Genesis 21:30

30 He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this^[a] may be a witness for me 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 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart.

29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart? ”

30 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. ”

31 Therefore that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath.

32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines.

Footnotes

• [a] 21:30 Or 'you'