Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because they both swore an oath there. So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Abimelech rose up with Phicol, the captain of his army, and they returned into the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.
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Genesis 21:31-33 sits inside this longer paragraph.
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.” Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because they both swore an oath there. So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Abimelech rose up with Phicol, the captain of his army, and they returned into the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God. Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines many days.
Parallel Translations
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Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because they both swore an oath there.
So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Abimelech rose up with Phicol, the captain of his army, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.
-
Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.
Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
Show all 3 translations
-
Wherefore that place was called Beer-sheba; because there they swore both of them.
So they made a covenant at Beer-sheba; and Abimelech rose up, and Phicol the captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
And Abraham planted a tamarisk-tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Science (1)
Historical claims about the natural world, weighed against the scientific record.
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (32)
- 1 Timothy 1:17 (v33) Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Isaiah 40:28 (v33) Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His…
- Psalms 90:2 (v33) Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
- Genesis 26:33 (vv31, 33) He called it “Shibah”. Therefore the name of the city is “Beersheba” to this day.
- Genesis 4:26 (v33) A son was also born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on Yahweh’s name.
Show all 30 cross-references
- Jeremiah 10:10 (v33) But Yahweh is the true God. He is the living God, and an everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth trembles. The nations aren’t able to…
- Genesis 12:8 (v33) He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There…
- Romans 16:26 (v33)
- Genesis 21:14 (v31) Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a container of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder; and gave…
- Deuteronomy 33:27 (v33) The eternal God is your dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!’
- Genesis 26:23 (vv31, 33) He went up from there to Beersheba.
- Genesis 10:14 (v32) Pathrusim, Casluhim (which the Philistines descended from), and Caphtorim.
- Genesis 14:13 (v32) One who had escaped came and told Abram, the Hebrew. At that time, he lived by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and…
- Genesis 21:27 (v32) Abraham took sheep and cattle, and gave them to Abimelech. Those two made a covenant.
- Genesis 26:8 (v32) When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was caressing…
- Genesis 26:14 (v32) He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Philistines envied him.
- Genesis 26:25 (v33) He built an altar there, and called on Yahweh’s name, and pitched his tent there. There Isaac’s servants dug a well.
- Genesis 31:53 (v32) The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” Then Jacob swore by the fear of his father, Isaac.
- Exodus 13:17 (v32) When Pharaoh had let the people go, God didn’t lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said,…
- Deuteronomy 16:21 (v33) You shall not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree beside Yahweh your God’s altar, which you shall make for yourselves.
- Joshua 15:28 (v31) Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah,
- Judges 3:7 (v33) The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and forgot Yahweh their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
- Judges 13:1 (v32) The children of Israel again did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight; and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty…
- Judges 20:1 (v31) Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of…
- 1 Samuel 18:3 (v32) Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
- 2 Samuel 17:11 (v31) But I counsel that all Israel be gathered together to you, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and…
- 1 Kings 4:25 (v31) Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
- Isaiah 57:15 (v33) For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, says: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a…
- Amos 8:14 (v33) Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, ‘As your god, Dan, lives;’ and, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives;’ they will fall, and never…
- Romans 1:20 (v33) For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even…
30 distinct cross-references across this passage (32 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (20 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv31, 33 31. Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba. Moses has…
31. Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba. Moses has once already called the place by this name, but proleptically. Now, however, he declares when, and for what reason, the name was given; namely, because there both he and Abimelech had sworn; therefore I translate the term ‘the well of swearing.’ Others translate it ‘the well of seven.’ But Moses plainly derives the word from swearing; nor is it of any consequence that the pronunciation slightly varies from grammatical correctness, which in proper names is not very nicely observed. In fact, Moses does not restrict the etymology to the well, but comprises the whole covenant. I do not, however, deny that Moses might allude to the number seven
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.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv31–33 Or, well of the oath, or of seven, meaning…
Or, well of the oath, or of seven, meaning lambs.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv31–33 Gen 21:31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because…
Gen 21:31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
Ver. 31. They sware both of them.] Or, they were sworn. The Hebrew is passive ( נשׁבע). To show that an oath is not rashly to he undertaken, but by a kind of necessity imposed. It comes of a root that signifies to satisfy; because he, to whom we swear, must therewith be contented. An oath is an end of strife, saith the apostle. {Heb 6:16} The Greeks call it ορχος ψυασι ερχος, a hedge, which a man may not break.
