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Beersheba meaning

באר שבע
בארה שבע

Source: https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Beersheba.html

🔼The name Beersheba: Summary

Meaning
Well Of The Oath, Well Of Seven
Etymology
From (1) the noun באר (ba'ar), a well, and (2) either the verb שבע (shaba), to swear, or the word שבע (sheba'), seven.

🔼The name Beersheba in the Bible

Beersheba is the name of the well at which Abraham and Abimelech took an oath (Genesis 21:31). Later Hagar meets the Angel of YHWH there for the second time (Genesis 21:14 — the first time is at Beer-lahai-roi; Genesis 16:14).

Beersheba is also the location where God meets Jacob (Genesis 46:2, in the verse prior occurs the form בארה שבע, Beerasheba), Isaac (Genesis 26:24) and Elijah the Tishbite (1 Kings 19:7). A famous native of Beersheba is Zibiah, the mother of king Joash of Judah (2 Kings 12:1).

🔼Etymology of the name Beersheba

The name Beersheba is a compound of two elements. The first section is the Hebrew noun באר (ba'ar), meaning well:

Excerpted from: Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary
ברר

The verb ברר (barar) essentially means to clean, purify or clarify. Usually, whatever needs to be purified is first pulverized and then sorted: the useful elements are gathered and stored, and the fluff, chaff, dust and other garbage is either blown away by wind, washed away by water, burned with fire or simply scooped up and physically dumped somewhere. In the case of metal ore, the material is heated so that the good stuff flows out and separates by its nature from the bad stuff and its nature.

Obviously, in the Bible these principles are lavishly applied to the cognitive and social economies. Also note the striking similarity with the Aramaic noun בר (bar), meaning son.

Derived adjective בר (bar) means pure or clean and identical noun בר (bar) denotes a kernel of grain or corn. Noun בר (bor) denotes a kind of material that was used in the metal purification process, and identical masculine noun בר (bor) means cleanness or pureness. Feminine noun ברית (borit) denotes a kind of soap (and is spelled identical to the word meaning covenant; see below). Noun בר (bar) describes a field (perhaps a freshly plowed, cleaned and ready-to-sow one?), and the masculine plural noun ברברים (barburim) denotes a kind of bird known literally and for unknown reasons as "cleany-cleanies".

Verb באר (ba'ar) describes writing on tablets of stone. Nouns באר (be'er), באר (bo'r) and בור (bor) mean well or pit, and obviously not merely refer to physical cisterns but rather to centers of learning and information technology (because yes, writing is information technology and then as hip as blockchain is now).

Verb ברא (bara' I) denotes the creative activity of God, which (as we know from modern cosmology) predominantly has to do with giving elements the freedom to sort themselves into constructions that are deemed stable by the laws that govern creation (and which ultimately describe freedom). Noun בריאה (beri'a) denotes a creation, "an entirely new thing".

Verb ברא (bara' II) means to be fat, and since fat is essentially an organic storage of energy, this verb is in modern terms neatly explained by relativity theory. Since anything unstable falls apart when exposed to energy, only stable compounds can gain mass. Likewise, a fat guy is clearly at peace and well provisioned (and not on the run or forced to labor half starving). Adjective בריא (bari') means fat and consequently healthy and prosperous. Verb ברה (bara) means to eat. Nouns בריה (birya) and ברות (barut) mean food.

Noun ברית (berit) means covenant and occurs all over the Bible. Although it's not wholly clear how it technically relates to the above, the gist of it is clear. A covenant clears up a working relation between parties and leads to peace, prosperity and ultimately more clarity and cleanness between said parties. Note that it is spelled the same as the word for soap (see above, and see our article on Soap in the Old World).

The second section is the Hebrew verb שבע (shaba) meaning swear, adjure:

Excerpted from: Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary
שבע

The root שבע (sb'), which in modern medieval times became pointed as שׁבע (shaba'), has to do with the number seven and the act of binding with an oath (i.e. with a proverbial seven seals or seven bonds).

Nouns שבע (sheba') and שבעה (shib'a) mean 7 and their plural שבעים (shib'im) means 70. The dual form שבעתים (shib'atayim), means sevenfold or seven times. Adjectives שביעית (shebi'it) and שביעי (shebi'i) mean seventh.

The noun שבע (sheba'), meaning seven, became the verb שבע (shaba'), meaning to bind with an oath. Subsequent nouns שבועה (shebu'a) and שבעה (shebu'a) mean oath.

The identical root שבע (sb'), which in modern medieval times became pointed as שׂבע (saba'), means to be sated or satisfied, either with food and such or with any act, deed, quality or phenomenon. Nouns שבע (soba'), שבע (saba'), and שבעה (sab'a or sib'a) mean satiety, fullness, contentment and so on.

🔼Beersheba meaning

For a meaning of the name Beersheba, Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names and NOBSE Study Bible Name List read Well Of The Oath. BDB Theological Dictionary proposes also The Well Of Seven.