And he said, That thou take the seven ewe-lambs of my hand, that they may be a witness to me that I have dug this well.
Abraham hands over seven ewe lambs not as payment but as proof that he dug the well himself. The gift settles a dispute with a king whose servants had seized the water, and turns a quarrel into a covenant.
The point of separating seven animals from the rest of the flock was to create a public record. If Abimelech took them, he admitted the claim they carried.
Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the other animals (v. 28) and explained this to Abimelech as being a witness that Abraham had dug the well (v. 30). Of course Abimelech's receiving them would therefore be a public acknowledgment that this was true. Abraham then called the place "Beersheba" — "well of the oath," because he and Abimelech gave their oath to one another.
Abraham did not shrug off the loss. The men who took the well were the same men who kept going after the wells of the faithful.
We then find that Abimelech's servants had seized by force a well of water which Abraham had dug. (It is worth noting that the hostility of the Philistines towards Abraham and Isaac shows itself over their wells.) The Philistines picture people who claim to stand on divine ground, but who have no faith. Their fixed purpose is to deprive the saints of these sources of spiritual refreshment. Unlike a pool or a cistern, a well has a living spring feeding it and keeping it fresh. It is a store of refreshment we can draw from at all times.
Abraham corrects Abimelech and gives him a gift in the same conversation. The same mix belongs to God's people when the world goes after their wells:
Still, the world may have to admit that God is with His people who walk in separation. Even so, it will try to deprive the people of God of their means of spiritual refreshment. It will seek to stop our wells. Like Abraham, we may well resist the world's efforts and reprove the world. But, like Abraham, let us mix into our reproofs the spirit of grace. That grace seeks to give the world something of our blessing, as pictured by the seven ewe lambs.
The same generosity is heard in the number itself. Seven lambs handed over suggests a willingness to bend rather than to fight:
The seven ewe lambs might suggest the spirit of yieldingness and of grace towards those who have been hostile.
These two men had met before, and their roles have now switched.
after
In the closing scene of the chapter the man of the world admits that God is with the man of faith who walks in separation from the world. There was a time when the man of faith slipped, and acting in unbelief, came under Abimelech's reproof. Now the promised heir has come, and Abraham has given him his rightful place, and the slave woman and her son have been sent away. What is of God holds the supreme place, and all that is of the flesh has been refused. So Abimelech has to acknowledge, "God is with you in all that you do." Instead of reproving Abraham, as in former days, he is now the one Abraham reproves.
Abimelech reached that conclusion by watching. The same watching still goes on:
Abimelech and his chief captain had plainly been watching Abraham very closely, and this was the conclusion they had come to. Let this incident remind us that thoughtful people in the world do watch the professed saints of God very closely. We may well hope that the conclusion they draw is as favourable as it was here.
The witness Abraham asked for held. The well became his, and the place where he had been a temporary guest became a place with his name on it.
The Well-of-the-Oath is the name Abraham gives as the permanent sign of the covenant made then and there. It pictures a total change from being a stranger to holding possession, as it will actually be in the days of the coming Kingdom.
After the covenant comes worship. The name Abraham uses for God matches the promise now kept:
So they drew up a covenant, and it made the well, Beersheba, sure to Abraham. In later days that well became famous as the southern boundary of the land. There Abraham made his home for some years, and there he called on the Lord as the everlasting God. When God gave the promise of Isaac, He made Himself known as the Almighty. Now the promised heir is born and the promise is fulfilled. So Abraham recognises Him to be the Everlasting as well as the Almighty.
- Witness. The seven lambs are proof, not payment. When Abimelech takes them, he publicly admits the well is Abraham's.
- Well. A living spring keeps a well fresh, so you can draw from it at any time. That is why it is worth digging and defending.
- Grace. Abraham reproves and gives in the same moment; the lambs are the generous side of a firm claim.
- Watched. Abimelech reached his verdict by watching how Abraham lived. The world still forms its conclusions the same way.
- Everlasting. The dispute ends with a secured well and a settled name. Abraham then calls on God as the Everlasting, not only the Almighty.
Therefore he called that place Beer-sheba, because there they had sworn, both of them.
Abraham's dealings with king Abimelech end at a well, with an oath and a name. Why should a well and a spoken word be worth recording, and what does the name keep saying?
The name carries its own explanation. It points back to what the two men had just done at the well.
Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the other animals (v. 28) and explained this to Abimelech as being a witness that Abraham had dug the well (v. 30). By accepting them, Abimelech would publicly admit that this was true. Abraham then called the place "Beersheba" — "well of the oath" — because he and Abimelech both swore an oath to one another. It looks like a covenant of peace: neither man would trespass on the other's rights.
The name outlived both men.
