the Third Week after Epiphany
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Updated Bible Version
Genesis 21:30
Bible Study Resources
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- InternationalParallel Translations
And he answered, Because thou shalt receiue of mine hand these seuen lambes, that it may be a witnes vnto me, that I haue digged this well.
And he said, For these seven ewe lambs you shall take of my hands that they may be a witness for me that I have digged this well.
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."
Abraham answered, "When you accept these lambs from me, it will be proof that I dug this well."
He said, "These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well."
And he said, These seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
And he said, Take these seven lambs from me as a witness that I have made this water-hole.
Abraham told him, "I want you to accept these seven lambs as proof that I dug this well."
He answered, "You are to accept these seven female lambs from me as witness that I dug this well."
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.
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.'
And he said, For these seuen ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witnesse vnto me, that I haue digged this well.
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.
Abraham said, "You are to accept these seven ewe lambs from me as a witness for me, that I dug this well."
And Abraam said, Thou shalt receive the seven ewe-lambs of me, that they may be for me as a witness, that I dug this well.
And he said, These seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
He replied, "You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand as my witness that I dug this well."
And he said, "You shall take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand as proof on my behalf that I dug this well."
And he said, You shall take the seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may become for me a witness that I dug this well.
Abraham answered, "Accept these lambs from me to prove that you believe I dug this well."
He replied, "You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof that I dug this well."
And he said, "You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well."
Abraham replied, "Please accept these seven lambs to show your agreement that I dug this well."
Abraham said, "Take these seven lambs from me as an agreement to me that I dug this well."
And he said, The seven young sheep, shalt thou take at my hand, - that they may serve as my witness, that I digged this well.
But he said: Thou shalt take seven ewe lambs at my hand: that they may be a testimony for me, that I dug this well.
He said, "These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that you may be a witness for me that I dug this well."
Abraham answered, "Accept these seven lambs. By doing this, you admit that I am the one who dug this well."
And he seide, Thou schalt take of myn hond seuene ewe lambren, that tho be in to witnessyng to me, for Y diggide this pit.
And he saith, `For -- the seven lambs thou dost accept from my hand, so that it becometh a witness for me that I have digged this well;'
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."
And he said, For [these] seven ewe-lambs shalt thou take from my hand, that they may be a witness to me, that I have digged this well.
He aunswered: for these seuen ewe lambes shalt thou take of my hande, that they may be a wytnesse vnto me, that I haue digged this well.
He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from me so that this act will serve as my witness that I dug this well.”
He answered: seue lambes shalt thou take of my hande, that they maye be wytnes vnto me, that I haue dygged this well.
Abraham said, "It means that when you accept these seven sheep, you take it as proof that I dug this well, that it's my well."
He said, "You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness for me, that I dug this well."
He said, "These seven ewe lambs you shall accept from my hand, in order that you may be a witness for me that I dug this well."
He said, "You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well."
He said, "You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
a witness: Genesis 31:44-48, Genesis 31:52, Joshua 22:27, Joshua 22:28, Joshua 24:27
Reciprocal: Genesis 26:15 - his father's Hebrews 6:16 - an oath
Cross-References
And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech. And the two made a covenant.
And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
This heap be witness, and the pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and that you shall not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.
And Joshua said to all the people, Look, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of Yahweh which he spoke to us: it shall therefore be a witness against you, in case you deny your God.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
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:
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.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- The Birth of Isaac
7. ××× mıÌleÌl âspeak,â an ancient and therefore solemn and poetical word.
14. ××ת cheÌmet âbottle,â akin to ××× chaÌmaÌh, âsurround, enclose,â and ××Ö¼× chuÌm âblack. ××ר ש×××¢ beeÌr-shebaâ, Beer-shebaâ, âwell of seven.â
22. פ××× pıÌykol, Pikhol, âmouth or spokesman of all.â
23. × ×× nıÌyn âoffspring, kin;â related: âsprout, flourish.â × ×× neked âprogeny,â perhaps âacquaintance,â cognate with × ×× ngd, âbe beforeâ (the eyes) and × ×§× nqd, âmark.â
33. ×ש×× 'eÌshel âgrove;â αÌÌÏÎ¿Ï Ïα aroura, Septuagint.; ××××× 'ıÌylaÌbaÌh, âa tree,â Onkelos.
This chapter records the birth of Isaac with other concomitant circumstances. This is the beginning of the fulfillment of the second part of the covenant with Abraham - that concerning the seed. This precedes, we observe, his possession of even a foot-breadth of the soil, and is long antecedent to the entrance of his descendants as conquerors into the land of promise.
