Genesis 21:27

27 Then Abraham took sheep and cattle^[a] and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.

Genesis 21:27 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 21:27

And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto
Abimelech
In gratitude for former favours he had received from him, in token of the friendship that subsisted between them, and for the confirmation of it; and to show that he was fully satisfied with Abimelech's answer to his complaint, as well as willing to enter into covenant by sacrifice, when such creatures were divided, and the covenanters passed between the pieces, for so it follows: and both of them made a covenant;
or, "cut or struck a covenant" ^F19; cut the sacrifice in pieces and passed between them, in token of the compact and agreement they entered into with each other; signifying that whoever broke it deserved to be cut in pieces as those creatures were.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 (wtrky) "foedus percusserunt", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; "secuerunt", Cocceius.

Genesis 21:27 In-Context

25 But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the water well that Abimelech's servants had seized.

26 Abimelech replied, "I don't know who did this thing. You didn't report anything to me, so I hadn't heard about it until today."

27 Then Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.

28 But Abraham had set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock.

29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, "Why have you set apart these seven ewe lambs?"

Footnotes

• [a]. A covenant or treaty was regularly ratified by animal sacrifice (Gn 8:20-9:9; 15:9-17; Ex 24:8) and often involved an exchange of gifts (1 Kg 15:19; Hs 12:1). The animals here could serve both purposes.