SHIBAH shī’ bə (שִׁבְעָ֑ה; LXX ὁρκος, meaning well of the oath, or well of seven). The name of a well dug by Isaac. Genesis 26:26-33 explains the derivation of the name Beer-sheba, a city situated some fifty m. SW of Jerusalem. A well in the same vicinity was dug earlier by Abraham, and the account (Gen 21:25-33) notes that a sacrifice of seven lambs was made by him, and a tree planted, hence marking the place as a religious shrine. It appears that two adjacent sites became known as one. They are identified as Beer es-Seba’ (Beer-sheba), and Tell es-Saba’ (Sheba), about two m. to the E of it. This latter is mentioned in Nehemiah 11:27, as one of the Jewish settlements in the Negev. Beer-sheba was thought of as the southern limit of the settled area.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

The name of the original well of Beer-sheba according to Ge 26:33.

See Beersheba.

See also