Wikipedia's first sentence called it “archeological site in southern israel believed to be the remains of the biblical town of be'er sheva the modern”. Today it says “archaeological site in the southern district of israel”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2010
Tel Be'er Sheva ( ) is an archeological site in southern Israel believed to be the remains of the biblical town of Be'er Sheva The modern town of Beersheba is situated west of the tel.1The Bedouin town of Tel Sheva lies to the east.2The town is mentioned numerous times in the Tanakh , often as a means of describing the extent of the Land of Israel , as being from "Be'er Sheva to Dan ". The name is derived from the Hebrew Be'er meaning a well, and Sheva, meaning either the number seven, or "to swear an oath". Archeological finds indicate that the site was used from the Chalcolithic period, around 4000 BCE, through to the sixteenth century CE. This was probably due to the abundance of underground water, as evidenced by the numerous wells in the area. The settlement itself dates from the early Israelite period, around the tenth century BCE. The streets of ancient Be'er Sheva are laid out in a grid, with separate areas for administrative, military, commercial and residential use. The town is regarded as the first planned settlement in the region. The site is also noteworthy for its elaborate water system and huge cistern, carved out of the rock beneath the town. A large horned altar was uncovered at the site. It was reconstructed with several well-dressed stones found in secondary use in the walls of a later building. This altar attests to the existence of a temple or cult center in the city which was probably dismantled during the reforms of King Hezekiah . ( 2 Kings 18:4 ) The site was excavated by Prof. Ze'ev Herzog of Tel Aviv University . The excavated town is now part of the Tel Beersheva National Park. Reconstruction of the horned Altar. This was the conclusion reached by Yohanan Aharoni, who excavated the site in 1969-1976.3
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 362059762.
The opening as it stood in 2015 17 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Tel Sheva (Hebrew) or Tell es-Seba (Arabic) is an archeological site in southern Israel believed to be the remains of the biblical town of Beersheba .It lies east of the modern city of Beersheba and west of the new Bedouin town of Tel Sheva /Tell as-Sabi.Tel Sheva has been preserved and made accessible to visitors in the Tel Beer Sheva National Park ( ).Israel Nature and Parks Authority .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 660656669.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Tel Sheva (in academic contexts) and Tel Be'er Sheva (in popular contexts) are the Hebrew names, and Tell es-Seba (تل السبع) the Arabic name of an archaeological site in southern Israel believed to be the remains of the biblical town of Beersheba . It lies east of the modern city of Beersheba and west of the new Bedouin town of Tel Sheva /Tell as-Sabi. Tel Sheva has been preserved and made accessible to visitors in the Tel Be'er Sheva National Park ( ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 964731185.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Archaeological site in Israel Not to be confused with the Bedouin township of Tel Sheva .Tel Sheva ( ) or Tel Be'er Sheva ( ), also known as Tell es-Seba ( تل السبع ), is an archaeological site in the Southern District of Israel , believed to be the site of the ancient biblical town of Beer-sheba .The site lies east of modern Beersheba and west of the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva . Tel Sheva has been preserved and made accessible to visitors in the Tel Be'er Sheva National Park ( ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1176782396.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Archaeological site in Israel Not to be confused with the Bedouin township of Tel Sheva . Tel Sheva ( Hebrew : תל שבע ) or Tel Be'er Sheva ( Hebrew : תל באר שבע ), also known as Tell es-Seba ( تل السبع ), is an archaeological site in the Southern District of Israel , believed to be the site of the ancient biblical town of Beer-sheba . The site lies east of modern Beersheba and west of the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva . Tel Sheva has been preserved and made accessible to visitors in the Tel Be'er Sheva National Park ( Hebrew : גן לאומי תל באר שבע ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1290364555. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “archeological site in southern israel believed to be the remains of the biblical town of be'er sheva the modern”. Today it says “archaeological site in the southern district of israel”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
archeological site in southern israel believed to be the remains of the biblical town of be'er sheva the modern
Now
archaeological site in the southern district of israel
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