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 On vv31–33 Which name was communicated unto a city adjoining: of…
Which name was communicated unto a city adjoining: of which see Gen 26:23; Jos 15:28; 2Sa 17:11; 24:2.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v33 Observe, 1. Abraham, having got into a good neighbourhood,…
Observe, 1. Abraham, having got into a good neighbourhood, knew when he was well off, and continued a great while there. There he planted a grove for a shade to his tent, or perhaps an orchard of fruit-trees; and there, though we cannot say he settled, for God would have him, while he lived, to be a stranger and a pilgrim, yet he sojourned many days, as many as would consist with his character, as Abraham the Hebrew, or passenger. 2. There he made, not only a constant practice, but an open profession, of his religion: There he called on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God, probably in the grove he planted, which was his oratory or house of prayer. Christ prayed in a garden, on a mountain. (1.) Abraham kept up public worship, to which, probably, his neighbours resorted, that they might join with him. Note, Good men should not only retain their goodness wherever they go, but do all they can to propagate it, and make others good. (2.) In calling on the Lord, we must eye him as the everlasting God, the God of the world, so some. Though God had made himself known to Abraham as his God in particular, and in covenant with him, yet he forgets not to give glory to him as the Lord of all: The everlasting God, who was, before all worlds, and will be, when time and days shall be no more. See Isa 40:28.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On v31 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.…
And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days. Even many years, days being sometimes put for years; having entered into covenant with Abimelech, the king of the country, and settled a good correspondence with him, and having his friendship and good will, which commanded respect from his subjects, Abraham sojourned very quietly and comfortably for many years, chiefly at Beersheba; the Jewish writers say (a) he sojourned here twenty six years.
(a) Jarchi & Bereshit Rabba, sect. 54. fol. 48. 4.
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Next: Genesis Chapter 22
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv31, 33 Beer-sheba - That is, the well of the oath,…
Beer-sheba - That is, the well of the oath, in remembrance of the covenant that they swear to, that they might be ever mindful of it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv31, 33 Verse 31. He called that place Beer-sheba] באר שבע…
Verse 31. He called that place Beer-sheba] באר שבע Beer-shaba, literally, the well of swearing or of the oath, because they both sware there-mutually confirmed the covenant.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv31, 33 Gen 21:31. Beer-sheba — That is, the well of…
Gen 21:31. Beer-sheba — That is, the well of the oath, or the well of the seven, (for the word equally signifies either,) alluding to the seven ewe- lambs which Abraham set by themselves and gave to Abimelech. Probably when a covenant was solemnly made and confirmed by an oath, seven lambs or sheep were wont to be offered.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv31, 33 Bersabee. That is, the well of oath; (Challoner) or…
Bersabee. That is, the well of oath; (Challoner) or "the well of the seven;" meaning the seven ewe-lambs set apart. (Menochius) --- This precaution of Abraham, in giving seven lambs as a testimony that the well was dug by him, was not without reason. See chap. xxvi. 15. (Calmet)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v33 Abraham planted a grove--Hebrew, "of tamarisks," in which sacrificial…
Abraham planted a grove--Hebrew, "of tamarisks," in which sacrificial worship was offered, as in a roofless temple.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv31–33 31. Beer-sheba — Which means well of the oath,…
31. Beer-sheba — Which means well of the oath, or, well of the seven, in allusion to the seven lambs by which Abraham here confirmed his covenant with Abimelech. In a broad valley, some twelve hours’ travel south of Hebron, Dr. Robinson discovered two deep wells, still called Bir es-Seba, probably the very same as those dug by the servants of Abraham and Isaac. Compare Gen_26:32. “These wells are some distance apart; they are circular, and stoned up with solid masonry. The larger one is twelve and a half feet in diameter and forty-four and a half feet deep to the surface of the water, sixteen feet of which, at the bottom, is excavated in the solid rock. The other well lies fifty-five rods W.S.W., and is five feet in diameter and forty-two feet deep. The water in both is pure and sweet, and in great abundance; the finest, indeed, we had found since leaving Sinai.” — ROBINSON, Biblical Researches, vol. i, p. 204. Such wells would be of the first importance to a great shepherd chief.
