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Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)So that’s why the place was named ‘Beersheba’ (which means ‘Well of the seven’ or ‘Well of the oath’), because that’s where the two of them made their agreement.
Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXΔιὰ τοῦτο ἐπωνόμασε τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ τόπου ἐκείνου, Φρέαρ ὁρκισμοῦ· ὅτι ἐκεῖ ὤμοσαν ἀμφότεροι. (Dia touto epōnomase to onoma tou topou ekeinou, Frear horkismou; hoti ekei ōmosan amfoteroi. )
BrTrTherefore he named the name of that place, The Well of the Oath, for there they both swore.
ULTFor that reason he called that place Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath.
USTAbimelech accepted the lambs, so Abraham named that place Beersheba, which means “Well of the Seven” or “Well of the Vow,” because that’s where they both vowed to live at peace with one another.
BSBSo that place was called Beersheba,[fn] because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.
21:31Beersheba means well of seven or well of the oath.
OEBThe place was called Beer-sheba, because it was there they swore their oath.
WEBBETherefore he called that place Beersheba,[fn] because they both swore an oath there.
21:31Beersheba can mean “well of the oath” or “well of seven”.
NETThat is why he named that place Beer Sheba, because the two of them swore an oath there.
LSVtherefore he has called that place “Beer-Sheba,” for both of them have sworn there.
FBVThat's why he called the place Beersheba,[fn] because the two of them swore and oath to each other.
21:31Beersheba means both “well of swearing” and “well of seven.”
T4TSo Abimelech accepted the animals, and as a result they called that place Beersheba, which means ‘Friendship Agreement Well’, because there the two of them made that agreement.
LEBTherefore that place is called Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath.
BBESo he gave that place the name Beer-sheba, because there the two of them had given their oaths.
KJB-1611[fn]Wherefore he called that place, Beer-sheba: because there they sware both of them. (Same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)
BshpsWherefore the place is called Beer seba, because that there they sware both of them.
GnvaWherefore the place is called Beer-sheba, because there they both sware.
CvdlTherfore is the place called Berseba, because they sware there both together. (Therefore is the place called Berseba, because they sware there both together.)
WyclTherfor thilke place was clepid Bersabee, for euere eithir swore there; (Therefore that place was called Bersabee, for euere eithir swore there;)
LuthDaher heißt die Stätte Bersaba, daß sie beide miteinander da geschworen haben. (Therefore is_called the Stätte Bersaba, that they/she/them both miteinander there geschworen have.)
ClVgIdcirco vocatus est locus ille Bersabee: quia ibi uterque juravit.[fn] (Idcirco vocatus it_is locus ille Bersabee: because there uterque yuravit. )
21.31Idcirco vocatus est, etc. Duplex causa est cur appellatus sit in Hebræo Bersabee: vel quia septem agnas accepit Abimelech de manu Abrahæ. Septem enim dicuntur sabee, vel quia ibi juraverunt, sabaa enim significat juramentum. Si autem hanc causam supra hoc nomen legimus, per prolepsim dictum est; sicut Bethel, et Galgala, quæ, antequam haberent hæc vocabula, aliter vocabantur. Notandum ex prioribus et præsenti loco quod Isaac non sit natus ad quercum Mambre. Alon Hebraice Latine quercus ut in Hebræo habetur, sed in Geraris, ubi Bersabee usque hodie oppidum est, quæ provincia ante non grande tempus ex divisione præsidum Palæstinæ Salutaris dicta est. Unde habitavit Abraham in terra Palæstinorum diebus multis.
21.31Idcirco vocatus it_is, etc. Duplex causa it_is cur appellatus let_it_be in Hebræo Bersabee: or because seven agnas accepit Abimelech about by_hand Abrahæ. Septem because dicuntur sabee, or because there yuraverunt, sabaa because significat yuramentum. When/But_if however hanc causam supra this nomen legimus, through prolepsim dictum est; like Bethel, and Galgala, quæ, before haberent these_things vocabula, aliter vocabantur. Notandum from prioribus and præsenti instead that Isaac not/no let_it_be natus to quercum Mambre. Alon Hebraice Latine quercus as in Hebræo habetur, but in Geraris, where Bersabee until hodie oppidum it_is, which provincia before not/no grande tempus from divisione præsidum Palæstinæ Salutaris dicta it_is. Unde habitavit Abraham in earth/land Palæstinorum days multis.
