The Treaty of Beersheba
The Treaty of Beersheba
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Abimelech’s Request
At that time, Abimelech and Phicol, his military commander, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you’re doing. So swear by God that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. Treat me and the land where you are a foreigner as faithfully as I have treated you.”
Abraham responded, “I swear.”
Around the time of Isaac’s weaning, Abimelech, accompanied by his military commander, visited Abraham. They were probably there as guests at the feast, but Abimelech had another reason for making the trip.
Although Abimelech did not fully trust Abraham (understandably so), he saw how God had blessed him and knew well the consequences of opposing him.1 Abimelech had suffered God’s curse because of Abraham’s previous deception, so he began by asking Abraham to swear “by God” to not deceive him or any of his descendants again. Abraham swore that he would not. In doing so, Abraham agreed that, should he break his oath, God’s curse would fall on him instead of Abimelech.
Abraham had not been faithful in his initial dealings with Abimelech, but they were not under a covenant at the time. Nevertheless, Abimelech had been extraordinarily generous to Abraham in order to appease his God.2 Abimelech had every right to insist that Abraham should treat him the same way. By allying himself with Abraham, Abimelech would share in his blessings, just as Mamre and his brothers had.3
Abraham’s Well
Then Abraham confronted Abimelech about a well Abimelech’s servants had seized. Abimelech replied, “I have no idea who did this. You didn’t tell me, and this is the first I’ve heard about it.”
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After agreeing to Abimelech’s request, Abraham countered with one of his own. Some of Abimelech’s servants had forcefully seized a well belonging to Abraham, and Abraham wanted it back. Wells provided a vital water source in the arid Negev, the desert of southern Canaan. But digging one was not an easy task.4
Abraham’s need for access to a well parallels Hagar and Ishmael’s search for a well as they wandered lost in the wilderness.5 The area around Abraham’s camp was called Beersheba, and Hagar and Ishmael wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba, a later name for the larger region of the northern Negev, where Beersheba is located.6 Through the two wells, God provided life-giving water to Hagar and Ishmael and to Abraham and Isaac.
Abimelech claimed ignorance about the theft of the well. Abraham had not informed him, likely because of the mistrust between them. But Abimelech’s offer of a covenant of peace provided the perfect opportunity to bring it up. To live in peace, they had to learn to trust each other.
Seven Lambs
So Abraham gave sheep and cattle to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. But Abraham set aside seven female lambs, so Abimelech asked him, “What have you set these seven lambs aside for?”
“Accept the seven lambs from me so you may be a witness that I dug this well.” That’s why the place where the two of them swore an oath is called Beersheba.
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Abimelech chose to believe Abraham dug the well, and Abraham chose to believe Abimelech didn’t know his servants had stolen it. This newfound understanding served as the basis for a covenant between them. They swore to live in peace, and Abraham gave Abimelech a gift of livestock, as Abimelech had earlier given him.7 Some or all of these animals may have been used for the sacrifices and communal meal that finalized the covenant.8
In addition to the animals he gave Abimelech, Abraham moved seven female lambs away from his flock. Such a separation was not part of the covenant ceremony, so it piqued Abimelech’s curiosity. What were they for? Abraham explained that he wanted Abimelech to accept them as assurance he owned the well.
Abimelech had already indicated he believed Abraham, but by accepting the lambs, he committed himself to serving as a witness on Abraham’s behalf should anyone dispute his ownership again. After that, the place was called Beersheba (beʾer shevaʿ), a wordplay that means “well of seven” and sounds like “well of oath” (beʾer shevuʿah).
Just as the birth of Isaac was the initial fulfillment of the promise of offspring, Abimelech’s acknowledgment of Abraham’s right to a well in his territory was the initial fulfillment of the promise of land. Though the land still belonged to Abimelech and Abraham was still a foreigner, the well of Beersheba served as his first foothold in Canaan.
The Eternal God
After making the covenant at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol, his military commander, returned to the land of the Philistines. Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba and called on the name of Yahweh, the Eternal God. He lived in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
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Having achieved their purpose, Abimelech and Phicol returned to the land of the Philistines.9 The covenant with Abimelech encouraged Abraham that he would be able to stay in the area as long as he wanted. So he planted a tamarisk, a tree commonly grown in the Negev to provide shade and food for livestock.10 As he had previously worshiped under oak trees, he now worshiped Yahweh under the tamarisk.11
Yahweh is called the Eternal God (ʾel ʿolam) only here in Scripture. Abraham had waited what felt like an eternity to see God’s promises fulfilled. But twenty-five years is no time at all to the Eternal God. He had given Abraham an heir and enabled him to make peace with a powerful king, providing him with a place to live within the promised land. God is eternal and eternally faithful. He will keep his promises no matter how long it takes.
- See Abimelech’s Dream.
- Genesis 20:14–16.
- See Abram’s Allies.
- Walton, “Genesis,” 96.
- See Hagar’s Lament.
- Genesis 21:14, 31.
- Genesis 20:14.
- Kidner, Genesis, 153; see Genesis 26:28–30; 31:53–54; Exodus 24:8; Psalm 50:5; Jeremiah 34:18; Zechariah 9:11.
- Genesis 20:1–2.
- Koops, Plants and Trees, 1.23 Tamarisk; Walton, Matthews, and Chavalas, Bible Background Commentary, Genesis 21:33.
- Genesis 12:6–7; 13:18.