Stakelbeck Tonight

Erick Stakelbeck: The Biblical Significance of Be'er Sheva | Stakelbeck Tonight

July 14, 2025 | 25:5

From wars and rumors of war abroad, to the rise of anti-Christian, "woke" ideology here at home, it’s clear that Americans are living in perilous and unprecedented times. Some would even say that we’re witnessing biblical prophecy unfold in real time. Stakelbeck Tonight will make sense of these stunning developments through a bold and biblical lens.

#Israel #Bible #BibleHistory #Archaeology #JewishHistory #Christianity #Judaism #PersonalStory #Humaninterest

Closed captions

Show Timecode

Stakelbeck Tonight | Erick Stakelbeck: The Biblical Significance of Be'er Sheva | Stakelbeck Tonight | July 14, 2025

Coming up on a very special stakelbeck tonight.
00:00:02.792 --> 00:00:05.528
Welcome to the ancient ruins of tel be'er sheva.
00:00:05.528 --> 00:00:09.399
This is the place where abraham pitched his tent.
00:00:09.399 --> 00:00:12.335
After god called him into the land of israel
00:00:12.335 --> 00:00:15.271
To become the father of many nations.
00:00:15.271 --> 00:00:17.941
The story of abraham, isaac and jacob all went down
00:00:17.941 --> 00:00:21.478
Right here nearly 4000 years ago.
00:00:21.478 --> 00:00:25.215
And today my good friend elliot showed off his back
00:00:25.215 --> 00:00:28.251
And tell us why the story of this ancient site
00:00:28.251 --> 00:00:31.421
And of abraham still matters today for every believer.
00:00:31.421 --> 00:00:35.625
And it all starts now.
00:00:35.625 --> 00:00:55.478
Here.
00:00:55.712 --> 00:00:59.282
This is.
00:00:59.549 --> 00:01:12.629
You. well, elliot, it is great to have you back here with us.
00:01:13.763 --> 00:01:17.000
Great to be here, man.
00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:18.301
And what an incredible spot to be with you.
00:01:18.301 --> 00:01:21.371
Tell bear sheva bear sheba it reads
00:01:21.371 --> 00:01:25.909
On the page, but it's pronounced be'er sheva here in israel,
00:01:25.909 --> 00:01:29.345
A place of incredible biblical significance.
00:01:29.345 --> 00:01:32.849
Tell us why.
00:01:33.183 --> 00:01:34.517
Well, this is where it all begins.
00:01:34.517 --> 00:01:35.685
This is where abraham comes from.
00:01:35.685 --> 00:01:38.988
Or mesopotamia.
00:01:39.355 --> 00:01:41.191
When god comes to and says, get up, go.
00:01:41.191 --> 00:01:44.227
Leave your homeland, leave your land,
00:01:44.227 --> 00:01:46.095
Leave your father's house and go to the land
00:01:46.095 --> 00:01:49.265
Where i will show you.
00:01:49.265 --> 00:01:50.700
And between us, i think if he had told him
00:01:50.700 --> 00:01:52.135
He was coming here, he might not have come.
00:01:52.135 --> 00:01:54.204
And why is that?
00:01:54.204 --> 00:01:54.938
I'm joking, but he.
00:01:54.938 --> 00:01:56.940
He's leaving the center of urban civilization
00:01:56.940 --> 00:02:00.944
Where he's lived his entire life.
00:02:00.944 --> 00:02:02.512
Ancient mesopotamia, ancient mesopotamia.
00:02:02.512 --> 00:02:04.480
But urban, ancient mesopotamia remembers.
00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:06.482
He's not living life in the farm country somewhere.
00:02:06.482 --> 00:02:08.618
He's living in a major city.
00:02:08.618 --> 00:02:10.386
And he was prosperous and prosperous.
00:02:10.386 --> 00:02:12.689
And he's not a young man.
00:02:12.689 --> 00:02:14.624
And he's.
00:02:14.924 --> 00:02:16.426
He comes out here to the desert, to the middle of nowhere.
00:02:16.426 --> 00:02:20.363
Remember that when abraham comes here, there is no be'er sheva.
00:02:21.531 --> 00:02:24.901
Beersheba is named because of what happens while he's here.
00:02:24.901 --> 00:02:28.538
He's in the open desert and he becomes a shepherd.
00:02:28.538 --> 00:02:31.608
He's now grazing.
00:02:31.608 --> 00:02:33.509
Change of. profession.
00:02:33.509 --> 00:02:34.844
I mean, a professional guy,
00:02:34.844 --> 00:02:36.379
A prosperous there and a center of urban civilization.
00:02:36.379 --> 00:02:40.383
And he comes to literally what was then
00:02:40.383 --> 00:02:42.085
The middle of nowhere, the negev desert.
00:02:42.085 --> 00:02:43.720
The negev desert,
00:02:43.720 --> 00:02:45.154
Where in the northern negev, the middle of the northern negev.
00:02:45.154 --> 00:02:47.857
The negev is essentially a
00:02:47.857 --> 00:02:49.125
An inverted triangle, long triangle.
00:02:49.125 --> 00:02:51.194
So the upper part of it, in the middle of it
00:02:51.194 --> 00:02:54.063
We have the sinai desert off
00:02:54.063 --> 00:02:56.099
To our west, the arabian desert to the east and to the south.
00:02:56.099 --> 00:02:59.302
Desert. a lot of desert here.
