In and around Be'ersheva

Beersheba is located on the northern edge of the Negev desert and is often regarded as the “Capital of the Negev.” There are a number of worthwhile places to visit with the family including the Lunada Children’s Museum, which is a children’s museum of international caliber, and Abraham’s Well International Visitors’ Center. which brings alive this forefather of the Jewish people. A walk in Beersheva River Park will be reviewed in due course and also a hike close to the city. Tel Beer Sheva National Park is only a few km from the city center and is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Beersheba is one of the fastest-growing cities in Israel and is its eighth most populous city. It is home to the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Seroka Medical Center and has developed a reputation for high-tech.

Beersheba has a rich history due to its location along ancient trade routes and was an important hub for trade and commerce. Human settlement dates from the Chalcolithic period between 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. Tel Be’er Sheva, now an archeological site some 4 Km from the modern city, was the town of Beersheba during the Israelite monarchal period.

Beersheba is mentioned in the Bible as being associated with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It lost its importance during the Muslim period. However, during the Ottoman period it served as an administrative center for the Bedouin and had a military garrison. Until World War I it was a mainly Arab city. It was allocated to the Arabs by the United Nations Partition Plan, but was conquered by the IDF. Following Israel’s War of Independence, the city experienced a population boom and thousands of Jewish immigrants moved here, many of whom had been displaced from Arab countries.

Do you find my website interesting and helpful?

Then you are sure to love my two new books "In and Around Jerusalem for Everyone - The Best Walks, Hikes and Outdoor Pools" and "The Struggle for Utopia - A History of Jewish, Christian and Islamic Messianism". Both books are available on Amazon and in Jerusalem bookstores. Click on each of the titles for information, reviews and purchase information.

Abraham’s Well International Visitors’ Center

This center is the only place in Israel dedicated solely to the story of Abraham. This almost 4,000-year-old story is an important one for Judaism, since among other things it provides the justification for the creation of a Jewish state in this part of the world. Abraham is also recognized as the spiritual forefather of the three great monotheistic faiths – Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

The focus of this center are two wells and a tamarisk tree. The larger well is considered to be a well that Abraham dug. The two wells are located outside the main building but within the center. The building was erected in 2014, its design being inspired by Abraham’s desert tent. It is located by a bridge that crosses Nahal Be’er Sheva and is on the edge of the old city of Beersheba.

The story about this well is told in the book of Genesis. The servants of Abimelech, the king of Gerar, had taken over a well that Abraham had dug:

Then Abraham reproached Abimelech for the well of water which the servants of Abimelech had seized. But Abimelech said, “I do not know who did this; you did not tell me, nor have I heard of it until today.” Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a pact. Abraham then set seven ewes of the flock by themselves, and Abimelech said to Abraham, “What mean these seven ewes which you have set apart?” He replied, “You are to accept these seven ewes from me as proof that I dug this well.” Hence that place was called Beer-sheba, for there the two of them swore an oath. When they had concluded the pact at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, chief of his troops, departed and returned to the land of the Philistines (Genesis 21:25-32).

Sheva has the meaning in Hebrew of either an oath or seven, both words having the same three root letters. Hence, Beersheva could mean the “well of the oath” or “the well of the seven (ewes)’ or perhaps even both.

The well was described by Claude Reigner Conder, an English soldier and explorer, in 1838. He noted that the larger of the two circular wells was stoned up very neatly with solid masonry and was 44½ feet deep, the bottom 16 feet of which was excavated into solid rock. The water at the bottom was pure and sweet.

The tour arranged by the center is about ¾ hour. First is a short talk about Abraham and a review of a map of Abraham’s journey from Ur of the Chaldees. You then enter a walkway with a very impressive audiovisual presentation of biblical verses and scenes of the desert area. This leads to the second floor for a 3D presentation of the main highlights of Abraham’s life. The movie ends with an overlook of the wells and tamarisk tree. One then goes outside. For the kids there is a small well from which they can draw water. There is also a walkway with photos about the historical development of Beersheba.

Directions: The address is Derekh Hebron 2. Enter “Abraham’s Well Visitor Center” into Waze. There is free parking in the parking lot outside the building. Their phone number is 08 623-4613.