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 On vv31–33 31. Beer-sheba] LXX φρέαρ ὁρκισμοῦ: the derivation here given…
31. Beer-sheba] LXX φρέαρ ὁρκισμοῦ: the derivation here given is “because there they sware both of them.” The word in Heb. “they sware” (nishb‘u) is the reflexive form of the verb shaba‘. This derivation of Beer-sheba, as “the well of swearing,” is clearly not a complete explanation of the word. The correct derivation—“the well of seven”—is probably hinted at in Abraham’s pledge of the seven lambs. At Beer sheba, there were also “seven” wells, which can even now be identified. But there is a close connexion between the Heb. word “seven,” and the Heb. word “to swear”; and if, as seems probable, the Heb. nishba‘ “to swear” meant originally “to bind oneself by staking, or pledging, seven things,” we can see that the well of “seven” and the well of “swearing” were practically identical in significance.
Beer-sheba stood on the southernmost boundary of Palestine, at the edge of the desert, about 50 miles S.W. of Jerusalem. In later days it was famous as a sacred place of pilgrimage, Amo_5:5; Amo_8:14.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv31, 33 (31) Beer-sheba.—That is, the well of seven, but with…
(31) Beer-sheba.—That is, the well of seven, but with a covert allusion to the seven lambs having been used for the ratification of an oath. Robinson found the exact site in the Wady-es-Seba, with its name still preserved as Bir-es-Seba. There are there two wells of solid construction, the first twelve and a half feet in diameter; the other, situated about 200 yards to the south, much smaller, being only five feet in diameter. Both are lined with solid masonry, and reach down to never-failing springs in the rock. Around are stone troughs for watering the cattle, and the parapet of the larger well is worn into deep indentations, by the ropes used in drawing the water (Finn, Bye-ways in Palestine, p. 190).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv31, 33 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba. Ie. "the well…
Wherefore he called that place Beersheba. Ie. "the well of the oath," frear oJrkismou (LXX, Gesenius, Furst, Rosenm or the well of the seven (Keil), rather than the seven wells (Lange); discovered by Robinson in Bir-es-seba, in the Wady-es-seba, twelve miles to the south of Hebron, with two deep wells of excellent water. "The great well has an internal diameter at the mouth of twelve feet six inches, or a circumference of nearly forty feet. The shaft is formed of excellent masonry to a great depth until it reaches the rock, and at this juncture a spring trickles perpetually. Around the mouth of the well is a circular course of masonry, topped by a circular parapet of about a foot high; and at a distance of ten or twelve feet are stone troughs placed in a concentric circle with the well, the sides of which have deep indentions made by the wear of ropes on the upper edges The second well, about 200 yards farther south, is not more than five feet in diameter, but is formed of equally good masonry, and furnishes equally good water" (vide "Byeways in Palestine," by James Finn, M.R.A.S., p. 190). Because there they aware both of them.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v33 Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there…
Gen_21:33-34
Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord
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Abraham the godly man
I.
HE MAKES PROVISION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP.
