KJV King James Version
And he said, For [these] seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
VERSE STUDY • KJV
Genesis 21:30
And he said, For [these] seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
Read it in 5 translations
BSB Berean Standard Bible
He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand as my witness that I dug this well.”
WEB World English Bible
He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that it may be a witness to me, that I have dug this well.”
ASV American Standard Version
And he said, These seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
YLT Young’s Literal Translation
And he saith, ‘For—the seven lambs thou dost accept from my hand, so that it becometh a witness for me that I have digged this well;’
Surrounding context — Genesis 21
27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What [mean] these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
30 And he said, For [these] seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
33 And [Abraham] planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
Topics connected to this verse
Original-language word links
These Hebrew/Greek tokens are linked by Strong's number. Click one for its lexicon definition and other occurrences.
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרH559 · a.marto sayכִּ֚יH3588 · kiforאֶת־H853 · et[Obj.]שֶׁ֣בַעH7651 · she.vasevenכְּבָשֹׂ֔תH3535 · kiv.sahewe-lambתִּקַּ֖חH3947 · la.qachto take: takeמִיָּדִ֑יH3027 · yadhandבַּעֲבוּר֙H5668 · a.vurfor the sake ofתִּֽהְיֶה־H1961 · ha.yahto beלִּ֣יH9030 · nimeלְעֵדָ֔הH5713 · e.dahwitnessכִּ֥יH3588 · kiforחָפַ֖רְתִּיH2658 · cha.pharto searchאֶת־H853 · et[Obj.]הַבְּאֵ֥רH875 · be.erwellהַזֹּֽאת׃H2063 · zotthis
Cross-references
Genesis 31:52This heap [be] witness, and [this] pillar [be] witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.Genesis 31:44-48Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.Joshua 24:27And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.Joshua 22:27-28But [that] it [may be] a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD.
HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION
Compare classic commentaries on Genesis 21:30
Put Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke, Calvin, Wesley, Barnes, Jamieson–Fausset–Brown, Aquinas’ Catena and other public-domain sources beside the passage.
Compare commentaries →