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Beersheba is known as the ‘city of the patriarchs’ because of the references to it in the Old Testament section of the Bible. The Jewish patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, all lived for part of their lives in ancient Beersheba.
Beersheba, or Beersheva, is today the thriving capital of the southern Negev region of modern Israel.
 Location
The town is 77km southwest of Jerusalem, in a unique position sitting on the borders of the dry desert lands of the Bedouin wanderers of the south and the arable lands to the north. It lies on the crossroads of the ancient trade routes that the camel caravans used when travelling down to Egypt and another route mid-way between Gaza on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to the east and the Dead Sea to the west.
Until the beginning of the twentieth century, Beersheba and its environs were used mainly by local Bedouin tribes as a trading centre and watering place. As a reminder of its past a Bedouin market is held there once a week, when a large variety of goods are traded, including livestock ranging from camels, goats and sheep to hens. This event gives the visitor a flavour of the life of this city which has carried on for some 4,000 years.
On most Biblical maps of ancient Israel, the site of Beersheba is shown roughly in the centre of the lands allotted to the tribe of Simeon. It is also referred to as the southern limit of ancient Israel, in a common expression used by more than one writer in the Bible. An example of this is in the book of Samuel:
‘And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD’
[1 Samuel 3.20 NKJV]
- another way of saying, from the north to the south of the country.
The earliest known settlements in the Beersheba area are found four kilometres to the east of the modern city on the site of the Tel es-Saba in a branch of the Wadi Beersheva. It is this place that has the Biblical connections with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the patriarchal fathers of the nation of Israel .
Beersheba today
Today we see the prophecies about the restoration of Israel to the land being fulfilled and we can visit the site of the ancient city of Beersheba and see the results of the painstaking work of the archaeologist in uncovering the ruins of the ‘city of the patriarchs.’
Visitors to Beersheba today can experience the thrill of wandering around this ancient city and standing by the well at Beersheba that, it is claimed, was dug by Abraham’s servants so long ago. This is another powerful reminder of the historical accuracy of God’s Word, the Bible. It is also a reminder that God’s plan with the nation of Israel, Abraham’s descendants, will be fulfilled.
More information in the Bible about Beersheba:
Where Abraham lived
Isaac's problems at Beersheba
Beersheba - in the times of Jacob
Beersheba - in the times of Joshua
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