Joshua 15:26

Amam(c) Third groupof nine cities:

(1) Amam, unknown; (2) Shema, a place of the Simeonites (ch. Joshua 19:2); (3) Moladah, called Malatuaby the Greeks and Romans = the modern El-Milh, four English miles from Tell Aradand nine or ten due east of Beersheba; (4) Hazar-gaddah, unknown; (5) Heshmon, unknown; (6) Beth-palet, unknown; (7) Hazar-shual= "village of jackals," inhabited after the Captivity by men of Judah (Nehemiah 11:27); (8) Beer-sheba= either (a) "Well of Seven" or (b) "Well of the Oath" (Genesis 21:28-32). We find Beer-sheba visited by Abraham, who dug the well (Genesis 21:31); the place where Samuel's sons judged Israel (1 Samuel 8:2); constituting, with Dan in the north, the established formula for the whole of the Promised Land "Dan to Beer-sheba" (2 Samuel 24:2); the seat of an idolatrous worship in the time of Amos (Amos 5:5; Amos 8:14). It still retains as nearly as possible its ancient name, Bîr-es-Sebâ. There are at present two principal wells and five smaller ones. The curb-stones round the mouth are worn into deep grooves by the action of the ropes of so many centuries, and look as if "frilled or fluted all round"; (9) Bizjothjah, unknown.