Genesis 21:1-8
Isaac is born according to promise, and grows to be weaned. âThe Lord had visited Sarah.â It is possible that this event may have occurred before the patriarchal pair arrived in Gerar. To visit, is to draw near to a person for the purpose of either chastising or conferring a favor. The Lord had been faithful to his gracious promise to Sarah. âHe did as he had spoken.â The object of the visit was accomplished. In due time she bears a son, whom Abraham, in accordance with the divine command, calls Isaac, and circumcises on the eighth day. Abraham was now a hundred years old, and therefore Isaac was born thirty years after the call. Sarah expressed her grateful wonder in two somewhat poetic strains. The first, consisting of two sentences, turns on the word laugh. This is no longer the laugh of delight mingled with doubt, but that of wonder and joy at the power of the Lord overcoming the impotence of the aged mother. The second strain of three sentences turns upon the object of this admiring joy. The event that nobody ever expected to hear announced to Abraham, has nevertheless taken place; âfor I have borne him a son in his old age.â The time of weaning, the second step of the child to individual existence, at length arrives, and the household of Abraham make merry, as was wont, on the festive occasion. The infant was usually weaned in the second or third year 1 Samuel 1:22-24; 2 Chronicles 31:16. The child seems to have remained for the first five years under the special care of the mother Leviticus 27:6. The son then came under the management of the father.
Genesis 21:9-21
The dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael. âThe son of Hagar ... laughing.â The birth of Isaac has made a great change in the position of Ishmael, now at the age of at least fifteen years. He was not now, as formerly, the chief object of attention, and some bitterness of feeling may have arisen on this account. His laugh was therefore the laugh of derision. Rightly was the child of promise named Isaac, the one at whom all laugh with various feelings of incredulity, wonder, gladness, and scorn. Sarah cannot brook the insolence of Ishmael, and demands his dismissal. This was painful to Abraham. Nevertheless, God enjoins it as reasonable, on the ground that in Isaac was his seed to be called. This means not only that Isaac was to be called his seed, but in Isaac as the progenitor was included the seed of Abraham in the highest and utmost sense of the phrase. From him the holy seed was to spring that was to be the agent in eventually bringing the whole race again under the covenant of Noah, in that higher form which it assumes in the New Testament. Abraham is comforted in this separation with a renewal of the promise concerning Ishmael Genesis 17:20.
He proceeds with all singleness of heart and denial of self to dismiss the mother and the son. This separation from the family of Abraham was, no doubt, distressing to the feelings of the parties concerned. But it involved no material hardship to those who departed, and conferred certain real advantages. Hagar obtained her freedom. Ishmael, though called a lad, was at an age when it is not unusual in the East to marry and provide for oneself. And their departure did not imply their exclusion from the privileges of communion with God, as they might still be under the covenant with Abraham, since Ishmael had been circumcised, and, at all events, were under the broader covenant of Noah. It was only their own voluntary rejection of God and his mercy, whether before or after their departure, that could cut them off from the promise of eternal life. It seems likely that Hagar and Ishmael had so behaved as to deserve their dismissal from the sacred home. âA bottle of water.â
This was probably a kid-skin bottle, as Hagar could not have carried a goat-skin. Its contents were precious in the wilderness, but soon exhausted. âAnd the lad.â He took the lad and gave him to Hagar. The bread and water-skin were on her shoulder; the lad she held by the hand. âIn the wilderness of Beer-sheba.â It is possible that the departure of Hagar occurred after the league with Abimelek and the naming of Beer-sheba, though coming in here naturally as the sequel of the birth and weaning of Isaac. The wilderness in Scripture is simply the land not profitable for cultivation, though fit for pasture to a greater or less extent. The wilderness of Beer-sheba is that part of the wilderness which was adjacent to Beer-sheba, where probably at this time Abraham was residing. âLaid the lad.â Ishmael was now, no doubt, thoroughly humbled as well as wearied, and therefore passive under his motherâs guidance. She led him to a sheltering bush, and caused him to lie down in its shade, resigning herself to despair. The artless description here is deeply affecting.