00:02:59.302 --> 00:03:01.471
Hebron,
00:03:01.704 --> 00:03:02.872
Maybe 25 miles north of here, which in those days is
00:03:02.872 --> 00:03:06.709
2 or 3 days travel on foot, foot, animal, whatever.
00:03:06.709 --> 00:03:10.580
I mean,
00:03:10.580 --> 00:03:11.514
You can probably gallop it on a horse, but
00:03:11.514 --> 00:03:13.149
If we're talking about moving, it's it's a distance.
00:03:13.149 --> 00:03:16.653
And he comes here and he grazes.
00:03:17.287 --> 00:03:18.588
And here is really where he establishes himself
00:03:18.588 --> 00:03:22.725
For the first time in the land that will be promised to him.
00:03:22.725 --> 00:03:26.229
While the patriarch elliott at all began here with abraham.
00:03:26.229 --> 00:03:30.800
I mean, incredible.
00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:32.335
And you and i were talking off camera a bit
00:03:32.335 --> 00:03:34.203
About a leap of faith that he took.
00:03:34.203 --> 00:03:38.274
Yeah, he was an older man, as you said.
00:03:38.274 --> 00:03:39.842
He was an older man.
00:03:39.842 --> 00:03:40.810
Again, joking aside, god says, leave it all.
00:03:40.810 --> 00:03:43.880
Give up everything you know, give up all your security,
00:03:43.880 --> 00:03:47.483
Financial, physical and mental, knowing where you are.
00:03:47.483 --> 00:03:51.087
And take that leap.
00:03:51.087 --> 00:03:52.488
Go to where i show you. yeah.
00:03:52.488 --> 00:03:55.491
And he brings him here.
00:03:55.491 --> 00:03:57.260
And you've got to imagine
00:03:57.260 --> 00:03:58.361
That abraham comes here with that faith and says here.
00:03:58.361 --> 00:04:01.998
Yeah.
00:04:02.231 --> 00:04:03.232
And it's yes, here. here's where it begins.
00:04:03.232 --> 00:04:05.601
And this area, tel beersheba
00:04:05.601 --> 00:04:08.971
Is mentioned 33 times in the bible. yes.
00:04:08.971 --> 00:04:12.208
Later on, this becomes a major city.
00:04:12.975 --> 00:04:16.846
The promise is
00:04:17.180 --> 00:04:18.414
The land will be given to you from dan to beersheba.
00:04:18.414 --> 00:04:21.451
Dan, all the way far to the north.
00:04:21.451 --> 00:04:23.753
It's not a border, it's an indicator.
00:04:23.753 --> 00:04:26.489
But this becomes the southern central city
00:04:26.489 --> 00:04:29.759
Of the israelites kingdoms.
00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:32.762
The first temple period.
00:04:32.762 --> 00:04:33.763
Solomon built a gate here.
00:04:33.763 --> 00:04:36.032
It's a fortified city.
00:04:36.032 --> 00:04:37.600
This was the major city that marked
00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:39.435
Essentially the southern end of influence during
00:04:39.435 --> 00:04:42.338
That period of david, solomon, solomon and beyond.
00:04:42.338 --> 00:04:46.109
This was really the last stop from here.
00:04:46.109 --> 00:04:48.945
You really are off into the wilderness.
00:04:48.945 --> 00:04:50.546
Wow. so this was the extent of the davidic dynasty
00:04:50.546 --> 00:04:53.583
In that kingdom.
00:04:53.583 --> 00:04:54.650
It's stretched to bear sheva, the southernmost.
00:04:54.650 --> 00:04:56.853
Point in terms of rule.
00:04:56.853 --> 00:04:58.554
Yes. not in terms of influence, but rule
00:04:58.554 --> 00:05:01.724
Here, this spot, of course, the modern city is behind us.
00:05:01.724 --> 00:05:05.194
There's this is modern israel.
00:05:05.194 --> 00:05:07.530
Yeah. things have changed completely.
00:05:07.530 --> 00:05:08.931
It's pretty stunning
00:05:08.931 --> 00:05:10.099
Because we have these ancient ruins thousands of years
00:05:10.099 --> 00:05:12.335
Old from the time of abraham elliott.
00:05:12.335 --> 00:05:13.903
But not far over in the horizon, a few miles away is the modern
00:05:13.903 --> 00:05:17.740
City of be'er sheva, which is a thriving city.
00:05:17.740 --> 00:05:19.942
And it's growing.
00:05:19.942 --> 00:05:20.777
Yes, the capital of the negev, home
00:05:20.777 --> 00:05:23.679
Of a university, major hospital industry.
00:05:23.679 --> 00:05:27.850
The military is
00:05:28.217 --> 00:05:29.152
Moving a great deal of stuff down here now,
00:05:29.152 --> 00:05:30.920
Out of the center of the country.
00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:32.655
So we're not far from the gaza border either?
00:05:32.655 --> 00:05:35.558
Not too far. we're not far at all.
00:05:35.558 --> 00:05:37.860
Also a number of miles there.
00:05:37.860 --> 00:05:39.662
Several got hit by rockets.
00:05:39.662 --> 00:05:41.697
That's right.
00:05:41.697 --> 00:05:42.565
So we're we're in hamas rocket range.
00:05:42.565 --> 00:05:44.033
Yes, we are.
00:05:44.033 --> 00:05:45.568
Now. gaza, of course, is the old land of the philistines.
00:05:45.568 --> 00:05:48.271
Some things never change.
