Beer ShEva or Beer ShAva? Symbolic or Irrelevant?

Parshat Toldot

by Rabbi Avi Billet

This may seem trivial. And to be honest, I may be completely wrong. But I can't help thinking there's something deeper behind the names Avraham and Yitzchak seem to give to the city where they each forge a treaty with Avimelekh.

Before we proceed with the evidence, we begin with a disclaimer: I am aware that there are words whose vowels change when they land on the cantillation marks of "Etnachta" and "Sof Pasuk." The change usually involves a segol (the "eh" sound) or a patach (the "ah" sound) becoming a kamatz (more like an "uh" sound). Names, such as "Yefet/Yafet" and "Peleg/Paleg" are prime examples of the former, while Canaan and Mitzrayim (Egypt) are classics in the latter category.

In Chapter 21:28-31, Avraham gave 7 sheep to Avimelekh in exchange for peace (don't we wish it were that easy today?), then he called the name of the place "Beer ShAva, because they both swore (nish'b'oo) to one another." Note, of course, that the word "Shava" has an "Etnachta" mark under it. But was the city named for the seven sheep, or for the swear? If the former, it should be Beer Sheva (7). But if it's for the swear, it should be Beer Shava (on account of the swear).

It seems the jury is out on this one. Targum Yonatan thinks the city was named for the seven sheep. The Malbim and Alshikh say it was named for the swear (Alshikh even raises this discussion!). And Radak thinks both events were included in the city's name calculation.

In Yitzchak's case, Avimelekh similarly makes an agreement with Yitzchak, which they swear to maintain (26:31). After Yitzchak sends Avimelekh and Fichol on their merry way, Yitzchak's servants inform him that they've found a well – from all indications, it is the seventh well in Yitzchak's arsenal.

They call the well "Shivah..." (26:33) Rashi claims the well is thus named because of the swear. Seforno claims the well is thus named because it is the seventh well. Chizkuni argues that the well was named for the city they were in – the one that had been named by Avraham.

The verse continues, "Therefore the name of the city is Beer Sheva until this day." (26:33) Is it named for the name of the well, or the fact that there are seven wells? Or is it named for the swear? Whether it is called Beer Sheva for the name of the well or in honor of seven wells seems to be irrelevant. The city is given a name which includes the number seven: "Beer Sheva."

Meshekh Hokhmah argues most sensibly that Avimelekh broke his treaty with Avraham when he threw Yitzchak out of Gerar. Therefore, one of the reasons posited for why Yitzchak has to name the city Beer Sheva is to follow his father's footsteps, on account of the new treaty. The difference is that Avraham never named the city Beer Sheva – only Beer Shava.

It could be that the names Avraham and Yitzchak gave to the city (or cities) were the same, and that coincidence has Avraham's city always having an Etnachta or Sof Pasuk under it when it appears in the Torah, so it appears as Beer Shava.

On the other hand, it is interesting to note that after Yitzchak names the city, the only other person in the Torah connected with Beer Shava is Yaakov – the only person in the Torah that bears two identifying names at the same time.

Is there significance to this connection?

Chizkuni in 21:31 says it wasn't called "Beer Sheva" until Yitzchak's days, while Rashbam (26:33) argues that there are two separate cities with the same name. [In the Neviim books, the phrase "From Dan to Beer Sheva/Shava," identifying the Northern and Southern borders of tribal Israel, seems to interchange Sheva and Shava freely.]

The Chizkuni's notion is very compelling in light of the comparison to the notion of Yaakov's name change. Yaakov had his name changed to Israel later in life, and yet he never lost his original identity.

Whatever Yitzchak's reason for calling the city Beer Sheva, the fact is that his experience mimicked his father's but was not exactly the same. That a city's name could be inspired by two different promises (one broken), and different variations on the number seven (a significant number in the Torah), stands to reason that the city itself will stand for different things to different people.

The subtlety might otherwise only be noticed by the postal service (though in Israel, they don't usually vowelize their words, so it's a non issue). Like Yaakov, however, two names represent a local and national identity. One was for the times and reasons our forefathers lived there, and the other is as a symbol of the eternal borders of the homeland of our people – a symbol of the everlasting connection of our people to the heartland of Israel.