Genesis 21:28-31

"And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? Those seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. Wherefore he called the place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them."

There is much scholarly discussion on the meaning of the well's name, Beersheba. Unger pointed out that the name features three vital elements connected with this episode: "[~Beer] means `well'; [~sheba`] means `seven'; and [~nishba`] means `swear'."[15] It is somewhat ludicrous that various references to the well as "the well of the oath," "the well of the seven," etc., lead some of the critics to "discover" multiple sources! The word may mean either. "Seven," of course, has reference to the seven ewe lambs.