So that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because they both swore there.
- KJV Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
- NKJV Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there.
- NASB Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because there the two of them took an oath.
- NLT Then he named the place Beersheba (which means “well of the oath”), because that was where they had sworn the oath.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The place is named Beersheba, meaning 'well of the oath,' because both men swore there. The name memorializes the covenant they made.
Overview
Beersheba commemorates the oath and the well at the heart of the agreement, a name and place significant throughout Israel's later history. The naming fixes the memory of God's faithfulness and the peace established under His blessing. Beersheba becomes a lasting marker of God's provision and the patriarchs' settled presence in the land of promise.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Gen 26:33So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba.
- Gen 21:14Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.
- Josh 15:28Hazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah,
- Gen 26:23From there Isaac went up to Beersheba,
- 1 Kgs 4:25Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.
- Judg 20:1Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.
- 2 Sam 17:11Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba—a multitude like the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, and that you yourself lead them into battle.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 21:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.