1. It was intelligent.
2. It was grateful.
3. It was hopeful.
II. HE IS CONTENT TO BE A STRANGER AND PILGRIM ON THE EARTH (Gen_21:34). (T. H. Leale.)
Lessons
1. Times of peace God makes to]His servants times of plantation. Such leave He giveth His people.
2. What was done by Abraham with Gods approbation might be turned to sin by mans superstition. So the groves.
3. The saints peace with the world sets them more seriously to serve God.
4. The name of Jehovah, even the eternal God, is the saints satisfaction in all plantations (Gen_21:33).
5. God allows His saints sometimes a longer space of respite after troubles than at others. The longest space of quietness below is but a sojourning time of Gods people. They are not at home. Heaven is the place of his rest, and so is to every true believer (Gen_21:34). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Grove sanctuaries
It is very curious to notice how the first sanctuaries seem to have been woods, forests, and groves. And it is equally remarkable to notice how, after they were used for true and spiritual worship, they came to be employed exclusively for idolatry--so much so, that in the rest of this blessed Book you will hear God often commanding them utterly to pull down the groves, because those groves had been made places where idols were worshipped. The brass serpent was made by Gods command, its healing virtue was given by God Himself, and the people were divinely told to look at it. But after it had served its purpose, the same people tried to make a god of it. In this instance men took that which was true and good originally, and made such a bad use of it that God commanded it to be ground to powder as a thing of vanity and as nothing. These grove sanctuaries came to be desecrated, and therefore He commanded them all to be pulled down. One can see in these groves the first idea of a cathedral. Let any one stand in a lofty avenue of oaks, with their branches intertwining and interlacing, and he will see the nave of a Gothic cathedral. The tracery on the roof, the groined arches, the columns, and the pillars with their picturesque capitals, all is but man trying to embody in the stone what nature has so magnificently developed in her forests, and to perpetuate a grove of stone as a memorial still of the first sanctuaries in which men worshipped.
Against the clouds, far up the skies,
The walls of the cathedral rise,
Like a mysterious grove of stone.
Hence, also, the Druids, and the Druid temples, all were instances of the early purpose to which groves and forests were applied, that is, for worship; and when one thinks of the silence and the solemnity of primeval forests, one can see how naturally man would have recourse to them to worship; but when we see how sadly they were abused, one feels how easily the best things may be perverted, and Gods own divine institutions turned into objects of sin and folly. But, blessed be God, neither in this mountain nor in that, neither in grove nor cathedral only, is worship acceptable to God. He is worshipped truly, and the worship is accepted, wherever He is approached in spirit and in truth. (J. Cumming, D. D.)
.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v33 Gen_21:33. And Abraham planted a grove.] Properly, the Oriental…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Gen_21:33. And Abraham planted a grove.] Properly, the Oriental tamarisk tree or grove. They grow to a remarkable height, and furnish a wide shade. It seems as if this were a religious act, as designed to secure some retired place for worship. Such groves were afterwards forbidden on account of their connection with idolatrous practices. (Deu_16:21.) The everlasting God. As the peculiar explanation of the name Jehovah. This title is found only in one other place. (Isa_40:28.) St. Paul uses the equivalent Greek epithet. (Rom_16:26.)
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Gen_21:34. Many days.] To be understood as representing a considerable period, during which Isaac had time to grow up from a child to such an age as would render him fit to carry the wood for the offering. (Gen_22:6.)
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Gen_21:33-34
ABRAHAM, THE GODLY MAN
Abraham was not merely a religious man—a man of outward forms and observances; he was eminently a godly man. He believed not only certain truths concerning God, but he believed in God—in a living, personal Being upon whom he had centered his faith and hope. His character in this regard comes out clearly in this short historical notice.
I. He makes provision for Divine worship. “Abraham planted a grove in Beer-Sheba,” whose grateful shade and seclusion he would use for prayer and worship. And what we are told about the way of his worship shows that it rose above outward forms and ordinances.
1. It was intelligent. “He called there on the name of the Lord.” The “name,” as employed by the sacred writers, is not an indifferent symbol, but stands for the reality. Abraham knew the object of his worship—the faithful, unchangeable God, true to His promises for ever. He was not serving one who inspired only slavish dread, and with whom a breach of ceremony was the highest offence, but a righteous Being who required truth in the heart and the service of love. His piety has no trace of superstition, but is altogether in accordance with the highest reason.
2. It was grateful. The planting of this grove was a kind of special act, in which Abraham was led to review the past with thankfulness. It was an outward monument of the gratitude which he felt in his heart for all God’s mercies. He was like Samuel, when he set up a stone between Mizpeh and Shen, and called it Ebenezer, saying, “Hitherto the Lord hath helped us.” Thankfulness which finds its voice in praise is an essential part of worship. God is always giving to us, and there are times when our grateful sense of His bounty should rise to the surface and occupy our whole soul.
