The Water Shrine of Lahai Roi

Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her:“You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen the One who sees me!” Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. It is located between Kadesh and Bered." (Genesis 16:13-14)


Alice C. Linsley

In the Bible, Beer Lahai Roi is mentioned in connection to Hagar, one of Abraham's concubines, and Isaac, Abraham's heir. Genesis 25:11 explains, "After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi." Presumably, Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi with Rebekah who he had married before Abraham died.

Beer Lahi Roi refers to an oasis in the wilderness between Kadesh and Bered, two sites that have not been definitively identified. The oasis was south of Beersheba. It may be the sacred fountain on the way to Shur mentioned in Genesis 16:7 where the angel of YHWH found Hagar. Likely, it was a water shrine frequented by women when they were troubled.

As Abraham's heir, Isaac ruled over territory in Edom (shown below). Abraham's territory extended between Hebron and Beersheba (north-south axis) and between Ein Gedi and Gerar (east-west axis).

This region was called "Idumea" by the Greeks, meaning "land of red people." One of the rulers of Edom was Esau who is described as red and hairy. Esau was one of Isaac's sons, and his proper heir.

As the ruler, Isaac traveled from place to place within his territory. He spent time in Gerar repairing wells that had been dug by Abraham (Gen. 26:1), and he spent time in Beersheba where Abraham's cousin wife Keturah dwelt. Isaac had half-siblings living there.

Isaac also spent time at Beer Lahai Roi (Gen. 25:11), especially after his father died. Genesis 24:62 reports that Isaac traveled from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he lived in the "land of the South," a reference to Edom, the region south of Judah. Perhaps Isaac lived for a time in Beer Lahai Roi with Rebekah because his new wife had kin there. In Isaac's time, all of this area was within the territory controlled by the Horites of Edom.

Isaac married Rebekah shortly before Abraham's death. Genesis 25:20 says that Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah. The marriage and ascendancy pattern for the rulers among Abraham's Horite Hebrew caste indicates that Rebekah was Isaac's second wife. He probably had married a half-sister when he was much younger.

Isaac had half-sisters where Abraham spent the last years of his life in the "wildernesss of Beersheba" (Gen. 21:14). It is likely that Isaac's first wife was a half sister, as was Sarah to Abraham.

Once Isaac ascended to rule over Abraham's territory in Edom, Isaac's two wives would have lived in separate households on a north-south axis. These settlements would then have marked the northern and southern boundaries of Isaac's territory.


Related reading: The Chiefs of Edom; Abraham's Concubines; Abraham's Sons; A Woman at a Well; Ishmael Was Not Abraham's First Born Son