Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>]

Jim,

Indeed, biblical geography is uncertain because of the generic nature  
of the biblical place names. Every significant place of worship could  
be QADE$ [AL-QUDS]. It appears to me that Beersheba is BEER-$EBA(,  
with $EBA( meaning 'plentiful, abundant', as $EPA( of Deuteronomy  
33:19 is. Possibly other plentiful wells supplying generously were so  
called.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Oct 8, 2007, at 2:58 PM, JimStinehart AT aol.com wrote:

> Abraham's Beersheba receives a different  pun, punning on the  
> Hebrew word for
> "seven", rather than the Hebrew word for  "oath".  Only in the  
> next  generation, when
> Isaac is at a Beersheba (which may or may not be the same place  as  
> Abraham's
> Beersheba, but certainly is not Hagar's Beersheba), does the  
> author  set
> forth the ordinary pun on the Hebrew word  "oath".
> Because "Beersheba" is used as a generic  Hebrew nickname in the  
> Patriarchal
> narratives, there can be no assurance that  either Hagar's  
> Beersheba or
> Abraham's Beersheba is in the Negev Desert.  (By contrast, we can  
> tell from the
> context that Jacob's Beersheba is in the Negev Desert, because  
> Jacob stops there
> en route to Egypt from Hebron.)