00:05:48.271 --> 00:05:49.705
You've got to realize land ownership out here
00:05:49.705 --> 00:05:52.408
Means something very, very different.
00:05:52.408 --> 00:05:54.610
And what it means in a city.
00:05:54.610 --> 00:05:56.746
And we know that from here, abraham
00:05:56.746 --> 00:05:58.347
Moves up to the hebron area.
00:05:58.347 --> 00:05:59.982
When sarah dies, he buys the field of ephron
00:05:59.982 --> 00:06:02.552
The hittite, the cave of mark b loft.
00:06:02.552 --> 00:06:04.554
Where he's buried today. so yeah, correct.
00:06:04.554 --> 00:06:07.356
He. isaac. jacob. yes. their wives.
00:06:07.356 --> 00:06:10.126
That's ownership.
00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:11.394
He pays for it and he buys it out here.
00:06:11.394 --> 00:06:14.997
Grazing lands aren't really owned in those days.
00:06:14.997 --> 00:06:18.234
And it's more you graze and while you're on it, it's yours.
00:06:19.402 --> 00:06:22.305
And then you move on
00:06:22.305 --> 00:06:23.206
And somebody else can move through it,
00:06:23.206 --> 00:06:24.273
And you don't come back and say, this is my land.
00:06:24.273 --> 00:06:26.676
There's not really a title deed in writing to the land.
00:06:26.676 --> 00:06:29.912
It's this is really the wild west. that's right.
00:06:29.912 --> 00:06:32.081
And that's the way, by the way, it was up
00:06:32.081 --> 00:06:33.783
Until very recently among the bedouin tribes of this area.
00:06:33.783 --> 00:06:37.587
They didn't own land.
00:06:37.587 --> 00:06:38.521
They grazed it.
00:06:38.521 --> 00:06:40.323
Now they're settling down for all sorts of cultural
00:06:40.323 --> 00:06:42.425
And political reasons and that sort of thing.
00:06:42.425 --> 00:06:44.427
But there was no ownership in that sense.
00:06:44.427 --> 00:06:47.230
It was also true in terms of national level.
00:06:47.230 --> 00:06:50.500
There was it was influence rather than border.
00:06:50.500 --> 00:06:53.603
Now this becomes the homestead.
00:06:53.603 --> 00:06:55.438
This is where isaac comes back to.
00:06:55.438 --> 00:06:57.306
Jacob comes back to here for for a while up.
00:06:57.306 --> 00:07:00.543
But the homestead, in the sense of
00:07:00.543 --> 00:07:02.712
This is this is the area where he pitched his tent.
00:07:02.712 --> 00:07:06.549
Folks, that's only the beginning of the story.
00:07:07.483 --> 00:07:09.919
After the break, we take you back nearly 4000
00:07:09.919 --> 00:07:13.155
Years to the very well that abraham dug
00:07:13.155 --> 00:07:16.592
And the ancient conflict that began with the philistines.
00:07:16.592 --> 00:07:20.630
The past is colliding with the present in powerful ways.
00:07:20.630 --> 00:07:24.800
Don't move.
00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:28.001
Don't move.
00:07:28.001 --> 00:07:46.925
Eliot, i think it bears mentioning that
00:07:47.692 --> 00:07:49.494
This site tell be'er
00:07:49.494 --> 00:07:50.562
Sheva where we are right now is,
00:07:50.562 --> 00:07:52.230
I don't know, some 3800 years old.
00:07:52.230 --> 00:07:54.566
And his origins. yes.
00:07:54.566 --> 00:07:55.733
Wow. so abraham is here almost 4000 years ago.
00:07:55.733 --> 00:07:58.836
Abraham, father abraham, as many call him.
00:07:58.836 --> 00:08:00.838
Look, judaism, christianity, even islam.
00:08:00.838 --> 00:08:04.342
Consider abraham
00:08:04.342 --> 00:08:05.443
The father of the faith is monotheistic religion. yes.
00:08:05.443 --> 00:08:08.546
Absolutely.
00:08:08.880 --> 00:08:09.714
And where we're standing right now.
00:08:09.714 --> 00:08:11.583
This is traditionally the well that abraham dug.
00:08:11.583 --> 00:08:15.186
And i think here we have to remember
00:08:15.186 --> 00:08:16.754
The well precedes all of this.
00:08:16.754 --> 00:08:20.091
Imagine that wide open space and he digs wells.
00:08:20.091 --> 00:08:23.328
Because in this area, as we mentioned before, it's
00:08:23.328 --> 00:08:26.431
Not the land wide open space desert.
00:08:26.431 --> 00:08:29.634
It's water out in the winter.
00:08:29.634 --> 00:08:32.437
It may rain here.
00:08:32.437 --> 00:08:33.404
There may be running water in the valleys,
00:08:33.404 --> 00:08:35.206
But winter is a very short period.
00:08:35.206 --> 00:08:37.375
And folks, it is hot here by the way, just so you know.
00:08:37.375 --> 00:08:40.111
It's not summer yet.
00:08:40.111 --> 00:08:41.512
No, the well is really the anchor point.
00:08:41.512 --> 00:08:44.549
This is where you get your water year round where you can.
00:08:44.549 --> 00:08:47.652
What are your flocks, where you can water yourself.
00:08:47.652 --> 00:08:51.422
And you should know if you're out here
00:08:51.422 --> 00:08:53.157
During the day doing exercise.
00:08:53.157 --> 00:08:55.093
We're talking about today's standards.
