Joshua 19:2:4Josh.19.2.W4TAB
בְּאֵֽר־שֶׁ֥בַע
beersheva
“Beersheba”
- Transliteration
- be-ER-she-VA
- Extended
- beh-EER-sheh-VA
- IPA
- /bə.ʔeːrˈʃɛvaʕ/
Meaning by language
- English
- Beersheba
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Bet | b with dagesh; v without dagesh | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal |
Tap any letter to hear its name and sound
Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
be-ER-she-VA
- phraseyour reading level
be-ER-she-VA ve-she-VA
- clause
be-ER-she-VA ve-she-VA u-mo-la-DA
- sentence
va-ye-HI la-HEM be-na-kha-la-TAM be-ER-she-VA ve-she-VA u-mo-la-DA
Exegesis
The narrative then coordinates three toponyms with vav: be’er-sheva {בְּאֵֽר־שֶׁ֥בַע | be-ʾêr-še-vāʿ} ‘Beersheba’, sheva {שֶׁבַע | šé-vāʿ} ‘Sheba’, and moladah {מוֹלָדָֽה | mō-lā-dāh} ‘Moladah’. The maqqef linking “be’er” and “sheva” underscores their construct relationship “well of seven.” This structure—preface, locative phrase, and a tricolon of cities—emphasizes the delineation of the inheritance sites. In English, maintaining the prepositional nuance and list sequence preserves the Hebrew’s rhetorical order.
Root and etymology
Rootb-'-r
“well”
In context — Joshua 19:2
And this became their inheritance : Beersheba, Sheba , and Moladah.
About this coordinate
Joshua 19:2:4 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 4 of Joshua 19:2, so the Hebrew word בְּאֵֽר־שֶׁ֥בַע (beersheva) can be cited, linked and studied at exactly this position rather than somewhere in the verse. In the Biblical Knowledge Coordinate System the same position is written Josh.19.2.W4, which extends further down to each syllable (Josh.19.2.W4.S1) and character.