or the well of the oath; so named from a well which Abraham
dug in this place, and the covenant which he here made with Abimelech,
king of Gerar, Gen. xx, 31. Here also he planted a grove, as it would
appear, for the purpose of retirement for religious worship. In process
of time, a considerable town was built on the same spot, which retained
the same name. Beersheba was given by Joshua to the tribe of Judah, and
afterward transferred to Simeon, Joshua xv, 28. It was situated twenty
miles south of Hebron, in the extreme south of the land of Israel, as
Dan was on the north. The two places are frequently thus mentioned in
Scripture, as “from Dan to Beersheba,” to denote the whole length of the
country.
דבורה BEE, דבורה, occurs Deut. i, 44; Judges xiv, 8; Psalm cviii, 12;
Isa. vii, 18. A well known, small, industrious insect; whose form,
propagation, economy, and singular instinct and ingenuity, have
attracted the attention of the most inquisitive and laborious inquirers
into nature. Bees were very numerous in the east. _Serid, or Seriad_,
means “the land of the hive;” and Canaan was celebrated as “a land
flowing with milk and honey.” The wild bees formed their comb in the
crevices of the rocks, and in the hollows of decayed trees. The passage
in Isa. vii, 8, which mentions the “hissing for the bee,” is supposed to
involve an allusion to the practice of calling out the bees from their
hives, by a hissing or whistling sound, to their labour in the fields,
and summoning them again to return when the heavens begin to lower, or
the shadows of evening to fall. In this manner Jehovah threatens to
rouse the enemies of Judah, and lead them to the prey. However widely
scattered, or far remote from the scene of action, they should hear his
voice, and with as much promptitude as the bee that has been taught to
recognise the signal of its owner and obey his call, they should
assemble their forces; and although weak and insignificant as a swarm of
bees, in the estimation of a proud and infatuated people, they should
come, with irresistible might, and take possession of the rich and
beautiful region which had been abandoned by its terrified inhabitants.
The bee is represented by the ancients as a vexatious and even a
formidable enemy; and the experience of every person who turns his
attention to the temper and habits of this insect attests the truth of
their assertion. The allusion, therefore, of Moses to their fierce
hostility, Deut. i, 44, is both just and beautiful: “The Amorites, which
dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you as bees do,
and destroyed you in Seir even unto Hormah.” The Amorites, it appears,
were the most bitter adversaries to Israel of all the nations of Canaan.
Like bees that are easily irritated, that attack with great fury and
increasing numbers the person that dares to molest their hive, and
persecute him in his flight to a considerable distance, the incensed
Amorites had collected their hostile bands, and chased the Israelites
from their territory. The Psalmist also complains that his enemies
compassed him about like bees; fiercely attacking him on every side.
From these allusions it would however appear, that the bees of the east
were of a more quarrelsome temper than ours, which exist chiefly in a
domesticated state.
dug in this place, and the covenant which he here made with Abimelech,
king of Gerar, Gen. xx, 31. Here also he planted a grove, as it would
appear, for the purpose of retirement for religious worship. In process
of time, a considerable town was built on the same spot, which retained
the same name. Beersheba was given by Joshua to the tribe of Judah, and
afterward transferred to Simeon, Joshua xv, 28. It was situated twenty
miles south of Hebron, in the extreme south of the land of Israel, as
Dan was on the north. The two places are frequently thus mentioned in
Scripture, as “from Dan to Beersheba,” to denote the whole length of the
country.
דבורה BEE, דבורה, occurs Deut. i, 44; Judges xiv, 8; Psalm cviii, 12;
Isa. vii, 18. A well known, small, industrious insect; whose form,
propagation, economy, and singular instinct and ingenuity, have
attracted the attention of the most inquisitive and laborious inquirers
into nature. Bees were very numerous in the east. _Serid, or Seriad_,
means “the land of the hive;” and Canaan was celebrated as “a land
flowing with milk and honey.” The wild bees formed their comb in the
crevices of the rocks, and in the hollows of decayed trees. The passage
in Isa. vii, 8, which mentions the “hissing for the bee,” is supposed to
involve an allusion to the practice of calling out the bees from their
hives, by a hissing or whistling sound, to their labour in the fields,
and summoning them again to return when the heavens begin to lower, or
the shadows of evening to fall. In this manner Jehovah threatens to
rouse the enemies of Judah, and lead them to the prey. However widely
scattered, or far remote from the scene of action, they should hear his
voice, and with as much promptitude as the bee that has been taught to
recognise the signal of its owner and obey his call, they should
assemble their forces; and although weak and insignificant as a swarm of
bees, in the estimation of a proud and infatuated people, they should
come, with irresistible might, and take possession of the rich and
beautiful region which had been abandoned by its terrified inhabitants.
The bee is represented by the ancients as a vexatious and even a
formidable enemy; and the experience of every person who turns his
attention to the temper and habits of this insect attests the truth of
their assertion. The allusion, therefore, of Moses to their fierce
hostility, Deut. i, 44, is both just and beautiful: “The Amorites, which
dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you as bees do,
and destroyed you in Seir even unto Hormah.” The Amorites, it appears,
were the most bitter adversaries to Israel of all the nations of Canaan.
Like bees that are easily irritated, that attack with great fury and
increasing numbers the person that dares to molest their hive, and
persecute him in his flight to a considerable distance, the incensed
Amorites had collected their hostile bands, and chased the Israelites
from their territory. The Psalmist also complains that his enemies
compassed him about like bees; fiercely attacking him on every side.
From these allusions it would however appear, that the bees of the east
were of a more quarrelsome temper than ours, which exist chiefly in a
domesticated state.