Tel Be'er Sheva
| תל באר שבע | |
Overview
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 Shown within Israel
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| Location | Near Beersheba, Israel |
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| Coordinates | 31°14′41″N 34°50′27″E / 31.24472°N 34.84083°ECoordinates: 31°14′41″N 34°50′27″E / 31.24472°N 34.84083°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| Official name | Biblical Tells – Megiddo, Hazor, Beer Sheba |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iii, iv, vi |
| Designated | 2005 (29th session) |
| Reference no. | 1108 |
| State Party | Israel |
| Region | Asia-Pacific |
Tel Sheva (Hebrew) or Tell es-Seba (Arabic) is an archeological site in southern Israel believed to be the remains of the biblical town of Beersheba. It lies east of the modern city of Beersheba and west of the new Bedouin town of Tel Sheva/Tell as-Sabi. Tel Sheva has been preserved and made accessible to visitors in the Tel Beer Sheva National Park (Hebrew: תל באר שבע).
The name is derived from the Hebrew be'er, meaning a well, and sheva, meaning "to swear an oath".
Beer-sheba is mentioned 33 times in the biblical text. It is often used when describing a border, such as “from Dan to Beer-sheba” (Judges 20:1; 1 Sam. 3:20; 2 Sam. 3:10, 17:11, 24:2, 24:15; 1 Kings 4:25; 2 Kings 23:8), but it is also a significant center in the patriarchal narratives. Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba (Genesis 22:19), Abraham and Abimelech entered a covenant at Beer-sheba (Genesis 21:32), and Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beer-sheba (Genesis 21:33). The Lord spoke to both Isaac and Jacob, Abraham’s son and grandson respectively, at Beer-sheba (Genesis 26:23; Genesis 46:1). Beer-sheba is also the site of two significant wells: Abraham’s well at Beer-sheba was seized by Abimelech’s men (Genesis 21:25), and Isaac’s servants dug a well at Beer-sheba also (Genesis 26:25). Additionally, archaeological evidence of the dismantling of the altar at Tel Beer-sheba strongly supports a correlation with the biblical account of the cultic reform carried out by King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:22).
Tel Beer-sheba, the site of the ancient city, is located on a hill overlooking the Wadi Beer-sheba about two and a half miles east of the modern city of Beersheba. The site was excavated from 1969 to 1976 by the Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology, directed by Prof. Yohanan Aharoni, except for the last season which was led by Prof. Ze'ev Herzog. Most of the dig was devoted to uncovering the great, fortified, Israelite city traditionally dating to the United Monarchy of King David (his reign being dated from 1000 B.C.E.) and, later, to the kingdom of Judah (980–701 B.C.E.). During the last three seasons of excavation (1974–1976), an effort was made to go below Beer-sheba of Iron Age II to find earlier occupation. A considerable part of the site was dug down to bedrock in order to find the earliest settlements at Beer-sheba. This effort revealed four earlier occupational strata (Strata VI through IX). Excavations were renewed by Prof Herzog between 1993 and 1995 in order to complete the uncovering of the town's water system.
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