“…[Some of the people of Judah lived] in Jeshua, in Moladah, in Beth Pelet, in Hazar Shual, in Beersheba and its settlements…”
Nehemiah 11:26 – 27
Last time we saw surrounding villages in which people of Judah inhabited. Today we see five new cities and their name meanings.
Jeshua is up first, which you may know is the name for Joshua meaning “the LORD is salvation.” It is from YHVH and yasha – to deliver, avenge, bring salvation, bring victory, help, save, victorious, to be open, wide and free, to be safe.
Welp, this is an intense beginning village name for our verses. I think it’s beautiful how, throughout the pages of Scripture, we see that salvation belongs to our God. He saves, He brings victory, His salvation is freedom. I suppose we cannot be reminded enough.
Moladah is our second village listed, and its name comes from yalad – birth, to bear, bring forth, beget. I’ve been thinking of all the ways humanity brings forth new life. While only women are privileged to give birth to human life, we all get to bring forth creativity: relationships, projects, skills, businesses, clubs, non-profits, art and literature and music and dance in the image of our Creator God. Love and joy beget love and joy in a beautiful dance for eternity.
Beth Pelet is up next, and its name means “a place of escape.” It comes from bayith (house) and palyit – escaped one, fugitive, refugee. Whoo, this one’s meaning is dense. I wonder who ran to this collection of homes and named it such?
This meaning is also interesting at a time when U.S. politics seems quite divided about immigration. Particularly DACA recipients – children of those who immigrated to America and their ability to receive legal status. The good news is, if you believe this is needed, ministries have made it easy to speak up.
How about in our relationships? Who do you know who is a place of refuge for you? In whose presence you can relax and let down your guard? Have you been that safe space for others?
I was thinking of the imagery of fortresses and strongholds in the Bible. How in times of battle, the people could run to these places to escape slinging arrows. No matter our personal situation, His presence can be our place of escape:
The name of the Lord is a fortified tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe.
Proverbs 18:10
Hazar Shual is listed next, and it means “village of the fox.” It comes from chatser (from last time: enclosure, court, yard; from chatsar – to sound a trumpet) and shual – fox, jackal; same as shoal – to hollow hand, handful.
I don’t know about you, but when I hear the word handful, it makes me think of an ornery child. Combine that with this definition of a fox, with its connotations for being sly, and you may have a mental image of someone difficult to deal with. Don’t you wonder why this city was called The Yard of the Fox?
How does this make you examine your willingness to let the Spirit work through you with those who are difficult in your life? How about the idea that you are that difficult person for someone else? May we have no tolerance for evil and a Spirit-willingness to deal with difficult.
Finally today we have the city of Beersheba whose name means “well of Seven.” It comes from sheba (seven) and beer – well, pit. Remember talking about the significance of Hebron? Well, now we can dive a bit into the same for Beersheba, for it is a city mentioned frequently in the Old Testament.
Just like Hebron, the first mention of Beersheba is in the Book of Beginnings, Genesis, with Abraham in a conflict over a well:
So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a treaty.
Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, and Abimelek asked Abraham,
“What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?”
He replied, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well.”
So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there.
After the treaty had been made at Beersheba…
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba,
and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God [El Olam].
Genesis 21:27-33
Abraham’s son, Isaac, also had disputes over water and wells. And Beersheba was a place of significance for Isaac’s son, Jacob, as well:
“So Israel [Jacob] set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba,
he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said,
‘Jacob! Jacob!’
‘Here I am,’ he replied.
‘I am God, the God of your father,’ he said.
‘Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.
I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again.
And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.’
Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob
and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him.”
Genesis 46:1-5
Beersheba (along with two of the above four cities) were originally given to the tribe of Simeon:
The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon according to its clans.
Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah.
It included:
Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah, Hazar Shual…
Joshua 19:1-5
Most of the other Scriptures using the city name Beersheba use it in a regional context : “From Dan to Beersheba.”
As you can see, this was used to describe the territory as far north of Jerusalem as Dan, and south as Beersheba. It was the final place to drink and water your animals before traveling into the Negev desert (source). As such, it makes sense a well would have such significance.
It’s rare for me to think about a well without picturing the Samaritan woman at the well, who had a life-changing, mission-catalyzing encounter with our Living Water.
If it’s true He is a Spring of Water which never runs dry, and, if drinking from, we will never thirst again, we can abandon our scarcity mentality. He is salvation, a place of refuge, for all.