Bersabea
Photinaï the Samaritan woman, after her conversion, is said to have been seen there dressed in rags.
Description
When Jesus passed again through Shechem, just before the Passion, the Samaritan woman Photinaï was no longer there, and no one knows where she took refuge: "Someone among us believed they saw her as a servant in a village near Phialé. Another swears to have recognized her dressed miserably in Bersabea[1]" This is the only mention of the Phialé lake and Bersabea in the work, two places located at the extreme north and extreme south of Palestine respectively[2].
Its name
Other spellings: Bersabea, Be'er Sheva, Beersheba, Bershéba
Bersabea or Be'er-Sheva Be'er (בְּאֵר) means "well" and Sheva (שֶׁבַע) can mean either "oath" or "seven". This refers to the oath made by Abraham with Abimelek or to the seven sheep he gave him[3].
Where is it mentioned in the work?
EMV 571.
Learn more about this place
Bersabea is a city of the tribe of Simeon located in the south of Palestine (Negev), at the border of Israel’s territory. In the Bible it is known as Bershéba. It marks the southern limit of the Promised Land[4].
Bersabea, the name it still carries today, Beer Sheva, owes its name to Abraham who sealed a covenant there with Abimelek[3]. Isaac, Abraham's son, built an altar there and dug a well which led to a feast and a renewed oath[5]. It is also where Jacob, Isaac’s son, had a dream urging him to go to Egypt with his entire clan[6].
Explore
- 31° 15’ 34’’ N / 34° 47’ 07’’ E /
- +282m
Notes and references
- ↑ EMV 571.4.
- ↑ Article partially written based on the Geographical Dictionary of the Gospel, J.-F. LAVÈRE.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gen 21:27-32.
- ↑ For example in the expression "from Dan to Beersheba" (Judges 20:1).
- ↑ Gen 26:25-33.
- ↑ Gen 46:1-4.