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In the above verse, Avraham names the place where he entered the covenant with Abimelech Be’er Sheva. The name Be’er Sheva (באר שבע), is made up of two Hebrew words. Be’er (באר) means well, hinting to the fact that this covenant acknowledged Avraham’s right to the water well. The second part of the word is made up of the root ש-ב-ע, which means both ‘seven’ and ‘oath.’ Thus, Be’er Sheva can mean either well of the seven or well of the oath. This double meaning hints both to the seven female sheep set aside by Avraham as verification of the oath, and to the oath taken with regard to the well itself. Today, the modern city of Be'er Sheva is a bustling center with a rapidly growing population of over 200,000. Renowned Rabbi and educator Yishai Fleisher teaches a fascinating class online at the Yeshiva for the Nations entitled "The Seven Holy Cities of Israel," which include Be'er Sheva, Hebron, Beit Lechem, Beit-El, Tzfat, Shechem and Jerusalem. This online academy enables students to study with rabbis from Israel from the comfort of their own home.
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