00:08:55.093 --> 00:08:58.229
A liter of water per hour drinking.
00:08:58.229 --> 00:09:01.466
You're staying hydrated all day.
00:09:01.466 --> 00:09:03.234
Four gallons and it's a gallon in four hours.
00:09:03.234 --> 00:09:06.504
It's a lot of water.
00:09:06.504 --> 00:09:07.939
If you don't have it, you can't survive here.
00:09:07.939 --> 00:09:09.941
Of course, this is the place where the conflict
00:09:09.941 --> 00:09:13.711
Between abraham
00:09:14.078 --> 00:09:16.814
And not the leaders of the philistines,
00:09:16.814 --> 00:09:19.884
But philistines who are out here, who steal his wells.
00:09:19.884 --> 00:09:23.621
They take this well.
00:09:23.621 --> 00:09:25.423
Yes, this ancient, nearly 4000 year old.
00:09:25.423 --> 00:09:27.759
Well, and first of all, the philistines.
00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:30.261
I didn't know they were there that early. that's fascinating.
00:09:30.261 --> 00:09:33.097
I knew they came from the greek isles.
00:09:33.097 --> 00:09:35.066
Settled along the coast here? yes.
00:09:35.066 --> 00:09:37.235
Well, the land of the philistines
00:09:37.235 --> 00:09:38.536
Is the area of ashkelon, gaza today.
00:09:38.536 --> 00:09:41.472
One theory is that they tried to conquer the egyptians.
00:09:42.540 --> 00:09:45.009
They failed,
00:09:45.009 --> 00:09:46.077
But the egyptians saw they were great fighters,
00:09:46.077 --> 00:09:47.845
And they employ them as proxy forces to protect the
00:09:47.845 --> 00:09:51.649
The entry way into egypt from mesopotamia.
00:09:51.649 --> 00:09:55.687
But what's interesting is that we're not technically
00:09:56.754 --> 00:09:59.157
In the land of the philistines.
00:09:59.157 --> 00:10:00.558
Now we're east of it.
00:10:00.558 --> 00:10:02.393
We're out in the desert.
00:10:02.393 --> 00:10:04.028
And this brings us to what i think an interesting point,
00:10:04.028 --> 00:10:05.730
That in those days you didn't have borders
00:10:05.730 --> 00:10:08.166
The way we do today with a line on the map
00:10:08.166 --> 00:10:10.401
And you're on this side and i'm on that side.
00:10:10.401 --> 00:10:12.437
But land was much more about control.
00:10:12.437 --> 00:10:15.373
If your army could reach out to it, you controlled it.
00:10:15.373 --> 00:10:18.543
If there was an army on the other side,
00:10:18.543 --> 00:10:20.344
There might be an overlap of influence and power
00:10:20.344 --> 00:10:22.947
Without an exact border between the two.
00:10:22.947 --> 00:10:25.883
So we're not strictly in the land of the philistines,
00:10:25.883 --> 00:10:28.853
But the philistines influence reaches out to here.
00:10:28.853 --> 00:10:32.090
This is a time when there are no real borders
00:10:32.090 --> 00:10:34.358
In that sense, but rather influence and power.
00:10:34.358 --> 00:10:36.594
Real borders only begin in the book of joshua
00:10:36.594 --> 00:10:39.764
Chapter 14 and beyond, where the borders of the tribes
00:10:39.764 --> 00:10:42.934
Are delineated point by point, location, location.
00:10:42.934 --> 00:10:46.204
What happens here is the philistines are out there
00:10:46.204 --> 00:10:47.872
Grazing. they need the water. they take the wells.
00:10:47.872 --> 00:10:51.175
Including this one.
00:10:51.642 --> 00:10:53.444
And abraham complains to the king, and
00:10:52.543 --> 00:10:57.548
The king comes out and significantly
00:10:57.548 --> 00:10:59.083
Comes out with his general, the the leader of his army.
00:10:59.083 --> 00:11:02.520
In other words, this is not just a political issue.
00:11:02.520 --> 00:11:04.489
It's a military issue. yes.
00:11:04.489 --> 00:11:06.324
And that's where they have the covenant between them
00:11:06.324 --> 00:11:10.094
And the the sword.
00:11:10.528 --> 00:11:11.629
The well is known as the well of the covenant
00:11:11.629 --> 00:11:15.867
Or the promise bear sheva.
00:11:15.867 --> 00:11:17.902
Beersheba comes from. that.
00:11:17.902 --> 00:11:20.004
So that's what it translates into.
00:11:20.004 --> 00:11:21.672
So abimelech comes out with his general.
00:11:21.672 --> 00:11:23.574
He's ready to go to battle with abraham over this well.
00:11:23.574 --> 00:11:26.144
But abraham, according to the book of genesis, proves,
00:11:26.144 --> 00:11:29.347
Hey, this was i dug.
00:11:29.347 --> 00:11:30.615
This is mine. it's
00:11:30.615 --> 00:11:31.916
A very deep well, by the way, as people can see here. yes.
00:11:31.916 --> 00:11:35.119
I mean, he doesn't want to go to war with abraham
00:11:35.119 --> 00:11:36.921
Because he already knows abraham is the chosen one.
00:11:36.921 --> 00:11:41.025
Oh, yeah.
00:11:41.025 --> 00:11:42.260
And you don't mess with him because you get into trouble.
00:11:42.260 --> 00:11:44.295
You live not with sarah. oh, yes.