Admission: Museum hours are Sunday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visits need to be with a prearranged tour (without a tour all you can do is look at the well and tamarisk tree). You choose your language. Other times can be accommodated for groups, including on Friday and Saturday. Admission is 34 NIS for adults and 25 NIS for children and seniors. The phone number is 08 623-4613. This is their website

Did Abraham really dig this well?

One might well ask - what is the likelihood that Abraham dug this particular well? Abraham certainly lived in this area. Plus, there are many wells in the Beersheba Valley, as there is a large aquifer. However, there is an Arab tradition of this being Abraham’s well and it is called in Arabic "Bir Al-Saba,” which means well of the morning or well of the dawn. However, a discoverer in the late 19th century found that the masonry around this well is not particularly old. Inside the well is an inscription in Arabic dated to 505 AH or the twelfth century CE. The masonry of this well can therefore be dated to this time. Nevertheless, this does not negate the possibility of a redo of a considerably more ancient well. However, there is no other archeological evidence dating this well to any specific period. So, we will never know.

Abraham did plant a grove of tamarisk trees in Beersheba (Genesis 21:33), but this is not one of them. This is more in the way of a representation of the activities of Abraham. The trees he planted would have stood out in an area which otherwise had a paucity of trees, and this would attracted the attention of travelers. Why was Abraham so interested in travelers? This relates to his mission as a forefather of Judaism.

The greatness of Abraham is often considered to be his discovery of the One God, and thus being the originator of Judaism and then Islam and Christianity. This is only partially true. The Bible itself makes clear that there were other monotheists at the time of Abraham, such as Malchizedek, the king of Salem, (although he may have been a disciple of Abraham).

What distinguished Abraham and differentiated him from say the monotheist Noah was his promoting the knowledge of God. This is why he planted a grove of tamarisk trees. He went out of his way to be hospitable to guests, since this allowed him to discuss with them about the One God. This is also why he relocated to Beersheba, since it was located at the convergence of well-travelled desert routes.

Equally important as his monotheism was his discovery of Jewish ethics, namely justice, righteousness and the way of God (Genesis 18:19). Just as God is righteous and just, so we should endeavor to imitate Him. This is called in Latin “Imitatio Dei” and is the basis of Jewish and Christian ethics (but not Islamic ethics). These matters are not discussed in this museum.

See also the essay "Where was Abraham's well?" on our webpage "Tel Sheva or Tel Be'er Sheva"

Lunada Children’s Museum

The Lunada Children’s Museum is an incredible place, equal to the best of children’s museums anywhere in the world. It has three floors with over 50 play activities, plus outdoor areas, all of which will keep children occupied for many hours. There is also a project workshop. All activities are explained in Hebrew, English and Arabic.

A snack bar sells hot and cold drinks, snacks, ice cream and pizza. There is indoor and lots of outdoor seating with picnic benches.

Directions: Enter “Lunada” into Waze and click on “לונדע, מוזיאון עולם הילד, 25 דוד הראובני, באר שבע.“

Admission:The museum is open Sunday to Thursday and Saturday 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. It is closed on Friday. The box office closes about an hour before the museum closes. Admission for those 2 year and above is 57 NIS, residents of Beersheba 42 NIS, students (with a valid student card) 46 NIS, and senior residents 37 NIS. Their phone number is 08 623-4613. This is a website:

Public transport: Enter “Lunada” into Moovit and click on David ha-Re’uveni Street, Be’er Sheva.”

Tel Be'ersheva National Park

The tel of Tel Sheva, also known as Tel Be’er Sheva, is located in the Tel Be’er Sheva National Park. It is about 2½ miles east of the modern city of Beersheba on a hill surrounded by two streams, Nahal Hebron and Nahal Be’er Sheva. It is close to the new Bedouin town of Tel Sheva, known in Arabic at Tell es-Seba. Many of the buildings on the tell have been partially reconstructed, and it is not difficult to imagine what this desert Judean fortress would have looked like thousands of years ago.

