15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she[a] began to sob.(A)

17 God heard the boy crying,(B) and the angel of God(C) called to Hagar from heaven(D) and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid;(E) God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.(F)

19 Then God opened her eyes(G) and she saw a well of water.(H) So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

20 God was with the boy(I) as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran,(J) his mother got a wife for him(K) from Egypt.

The Treaty at Beersheba

22 At that time Abimelek(L) and Phicol the commander of his forces(M) said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.(N) 23 Now swear(O) to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants.(P) Show to me and the country where you now reside as a foreigner the same kindness I have shown to you.”(Q)

24 Abraham said, “I swear it.”

25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelek about a well of water that Abimelek’s servants had seized.(R) 26 But Abimelek said, “I don’t know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today.”

27 So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a treaty.(S) 28 Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, 29 and Abimelek asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?”

30 He replied, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness(T) that I dug this well.(U)

31 So that place was called Beersheba,[b](V) because the two men swore an oath(W) there.

32 After the treaty(X) had been made at Beersheba,(Y) Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces(Z) returned to the land of the Philistines.(AA) 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree(AB) in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord,(AC) the Eternal God.(AD) 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines(AE) for a long time.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 21:16 Hebrew; Septuagint the child
  2. Genesis 21:31 Beersheba can mean well of seven and well of the oath.

15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.

17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:

23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.

24 And Abraham said, I will swear.

25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.

26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing; neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.

27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.

28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?

30 And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.

31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.

32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

33 And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.

34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.

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