This name means "well of the oath." It was given to the place where Abraham and Abimelech made a covenant not to harm each other, and confirmed it with an oath. Later it became the home of Abraham and of Isaac, who also dug a well there... Once the land was settled, it was known as the most southern point of the land Israel held, just as Dan was known as the most northern. So "from Dan to Beersheba" meant the whole territory, even in Solomon's day.
The name can also mean "well of the seven." One writer counts the lambs as the price that made the water Abraham's own.
So we come to "Beersheba," "the well of the oath," or "of the seven" — the number of lambs that secured to Abraham the well he had dug. In the same way, God's promise secures the well of water to the delivered believer, and that promise rests on the perfection of what Christ is for God. All the fullness of the Spirit belongs to him. Yet he still needs diligence, as a well implies. A well is not a free-flowing spring — that picture fits at other times — but a well he must keep open, so that he can reach these living waters.
The oath settles the dispute. Then Abraham calls God by a title he had never used before.
So a covenant was drawn up, and the well, Beersheba, became securely Abraham's. There for some years Abraham made his dwelling, and there he called on the Lord as the everlasting God. When God promised Isaac, He made Himself known as the Almighty. Now the promised heir is born and the promise fulfilled, so Abraham knows Him as the Everlasting as well as the Almighty... But to God as the Everlasting One, time is not of prime importance.
Abimelech once had grounds to rebuke Abraham. By the time of this oath, that has turned around.
In the closing scene of the chapter the man of the world admits that God is with the man of faith who walks apart from the world. There was a time when the man of faith slipped, acted in unbelief, and was rebuked by Abimelech... Now Abimelech has to admit, "God is with you in all that you do." Once he rebuked Abraham; now Abraham rebukes him.
The same writer turns the scene into a warning, and into a way of answering the world.
Still, the world may have to admit that God is with His people who walk apart from it. Even so, it will try to rob God's people of what refreshes them spiritually. It will try to stop our wells. Like Abraham, we may well resist the world and rebuke it. But, like Abraham, let us mix grace with our rebukes — the grace that wants to give the world something of our own blessing, pictured by the seven ewe lambs.
Isaac later gives the place the same name. One writer looks past both treaties to something firmer.
These two covenants (between Abraham and Abimelech and Isaac and Abimelech) were the occasion of the well receiving its name, but it is symbolical of the far greater covenant that God made with Abraham and confirmed to Isaac.
Abimelech is a Gentile — a king outside Abraham's family — and one writer reads his request forward, to a day still to come.
In short, the Gentile king wants the support and protection of Abraham... So it is clear that here we see the heir of the world brought in as a picture... In that day the Gentiles will seek the protection of the faithful; in that day the Lord will show Himself the God of ages, the One who guards and blesses the true Heir.
- Oath — the name means "well of the oath." Both men swore there, in a covenant of peace that neither would trespass on the other's rights.
- Seven — the seven ewe lambs were public proof that Abraham had dug the well, and the name can also be read "well of the seven."
- Secured — the well was made sure to Abraham, and God's promise makes the believer's well of water just as sure.
- Everlasting — at that same place Abraham first called God the everlasting God, who is never hurried by time.
- Greater oath — writers see this human oath as a small picture of God's own covenant, and of a day when the nations seek the protection of the faithful.
And they made a covenant at Beer-sheba. And Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the captain of his host, and returned into the land of the Philistines.
Genesis 21 ends with a treaty, not a battle. The Philistine king and his army commander go home, leaving Abraham with a disputed well, a sworn peace, and a question: why did the world's power come looking for him at all?
Abimelech had been watching Abraham for a long time, and what he saw brought him out to ask for terms:
He was a man of discernment. He saw that God was with Abraham in everything he did, even though Abraham's conduct in Gerar had not been right. When our first meeting with a man is bad, it takes discernment to see him later in a good light. Abimelech and his chief captain had clearly been watching Abraham very closely, and this was the conclusion they reached. Let this remind us that thoughtful people in the world watch those who profess to be God's people very closely. We may well hope that the conclusion they draw is as favourable as it was here.
Earlier this same king was the one giving the rebuke. Now the roles are reversed:
Now we see the Gentile king who once filled Abraham with guilty fear and was the cause of a shameful trap. He not only seeks the favour of the father of the faithful; he is himself reproved. The power of the world admitted that God was with Abraham, and it asks for a covenant between them.
The name of the place records the oath, and the lambs settled who had dug the well:
Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the other animals and explained to Abimelech that they were a witness that Abraham had dug the well. Abimelech's acceptance of them was therefore a public admission that this was true. Abraham then called the place "Beersheba" — "well of the oath," because both he and Abimelech gave their oath to one another. It was clearly a covenant of peace: neither would interfere with the other's rights. But it is a picture of the peace that will be set up in the millennium.
