Beer'sheba

Beer'sheba, now BIR-ES-SEB'A ('well of swearing,' or 'well of seven'), so called because of the covenant Abraham entered into here with Abimelech the Philistine king, which he ratified with an oath and a gift of seven ewe lambs. Beersheba was situated on the southern border of Palestine, about 52 miles SW. of Jerusalem, and formed the limit in that direction of the Israelitish dominion. In the 4th century A.D., it was the seat of a large village, with a Roman garrison; some of its churches were standing in the 14th century. A heap of ruins now marks the site of the village. Two of its wells are still almost always full of water. The shafts are of round masonry, worn with the water-drawers' ropes, and they have no parapet.