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Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > B > Bersabee


BERSABEE

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(Bar sb‘ or Beersheba)

A town on the southern extremity of Palestine, one of the most familiar
geographical names of Holy Writ, known on account of its position and its
connexion with several incidents in Hebrew history. Throughout most of that
history, it was proverbially the extreme point to the south in the country; from
"Dan to Bersabee" included the entire length of the country from north to south
(Judges 20:1, etc.; 1 Chronicles 21:2 "from Bersabee to Dan"); later, after the
destruction of the northern kingdom, the territory was sometimes described as
extending "from Gabaa to Bersabee" (2 Kings 23:8), or "from Bersabee to Mount
Ephraim" (2 Chronicles 19:4); and finally, after the exile, the place still
remains as the southernmost point in the phrase "from Bersabee unto the valley
of Emmon" (Nehemiah 11:30). Milton has helped to fix the name and locality of
the town in the minds of English readers by his reference

> To Beërsaba, where the Holy Land
> Borders on Egypt and the Arabian shore.



Still, it was not exactly on the southern border, which was considered to run
"along the 'river of Egypt', the present Wady el-Arish, nearly 60 m. S. E. of
Beersheba" (G. A. Smith); but there was little arable land beyond it, and it was
practically the last stopping point in the country.

The name means, literally "the well of seven", but Genesis 21:30-31 and 26:26-33
explain it as "the well of swearing". The former narrative, with its insistence
on the "seven" (sheba‘) ewe-lambs, leads one to expect the name to be
interpreted as "the well of seven", and inclines one to regard the other
explanations as a gloss, or as evidence of the interweaving of another
narrative; yet it may be "that the two explanations resolve themselves into one;
for the Hebrew 'to swear' (nishba‘, the reflexive of the unused shaba‘) seems to
mean properly (as it were) 'to seven-oneself', i.e. to pledge oneself in some
way by seven sacred things, so that if it be assumed that the 'seven lambs' were
used for this purpose, only one ceremony would be described in the passage"
(Driver, Genesis, 215). Seven was regarded as a sacred number. Still, Driver
prefers the explanation "well of seven", that is, seven wells; but there is no
evidence that there were ever seven wells in the vicinity. G. A. Smith inclines
to the meaning "well of the seven gods", but offers no proof to support it.

Each of the two narratives referred to has its own account of the occasion which
gave rise to the name. In the first, it was bestowed by Abraham, when, after a
conflict between his herdsmen and those of King Abimelech as to the ownership of
a well, he concluded a covenant with the king, who was accompanied by his
captain, Phicol. In the second, it was bestowed many years later by Isaac when,
after a conflict between his herdsmen and those of King Abimelech as to the
ownership of a well, he concluded a covenant with the king, who was accompanied
by his captain, Phicol. Other points in the two accounts are parallel also,
though there are many differences. The traditional opinion regards them as
narratives of two different series of events which befell the two patriarchs,
surprising in certain details, perhaps, yet not remarkable for the essential
facts which are such as might easily recur. The modern critical opinion
considers that the same tradition became attached to two different names and was
embodied in two different documents (the Elohistic and the Jahvistic; see
articles: ABRAHAM, PENTATEUCH). "Doubtless, history repeats itself", says Prof.
Sayce (Early Hebrew History, 64); "disputes about the possession of wells in a
desert-land can frequently recur, and it is possible that two kings of the same
name may have followed one another on the throne of Gerar. But what does not
seem very possible is that each of these kings should have had a 'chief captain
of his host' called by the strange non-Semitic name of Phicol; that each of them
should have taken the wife of the patriarch, believing her to be his sister; or
that Beersheba should twice have received the same name from the oaths sworn
over it." The differences of detail are regarded by the upholders of the
traditional opinion as proofs that two distinct facts are related, and by
critics as variations that "would naturally arise from the fluctuation of
tradition". (Driver, Genesis, 255.)

Bersabee, the village that grew up around the wells at this spot, is identified
with the present Bir es-Seba which is twenty-eight miles southwest of Hebron, on
the road to Egypt. The country surrounding it, known as the desert of Bersabee,
is a soil that is said to be naturally very fertile, needing only irrigation to
make it productive; the few cultivated plots in the valley give "fine crops of
wheat and barley". In the spring, sheep, goats, and camels find there a rich
pasture land. Three wells may be seen there today, one of which, however, is
dry. The largest is believed to have been dug by Abraham (Genesis 21) and is at
least very ancient. It is a solidly constructed piece of masonry, about
thirty-eight feet deep; it still furnishes abundant sweet water. The climate of
Bersabee, though very hot, is regarded as healthy. The highest altitude is 950
feet above the Mediterranean. At this day, the desert presents a picture of the
same pastoral, patriarchal life that we see in Genesis (Conder, Palestine,
52-55). Bersabee, with the desert around, is the cradle of the Hebrew race and
connected with memories of Agar and Ismael (Genesis 21), of Abraham (ib.), of
Isaac (xxvi), of Jacob who was born there, and his sons (xxviii, xlvi), of the
sons of Samuel (1 Samuel 8:2), of Elias (1 Kings 3), and of Amos, who denounced
its idolatry (v, 5, viii, 14). It formed, at first, part of the territory of
Juda (Joshua 15:28) and later fell to the lot of Simeon (xix, 2). Its site as a
halting-place on the road to Egypt made it well known to all. After the Exile,
it again became a centre for the Jews (Nehemiah 11:27), and in the days of the
empire had a Roman garrison. It was most flourishing in the early Christian
ages, when the hermits flocked there. For a time, it was an episcopal see.
Extensive ruins of dwellings and public edifices, mostly of Roman days, still
remain.




SOURCES

CONDER, Palestine (New York, s. d.); IDEM, Tent Work (London, 1880); DRIVER,
Genesis (New York, 1904); LEGENDRE in VIG., Dict. de la Bible; SMITH in Encyc.
Bib. (New York, 1899); HULL in HAST., Dict. of Bible (New York, 1903).


ABOUT THIS PAGE

APA citation. Fenlon, J.F. (1907). Bersabee. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New
York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02518a.htm

MLA citation. Fenlon, John Francis. "Bersabee." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907.
<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02518a.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by WGKofron. With
thanks to Fr. John Hilkert and St. Mary's Church, Akron, Ohio.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.
Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.

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