Beersheba

Beersheba is the southern settlement where Abraham plants a tamarisk tree and where Isaac dwells - a site of wells, oaths, and covenant-making that marks the southern boundary of patriarchal territory. Jasher records multiple patriarchal events here, from Abraham's treaty with Abimelech to Isaac's permanent residence and Jacob's departure northward to Haran. The name means 'well of the oath' or 'well of seven,' connecting water (survival) with covenant (relationship). Within the broader geographical and theological framework of these three ancient texts, Beersheba serves as more than a mere physical location - it functions as a site where divine purpose intersects with human history. The pseudepigraphal traditions preserved in Enoch, Jubilees, and Jasher provide perspectives on this place that illuminate its spiritual significance beyond what other ancient sources record. Each visit, encounter, or event that occurs here contributes to the larger pattern of covenant geography that these texts trace from the primordial garden through the patriarchal wanderings to the settlement of the promised land.

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Region: Earth

Strongest connections in Ancient Text

The Book of Jasher 28

Key Chapters

The Book of Jasher 28 On account of Famine, Isaac goes to Gerar, the Land of the Philistines. After the Famine he Returns at the Command of the Lord to Hebron. Jacob is sen... 7 min read

Key Passages

Isaac at Beersheba

The Book of Jasher 28:18-25

At that time Isaac sent his younger son Jacob to the house of Shem and Eber, and he learned the instructions of the Lord...

A¹⁸t that time Isaac sent his younger son Jacob to the house of Shem and Eber, and he learned the instructions of the Lord, and Jacob remained in the house of Shem and Eber for thirty-two years, and Esau his brother did not go, for he was not willing to go, and he remained in his father's house in the land of Canaan.

¹⁹ And Esau was continually hunting in the fields to bring home what he could get, so did Esau all the days. ²⁰ And Esau was a designing and deceitful man, one who hunted after the hearts of men and inveigled them, and Esau was a valiant man in the field, and in the course of time went as usual to hunt; and he came as far as the field of Seir, the same is Edom. ²¹ And he remained in the land of Seir hunting in the field a year and four months. ²² And Esau there saw in the land of Seir the daughter of a man of Canaan, and her name was Jehudith, the daughter of Beeri, son of Epher, from the families of Heth the son of Canaan. ²³ And Esau took her for a wife, and he came unto her; forty years old was Esau when he took her, and he brought her to Hebron, the land of his father's dwelling place, and he dwelt there. ²⁴ And it came to pass in those days, in the hundred and tenth year of the life of Isaac, that is in the fiftieth year of the life of Jacob, in that year died Shem the son of Noah; Shem was six hundred years old at his death. ²⁵ And when Shem died Jacob returned to his father to Hebron which is in the land of Canaan.

Did You Know?

The name means 'well of the oath' - connecting water and covenant in a single site.

Abraham plants a tamarisk tree here as a permanent marker.

Isaac makes it his primary residence after inheriting from Abraham.

Jacob departs from here for his journey to Haran, and returns decades later.

Seven wells or seven ewes give the site its name depending on the tradition.