Bible Strands
Genesis 21:31
So that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records the naming of a location following Abraham’s agreement with Abimelech over a well. This statement closes the immediate exchange after Abimelech accepts seven ewe lambs as a witness to the dug well.
The words — The place receives the name בְּאֵר שָׁבַע (Be'er Sheva), literally "well of the oath," formed from the roots for well and swear. The text explicitly ties the toponym to the mutual oath sworn by both parties at that spot.
The thread — The site reappears in Genesis 26:33 when Isaac names a similar location Shibah, and in Genesis 26:23 during Isaac’s journey to Beersheba. These passages extend the location’s function as a recorded landmark across successive patriarchal accounts.
Why it lands — The verse documents a historical naming event that formalizes a political agreement. It requires the reader to note how the biblical text uses physical places to anchor and preserve verbal commitments.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Wherefore he called that place Beer–sheba; because there they sware both of them.
Cross-references
- Genesis 26:33 So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba.
- Genesis 21:14 Early 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.
- Genesis 26:23 From there Isaac went up to Beersheba,
- Joshua 15:28 Hazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah,
- Judges 20:1 Then 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 Samuel 17:11 Instead, 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.
- 1 Kings 4:25 Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.