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And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.
And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
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.
Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
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.
And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.

New Defender's Study Bible Notes

21:31 Beer-sheba. “Beer-sheba” means both “well of the oath” and “well of the seven.” Even though it was on land claimed by the Philistines, it was commonly understood at the time that the man who dug a well was its owner.


21:33 everlasting God. This is the first time this particular name of God is used (“Jehovah, El Olam,” meaning “Jehovah is the eternal God”). Abraham realized that, though he had made a covenant with a temporal king, he was really the recipient of the covenant promises of an eternal king. He had granted Abimelech tentative possession of a portion of the promised land, but Jehovah’s covenant promised his own seed its eternal possession.


21:34 many days. As far as the record goes, Abraham had never returned from “sojourning” (note Genesis 21:23) in the land of the Philistines since the time he and Sarah had moved there before Isaac was born (Genesis 20:1) and Abimelech had granted him freedom to dwell anywhere in his land (Genesis 20:15).


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