Beersheba

We rented a car for the weekend, so we have been able to go a bit farther afield. Today, we went to Beersheba, Arad, and Masada.

Beersheba is the site of a number of interesting events in the Bible. The name means "Seven Wells," or "Well of the Oath" and was so named because Abraham made a treaty with Abimelek there. He also lived there for a time. Genesis 21:31-34 says:

So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there. After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Eternal God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time. (TNIV)

The site has been well-excavated and there are many interesting things to see there. There is a well (naturally!) as well as a reconstructed altar used for sacrifice (the stones for the altar were found used in another building on the site). There is even a tamarisk tree (though I doubt it is 4000 years old!).

Here are some pictures (click to enlarge):

This a four-horned altar. (Speaking of the altar in the Tabernacle, Exodus 38:2 [TNIV] says, "They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze.")



Here is the well just outside the city gate:



This is a tamarisk tree, like the one planted by Abraham: