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Tel Beersheba - location profile

Location and Setting

Tel Beersheba and Beersheba are two historical sites separated by three miles. It is often difficult to determine which city is referred to in the biblical texts because of their proximity to one another.
The Bible designates Tel Beersheba as the southern boundary marker of ancient Israel (Judg 20:1; 1 Sam 3:20; 2 Sam 3:10). It was situated nearly thirty miles southwest of Hebron, in the relatively arid Negev region.
Tel Beersheba has been identified with Tel es-Saba, a prominent hill lying near the convergence of two wadis (seasonal streams), the Wadi Saba and the Wadi Khelil.
The Patriarch’s Highway, the main travel route passing near Tel Beersheba, made the city an important oasis for caravans traveling to or from the desert lands to the south. It was also on the east-west caravan route from Edom to Ashkelon.

Abraham established a covenant with Abimelech, the king of Gerar, near Tel Beersheba. Abraham’s gift of seven ewe lambs to Abimelech ratified the covenant, which granted to the sojourning Abraham a well and water rights in a land he did not own. Access to water was a very important provision for Abraham, one for which he blessed the Lord. He remained at Beersheba to enjoy this benefit for some time (Gen 21:22-34).
Abraham’s son, Isaac, made a similar pact with Abimelech (of a later generation). Like his father, Isaac possessed significant livestock and personnel who were consuming much of the land’s food and water. A dispute arose with Abimelech about these resources. Again, a covenant was established, giving water rights to Isaac (Gen 26:23-33).
The tribe of Simeon was the recipient of several cities in the area, including Tel Beersheba (Josh 19:2; 1 Chr 4:28). (The tribe of Simeon was not allocated its own territory but was given a number of cities in that of Judah.) The city also appears in the list of those allotted to the tribe of Judah (Josh 15:28).
Samuel’s sons were judges in the city of Tel Beersheba (1 Sam 8:2).
Further evidence that Tel Beersheba was considered the southern extremity of Judean territory can be found in the record of the reigns of David (2 Sam 24:2,7,15; 1 Chr 21:2), Solomon (1 Kgs 4:25) and the later kings, Hezekiah (2 Chr 30:5) and Josiah (2 Kgs 23:8).

For further study, see also: Beersheba

DeVries, LaMoine F. Cities of the Biblical World. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997.
Monson, James M. Student Map Manual. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979.
Rainey, A.F. "Beersheba" The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Ed. Merrill C. Tenney. 5 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976.