"Who named Beersheba?" (Alleged Contradiction #E9677)
And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. Wherefore he [Abraham] called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
Genesis 21:31
And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.
Genesis 26:33
Response
Abraham named a well and Isaac named a city. 1 Furthermore, even if they were referring to the same place, the Bible says Isaac “called it Shebah,” not that he came up with the name in the first place. For instance, millions of people call New York City “New York City,” but this does not mean that they came up with the name in the first place. Isaac could have established the traditional name given by his father Abraham.
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Sources
Ruckman, P. S. (1980). Problem Texts. Pensacola, Fla.: Pensacola Bible Institute.
Notes
- Ruckman, 1980, p. 21 ↩