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  • From: Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] The meaning of Beersheba
  • Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:54:30 +0200

Now wait a minute, George,

Since Beersheba is often used to symbolize the southern extent of the land,
it must be synonymous with "Teman". Now Teman nowadays refers to Yemen, which
is more or less where ancient Sheba might have been. But since they don't
drink beer in Yemen, and certainly would never allow themselves to be ruled
by a woman, we must look for another beer-drinking southern country ruled by
a woman, whose name means "south" - if not in Hurrian, than in another
Indo-European language. Now the only country I know of that is ruled by not
one but THREE sheilas (Queen, Governor-General and Prime Minister) AND whose
name means "south" - nah, but George, you wouldn't know about that place,
would you?

Yigal Levin

-----Original Message-----
From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of George Athas
Sent: Friday, March 11, 2011 1:11 AM
To: B-Hebrew
Subject: [b-hebrew] The meaning of Beersheba

Scholars have for a long time wondered about the meaning of the name
'Beersheba'. It has traditionally been thought to mean 'Well of Seven' or
'Well of the Oath'. However, as we shall see, there are serious problems with
these hypotheses. There is, however, a better explanation. Let me explain.

We know that Beersheba was settled originally because it provided a watering
source for a small population. However, what was that water source? It has
been thought that it was simply a natural water spring. However, if we think
about the term באר, which is often translated 'well', we start to see a link
with another type of 'water', namely 'beer'. In fact, the modern term 'beer'
is probably a derivation from the Hebrew term באר. The vocalisation into two
syllables in Hebrew may have been the result of Hurrian influence in the area
(see below). It is just possible, therefore, that Beersheba was the site of
an ancient pub or tavern that served beer, rather than simply the site of a
well.

But this then raises the question of the 'sheba' element in 'BeerSHEBA'.
Scholars have noted that the ayin (ע) at the end of the word suggests the
root שׁבע, which can mean to take on oath, or the number seven. However,
there are not seven wells here, so that theory should be discounted. But
what, then, is the reference to an oath? Scholars often point to the
narrative in Gen 21.31, which sees an oath being sworn at 'Beersheba'.
However, given that this occurs in the vicinity of the Wilderness of Paran,
which clearly means 'dense forest', that incident must have happened in
Lebanon somewhere, where more trees do grow. Therefore, it inconceivable that
any oath was made at Beersheba. So, what, then does the element שׁבע refer to?

The site of Beersheba lies sort of on the trade route to southern Arabia
where the kingdom of Sheba was located. Sheba is usually spelled שׁבא with an
aleph. However, if the element שׁבע in the name באר שׁבע is a reference to
the kingdom of Sheba, then the shift from aleph (א) to the more deeply
guttural ayin (ע) can be explained. If Beersheba was the site of a pub or
tavern, and we know that Beersheba had a road leading to it from the south,
then it's possible that beer brewed in Sheba was brought to the pub. Beer
brought from such an exotic location would no doubt have made Beersheba
famous, attracting even Hurrians, who were known for drinking themselves
silly with fermented drinks. After all, Sheba was too far for them to travel
to drink the beer in Sheba itself. Beersheba would have been a far more
attractive location because of its geographical proximity (relatively
speaking) to the Hurrian heartland. It is, therefore, plausible to suggest
that many of the patrons of the pub in Beersheba were Hurrians who frequently
became drunk. And in a drunken state, perhaps even with incipient vomiting
occurring, a shift from a passive glottal stop aleph (א) to the more deep
uvular guttural ayin (ע) occurred as Hurrians praised the 'Beer of Sheba'.
This pronunciation evidently crystallised and remained permanent. This would
explain the shift from באר שׁבא to באר שׁבע.

This also means that trade contact between Palestine and southern Arabia was
occurring at a very early stage, at least before the patriarchal era.

I know this sounds a little far fetched, but it sounded really good to me
when I thought of it. I'm going to let it ferment a little and see what
happens.



GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au

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