Genesis 26:33

Gen 26:33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city [is] Beersheba unto this day.

Ver. 33. Is Beersheba to this day.] So it was before; but the name was almost worn out, the well being stopped up. Isaac therefore newly names it, and so preserves it for a monument of God’s mercy to his father, and to himself.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26:33 Since the earlier treaty was renewed with Isaac, the name of the well was also renewed by the oath.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, the well of the oath.

Or, oath.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 33. He called it Shebah] This was probably the same well which was called Beersheba in the time of Abraham, which the Philistines had filled up, and which the servants of Isaac had reopened. The same name is therefore given to it which it had before, with the addition of the emphatic letter ה he, by which its signification became extended, so that now it signified not merely an oath or full, but satisfaction and abundance.

The name of the city is Beer-sheba] This name was given to it a hundred years before this time; but as the well from which it had this name originally was closed up by the Philistines, probably the name of the place was abolished with the well; when therefore Isaac reopened the well, he restored the ancient name of the place.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(33) Therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.—There was no city at this time at Beer-sheba, but one is mentioned at the conquest of Canaan by Joshua (Jos_15:28). This note, as is the case generally with those which speak of a thing existing “unto this day,” was added by Ezra and the men of the Great Synagogue, after the return from Babylon (comp. Gen_22:14); and its meaning is that, whereas Abraham’s name had been forgotten while the place lay desolate, this remarkable coincidence of the water being again found, just when the covenant had been confirmed by the customary sevenfold sacrifice, so impressed the minds of the people that the title of Beer-sheba never again passed into oblivion.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. Shibah] This word, denoting “oath-taking” or “swearing,” is here given as the explanation of the name “Beer-sheba.” For another tradition as to the origin of the name, see Gen_21:31. The narrative there is from E; the narrative here from J. Shebûah, of which shib‘ah is a rare variety, is an “oath”; sheba‘ is “seven.” Aquila and Symmachus πλησμονή; Lat. abundantiam; reading sib‘ah.

unto this day] See note on Gen_22:14.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac, and to Rebekah. The marriage of them itself was a trouble to them, it being contrary to their will that any of their children should marry with the Canaanites, and those the worst sort of them, the Hittites; it having been the care of Abraham, the father of Isaac, that his son should not marry with them, and laid a strict injunction on his servant not to take a wife for his son from among them; and which was an example to be followed in later times, and which Esau very likely was not ignorant of: and besides this, the women themselves he took for wives were very disagreeable on all accounts, partly because of their religion, being idolaters, and partly by reason of their temper and behaviour, being proud, haughty, and disobedient; as all the three Targums intimate.

Next: Genesis Chapter 27

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

This name had been given before, either to this or a neighbouring place, by Abraham, Gen 21:31; but was now buried in oblivion, as his wells were; and the wells being revived, he revives and renews the name, which proved now a lasting name,

unto this day, as here follows, which is not added Gen 21:31, because then the name, though given by Abraham, was soon forgotten and neglected by others.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

33. Called it Shebah — שׁבעה, Shibhah; which means both seven and oath. Compare Gen_21:28-31. “Now the writer was aware that this place had received the same name on a former occasion. But a second well had now been dug in like circumstances in the same locality. This gives occasion for a new application of the name in the memories of the people. This is another illustration of the principle explained at Gen_25:30. Two wells still exist at this place, attesting the correctness of the record.” — Murphy.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he called it Shebah ("Oath;" which he would certainly not have done had it not been a well): therefore the name of the city (which ultimately gathered round the well) is Beershebai.e. the well of the oath. (vide Gen_21:31) Isaac must have perfectly understood that the place had been so named by his father three quarters of a century previous; but either the name had been forgotten by others, or had not come into general use amongst the inhabitants, or, observing the coincidence between his finding a well just at the time of covenanting with Abimelech and the fact that his father"s treaty was also connected with a well, he wished to confirm and perpetuate the early name which had been assigned to the town. It is not certain that this was Abraham s well which had been rediscovered; the probability is that it was another, since at Bir-es-Sheba two wells are still in existence (vide Gen_21:31) unto this day an expression used throughout Genesis to describe events separated from the age of Moses by several centuries. (vide Gen_19:37, 38 22:14 32:32)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

שבעה [AND HE CALLED IT] SHIBAH (swearing), in allusion to the Covenant (cf. v.31; “And they swear” etc.).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ויקרא אותה שבעה, on account of the oath that Yitzchok and Avimelech had sworn there. Avraham had done the same. (21,31) Even though he had not named the well itself שבעה, he named the entire region Beer Sheva, both on account of the oath and on account of the seven sheep which had been the physical symbol of that oath. Both Avraham and Yitzchok named the event in the presence of Avimelech.

As to the Torah writing: על כן שם העיר באר שבע, and we know that the place had been known by that name already since the days of Avraham, the Torah informs us that the name Avraham gave it might not have endured, but that this event now ensured that the name would be permanent. When a certain location commemorates two historic events both in the life of the father and that of the son, this will be remembered for far longer as everyone recognises that more than coincidence was the reason why the historic event which produced the name occurred precisely there.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.