Admiration is not the whole story. One writer turns Abraham's wells into a warning:
The world may have to admit that God is with His people who walk apart from it. Even so, it will try to take away from God's people the things that refresh them spiritually. It will try to stop up our wells. Like Abraham, we may well resist what the world does and rebuke it. But like Abraham, let us mix into our rebukes the spirit of grace that wants to give the world something of our own blessing, pictured by the seven ewe lambs.
What once caused the quarrel now proves their peace:
In Genesis 21 we see the Father of Israel and the Gentiles together for a moment. Their fellowship was a sample of the holy, happy dealings of Israel and the nations in the coming days of the kingdom. The questions that once divided and troubled them are now all settled. The well of water that had caused the quarrel is now a witness to the oath, or covenant. Every pure and kindly affection marks this fellowship of Abraham and Abimelech, and they part as sworn friends.
Abimelech goes home. Abraham stays at the well, and he has a new name for God:
So they drew up a covenant, and the well, Beersheba, was secured to Abraham. In later days it became famous as the southern border of the land… When God gave the promise of Isaac, He made Himself known as the Almighty. Now that the promised heir is born and the promise kept, Abraham knows Him as the Everlasting as well as the Almighty. Abraham had to wait for the promise to be fulfilled. Man lives only a few years, so waiting is very trying to the flesh. But to God, the Everlasting One, time is not of first importance.
Notice the order of the two admissions:
We have seen that the world has to acknowledge that God is with him; now we see that Abraham is with God. He calls on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God, and he lives as a pilgrim in the land.
- Watched — thoughtful people outside the faith study believers closely. Abimelech watched a long time and concluded that God was with Abraham, despite his earlier failure in Gerar.
- Reversed — the king who once rebuked Abraham now seeks his friendship and is rebuked himself. The world's power asks for a covenant.
- Secured — Beersheba means "well of the oath." The seven lambs were Abimelech's public admission that Abraham had dug the well.
- Gracious — the world will try to stop the wells that refresh God's people. Resist it and rebuke it, but mix in the grace that gives something away, as the ewe lambs did.
- Everlasting — Abimelech went home. Abraham stayed, called on the everlasting God, and lived as a pilgrim in the land — a sample of Israel and the nations at peace in the coming kingdom.
And [Abraham] planted a tamarisk in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Jehovah, the Eternal God.
Genesis 21 ends quietly. Abraham makes a treaty with Abimelech, a neighbouring king, secures a well, plants a tree at Beersheba, and worships. The small act carries a large meaning. So does the name he uses for God here — a name not used before.
The Hebrew word behind "tamarisk" is eshel, and the tree Abraham planted was a memorial.
eshel means a tamarisk, or perhaps any large tree. Abraham planted a memorial tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD. Gen. 21:33.
One writer, a farmer himself, reads the act the way any farmer would:
In chapter 15:18 God tells Abraham that he will have this land. Then at the end of chapter 21 something very special happens — Abraham plants a tree. As a farmer I know what that means. When a farmer plants a tree, he is saying, "this land belongs to me." So, as a picture, he takes possession of this land. God will give this land to Israel. Go back to chapter 15:18 and you see that God made a covenant with Abraham, and it is because of this covenant that He gives him this land.
Abraham has known God under other titles. The title he uses now fits the moment he has reached — the promised son has arrived.
When God gave the promise of Isaac, He made Himself known as the Almighty. Now that the promised heir is born and the promise kept, Abraham knows Him as the Everlasting as well as the Almighty. Abraham had to wait for the promise to come true. Man lives only a few short years, so waiting is very hard on the flesh. But to God, the Everlasting One, time is not the main thing. He moves with steady, sure steps to accomplish what He has purposed and promised.
Another writer links the title to the land itself:
In chapter 21 we see Abraham planting a tree — a boundary marker of the land, I suppose. There we hear of "the everlasting God," because God was there, the One who secures the land for ever to His people. The LORD is the everlasting God, and when He gives a promise, He is sure to make it good in the end.
Until now a tent and an altar have marked Abraham's life. Here the pattern changes:
Abraham gives the name Well of the Oath as the lasting sign of the covenant made there and then. As a picture it is a complete change from being a stranger to holding possession, as it will really be in the days of the coming Kingdom. We hear of no tent now, though Abraham's calling on the name of the LORD implies a fresh altar here… Here alone comes the striking change, which only inspiration can explain, to "God everlasting." So it will be when the Kingdom is displayed in power and glory. Things that fall and fade will then give place to permanence, peace and blessing.
Several writers read the closing scene — treaty, well, tree, worship — as a preview of what is coming. The foreign king now comes asking Abraham for terms:
In short, the foreign king asks for the goodwill and protection of Abraham, who, as we are told here, "planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God." Clearly, then, we are shown here in a figure the heir of the world. Deeper relations are not yet in view; even so, it is the heir not merely of the land of Palestine but of the world who comes before us here. So the LORD is presented in a character not named before, the everlasting God (El-olam)… Then the nations will seek the protection of the faithful; then the LORD will show Himself the God of ages, the guardian and blesser of the true Heir.
