Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba - [Hebrew, Beer-shaba here, and Beer-sheba in Genesis 26:33. The name originated in one of two circumstances, either because, nishbª`uw (H7650), "they sware both of them;" or from sheba` (H7651), seven.] In the account of a renewed transaction of the same kind, in the history of Isaac, the oath alone is stated as the foundation of the name (Genesis 26:28; Genesis 26:33). Delitzsch combines both these circumstances in tracing the derivation of the name. [The place where this league was made received the name bª'eer-Shaaba` (H884) - i:e., seven-well, "because there they sware both of them." 'It does not follow from this note of Moses that he interpreted the name "oath-well," and took shªba` (H7651) in the sense of shªbu`aah (H7621).] The idea is rather the following:-The place received its name from the seven lambs, by which Abraham secured to himself possession of the well, because the treaty was sworn to on the basis of the agreement confirmed by the seven lambs. There is no mention of sacrifice, however, in connection with the treaty. Shaaba` (H7650), to swear-literally, to seven one's self, not because in the oath the divine number three is combined with the world number four; but because from the sacredness of the number seven-the real origin and ground of which are to be sought in the number seven of the work of creation-seven things were generally chosen to give validity to an oath among the ancient Arabians' (Herodotus, 4: 8: see further, the note at Genesis 26:1-35).