they had made between them.
t “vocatus”, V. L. Calvin, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
From this circumstance, the place where it occurred received the name , i.e., seven-well, “because there they sware both of them.” It does not follow from this note, that the writer interpreted the name “oath-well,” and took in the sense of . The idea is rather the following: the place received its name from the seven lambs, by which Abraham secured to himself possession of the well, because the treaty was sworn to on the basis of the agreement confirmed by the seven lambs. There is no mention of sacrifice, however, in connection with the treaty (see Gen 26:33). to swear, lit., to seven one’s self, not because in the oath the divine number 3 is combined with the world-number 4, but because, from the sacredness of the number 7, the real origin and ground of which are to be sought in the number 7 of the work of creation, seven things were generally chosen to give validity to an oath, as was the case, according to Herodotus (3, 8), with the Arabians among others. Beersheba was in the Wady es-Seba, the broad channel of a winter-torrent, 12 hours’ journey to the south of Hebron on the road to Egypt and the Dead Sea, where there are still stones to be found, the relics of an ancient town, and two deep wells with excellent water, called Bir es Seba, i.e., seven-well (not lion-well, as the Bedouins erroneously interpret it): cf. Robinson ‘s Pal. i. pp. 300ff.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
31. Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba. Moses has once already called the place by this name, but proleptically. Now, however, he declares when, and for what reason, the name was given; namely, because there both he and Abimelech had sworn; therefore I translate the term ‘the well of swearing.’ Others translate it ‘the well of seven.’ But Moses plainly derives the word from swearing; nor is it of any consequence that the pronunciation slightly varies from grammatical correctness, which in proper names is not very nicely observed. In fact, Moses does not restrict the etymology to the well, but comprises the whole covenant. I do not, however, deny that Moses might allude to the number seven (444)
(444) As the word שבע ́ means both an oath and the number seven, room is left for this difference of interpretation. Calvin seems, however, to allude to a notion not uncommon among learned men, that as oaths were often made before seven witnesses, which perhaps the seven lambs represented, Abraham might have this number as well as the oath in his mind, when he called the well Beer-sheba. — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(31) Beer-sheba.That is, the well of seven, but with a covert allusion to the seven lambs having been used for the ratification of an oath. Robinson found the exact site in the Wady-es-Seba, with its name still preserved as Bir-es-Seba. There are there two wells of solid construction, the first twelve and a half feet in diameter; the other, situated about 200 yards to the south, much smaller, being only five feet in diameter. Both are lined with solid masonry, and reach down to never-failing springs in the rock. Around are stone troughs for watering the cattle, and the parapet of the larger well is worn into deep indentations, by the ropes used in drawing the water (Finn, Bye-ways in Palestine, p. 190).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
31. Beer-sheba Which means well of the oath, or, well of the seven, in allusion to the seven lambs by which Abraham here confirmed his covenant with Abimelech . In a broad valley, some twelve hours’ travel south of Hebron, Dr . Robinson discovered two deep wells, still called Bir es-Seba, probably the very same as those dug by the servants of Abraham and Isaac . Compare Gen 26:32. “These wells are some distance apart; they are circular, and stoned up with solid masonry . The larger one is twelve and a half feet in diameter and forty-four and a half feet deep to the surface of the water, sixteen feet of which, at the bottom, is excavated in the solid rock . The other well lies fifty-five rods W . S . W . , and is five feet in diameter and forty-two feet deep . The water in both is pure and sweet, and in great abundance; the finest, indeed, we had found since leaving Sinai . ” ROBINSON, Biblical Researches, vol . i, p . 204 . Such wells would be of the first importance to a great shepherd chief .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Wherefore he called that place Beersheba, when there they swore, both of them.’ Beersheba means ‘the well of seven’, and is the name given to that particular well. The name is given to remind both sides of the treaty that has been made about it, sealed by the giving of the seven ewe lambs.
Gen 21:14 refers to the wilderness of Beersheba. It could be that Abraham takes the well known name of the wilderness and applies it to the well because it is appropriate. Alternately it may be that the wilderness originally had another name, altered to Beersheba when Beersheba became well known, for the name Beersheba is eventually applied to a city. (Gen 26:33 refers to a city of Beersheba, whose name appeared subsequently to that time, and that is the general meaning of Beersheba later on).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 21:31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
Ver. 31. They sware both of them. ] Or, they were sworn. The Hebrew is passive ( ). To show that an oath is not rashly to he undertaken, but by a kind of necessity imposed. It comes of a root that signifies to satisfy; because he, to whom we swear, must therewith be contented. An oath is an end of strife, saith the apostle. Heb 6:16 The Greeks call it , a hedge, which a man may not break.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Beer-sheba = Hebrew. well of the oath.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
called: Gen 26:33
Beersheba: i.e., The well of the oath, or the well of the seven: alluding to the seven ewe lambs. The verb rendered “to swear” is derived from the word translated seven. Gen 21:14, Gen 26:23, Jos 15:28, Jdg 20:1, 2Sa 17:11, 1Ki 4:25
Reciprocal: Gen 16:14 – General Gen 22:19 – to Beersheba Gen 26:18 – and he Gen 26:28 – Let there Gen 26:31 – sware Gen 46:1 – Beersheba Jos 19:2 – and Moladah 2Sa 24:7 – to Beersheba 1Ki 19:3 – Beersheba 2Ki 23:8 – Beersheba Neh 11:27 – General Heb 6:16 – an oath
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 21:31. Beer-sheba That is, the well of the oath, or the well of the seven, (for the word equally signifies either,) alluding to the seven ewe- lambs which Abraham set by themselves and gave to Abimelech. Probably when a covenant was solemnly made and confirmed by an oath, seven lambs or sheep were wont to be offered.