Beersheva
The name of this city, which played such an important role in the lives of patriarchs, comes from the covenant which Avraham made with the Philistine ruler Avimelech. They sealed this pact with an oath near the site where Avraham discovered a spring of water (“Be’er” meaning spring, and “Sheva” meaning oath) and then established there his eishel as the base for his legendary hospitality. The well built upon this spring was eventually stuffed up by the Philistines until Avraham’s son Yitzchak restored it to use. He called it by the same name to mark the covenant he made with the very same Philistines. It was from Beersheva that Yaakov set out on his journey from Eretz Yisrael.
Modern Beersheva is Israel’s largest development town and is known as the capital of the Negev. During the War of Independence it was initially captured by the Egyptians but later conquered by Israeli forces in “Operation Ten Plagues.”
