| abstract | - Beersheba is the southernmost town in the land promised to Abraham. Located on the road towards Egypt in the parched south region known in the Hebrew as "the Negeb" the land had sparse pasture land when Abraham was living among the Philistines. The spot where the town grew had a major well frequented by travelers and shepherds alike. After Hagar and Ishmael had been banished from Abraham's home in Gerar, Philistia, God had shown her a well from which she and her son refreshed themselves in an otherwise parched land. Sometime later, Abraham would improve that well, only to have Philistines fill it up. Abimelech, king of the Philistines, was surprised at his people's actions and made an oath with Abraham to restore the well. That oath or "sheba" was the origin of the name of the settlement Abraham established there. The place was to be known from that day on as Beer-sheba, the "Well of the Oath" (literally, "well of the seven"). Some time after this treaty the area around the well was developed into a town that was often compared with Dan, using the idiom "From Dan to Beersheba" as being the superlatives of the land.
- Ancient Beersheba was a town in Canaan [1], inhabited first by various Canaanite tribes, then by the ancient Israelites following their 40-year sojourn in the wilderness (See Sinai Desert). Beersheba marked the southernmost border of the land promised to Abraham [founding patriarch of the Israelites] and his descendants by Yahweh [God].[2] During the time of Joshua, when the Canaanite territories were being allotted to the twelve tribes, the town of Beersheba was portioned out to the tribe of Judah as part of his inheritance. A biblical references that supports this event is found at Joshua 15:20-28 and reads, "20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Judah, clan by clan: 21 The southernmost towns of the tribe of Judah in the Negev toward the boundary of Edom were:Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, 25 Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27 Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, 28 Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah,...". [3]. Iron ([See Iron Age [4]) was the chief metal in use, and with it, men made iron tools and weapons. Paganism and idolatry was the dominant religion of Canaan, and it abounded everywhere. The Israelite's founding father, Abraham, was the first to settle in the land of Canaan. God [Yahweh] called Abraham from his home in Haran [Mesopotamia], and instructed him to go to a land where "He would show him." Heeding God's call, Abraham left Haran and went to live in Canaan (See Genesis 12:4-5). [5] Abraham spent a large amount of his time living in the southern town of Beersheba, as did Isaac and Jacob. A few centuries later, the Israelites, under Joshua, entered Canaan, uprooted most of the original inhabitants, and settled down to worship the one true God. Eventually, they succumbed to its pagan influences; and, as prophesied by Yahweh's prophets, they too were uprooted by foreign powers. Not very long ago, archaeologists made an astounding find in this very region - evidence of the Israelite's existence and spirituality in the land. They unearthed a four-horned brazen altar that had the structural likeness of the altar used by the Israelites in the sacrificial rites that were performed during their solemn assemblies (i.e., Passover, Day of Atonement), and prescribed for them in the Mosaic Law Covenant. Today, ancient Beersheba lies buried beneath rubble and sand - not very far from the modern town of Beersheba.
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