Abraham then gave some of his sheep, goats, and cattle to Abimelech, and they made a treaty.
Parallel translations
- WEB Abraham took sheep and cattle, and gave them to Abimelech. Those two made a covenant.
- KJV And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
- BSB So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant.
- NKJV So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.
- NASB So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Abraham gives Abimelech sheep and cattle, and the two make a covenant. They formally seal their agreement of peace.
Overview
Abraham's gift of livestock ratifies the covenant and establishes a bond of peace between him and Abimelech. The making of covenants, central to the Bible's storyline, here governs human relationships through solemn commitment. This treaty secures Abraham's standing in the land and reflects the wider peace that flows from God's blessing on His servant.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ezek 17:13He took some of the royal offspring, and made a covenant with him. He also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land;
- Gen 14:22–23Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,
- Prov 17:8A bribe is a precious stone in the eyes of him who gives it; wherever he turns, he prospers.
- Isa 32:8But the noble devises noble things; and he will continue in noble things.
- Gal 3:15Brothers, speaking of human terms, though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it.
- Prov 18:24A man of many companions may be ruined, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
- Gen 31:44Now come, let us make a covenant, you and I; and let it be for a witness between me and you.”
- Prov 18:16A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.
- Gen 26:28–31They said, “We saw plainly that Yahweh was with you. We said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you,
- Prov 21:14A gift in secret pacifies anger; and a bribe in the cloak, strong wrath.
- Rom 1:31without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, unforgiving, unmerciful;
- 1 Sam 18:3Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 21:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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