Covenant of Abimelech and Abraham

²² Now it came about at that same time that Abimelech—with Phicol the commander of his army—said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. ²³ So now, make a pledge to me here, by God, that you will not violate your word with me or with my descendants or with my offspring. As I have shown loyalty to you, show the same to me, and to the land in which you have lived as an outsider.”

²⁴ Abraham said, “I make a pledge.” ²⁵ Now Abraham had rebuked Abimelech because of the well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ²⁶ So Abimelech said, “I don’t know who did this thing. Nor did you tell me, nor did I hear about it until today.”

²⁷ Then Abraham took a flock of sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. ²⁸ Abraham set seven young ewe-lambs apart from the flock of sheep by themselves. ²⁹ Abimelech said to Abraham, “What do these seven ewe-lambs that you’ve set by themselves mean?”

³⁰ He said, “You are to accept the seven ewe-lambs from my hand, so that they may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” ³¹ That is why that place is named Beer-sheba, because there both of them made a pledge, ³² and they made a covenant in Beer-sheba. Then Abimelech got up, with Phicol the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.

³³ Then he planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba and called there on the Name of Adonai, the Everlasting God. ³⁴ He lived as an outsider in the land of the Philistines for many days.