00:11:44.295 --> 00:11:45.797
After that, they build a city here.
00:11:45.797 --> 00:11:47.732
And the origin of this of the city some 3500 years ago.
00:11:47.732 --> 00:11:52.537
But the city that really establishes
00:11:52.537 --> 00:11:56.007
This place comes later in the time of david and solomon.
00:11:56.007 --> 00:11:59.343
You know, eliot,
00:11:59.744 --> 00:12:00.945
You mentioned how abimelech kind of learned the hard way
00:12:00.945 --> 00:12:03.381
About abraham's favored position in the eyes of god almighty.
00:12:03.381 --> 00:12:07.051
Yes. he had a dream, a very disturbing dream, where
00:12:07.051 --> 00:12:09.821
God said, hey, you took abraham's wife,
00:12:09.821 --> 00:12:12.490
You're in big trouble. and he said.
00:12:12.490 --> 00:12:13.691
I did what i thought of. she was a sister.
00:12:13.691 --> 00:12:15.560
Because abraham told abimelech in an attempt to keep the peace.
00:12:15.560 --> 00:12:19.363
Oh, sarah's my sister.
00:12:19.363 --> 00:12:20.698
She's not my wife.
00:12:20.698 --> 00:12:22.533
And i think it's a it's an interesting example,
00:12:22.533 --> 00:12:24.268
And it's a rather common one in the hebrew scriptures
00:12:24.268 --> 00:12:27.371
That even
00:12:27.672 --> 00:12:29.106
The greats, whether it's abraham, isaac, jacob, moses.
00:12:29.106 --> 00:12:32.343
Yeah. are human beings, david.
00:12:32.343 --> 00:12:34.378
Human beings.
00:12:34.378 --> 00:12:35.580
These are people who are in constant interaction with god,
00:12:35.580 --> 00:12:40.184
And yet they have their moments.
00:12:40.818 --> 00:12:43.287
They're human, they're human.
00:12:43.287 --> 00:12:45.122
They're not perfect.
00:12:45.122 --> 00:12:46.557
And some of them, abraham, isaac and jacob may have walked
00:12:46.557 --> 00:12:49.293
This very path where we are walking right now.
00:12:49.293 --> 00:12:52.630
Their feet may have tread these stones
00:12:52.630 --> 00:12:55.433
Close to 4000 years ago, but they're only human.
00:12:55.433 --> 00:12:58.836
Yeah, as you said, highly favored, anointed by god.
00:12:58.836 --> 00:13:01.505
But with abraham made a mistake.
00:13:01.505 --> 00:13:03.274
Great belief. but
00:13:03.274 --> 00:13:05.209
He said, you know what?
00:13:05.710 --> 00:13:06.577
I still have to cover myself. yeah.
00:13:06.577 --> 00:13:08.613
So there's kind of an uneasy truce,
00:13:08.613 --> 00:13:10.014
I guess you would say,
00:13:10.014 --> 00:13:10.948
With abimelech between abraham, isaac, malik,
00:13:10.948 --> 00:13:13.284
They make the truce, over the well, kind of and peace treaty
00:13:13.284 --> 00:13:16.220
We would say today, i guess.
00:13:16.220 --> 00:13:17.321
And, and the text tells us that
00:13:17.321 --> 00:13:18.823
From that point on he stays in the land of the philistines.
00:13:18.823 --> 00:13:22.226
For many days.
00:13:22.560 --> 00:13:23.561
In other words, he travels around
00:13:23.561 --> 00:13:25.062
Also to the west, meaning closer to the philistines
00:13:25.062 --> 00:13:28.132
And back to here,
00:13:28.132 --> 00:13:29.233
Because it's from here, of course, that he also leaves
00:13:29.233 --> 00:13:32.336
On the three day journey to jerusalem to sacrifice isaac.
00:13:32.336 --> 00:13:35.940
Which of mount moriah, mount moriah, which, of course
00:13:35.940 --> 00:13:38.276
The angel stops him.
00:13:38.276 --> 00:13:39.810
But it's from here.
00:13:39.810 --> 00:13:41.045
He goes and then returns here, and then sarah dies in hebron.
00:13:41.045 --> 00:13:46.350
So apparently somewhere along the way there was a
00:13:46.350 --> 00:13:48.352
Another bit of a transition.
00:13:48.352 --> 00:13:49.587
Yeah,
00:13:49.587 --> 00:13:49.987
But he spent
00:13:49.987 --> 00:13:50.922
A great amount of his time,
00:13:50.922 --> 00:13:52.823
Folks, a great amount of the biblical narrative
00:13:52.823 --> 00:13:54.692
Mentioning abraham unfolded where elliot and i are standing
00:13:54.692 --> 00:13:58.095
Right now.
00:13:58.396 --> 00:13:59.630
Wow. the patriarch right here until be'er sheva, by the way,
00:13:59.630 --> 00:14:03.334
We had the one well, conflict between abimelech and abraham.
00:14:03.334 --> 00:14:07.672
Then a little later on in the book of genesis,
00:14:07.672 --> 00:14:09.907
Abimelech versus isaac, abraham's son once again
00:14:09.907 --> 00:14:13.344
Over a well. right? yes.
00:14:13.344 --> 00:14:15.079
And it shows again that importance of water
00:14:15.079 --> 00:14:18.516
In this area, more so than land per se.
00:14:18.516 --> 00:14:22.586
Yeah, especially for grazers.
