The Vow
Background and Printed Text: Genesis 21:22-34
Genesis 21:22 And he was in that time. And Abimelech (My-Father-The-King) said, and Phicol (Mouth-Of-All) prince of his host, unto Avraham (Father-Of-A-Crowd) to say, “Elohim is with thee in all that thou art doing. 23And now, swear to me via Elohim here if thou wilt lie to me and to my posterity and to my grandson as grace that I did with thee thou wilt do with me and with the land that thou sojourned in her!” 24And Avraham said, “I, I will swear.”
25And Avraham corrected Abimelech concerning firebrands of a well of the waters that slaves of Abimelech stole. 26And Abimelech said, “I didn’t know who did this thing.” And also, “Thou, thou didn’t tell to me.” And also, “I, I didn’t hear without today!”
27And Avraham took flock and herd. And he gave to Abimelech. And they, both of them, cut a covenant.
28And Avraham positioned seven ewe-lambs of the flock alone-themselves. 29And Abimelech said unto Avraham, “What is here, these seven ewe-lambs that thou positioned alone-themselves?” 30And he said, “For thou wilt take seven ewe-lambs from my hand in order that she will be to me for a witness that I dug this well.” 31Therefore he called to that place ‘Well of an oath’, because there they were sworn, both of them! 32And they cut a covenant in Well-Of-An-Oath. And Abimelech arose, and Phicol, prince of his host. And they returned unto the land of Palestinians.
33And he planted a tamarisk in Well-Of-An-Oath. And he called there via Name Yehovah Mighty-One of Hider.
34And Avraham sojourned in the land of Palestinians many days.
I. The Fear of the Gods (verses 22-24)
Some time passed since Abimelech had seen Avraham.
Abimelech went to Avraham with his army commander. He spoke starting with this: “Elohim is with thee in all that thou art doing.”
Abimelech continued, “And now, swear to me via Elohim here if thou wilt lie to me and to my posterity and to my grandson as grace that I did with thee thou wilt do with me and with the land that thou sojourned in her!” Avraham vowed.
Questions
1. Why did Abimelech take Phichol along with him to visit Avraham?
2. Why did Abimelech start speaking with “Elohim is with thee in all that thou art doing”?
3. What was Abimelech’s view of Elohim?
4. What does “swear to me via Elohim here if thou wilt lie to me and to my posterity and to my grandson” mean?
5. Explain “as grace that I did with thee thou wilt do with me and with the land that thou sojourned in her”:
6. Why was Avraham willing to vow to this violent ruler who ruled over a violent people?
II. The Vow in Action (verses 25-26)
After Avraham made this vow, he corrected Abimelech for what some of Abimelech’s slaves had stolen. Abimelech stated that he didn’t know who had done this. He also stated, “Thou, thou didn’t tell to me” and “I, I didn’t hear without today!”
Questions
1. What had the slaves of Abimelech done?
2. Why wasn’t Avraham afraid to correct this king (and the head of his army)?
3. What does firebrands of a well of the waters mean?
4. Why did Abimelech respond by the three statements, “I didn’t know who did this thing,” and “Thou, thou didn’t tell to me,” and “I, I didn’t hear without (outside of) today”?
5. Was “I didn’t know who did this thing” true?
6. Was “Thou, thou didn’t tell to me.” true?
7. Why didn’t Avraham tell him before this time?
8. Was “I, I didn’t hear without (outside of) today” true?
III. Avraham’s Second Vow (verses 27-32)
Avraham did not reply to Abimelech’s defense. He did not forgive him, and he did not excoriate him (strongly tell him off). Rather, he took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech. They both made a covenant with these.
Then Avraham placed seven female lambs apart from the rest of the flock. Abimelech was curious. He asked Avraham about this. Avraham explained, “For thou wilt take seven ewe-lambs from my hand in order that she will be to me for a witness that I dug this well.”
Avraham named that place ‘Well of an oath’ because they both vowed.
Abimelech and Phicol arise and returned home.
Questions
1. Why did Avraham give sheep and oxen to Abimelech, since it was Abimelech who desired to make the covenant?
2. What does cut a covenant mean?
3. Avraham and Abimelech cut the throats of how many animals?
4. Is it wrong to vow today?
5. Who is she in “For thou wilt take seven ewe-lambs from my hand in order that she will be to me for a witness that I dug this well”?
6. What was Abimelech doing when he agreed to take the seven ewe-lambs, and what is a ewe-lamb?
7. Why did he name the place?
8. What is the normal English name (and the name in Hebrew) for the place called Well-Of-An-Oath?
9. Does this place exist today?
10. Was Abimelech satisfied with the results of his trip to see Avraham and get him to vow?
IV. The Postscript (verses 33-34)
Avraham stayed in Beersheba for a while. Now that he had the well without contention, he could plant trees there, water them, and give them a good start. He planted a tamarisk tree.
Avraham called via Name Yehovah Mighty One of Hider.
That land will later be Avraham’s land. He peacefully sojourned there for a little while.
Questions
1. Why did he plant a tamarisk (of all the various types of trees)?
2. Why did Avraham call via (by means of) Name Yehovah Mighty One of Hider, and what does this name mean?
3. Why did Avraham remain in the land of the Palestinians many days?