Genesis 21:22-34

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Abraham’s Covenant with Abimelech

²² At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol the commander of his army,^(A) said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.^{(B) 23} Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have been loyal to you, so you will be loyal to me and to the country where you are a foreign resident.”

²⁴ And Abraham said, “I swear it.” ²⁵ But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the water well that Abimelech’s servants had seized.^(C)

²⁶ Abimelech replied, “I don’t know who did this thing. You didn’t report anything to me, so I hadn’t heard about it until today.”

²⁷ Abraham took sheep and cattle^[a] and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.^{(D) 28} Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from the flock. ²⁹ And Abimelech said to Abraham, “Why have you separated these seven ewe lambs?”

³⁰ He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand so that this act^[b] will serve as my witness that I dug this well.” ³¹ Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba^[c](E) because it was there that the two of them swore an oath. ³² After they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.

³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.^{(F) 34} And Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines for many days.