The Bible tells of two cities with Beer. The first was located in the desert of Moab, known for being the place where Moses opened a well for the Israelites. The second city belonged to the tribe of Judah and is best known for being the place to which Jotham, son of the judge Gideon, fled after his brother Abimelech struck him.
Both cities have few biblical references and did not play a significant role in the geopolitics and economy of the region.
Beer from Moab
Beer, a city located in the desert of Moab, is mentioned only once in the Bible, in Numbers 21:16.
During the Israelites’ pilgrimage through the desert, God led his people through the wilderness of Moab. When they arrived in the region, after the city had been formed, the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water” (Num 21:16).
Israel dug a well in the area and sang a song to the Lord. After having their fill of the people’s water, the Israelites made their way to Mattanah, continuing their journey through the desert towards Canaan, the Promised Land.
Although the biblical text doesn’t mention it, it’s possible that with the water from the well dug by the Israelites, a city developed in the region. With the water from the well, the Moabites were able to establish an urban settlement and set up a small community in the middle of the desert.
The city that was created around the village was probably used as a stopover and refuge for desert travelers.
Possible location
Not much is known about the location of this city, but some scholars identify it as the city of “Beer-Elim”, which means “well of the heroes”. The same scholars believe that the archaeological site of El-Modeyne, in present-day Jordan, was the ruins of the ancient city of Beer. [1]
{ “@context”: “https://schema.org/”, “@type”: “Place”, “name”: “Beer de Moabe”, “address”: { “@type”: “PostalAddress”, “addressLocality”: “Beer”, “addressCountry”: “Reino de Moabe” } }Beer of Judah
The second city named Beer mentioned in the Bible belonged to the tribe of Judah. It was to this city that Jotham, son of the judge Gideon, fled for fear of his brother Abimelech, who had killed all his other brothers and proclaimed himself king of Shechem.
Escape of Jotham, son of Judge Gideon
Jotham was the only survivor of the massacre carried out by his brother Abimelech against his family , in the city of Ophrah, in the tribe of Manasseh.
After fleeing, Jotham took refuge on Mount Gerizim, where he proclaimed a parable against his brother and the cities of Shechem and Beth-Milo, who had supported the coup.
In his parable, Jotham compares the trees that wanted a king to rule over them, but only found the hawthorn, a dangerous and useless plant, who agreed to rule over them.
The hawthorn acted arrogantly and threatened to destroy the other trees with fire.
At the end of the parable, Jotham points out how the inhabitants of Shechem and Beth-Milo were unfaithful to Gideon’s family and proclaimed a curse against their inhabitants (Judg 9:7-21).
Possible location
This city is commonly identified with the ancient city of Qeila, also called Khirbet Qila. Qeila was near Hebron and is remembered for the accounts of King David’s battles against the Philistines.
{ “@context”: “https://schema.org/”, “@type”: “Place”, “name”: “Beer de Israel”, “address”: { “@type”: “PostalAddress”, “addressLocality”: “Beer”, “addressRegion”: “Judá”, “addressCountry”: “Israel” } }Other cities named Beer
In addition to the two cities mentioned in this article, the Bible mentions two other cities with the same name:
- Beer-Laai-Roi;
- Beer-Elim.
The name is relatively common, as the meaning in Hebrew is “well”. For this reason, several ancient cities that developed around a well use this name.
Meaning of the name “Beer”
The name “beer” has its origins in Hebrew and means “well”.
Learn more
[Podcast] Who were the judges? Btcast.
[Video] Judges. Bible Project.
[Video] Who was ABIMELEK? The story of ABIMELEK, the son of GIDEON who killed his 70 BROTHERS. Canal Ilustrarrando.
Sources
[1] Beer. Bíblia.com.br.
[2] Where are the local cities and regions mentioned in the Bible? Bible on the web.
- Beth-shita – 9 de November de 2025
- Beth-Milo – 8 de November de 2025
- Beth-Bara – 8 de November de 2025