Joshua 19:2

19:2 Their assigned land included ¹  Beer Sheba, ²  Moladah,

Genesis 21:14

21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took ³  some food ⁴  and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, ⁵  and sent her away. So she went wandering ⁶  aimlessly through the wilderness ⁷  of Beer Sheba.

Genesis 21:31-33

21:31 That is why he named that place ⁸  Beer Sheba, ⁹  because the two of them swore ¹⁰  an oath there.

21:32 So they made a treaty ¹¹  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ¹²  to the land of the Philistines. ¹³  21:33 Abraham ¹⁴  planted a tamarisk tree ¹⁵  in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, ¹⁶  the eternal God.

Genesis 26:33

26:33 So he named it Shibah; ¹⁷  that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba ¹⁸  to this day.

[19:2]  ¹ tn Heb “and they had in their inheritance.”

[19:2]  ² tc The MT has “and Sheba” listed after “Beer Sheba.” The LXX suggests “Shema.” The Hebrew text appears to be corrupt, since the form “Sheba” duplicates the latter part of the preceding name. If Sheba (or Shema) is retained, the list numbers fourteen, one more than the number given in the concluding summary (v. 6).

[21:14]  ³ tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”

[21:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[21:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “He put upon her shoulder, and the boy [or perhaps, “and with the boy”], and he sent her away.” It is unclear how “and the boy” relates syntactically to what precedes. Perhaps the words should be rearranged and the text read, “and he put [them] on her shoulder and he gave to Hagar the boy.”

[21:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “she went and wandered.”

[21:14]  ⁷ tn Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this region with its sparse vegetation.

[21:31]  ⁸ tn Heb “that is why he called that place.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive, “that is why that place was called.”

[21:31]  ⁹ sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of the oath” or “well of the seven.” Both the verb “to swear” and the number “seven” have been used throughout the account. Now they are drawn in as part of the explanation of the significance of the name.

[21:31]  ¹⁰ sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.

[21:32]  ¹¹ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:32]  ¹² tn Heb “arose and returned.”

[21:32]  ¹³ sn The Philistines mentioned here may not be ethnically related to those who lived in Palestine in the time of the judges and the united monarchy. See D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 238.

[21:33]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:33]  ¹⁵ sn The planting of the tamarisk tree is a sign of Abraham’s intent to stay there for a long time, not a religious act. A growing tree in the Negev would be a lasting witness to God’s provision of water.

[21:33]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he called there in the name of the Lord.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.

[26:33]  ¹⁷ sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.

[26:33]  ¹⁸ sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.