21:22-34 This passage, at its climax, explains the name of Beersheba, Abraham’s home (21:31-34). Beersheba reflected the covenant Abraham made with the residents of the land, which enabled him to dwell there in peace and prosperity. God’s promise was coming to fruition (12:7; 13:14-17; 15:7, 18-21; 17:8).
The phrase he called often means that people in general gave a city or other place a certain name. Here it could be that Abraham named the place Beersheba, and then later other people called it the same name, and it became well known by that name. See how you translated this phrase in Gen 19:22. Alternate translation: “Abraham called that place” or “they call that place” or “that place was called”
בְּאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע
בְּאֵר שָׁבַע
Be consistent here with how you spelled Beersheba in verse 14. Also, if you include the meaning of the name in your translation or in a footnote, make sure that the way you translate “vow” or oath here matches the way you translate oath later in this verse. Alternate translation: “Well of the Oath,”
כִּ֛י שָׁ֥ם
that/for/because/then/when there
Alternate translation: “because it was there that” or “because that is where”
שְׁנֵיהֶֽם
two,them
See how you translated this phrase in verse 27. Alternate translation: “he and Abimelech both”
נִשְׁבְּע֖וּ
swore_an_oath
See how you translated “swear” in verses 23-24. Alternate translation: “made a vow to each other.” or “solemnly promised each other to live in peace.”
Though the patriarch Isaac moved from place to place several times within southern Canaan, compared to his father Abraham and his son Jacob, Isaac appears to have been a bit of a homebody. In fact, unless Isaac resettled in places not recorded in Scripture, the farthest extent he ever traveled appears to have been only about 90 miles (113 km). Yet, as the child of God’s promise to Abraham to build a great nation from his descendants, Isaac’s relatively simple life served as a critical bridge from Abraham to the beginnings of the twelve tribes of Israel, who were descended from Isaac’s son Jacob. It is likely that Isaac was born at Beersheba (see Genesis 21:1-24), and later Abraham offered him as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah (located at Jerusalem; see 2 Chronicles 3:1). Then Abraham, Isaac, and those with them returned to Beersheba (Genesis 22:1-19). When Isaac reached adulthood, his father sent a servant to bring back a bride for him from Aram-naharaim, far north of Canaan. When his bride, Rebekah, arrived, Isaac had just come from Beer-lahai-roi and settled in the Negev (Genesis 24:62). Later Isaac resettled with Rebekah in Beer-lahai-roi, and this may have been where their twins son Esau and Jacob were born. A famine forced Isaac to go to Gerar (Genesis 26:1-6) in “the land of the Philistines.” The distinct people group known as the Philistines in later books of the Bible did not arrive until the time of the Judges, so the term here must have referred to another people group living in this region, and this is supported by the fact that King Abimelech’s name is Semitic, not Aegean (the likely origin of the later Philistines). While Isaac was there, he repeated his father’s error (Genesis 20) by lying to the king that his wife was only his sister. Isaac also became increasingly prosperous at Gerar, so the Philistines told him to leave their region. Isaac moved away from the town of Gerar and settled further away in the valley of Gerar. There he dug a well, but the Philistines claimed it for themselves, so he called it Esek, meaning “argument.” So Isaac’s men dug another well and called it Sitnah (meaning “hostility”), but it led to more quarreling, so he dug yet another well and called it Rehoboth (meaning “open space”). The locations of these two later wells are not certain, but they may have been located near Ruheibeh as shown on this map. Then Isaac moved to Beersheba and built an altar. He also dug a well there, and King Abimelech of the Philistines came and exchanged oaths of peace with him. It was likely at Beersheba that Isaac blessed his sons Esau and Jacob, and both sons eventually left Canaan (see “Jacob Goes to Paddan-Aram” map). When Jacob later returned, he traveled to Mamre near Hebron and reunited with Isaac. Sometime after this Isaac died, and Jacob and Esau buried him there.
