He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that it may be a witness to me, that I have dug this well.”
Parallel Translations
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He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that it may be a witness to me, that I have dug this well.”
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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.
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And he said: 'Verily, these seven ewe-lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.'
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Genesis 21:30 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 31:52 May this heap be a witness, and the pillar be a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and that you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.
- Genesis 31:44-48 Now come, let’s make a covenant, you and I. Let it be for a witness between me and you.” Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” They took stones, and made a heap. They ate there by the heap. Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. Laban said, “This heap is witness between me and you today.” Therefore it was named Galeed
- Joshua 22:27-28 but it will be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we may perform the service of Yahweh before him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings;’ that your children may not tell our children in time to come, ‘You have no portion in Yahweh.’ “Therefore we said, ‘It shall be, when they tell us or our generations this in time to come, that we shall say, “Behold the pattern of Yahweh’s altar, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.” ’
- Joshua 24:27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all Yahweh’s words which he spoke to us. It shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (4 sources)
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Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain That this care of Abraham’s was not superfluous may…
That this care of Abraham’s was not superfluous may appear from Gen 26:15.
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 Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba,.... The Jewish…
And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba,.... The Jewish writers (w) are divided about the use of this grove, as Jarchi relates; one says it was for a paradise or orchard, to produce fruits out of it for travellers and for entertainment; another says it was for an inn to entertain strangers in; it rather was for a shade, to shelter from the sun in those sultry and hot countries; and perhaps for a religious use, and to be an oratory, as the following words seem to suggest: in the midst of it very likely Abraham built an altar, and sacrificed to the Lord; hence might come the superstitious use of groves among the Heathens; and, when they came to be abused to idolatrous purposes, they were forbidden by the law of Moses, which before were lawful. And, though the name of Abraham is not in the text, there is no doubt but he is designed, and was the planter of the grove, and which is expressed in the Septuagint version, as it is supplied by us. What sort of trees this grove consisted of cannot with certainty be said, very probably the oak. R. Jonah (x) thinks it may be the tree which in Arabic they call "ethel", and is a tree like that which is called tamarisk in general it signifies any tree, and especially large trees (y):
and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God; who, is from everlasting to everlasting, or "the God of the world" (z), the Creator and upholder of it, and the preserver of all creatures in it; him Abraham invoked in this place, prayed unto him, and gave him thanks for all the mercies he had received from him.
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(w) In T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 10. 1. (x) Apud Kimchi, Sepher Shorash. rad. (y) Vid. R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 72. 1. (z) "Dei seculi", Pagninus, Hontanus, Calvin; so Ainsworth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 30. Seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my…
30. Seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand — These seem to have been an additional present to bind the treaty at the well. The receiving of this gift would bind Abimelech by a most solemn stipulation. The Hebrew word for swear, in Gen_21:23-24, is the verbal form of the word for seven, and in its usual Niphal form (נשׁבע) means literally, to seven one’s self. This, perhaps, arose from the custom of confirming or sealing an oath by seven offerings or seven witnesses.
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 30. that it may be a witness] Abimelech’s question…
30. that it may be a witness] Abimelech’s question and Abraham’s answer are probably the technical terms of the usual transaction. The transfer of the seven lambs having taken place, it was a “witness” to the fact that Abraham was acknowledged by Abimelech to have digged the well. There is no mention of document or writing in the compact.
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.