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.)
Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.