Genesis 21:30

30 And he said, "You shall take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand {as proof on my behalf} that I dug this well."

Genesis 21:30 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 21:30

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.

Genesis 21:30 In-Context

28 Then Abraham set [off] seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves.

29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What [is the meaning of] these seven ewe-lambs that you have set [off] by themselves?"

30 And he said, "You shall take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand {as proof on my behalf} that I dug this well."

31 Therefore that place is called Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath.

32 And they {made} a covenant at Beersheba. And Abimelech, and Phicol his army commander stood and returned to the land of the Philistines.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "for the sake that it shall be a witness for me"