|
|
|
|
|
|
||
BEERSHEBA
A. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Beersheba was the capital town of the Biblical Negev and is most prominently known within the history of the Patriarchal Period. (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; 2,100-1,900 B.C.). The name of the city, Beersheba, is so named because of its meaning and significance in Biblical history. Beersheba means “the well of the oath,” (Genesis 21:22-32) and signifies the covenant agreement that was made between Abraham and the servants of Abimelech.. According to Biblical history, Abraham dug a well there, planted a tamarisk (grove) there, called on the name of the Lord, and lived there (Genesis 22:19). Isaac went to live at Beersheba, concluded a covenant with Abimelech, and re-digs the well previously dug by his father there which was named Sheba (Genesis 26:22-33). Later, Jacob offered sacrifices there (Genesis 46:1-4).
After the cities conquest by Joshua , Beersheba was in the territory of Simeon within the territory of Judah (Joshua 19:2). In the time of the Judges (1,400-1,100 B.C.), Beersheba apparently became the center of the district (I Samuel 8:2). From the common phrase that was used to mark both the southern and northern reaches of Israel, “....from Dan to Beersheba...”, Beersheba became known as the southern frontier of Israel as well as a religious and administrative center for Israelites.
In addition, Beersheba is also mentioned, together with Dan, Bethel, and Gilgal, as a religious center in the later days of the Kingdom of Israel, when all four towns were reproached because of their rivalry with Jerusalem (see Amos 5:5, 8:14). During Josiah’s reforms, this Judean King defiled all the high places “from Geba to Beersheba. (II Kings 23:8).”
Following the Babylonian Exile, the town of Beersheba was resettled after Nehemiah’s restoration of the kingdom (Neh. 11:27).
Although Beersheba must have been an important place in the Roman and Byzantine periods, it does not appear very frequently in the sources.
Today Biblical Beersheba is identified with Tel es-Seba, 3 miles to the east of modern day Beersheba.
B. BIBLICAL REFERENCES
1. Genesis 21:14f After Isaac is born, Hagar, wanders around the wilderness of Beersheba with Isaac. Water is scarce. Therefore, she lays Isaac under a shrub, for he was dying of thirst.
2. Genesis 21:31f Abraham and Abimelech make a covenant. Abraham digs a well and calls the place “the well of promise/oath.”
3. Genesis 22:19 After Abraham and Isaac return from Mt. Moriah, they live Beersheba.
4. Genesis 46:1-5 Jacob travels to Beersheba and offers sacrifices to God.
5. Judges 20:1, I Samuel 3:20, II Samuel 3:10, 17:11, I Kings 4:25, I Chron. 21:2, II Chron. 30:5 - The phrase, “...from Dan to Beersheba...”
6. I Kings 19:3 Elijah flees for his life from Ahab and Jezebel to Beersheba. He eventually goes to Mt. Horeb (Sinai).
7. II Kings 23:8 All the priests came out and defiled the high places “from Geba to Beersheba...” This brought on Josiah’s reforms in the end of the 7th C.B.C.
8. II Chron. 30:5 Hezekiah makes a decree from Beersheba that the people should come to Jerusalem for Passover, for they had not done this in a long time.
9. Nehemiah 11:27 Beersheba served as a boundary for Nehemiah.
C. ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS OF INTEREST
1. MIDDLE BRONZE: Probably during the time of Abraham, people lived modestly in dwelling pits. Latter, houses built from mud brick may have been used. However, except for a few potsherds found, no remains exist today.
2. IRON AGE: According to the late Yohanan Aharoni (of Tel Aviv University, who excavated here during 8 seasons between 1969-1976) the house dwellings of Strata IX and VIII from the 13th to 11th centuries B.C. represent the first significant archaeological structures of any kind here at Beersheba. In the early part of the Iron Age, Beersheba was built up and fortified in a circular fashion. Circular streets can be seen, running parallel to the circular casemate wall that encompassed the city.
Of the more impressive findings, a gate structure (dating to Solomon), large storehouses, and an imposing governor’s residence was uncovered. Beersheba was also a cultic center for the region. A horned altar that was built from un-hewn/cut stone (according to Joshua 8:30-31) was dated to the 8th C.B.C. Also, a brick factory was found, the location where the dried bricks were made for the city’s structures and houses.
Typical to the Israelite period are 4 room houses. These bordered the casemate wall that could have been filled in if needed in order to make the wall stronger against enemy attack. These houses contained 4 rooms, and a second floor supported by pillars that have been reconstructed today. Stairs would have led to a flat roof overlooking a courtyard where animals were kept. A typical house measured about 44 feet by 25 feet.
Of the outer wall structure that bordered the houses themselves, evidence of the damage done by the Assyrians and King Sennacherib’s invasion of the area in 732 B.C. can be seen.
Within the city, cooking jars have also been uncovered as well as juglets, and iron blade sickles.
An impressive watering well can be seen that most date to the 10th C.B.C. The well was once cut on the eastern slope of the city just outside the ring of houses that fortified the city. The well, cut on a hill, had to be 4 times deeper than a well dug at the base of the hill. The base of the well on the hill was hewn from solid rock, and the upper part was strengthened by a stone lining. The well reaches some 100 feet down and was no doubt the original area of the well where Abraham and Abimelech made their covenant centuries before.