3. It was hopeful. He invoked the name of “the Everlasting God.” He looked towards the future with confidence, for he knew that God was sufficient in power, and throughout all time. His expectation was from One who could not die, and who could secure for him a portion beyond this passing world. This is not like the hope of the worldly man, which encloses little, and that passing away. Bounded by this world, nothing lies beyond it but a dreary blank. This was the hope of that eternal life in which God would be always blessing him. Union with such a Being implies immortality, as our Lord teaches us in His application of the truth that God was “the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.” The hope of the righteous man has its substantial ground in his faith in God.
II. He is content to be a stranger and pilgrim on the earth. He “sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.” He was but a stranger there, and only for a short time. He had no permanent possession in the land. It afforded him but a resting place for a while—his true home elsewhere. In one sense, every man is a pilgrim, for by an inevitable law he is passing on through the world to eternity. But every man does not recognise the fact that this world is not the true home of his soul, and that his mind and heart ought not to rest here. Abraham felt that he was both a pilgrim and a stranger. His strong faith in God was leading him each day to things above and beyond this world.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen_21:33. The planting of this longlived tree, with its hard wood and its long, narrow, thickly-clustered evergreen leaves, was to be a type of the ever-enduring grace of the faithful covenant God.—(Keil and Delitzsch.)
Abraham was seeking rest and peace, and it was therefore appropriate that he should invoke that name of God which implied His all-sufficiency and unchangeableness.
The consistency of the patriarch’s godliness is seen in his making provision for the worship of God at every stage of his pilgrimage.
Gen_21:34. Moses reports three sacred works of Abraham—
1. He laboured.
2. He preached.
3. He bore patiently his long sojourn in a strange land.
Abraham sojourning in the Philistines’ land—an image of the Church in the midst of the world.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v33 everlasting God
everlasting God
(1) The Hebrew "Olam" is used in Scripture:
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(a) of secret or hidden things (e.g. Lev 5:2 "hidden"; 2Ki 4:27, "hid"; Psa 10:1, "hidest");
(b) an indefinite time or age Lev 25:32, "at any time"; Jos 24:2 "in old time"). Hence the word is used to express the eternal duration of the being of God, Psa 90:2. "From everlasting to everlasting"), and is the Hebrew synonym of the Greek "aion," age or dispensation.
(See Scofield "Gen 1:26"), note (4).
(2) The ideas therefore of things kept secret and of indefinite duration combine in this word. Both ideas inhere in the doctrine of the dispensations or ages. They are among the "mysteries" of God Eph 1:9; Eph 1:10; Eph 3:2-6; Mat 13:11. The "everlasting" God (El Olam) is therefore that name of Deity in virtue of which He is the God whose wisdom has divided all time and eternity into the mystery of successive ages or dispensations. It is not merely that He is everlasting, but that He is God over everlasting things. See, for other names of Deity:
(See Scofield "Gen 1:1") See Scofield "Gen 2:4" Gen 2:7 See Scofield "Gen 14:18" See Scofield "Gen 15:2" See Scofield "Gen 17:1" See Scofield "1Sa 1:3"
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv31, 33 he called that place
he called that place
"Abraham called that place"
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Beersheba
Translators may add a footnote saying "Beersheba can mean either "well of the oath" or "well of seven."
they both
"Abraham and Abimelech"
Phicol
This is the name of a man. See how you translated this name in Genesis 21:22.
translationWords
Beersheba
oath
covenant
Abimelech
Philistines
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv32–33 21:32 The Philistines in Genesis are different from the…
21:32 The Philistines in Genesis are different from the Philistines of Judges through Kings. The earlier Philistines had Semitic names (e.g., Abimelech) and Canaanite culture. The later Philistines were apparently of Greek origin, with Greek customs and culture. They seem to have arrived in Canaan by sea from the Aegean area around 1200 BC, during the time of the judges. Probably the name of the later Philistines was used here simply to describe the region’s earlier inhabitants.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.