Abraham took sheep and cattle, and gave them to Abimelech. Those two made a covenant.
Parallel Translations
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Abraham took sheep and cattle, and gave them to Abimelech. Those two made a covenant.
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And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
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And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and they two made a covenant.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Genesis 21:27 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 14:22-23 Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread nor a sandal strap nor anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’
- Genesis 26:28-31 They said, “We saw plainly that Yahweh was with you. We said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let’s make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, as we have not touched you, and as we have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace.’ You are now the blessed of Yahweh.” He made them a feast, and they ate and drank. They rose up some time in the morning, and swore an oath to one another. Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
- Genesis 31:44 Now come, let’s make a covenant, you and I. Let it be for a witness between me and you.”
- 1 Samuel 18:3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
- Proverbs 17:8 A bribe is a precious stone in the eyes of him who gives it; wherever he turns, he prospers.
- Proverbs 18:16 A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.
- Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions may be ruined, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
- Proverbs 21:14 A gift in secret pacifies anger, and a bribe in the cloak, strong wrath.
- Isaiah 32:8 But the noble devises noble things; and he will continue in noble things.
- Ezekiel 17:13 He took some of the royal offspring, and made a covenant with him. He also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land;
- Romans 1:31 without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, unforgiving, unmerciful;
- Galatians 3:15 Brothers, speaking of human terms, though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void or adds to it.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 27. And Abraham took sheep. Hence it appears that…
27. And Abraham took sheep. Hence it appears that the covenant made, was not such as is usually entered into between equals: for Abraham considers his own position, and in token of subjection, offers a gift, from his flocks, to king Gerar; for, what the Latins call paying tax or tribute, and what we call doing homage, the Hebrews call offering gifts. And truly Abraham does not wait till something is forcibly, and with authority, extorted from him by the king; but, by a voluntary giving of honor, anticipates him, whom he knows to have dominion over the place. It is too well known, how great a desire of exercising authority prevails among men. Hence, the greater praise is due to the modesty of Abraham, who not only abstains from what belongs to another man; but even offers, uncommanded, what, in his own mind, he regards as due to another, in virtue of his office. A further question however arises; since Abraham knew that the dominion over the land had been divinely committed to him, whether it was lawful for him to profess a subjection by which he acknowledged another as lord? But the solution is easy, because the time of entering into possession had not yet arrived; for he was lord, only in expectation, while, in fact, he was a pilgrim. Wherefore, he acted rightly in purchasing a habitation, till the time should come, when what had been promised to him, should be given to his posterity. Thus, soon afterwards, as we shall see, he paid a price for his wife’s sepulcher. In short, until he should be placed, by the hand of God, in legitimate authority over the land he did not scruple to treat with the inhabitants of the place, that he might dwell among them by permission, or by the payment of a price.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 21:27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and…
Gen 21:27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
Ver. 27. Abraham took sheep and oxen.] In token of true and hearty reconciliation. Reconciliationes , saith Menander, sunt vulpinae amicitiae . Let it be so among heathens. But we have not so learned Christ.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Abraham gave them unto Abimelech; partly, as an acknowledgment…
Abraham gave them unto Abimelech; partly, as an acknowledgment to him for his former favour and friendship; partly, as an assurance of his sincere friendship, both present and for the future, of his acquiescence in his answer about the well; and partly, for sacrifice, and for the usual rite in making covenants, which was, that the persons covenanting might pass through the parts of the slain beasts. See Gen 15:17.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he said,.... That is, Abraham replied to Abimelech:
And he said,.... That is, Abraham replied to Abimelech:
for these seven ewe lambs shall thou take of my hand; as a present from him, to be retained as his own:
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that they may be a witness to me that I have digged this well: these were to be a testimony that the well that had been taken away from Abraham was one that he had dug, and was his property, and which Abimelech acknowledged by his acceptance of these seven lambs; and very probably Abraham received a note from the hand of Abimelech, owning his reception of the seven lambs, and his title to the well, which these were a witness of.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 27. Took sheep and oxen] Some think that…
Verse 27. Took sheep and oxen] Some think that these were the sacrifices which were offered on the occasion, and which Abraham furnished at his own cost, and, in order to do Abimelech the greater honour, gave them to him to offer before the Lord.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Gave them; thus rendering good for evil. (Du Hamel)
Gave them; thus rendering good for evil. (Du Hamel)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 27. Abraham took sheep — If there has been…
27. Abraham took sheep — If there has been any lack of frankness on his part he will now make the first gift towards alliance.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 27. And Abraham took sheep, &c.] Abraham makes a…
27. And Abraham took sheep, &c.] Abraham makes a gift, according to the custom, at the conclusion of a treaty (cf. 1Ki_15:19) and as a pledge of his good faith. He also acknowledges his need of protection from the king.
made a covenant] Cf. Gen_15:18, Gen_26:31.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them…
And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech As the usual covenant presents (cf. 1Ki_15:19; Isa_30:6 Isa_39:1) And both of them made a covenant. As already Mature, Aner, and Eshcol had formed a league with the patriarch (vide. Gen_14:13)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 21:27-31 Abraham’s gifts to Abimelech (cp. 20:14) secured his…
21:27-31 Abraham’s gifts to Abimelech (cp. 20:14) secured his legal right to dwell peaceably in the land and to claim ownership of the well. Beersheba marked one more step toward the fulfillment of God’s promise.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.