Genesis 21:17-21
The fortunes of Ishmael. God cares for the wanderers. He hears the voice of the lad, whose sufferings from thirst are greater than those of the mother. An angel is sent, who addresses Hagar in the simple words of encouragement and direction. âHold thy hand upon him.â Lay thy hand firmly upon him. The former promise Genesis 16:10 is renewed to her. God also opened her eyes that she saw a well of water, from which the bottle is replenished, and she and the lad are recruited for their further journey. It is unnecessary to determine how far this opening of the eyes was miraculous. It may refer to the cheering of her mind and the sharpening of her attention. In Scripture the natural and supernatural are not always set over against each other as with us. All events are alike ascribed to an ever-watchful Providence, whether they flow from the ordinary laws of nature or some higher law of the divine will. âGod was with the lad.â Ishmael may have been cured of his childish spleen. It is possible also his father did not forget him, but sent him a stock of cattle with which to begin the pastoral life on his account. âHe became an archer.â He grew an archer, or multiplied into a tribe of archers. Paran Genesis 14:6 lay south of Palestine, and therefore on the way to Egypt, out of which his mother took him a wife. The Ishmaelites, therefore, both root and branch, were descended on the motherâs side from the Egyptians.
Genesis 21:22-34
According to the common law of Hebrew narrative, this event took place before some of the circumstances recorded in the previous passage; probably not long after the birth of Isaac. Abimelek, accompanied by Phikol, his commander-in-chief, proposes to form a league with Abraham. The reason assigned for this is that God was with him in all that he did. Various circumstances concurred to produce this conviction in Abimelek. The never-to-be-forgotten appearance of God to himself in a dream interposing on behalf of Abraham, the birth of Isaac, and the consequent certainty of his having an heir, and the growing retinue and affluence of one who, some ten years before, could lead out a trained band of three hundred and eighteen men-at-arms, were amply sufficient to prove that God was the source of his strength. Such a man is formidable as a foe, but serviceable as an ally. It is the part of sound policy, therefore, to approach him and endeavor to prevail upon him to swear by God not to deal falsely with him or his. âKin and kith.â We have adopted these words to represent the conversational alliterative phrase of the original. They correspond tolerably well with the ÏÏεÌÏμα sperma and οÌÌνομα onoma, âseedâ and âname,â of the Septuagint. Abraham frankly consents to this oath. This is evidently a personal covenant, referring to existing circumstances. A similar confederacy had been already formed with Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre. Abraham was disposed to such alliances, as they contributed to peaceful neighborhood. He was not in a condition to make a national covenant, though it is a fact that the Philistines were scarcely ever wholly subjugated by his descendants.
Genesis 21:25-26
Abraham takes occasion to remonstrate with Abimelek about a well which his people had seized. Wells were extremely valuable in Palestine, on account of the long absence of rain between the latter or vernal rain ending in March, and the early or autumnal rain beginning in November. The digging of a well was therefore a matter of the greatest moment, and often gave a certain title to the adjacent fields. Hence, the many disputes about wells, as the neighboring Emirs or chieftains were jealous of rights so acquired, and often sought to enter by the strong hand on the labors of patient industry. Hence, Abraham lays more stress on a public attestation that he has dug, and is therefore the owner of this well, than on all the rest of the treaty. Seven is the number of sanctity, and therefore of obligation. This number is accordingly figured in some part of the form of confederation; in the present case, in the seven ewe-lambs which Abraham tenders, and Abimelek, in token of consent, accepts at his hand. The name of the well is remarkable as an instance of the various meanings attached to nearly the same sound. Even in Hebrew it means the well of seven, or the well of the oath, as the roots of seven, and of the verb meaning to swear, have the same radical letters. Bir es-Seba means âthe well of seven or of the lion.â
Genesis 21:32-34
Returned unto the land of the Philistines. - Beer-sheba was on the borders of the land of the Philistines. Going therefore to Gerar, they returned into that land. In the transactions with Hagar and with Abimelek, the name God is employed, because the relation of the Supreme Being with these parties is more general or less intimate than with the heir of promise. The same name, however, is used in reference to Abraham and Sarah, who stand in a twofold relation to him as the Eternal Potentate, and the Author of being and blessing. Hence, the chapter begins and ends with Yahweh, the proper name of God in communion with man. âEshel is a field under tillageâ in the Septuagint, and a tree in Onkelos. It is therefore well translated a grove in the King James Version, though it is rendered âthe tamariskâ by many. The planting of a grove implies that Abraham now felt he had a resting-place in the land, in consequence of his treaty with Abimelek. He calls upon the name of the Lord with the significant surname of the God of perpetuity, the eternal, unchangeable God. This marks him as the âsure and ableâ performer of his promise, as the everlasting vindicator of the faith of treaties, and as the infallible source of the believerâs rest and peace. Accordingly, Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.
