BERSABEE. - One of the most ancient localities of Palestine, to which are linked the names of the first Patriarchs, who repeatedly pitched their tents there.
The Hebrew name Bê'ér-Šebha' ("well of the oath," or "of seven wells") recalls the covenant made by Abraham with Abimelech, king of Gerar, on which occasion the patriarch offered the king seven lambs as testimony of his right of ownership over the well that he had dug there (Gen. 21:22-34; cf. the similar account concerning Isaac, ibid. 26:26-33).
B., especially in the age of the Kings, marked the extreme southern boundary of Palestine, just as Dan constituted its northern one, whence arose the well-known geographical formula "from Dan to B.," with which the Bible often designates, in the sense of longitude, the territory occupied by Israel. After the age of the Patriarchs, B. reappears at the time of the conquest (Josh. 15:28). It was repopulated after the exile (Neh. 11:27-30); then it gradually declined. Because of its strategic location on the edge of the desert, it regained importance with the Roman occupation. Reduced to ruins by the Arab invasion, B. revived around 1900 and today has about 3,000 inhabitants (Bedouins). Domenico Tricchio