This tell is thought to be the site of biblical Be’ersheba. The expression “from Dan to Beersheba” tells us that Be’ersheba was at the southern limit of the Jewish kingdom (although King Solomon also conducted trade from Etzion Geber, now known as Eilat). This was therefore a border fortress and would have protected the kingdom against Amalekites and Midianites to the south, and later in history against Nabateans and Arabs.

Directions: Enter “Tel Be’er Sheba” into Waze.

Admission: This is a site of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. During the summer, the park is open Sunday to Thursday and Saturday 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and on Friday and holiday eves 8.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. The park closes 1 hour earlier in the winter. There are shaded picnic benches in the park near the entrance. There is no visitor center. There is an admission charge. Their phone number is 08-646 7286. This is their website

Public transport: Enter "Tel Be'er Sheba" into Moovit. There are buses from Be'ersheva. The closest bus stop is a 500-m/6-minute walk.

The well outside the Outer Gate.

There was a Chalcolithic settlement here from about 4,000 BCE to about 3,000 BCE. There was then a gap in settlement of about 2,000 years, and building was not renewed until the Israelite period. Settlement began again in the 11th century BCE during the time of either King Saul or King David. The restoration work you see is mainly on structures from the 8th century BCE, and thus during the Kingdom of Judah, at which time this was a fortified city. The city was destroyed in 701 BCE by the campaign of the Assyrian king Sennacherib during the reign of the Judean king Hezekiah. The city remained in ruins until the Persian period when a small fortress was built. There were also fortresses here during the Herodian period, later Roman period and early Arab period.

Where was Abraham’s well?

No building on the tell has been found from the patriarchal period. This should not surprise us. Abraham was a nomad and his activities were outside the main cities. There is a well just outside the city gate. It was dug during the Israelite period, perhaps for visiting nomads and other visitors. There is no evidence that it was dug by Abraham or his descendants — although it could have been. There are several wells in this area, as there are aquifers beneath the stream valleys. Hence, identifying any one particular well, or even a group of them, as being dug by Abraham is well-nigh impossible.

The story about Abraham’s well is told in the book of Genesis, when the servants of Abimelech, the king of Gerar, took over a well that Abraham had dug:

Sheva has the meaning in Hebrew of either an oath or seven, both words having the same three root letters. Hence, Be’ersheva could mean the “well of the oath” or “the well of the seven (ewes),” or even both.

The next patriarch to have resided in Be’ersheva is Abraham’s son Isaac. Isaac’s mission was to continue the tradition of his father, to the extent that he repeated many of the journeys of Abraham, including to Beersheva. However, unlike his father his relationship with the Philistines was not an amicable on as they were jealous of his agricultural success:

He [Isaac] went from there to Beersheba, and God appeared to him that night . . . Abimelech went to him from Gerar with a group of his friends and Phicol general of his legion. . . . He made them a feast and they ate and drank. They awoke early in the morning and swore to one another. . . And it was on that very day that Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug and they said to him: “We have found water.” And he named it Shibah. Therefore, the name of the city is Beersheba until this very day (Genesiś 26:23-33).

It is interesting that a city of Be’ersheva is now mentioned in relation to the activities of the forefathers. Beersheba and another city Sheva are also mentioned in the book of Joshua in relation to the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon, who dwelt within the inheritance of Judah and again the Bible mentions cities:

And the second draw of the lottery was for Simeon, to the tribe of the Children of Simeon according to their families. Their inheritance was situated amid the inheritance of Judah. And they received for their inheritance Be’er Sheva, Sheva and Moladah … thirteen cities and their villages . . . (Joshua 19:1-6).

It is very possible that the Bronze Age Beersheba was located in another site in the valley. Ruins have been found old city of Beersheba by the Bedouin market, but extensive excavations have not been possible because of its location.

The Judean fortress at Tel Sheva

The partially restored buildings provide a picture of a typical fortified Israelite city from the Judean period, albeit a fairly small one.

