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And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.
Genesis 21:33 · Berean Standard Bible · underlined terms are tappable
Parallel translations
  • WEB Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.
  • KJV And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
  • NKJV Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.
  • NASB Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.
  • NLT Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he worshiped the Lord, the Eternal God.

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 plants a tamarisk tree and calls on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God. He worships God in the place of covenant peace.

Overview

Abraham marks Beersheba with a tamarisk tree and an act of worship, invoking God as El Olam, the Everlasting God. This title celebrates God's eternal, unchanging faithfulness, the ground of His enduring promises. Abraham's public worship testifies to the nations that his blessing flows from the everlasting God who keeps covenant forever, ultimately fulfilled in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 16

  • 1 Tim 1:17Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
  • Isa 40:28Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.
  • Ps 90:2Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
  • Gen 4:26And to Seth also a son was born, and he called him Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of the LORD.
  • Jer 10:10But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.
  • Gen 12:8From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.
  • Rom 16:26but now revealed and made known through the writings of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, in order to lead all nations to the obedience that comes from faith—
  • Deut 33:27The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’
  • Gen 26:33So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba.
  • Gen 26:23From there Isaac went up to Beersheba,
  • Gen 26:25So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there. His servants also dug a well there.
  • Deut 16:21Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole next to the altar you will build for the LORD your God,
  • Judg 3:7So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
  • Rom 1:20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.
  • Isa 57:15For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.
  • Amos 8:14Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the way of Beersheba lives’—they will fall, never to rise again.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 21:33YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 21:33 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.