00:14:22.586 --> 00:14:24.722
And here, let's keep in mind that
00:14:24.722 --> 00:14:26.590
We're talking about abraham, isaac and jacob
00:14:26.590 --> 00:14:28.759
And his children are shepherds.
00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:31.362
Moses shepherd others.
00:14:31.829 --> 00:14:33.531
This is a recurring theme here.
00:14:33.531 --> 00:14:35.466
And the idea of of control over an area.
00:14:35.466 --> 00:14:39.770
But ultimately those anchor points,
00:14:39.770 --> 00:14:41.872
The anchor points of the wells down here.
00:14:41.872 --> 00:14:44.709
Coming up after the break, we continue our journey
00:14:44.709 --> 00:14:47.545
Through till be'er sheva, where we just stood at abraham's
00:14:47.545 --> 00:14:51.782
Ancient.
00:14:51.782 --> 00:14:53.017
Well, up next, we'll explore how this sacred ground connects
00:14:53.017 --> 00:14:56.587
To king david and the unfolding story of israel's destiny.
00:14:56.587 --> 00:15:00.925
From the patriarchs to prophecy, this land still speaks.
00:15:00.925 --> 00:15:06.197
Stick around. you.
00:15:06.197 --> 00:15:09.011
Stick around. you.
00:15:09.011 --> 00:15:15.040
You. you.
00:15:15.340 --> 00:15:28.887
You know, when i think of abraham,
00:15:29.654 --> 00:15:30.956
I think of his narrative. his story of what?
00:15:30.956 --> 00:15:32.858
A man of incredible faith and trust in god.
00:15:32.858 --> 00:15:36.128
Not only coming here to the great unknown
00:15:36.128 --> 00:15:38.163
To tell be'er sheva, but as you mentioned,
00:15:38.163 --> 00:15:39.998
Mount moriah, nearly sacrificing isaac, his son.
00:15:39.998 --> 00:15:43.235
Well, yes, a portrait of faith here.
00:15:43.235 --> 00:15:45.670
But such humble beginnings, right?
00:15:45.670 --> 00:15:47.305
For this man of god. yes.
00:15:47.305 --> 00:15:49.975
Oh. he leaves everything.
00:15:50.542 --> 00:15:53.111
At least in his prophetic career.
00:15:53.111 --> 00:15:54.913
Humble beginnings, i guess you would say. sure.
00:15:54.913 --> 00:15:56.782
Well,
00:15:56.782 --> 00:15:57.682
Let's say he he trades all the physical
00:15:57.682 --> 00:15:59.718
To come to live out here in a tent in the desert maze
00:15:59.718 --> 00:16:02.554
And become a shepherd.
00:16:02.554 --> 00:16:03.755
Yeah, but look, the abrahamic story
00:16:03.755 --> 00:16:07.325
Wasn't the end of tell bear.
00:16:07.325 --> 00:16:09.594
Shove is biblical lineage, right? what came.
00:16:09.594 --> 00:16:12.364
Okay, we know about abraham, isaac and jake.
00:16:12.364 --> 00:16:13.999
We mentioned the story of isaac in the well, right.
00:16:13.999 --> 00:16:16.768
Jacob had some pivotal moments
00:16:16.768 --> 00:16:18.403
Here as laid out in the book of genesis.
00:16:18.403 --> 00:16:20.906
What came next?
00:16:20.906 --> 00:16:22.574
Well, the major point here,
00:16:22.574 --> 00:16:25.510
There's a period, of course, the israelites are slaves.
00:16:25.510 --> 00:16:28.880
This this area is not inhabited by by the israelites.
00:16:28.880 --> 00:16:32.717
But after the return ultimate,
00:16:33.318 --> 00:16:35.687
There's a kingdom under david the son solomon.
00:16:35.687 --> 00:16:38.990
And the references all talk about the land from dan,
00:16:40.025 --> 00:16:43.261
From dawn in the north to beersheba in the south.
00:16:43.261 --> 00:16:47.032
So we're at the southern extent of the national boundaries.
00:16:47.032 --> 00:16:51.536
I use the word boundary rather than border,
00:16:51.536 --> 00:16:53.271
Because it's, as i said before, it's not a sharp line.
00:16:53.271 --> 00:16:56.408
There are no maps in those days.
00:16:56.408 --> 00:16:57.742
That's fascinating.
00:16:57.742 --> 00:16:58.977
By the way, just as a quick aside, this the first borders
00:16:58.977 --> 00:17:01.913
Known to mankind were laid out by god himself in joshua.
00:17:01.913 --> 00:17:05.784
Joshua, starting in chapter 14.
00:17:05.784 --> 00:17:09.254
But if you would said, from north to south, in those days,
00:17:09.254 --> 00:17:11.623
Nobody would have known what you were talking about.
00:17:11.623 --> 00:17:13.091
So dan is the anchor of the north.
00:17:13.091 --> 00:17:14.893
Beersheba is the anchor of the south.
00:17:14.893 --> 00:17:17.362
And now we have a kingdom, and david essentially defeats
00:17:17.362 --> 00:17:21.433
The enemies around.
00:17:21.433 --> 00:17:22.734
Solomon is now building the kingdom.
00:17:22.734 --> 00:17:24.536
He builds the temple and he's fortifying the kingdom.
00:17:24.536 --> 00:17:27.839
This gate is from the time of solomon.
00:17:28.673 --> 00:17:31.009
So it's only 3000 years old. is that all?
00:17:31.009 --> 00:17:33.512
Well, you know, eric, what do people in america call history?