The kind of tree matters to the picture:
Abraham called the place "Beersheba" — "well of the oath" — because he and Abimelech both swore an oath to each other, clearly a covenant of peace… In keeping with this, Abraham planted a tamarisk tree there (an evergreen) and "called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God." It pictures a true, lasting peace that only the everlasting God can establish, and we know it is still future.
These writers offer the scene as a picture, not as a claim about what Abraham himself had in mind.
- Promise — God made a covenant with Abraham long before, giving him this land. Everything at Beersheba rests on it.
- Possession — planting a tree is the act of a man who intends to stay: a quiet claim on ground God had already given.
- Permanence — the new title, the Everlasting God, answers the long wait. Time is not the main thing to Him; He moves with sure steps to what He has promised.
- Peace — the well of the oath, the treaty with a foreign king, and the evergreen tree picture a rest that is still future.
- Prospect — Abraham stands here as heir of the world, not only a wanderer. The nations seek his favour. It is a preview of the Kingdom the everlasting God will bring in.
And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.
Genesis 21 ends with an oath sworn at Beersheba, a well secured, a tree planted, and Abraham settled in Philistine country for a long stay. Commentators read that closing line as more than a travel note. Is Abraham still a stranger here, or has he begun to hold the land as its heir?
The stay follows a covenant with the ruling power of that country. One writer sees Abraham given a standing in the world here, marked by the well, the grove he plants, and the name he worships by.
Here Abraham no longer fears the prince of this world, but rebukes him. Now that the heir has come, he has the world as well as heavenly communion. The world admits that God is with him in everything. So the well of the oath witnesses to Abraham's title in the world, and to Abimelech's admission that God is with him. There, by the oath and by his title now owned by the world, he plants a grove, takes possession of the earth, and worships. He calls on the name of the everlasting God — of Him who once promised to Israel, never abandoned His purpose, and had now done on earth what His mouth had spoken.
At Beersheba Abraham calls God "the Everlasting God." The name fits the moment. The son long promised had come, and the long wait itself taught Abraham who God is.
When the promise of Isaac was given, God made Himself known as the Almighty. Now the promised heir is born and the promise made good. So Abraham recognises Him as the Everlasting as well as the Almighty. Abraham had to wait for God to keep the promise. Man lives only a few years, so such waiting is very trying to the flesh. But to God as the Everlasting One, time is not of first importance. He moves with steady, certain steps to do what He has purposed and promised.
Several writers see the long, peaceful stay as a preview of a settled earth. Two details point that way: no tent is mentioned now, and the name Abraham worships by is new.
The Well-of-the-Oath is the name Abraham gives as the permanent sign of the covenant made then and there. In picture it is a complete change from being a stranger to owning the land, as it will truly be in the days of the coming Kingdom. Nor do we hear of a tent now, though Abraham's calling on the name of Jehovah implies a fresh altar here... Here alone comes the striking change to "God everlasting," which only inspiration can account for. So it will be when the Kingdom is displayed in power and glory. Fading, failing things will then give way to permanence, peace and blessing.
Another writer reads the same promise in the tree Abraham planted.
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree there — an evergreen — and called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. It pictures a true, lasting peace. Only the everlasting God will establish that peace, and we know it is still future. But Abraham was welcome then to sojourn in the Philistines' land for many days.
The verse calls it a sojourn, a stay without settling, and yet it lasted many days. Commentators differ over what that says about Abraham. One sees his wandering days as over.
He is in type no longer the pilgrim, but the head of the nations and heir of the world.
Another keeps both sides and calls these verses the high point of Abraham's spiritual life.
The closing verses seem to present the climax of Abraham's spiritual history. We have seen that the world has to acknowledge that God is with him; now we see that Abraham is with God. He calls on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God, and he lives as a pilgrim in the land.
One writer applies the scene to us. A world that admits God is with His people will still work against them.
The world may have to admit that God is with His people who walk in separation. Even so, it will still try to take away their means of spiritual refreshment. It will seek to stop our wells. Like Abraham, we may well resist the world's efforts and rebuke the world. But, like Abraham, let us mix the spirit of grace into our rebukes. That grace seeks to give the world something of our blessing, pictured by the seven ewe lambs.
- Promise kept. The heir God promised is born, and Abraham's long wait ends.
- Fear gone. Abraham no longer fears the world's ruler; he rebukes him, and the world admits that God is with him.
- New name. With the promise kept, Abraham worships the Everlasting God, the One for whom long delay is no obstacle.
- Long stay. The tree, the well and the years in Philistine country picture a lasting peace that only the everlasting God will bring.
- Wells guarded. Commentators differ on whether Abraham is still a pilgrim here. Either way, a world that admits God is with you will still try to stop your wells.