The city got its name from the word "beer" which means well and the word "sheba" which means covenant. Based on the Biblical account in the book of Genesis, Abram, the patriarch of the Jewish people who would later on be called Abraham, gave the King of Gerai named Abimelech seven lambs for the right to dig a well for his cattle and flock in the territory of Abimelech.King Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven lambs you have set apart by themselves?"Abraham replied to the King of Gerar, "Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well."The two men had a "sheba" or covenant for the beer or well dug by Abraham for his cattle and flock."So the place was called Beersheba because the two men swore an oath there."