00:17:33.512 --> 00:17:37.849
We call the late modern period.
00:17:37.849 --> 00:17:40.185
Will you?
00:17:40.185 --> 00:17:40.886
Centuries is rounding errors.
00:17:40.886 --> 00:17:42.721
So, yeah, 3000 years old.
00:17:42.721 --> 00:17:44.623
But what really makes it interesting to me,
00:17:44.623 --> 00:17:47.492
It's ages is nice, but it's identical in design
00:17:47.492 --> 00:17:51.863
To the gates that solomon built in megiddo in the north,
00:17:51.863 --> 00:17:55.367
In hudson in the north.
00:17:55.367 --> 00:17:56.601
In other words, what we see here is no longer
00:17:56.601 --> 00:17:59.871
A tribal conglomerate, but a central kingdom
00:17:59.871 --> 00:18:04.609
That is now taking over all responsibility for the.
00:18:04.609 --> 00:18:07.546
Land with shared characteristics.
00:18:07.546 --> 00:18:09.781
The gates are the same. no other words, the orders.
00:18:09.781 --> 00:18:12.050
The design is coming down from above and up.
00:18:12.050 --> 00:18:16.054
It may not. may have been the same.
00:18:16.054 --> 00:18:17.322
Same builders? probably not.
00:18:17.322 --> 00:18:19.224
But the designers are the same.
00:18:19.224 --> 00:18:20.725
The supervisors are coming from the same school of thought,
00:18:20.725 --> 00:18:23.762
And they're using the exact same design method.
00:18:23.762 --> 00:18:26.565
I think it's also important to understand
00:18:26.565 --> 00:18:28.633
That while beersheba,
00:18:28.633 --> 00:18:29.734
Beersheba is mentioned as the southern end,
00:18:29.734 --> 00:18:32.971
There are fortresses further south was the edge of the land
00:18:32.971 --> 00:18:36.374
Of judea.
00:18:36.374 --> 00:18:37.442
As mentioned, even in joshua is the wilderness
00:18:37.442 --> 00:18:40.912
Of sin south of us in the negev.
00:18:40.912 --> 00:18:44.015
And in that area there were
00:18:44.015 --> 00:18:45.417
There was an outpost line of fortresses
00:18:45.417 --> 00:18:47.452
Defending really the edge
00:18:47.452 --> 00:18:49.588
Of what was considered to be the land of israel.
00:18:49.588 --> 00:18:51.723
But even then the influence of the kingdom
00:18:51.723 --> 00:18:54.826
Extended much further south, all the way to the southern tip.
00:18:54.826 --> 00:18:58.096
Well, the golden days for sure.
00:18:58.096 --> 00:19:00.031
The davidic dynasty, and under solomon.
00:19:00.031 --> 00:19:02.767
And it's interesting to
00:19:02.767 --> 00:19:04.569
Obviously, as you've laid out so eloquently, eliot borders,
00:19:04.569 --> 00:19:07.839
Borders, borders, and be'er sheva is mentioned
00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:09.641
Many times in the bible, often is like a southern point.
00:19:09.641 --> 00:19:12.677
But it's also mentioned a little bit later on.
00:19:13.612 --> 00:19:15.380
Right.
00:19:15.380 --> 00:19:16.081
The destruction of be'er sheva.
00:19:16.081 --> 00:19:18.750
There's a great debate among the archeologists,
00:19:18.750 --> 00:19:22.120
Whether it was destroyed by the assyrians
00:19:22.120 --> 00:19:24.489
Under sanctuary or under the babylonians.
00:19:24.489 --> 00:19:27.659
Nebuchadnezzar during the time of the destruction.
00:19:27.659 --> 00:19:29.828
Two nasty guys.
00:19:29.828 --> 00:19:30.829
Two very nasty guys,
00:19:30.829 --> 00:19:32.330
One more successful than the other for themselves.
00:19:32.330 --> 00:19:35.567
But i think an interesting illustration
00:19:36.401 --> 00:19:38.903
Of the fact that we're talking about a discrepancy
00:19:38.903 --> 00:19:41.539
Of about 150 years between them.
00:19:41.539 --> 00:19:43.908
What's a century and a half between friends?
00:19:43.908 --> 00:19:46.544
It could have been one. it could have been.
00:19:46.544 --> 00:19:47.646
The other was a long time ago.
00:19:47.646 --> 00:19:48.613
In either case, both major invasions
00:19:48.613 --> 00:19:51.082
Of the land of israel from mesopotamia.
00:19:51.082 --> 00:19:54.152
But that really brings
00:19:54.619 --> 00:19:56.554
Their sheva to an end during that period.
00:19:56.554 --> 00:19:58.990
Yeah. and just a brief mention, elliot.
00:19:58.990 --> 00:20:00.725
Second kings says that king
00:20:00.725 --> 00:20:02.594
Hezekiah and his great reforms against pagan idol worship
00:20:02.594 --> 00:20:05.964
Apparently made some reforms here.
00:20:06.731 --> 00:20:08.366
And be'er sheva from abraham,
00:20:08.366 --> 00:20:10.001
From the heights of abraham the father.
00:20:10.001 --> 00:20:11.936
It fell into idol worship eventually. yes.
00:20:11.936 --> 00:20:14.706
And they found remnants of an altar
00:20:14.706 --> 00:20:19.377
Actually used in secondary use in one of the walls.
00:20:19.377 --> 00:20:21.913
Not not intact.
