Beer-8heba

A village, or settlement, on the N. bank of the Wady es-Sebi, deriving its special interest from its con- nexion with the patriarchs. It was the residence succMsively of Abraham (Gn 2P'), of Isaac (Gn 2b"), and of Jacob (Gn 28'°), and received its name (' Well of the oath ') as having been the idace, marked by a well, where Abraham entered into eovenant with Abimelech, king of Gerar (Gn 21" E). (A diU'erent derivation is adopted in Gn 26" J.)

It was afterwards vLsited by Elijah when fleeing from the wrath of Jezebel on liLs way to HoreS (IK 19»). Beer-sheba fell within the lot of the tribe of Simeon (Jos 19^), though included in the wider boundaries of Judah. It was bounded on the 8. by the Negeb or ' South Country,' a spacious tract of undulating chalky downs, wide pastures, and generally waterle-ss brook courses. Its position in the extreme south gave rise to the phrase ' from Dan to Beersheba' (Jg 20', 1 S 3™ etc.

) = all the territory of Israel. The converse ' from B. to Dan ' occurs in 1 Ch 21^ 2 Ch 30». The soil in the valleys where there is some moisture is exceed- ingly rich, and is rudely cultivated by the fellahin, who succeed in producmg fine crops of wheat and barley. In the tracts around Beer-sheba the Bedawin find ample pasturage for their flocks and herds, which towards evening assemble in crow<ls around the wells as tliej' did three thousand years ago.

That the district was once thickly inhabited, probably in the early ChrLstian centuries before the Mohammedan irruption, is shown by ruined walls and foundations which are visible at intervals for ■«veral miles between Bir es-SebA and elTel Milh. The position of Bir es-Sebil is marked by lines of foundations along some rising ground above the N.

bank of the river, amongst which is the fonndation of a Greek church, with apse, sacrLsty, and aisles; and in the valley below are the cele- brated wells sunk through alluvial deposits into the limestone rock. These are five or six in number ; and of the two principal ones the larger is regarded with confiilence as coining down from the time of Abraliaiu. This (according to Tristram) is the tradition of the Arab.s, who point to it as the work of Ibrahani I'lKlialil (Abraham the Friend).

Conder, who caiTted out the Ordnance Survey of this part of Pal., states that the depth of the well Is 45 ft., and that it is lined with rings of masonry to a depth of 28 ft. That some of the stones are not very ancient is shown by his discovery of a tablet aated 505 A.H., at a depth of 15 courses. This, however, does not throw any doubt on the extreme age of the well itself, but only suggest? that it had been repaired during the 12th cent.

The marble blocks which form the rim of the well are deeply cut by the ropes used for drawing water ; and rude marble troughs of circular form are arranged round the well for the use of the cattle. A second well, 5 ft. in diameter, is found at about 300 yds. to the W. of that just described, and in the opposite direction is a third, 23 ft. deep, which is dry.

The desert of Beer-sheba is very beautiful in spring and early summer when the surface is carpeted with herbage and flowers ; but later in the year it is parched and desolate in the extreme, not a tree breaking the monotony of the landscape or the rays of the sun. Tell es-Sebd is the site of a village at the junction of the W. el, Khalil, which comes down from Hebron on the north, with the VV. es-Sebd, and is 24 miles from Bir es-Sebd. From its summit, 950 ft.

above the Mediterranean, a commanding view is obtained of the country around, terminating alon" the E. in the deep ravines and rocky slopes whicli lead down to the basin of the Dead Sea. LiTKRATDRK. — Conder, Tent H'ark, 1S80 ; Hull, Mount Seir, Sinai, aiui H'pjftim Pitlestim, 18&9 ; J'£i^ Map of We.Ht<^rn ralt'sUne, by C"n<ler ami Kiti-heiier ; see also Driver and Trum- bull in Kzpos. Times, vii. 567 f., viii. 89. E. HULL. BEESHTERAH (niti^j;?), Jos 21^. See Ashtar- OTH.