Beer-elim
Beer-elim is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Transjordan in modern-day Israel. Known today as Wadi eth Themed. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Beer-elim, meaning 'well of the mighty ones' or 'well of the terebinths,' appears in a single verse in Isaiah 15:8, embedded within the prophet's oracle against Moab. Isaiah's lament over the destruction of Moab traces the cry of distress from its northern boundary at Eglaim to its southern reaches at Beer-elim, indicating that the wailing of the devastated nation extended across its entire geographical span. The name suggests the presence of a significant well associated with prominent trees or powerful leaders, a landmark feature of the Moabite landscape. By situating Beer-elim at the southern limit of the oracle's geographical sweep, Isaiah employs the prophetic literary technique of encompassing the entire nation 'from north to south' in a single comprehensive vision of judgment. The verse reads: 'The waters of Dimon are full of blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon, a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the land.' Beer-elim's role is thus geographically orienting rather than narratively central, serving to underscore the totality of Moab's coming catastrophe as pronounced by the prophet.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Beer-elim of Isaiah 15:8 is associated with the Transjordanian territory of ancient Moab, in the region east of the Dead Sea in modern Jordan. Its identification with Wadi eth-Themed or another southern Moabite location remains provisional, as the single biblical reference provides limited geographical information. Archaeological surveys of the Moabite plateau and the Wadi Arabah region have documented extensive Bronze Age and Iron Age occupation, reflecting the historical reality of settled and semi-nomadic populations in these territories. The Mesha Stele, discovered at Dhiban in 1868, provides contemporaneous Iron Age documentation of Moabite geography and political history, naming several sites and offering corroboration for the general landscape of the oracles against Moab found in Isaiah and Jeremiah.
Verse Appearances (1)
Isa
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]