The city was surrounded by a casement wall. Casement walls are a typical feature of fortified Israelite cities in the Iron Age, for example at Hazor, Gezer, Megiddo and Lachish. It was not an exclusively Jewish design and has been found elsewhere in the Middle East, such as in some Assyrian and Hittite cities. It consisted of two parallel walls with a space between them divided into compartments or “casemates” — hence the name casement wall. The space between the walls was used for storage and in time of need for defensive purposes. It could be filled with dirt and stones, and this would strengthen the wall against battering rams. Homes within the fortress abutted the inner casement wall.

A 4-chambered gate, as demonstrated by the Inner Gate, was also common in Israelite cities. It led to a large open City Square and this is where judicial and commercial business was carried out and where the city elders would gather.

There are also ruins of partially reconstructed 4-roomed Israelite homes. A four-roomed house is very typical of this Israelite period: These houses typically had a rectilinear plan with four spaces or rooms. There was a broad room at the back and three long spaces extending forward from it. The large central space was separated from the other rooms by stone pillars and walls, and these may have supported a roof or a second floor. The entrance to the house was from an exterior courtyard into the central space. The central courtyard was used for daily activities, such as food preparation and domestic chores, and may have been open to let in light since there were no windows in the house. The side rooms functioned as storage areas and stables and the back room was used for living and sleeping quarters.

Partially reconstructed ruins of a typical 4-roomed Israelite home.

A water system was needed for daily use and in case of siege. The system here is in the northeast corner of the city and is a large and impressive reservoir that was hewn into the soft chalk. It was constructed in the 9th century. It has a 20-m deep stone-faced shaft, with a flight of stairs set into its wall, and a 700 m³ reservoir hewn in the chalk rock with five compartments. It was fed from floodwaters from the Hebron Stream and an aqueduct from the stream can be seen when exiting the system from a tunnel. The water system fell out of use at the end of the Hellenistic period, apparently because of an earthquake that blocked the channel.

20-meter stone faced shaft to the reservoir.

Aqueduct that brought winter floodwater from the Hebron Stream to the reservoir inside the city.

Close to the entrance to the park is a four-horned altar. This is a model of a reconstruction, the original reconstructed altar being in the Israel Museum. It is from the 8th century BCE, or even earlier. The altar was not found intact, but its pieces were in secondary use in a wall of a building. This wall was destroyed during Sennacherib’s campaign. The horns were an important part of the altar in that blood of sacrifices was sprinkled upon them.

It is interesting to compare this altar to a four-horned incense altar found at Tel Arad, also in the desert, located before the holy of holies of a temple. This altar was built of small stones, and faced with unchiseled stones and had been buried together with the entire temple. There a biblical mandate to make altars to God only of whole stones and not to raise iron upon them (Deuteronomy 27:6). The presumption is that Hezekiah closed down the temple at Arad when he centralized worship in Jerusalem. Because it was an altar to God, he respectfully buried the altar. The temple was also decommissioned and buried with its altar.

A major difference between the altar at Tel Be’er Sheva and the one at Arad is that the altar in Tel Be’ersheva is made of quarried ashlars. It may well be, therefore, that the altar here was for pagan ritual. This would not be surprising as a number of the kings of Judah were pagan worshipper, including Hezekiah’s father Ahaz. If this were the case, Hezekiah would have destroyed this altar without providing it any respect. Hence, use of the ashlars in other buildings.

Four-horned altar made of quarried ashlars.

Compared to many other Israelite cities, this tell is relatively small and has an oval shape. Your tour starts from the Outer Gate.

The Well. This is just outside the outer gate. It goes down to water level, about 70 meters (230 feet), making it one of the deepest wells in Israel.

The Outer Gate: This gate was in addition to the inner gate and was dismantled in the 8th century BCE so that only the inner gate remained. Its base is made of rough stones and its upper section of sun-baked mud bricks.

The Inner Gate: This had a protective function and had two chambers on each side and thick-walled towers. The towers have not been preserved. Plastered benches were found in one of the chambers around its sides. The gate led into the City Square, a large open space. All the streets also led into this area, including two concentric streets around the city and streets perpendicular to these.

The Tower. There is a observation tower with a spiral staircase in the center of the mound. It is in the former Roman part of the city. It leads to a balcony from which one can view the entire ruins and also the area around the park.