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Article: The Bible, From Coast to Coast; Rehoboth and Bethany Are Just Two of Hundreds of U.S. Locales With Names From God's Book
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- August 17, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Driving north across the Indian River Inlet Bridge in Delaware,
you see the vast swath of curving inland shore that gave Rehoboth
Bay its name. English sea captains noted the area's expansiveness
and possibilities, and one of them dubbed the bay Rehoboth, from the
Hebrew word meaning "a broad place" or "room for all."
The 17th-century captain probably was a God-fearing as well as
a seafaring man, or maybe he had nothing to read on long voyages
except the Bible, local historian Warren H. MacDonald said. But he
clearly knew the story of Isaac digging a new well for his people
after a dispute with the Philistines. "And he called the name of it
Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath ...