Genesis 26:33

33 He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.

Genesis 26:33 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 26:33

And he called it Sheba
Which, according to Jerom, signifies "fulness", as if it had its name from the abundance of water in it; but rather it signifies an "oath", and was so called from the oath, which he and Abimelech had just took to one another; and these circumstances meeting together, the taking of the oath, and the account of the well, therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day;
that is, the well of the oath: it had been so called by Abraham an hundred years ago or more; but now upon this occasion it was renewed and confirmed, and so continued until the times of Moses, and many ages after.

Genesis 26:33 In-Context

31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths; and Isaac set them on their way, and they departed from him in peace.

32 That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water!"

33 He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.

34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite;

35 and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

Footnotes

• [a]. A word resembling the word for [oath]
• [b]. That is [Well of the oath] or [Well of seven]