Genesis 21:30

30 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.

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 And Abraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves.
29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What [mean] these seven ewe-lambs, these which thou hast set by themselves?
30 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.
31 Therefore he called that place Beer-sheba, because there they had sworn, both of them.
32 And they made a covenant at Beer-sheba. And Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the captain of his host, and returned into the land of the Philistines.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.