00:20:21.913 --> 00:20:22.981
Yes, because it says that he destroyed them.
00:20:22.981 --> 00:20:24.683
And this hezekiah did to his credit.
00:20:24.683 --> 00:20:26.951
And he matched. and it matches. yeah.
00:20:26.951 --> 00:20:29.487
It would have not matched.
00:20:29.487 --> 00:20:30.955
And i'm not surprised that the physical evidence
00:20:30.955 --> 00:20:34.192
Matches the scripture. yeah.
00:20:34.192 --> 00:20:36.261
But it wasn't found intact.
00:20:36.261 --> 00:20:38.396
But it shows, i think, also a rather important point
00:20:38.396 --> 00:20:41.766
Is that even and we saw it, we see this
00:20:41.766 --> 00:20:44.903
Among those the israelites in the desert and beyond.
00:20:44.903 --> 00:20:48.340
They have to have something physical.
00:20:48.340 --> 00:20:51.109
Yeah.
00:20:51.109 --> 00:20:51.743
It's so difficult to believe
00:20:51.743 --> 00:20:55.146
In that invisible, omnipotent god.
00:20:55.146 --> 00:20:58.283
Yeah. much easier to just hold this idol.
00:20:58.283 --> 00:21:00.885
And say, oh, this, this i get.
00:21:00.885 --> 00:21:03.021
But we have the ultimate example of that
00:21:03.021 --> 00:21:05.523
Very trust in that invisible god in abraham.
00:21:05.523 --> 00:21:09.060
Yes, more than anyone, i think in the pages of the bible.
00:21:09.060 --> 00:21:11.863
That's why it was so special to come here today. elliott.
00:21:11.863 --> 00:21:13.665
Wow. to walk, on this ancient land here and tell be'er sheva
00:21:13.665 --> 00:21:17.469
To think of abraham, isaac, jacob.
00:21:17.469 --> 00:21:19.704
In many ways, this is where it all began.
00:21:19.704 --> 00:21:22.807
In terms of the people of israel, the biblical narrative
00:21:22.807 --> 00:21:25.543
For jews and christians.
00:21:25.543 --> 00:21:27.011
Amazing to be here with you, alia.
00:21:27.011 --> 00:21:28.446
Thank you so much, my friend.
00:21:28.446 --> 00:21:29.514
We'll do it elsewhere in another amazing place
00:21:29.514 --> 00:21:32.117
Very soon here in the land of israel. ellie. thank you.
00:21:32.117 --> 00:21:35.520
Coming up after the break from abraham's ancient covenant
00:21:36.654 --> 00:21:39.858
To a modern day battlefield, see how tilburg sheva became
00:21:39.858 --> 00:21:44.162
The site of a defining moment in israel's rebirth.
00:21:44.162 --> 00:21:48.433
That's next.
00:21:48.433 --> 00:21:51.010
That's next.
00:21:51.010 --> 00:21:53.716
Welcome back to stakelbeck tonight,
00:21:54.483 --> 00:21:56.218
We took you to abraham's ancient well in the windswept ruins
00:21:56.218 --> 00:22:00.389
Of tel be'er sheva, a place where covenants were cut,
00:22:00.389 --> 00:22:04.293
Oaths were sworn, and history keeps repeating itself.
00:22:04.293 --> 00:22:08.230
Fast forward nearly 4000 years to october 1948.
00:22:08.230 --> 00:22:13.502
Egyptian forces had captured be'er sheva and were poised
00:22:13.502 --> 00:22:16.939
To march north.
00:22:16.939 --> 00:22:18.374
Israel's existence hung by a thread.
00:22:18.374 --> 00:22:21.310
Just five months after statehood.
00:22:21.310 --> 00:22:23.913
Then in came operation moses paul fighters,
00:22:23.913 --> 00:22:27.716
Many of them holocaust survivors,
00:22:27.716 --> 00:22:29.819
Stormed this desert city, driving the egyptians out
00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:33.489
And opening the road to the negev desert.
00:22:33.489 --> 00:22:36.091
That victory became a turning point
00:22:36.091 --> 00:22:38.461
In israel's war for independence,
00:22:38.461 --> 00:22:40.563
Securing the jewish return after 2000 years of exile
00:22:40.563 --> 00:22:45.668
From abraham to king david from 1948 to today,
00:22:45.668 --> 00:22:49.672
Be'er sheva reminds us that god keeps his promise
00:22:49.672 --> 00:22:53.409
And preserves his people against impossible odds.
00:22:53.409 --> 00:22:57.213
Think of psalm 105, verse eight.
00:22:57.213 --> 00:22:59.748
He remembers his covenant forever.
00:22:59.748 --> 00:23:02.251
The promise he made for a thousand generations.
00:23:02.251 --> 00:23:05.688
To you i will give the land of canaan
00:23:05.688 --> 00:23:08.491
As the portion you will inherit.
00:23:08.491 --> 00:23:11.460
Amen.
00:23:11.460 --> 00:23:12.461
Made that covenant still encourage us today,
00:23:12.461 --> 00:23:15.164
And may we stand with the land and the people that god
00:23:15.164 --> 00:23:18.834
Has never forgotten.
00:23:18.834 --> 00:23:20.703
Until next time, god bless you and we'll see you soon.
00:23:20.703 --> 00:23:20.703

Erick Stakelbeck: The Biblical Significance of Be'er Sheva | Stakelbeck Tonight

July 14, 2025 | 25:5

Closed captions

Share