And it came to be at that time, and Abimelech, and Phichol the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all which you do. And now, make an oath with me by God here. You will not deal falsely with me and with my offspring, and with my prosperity because of the favor with which I have done to you, you do to me. And with the land in which you dwell in.” Genesis 21:22–23.
Abimelech, whom God rebuked for taking Sarah from Abraham, comes to Abraham with the captain of his army to make an oath with him. Abraham agrees not to deal falsely with the king of the Philistines, his offspring, nor his prosperity. Although Abraham did not lie to Abimelech about Sarah, for she was his sister, he did not tell the king she was his wife. This nearly cost Abimelech his life. To ensure there is no misunderstanding of this nature again, Abimelech obtains an oath from Abraham.
Once the agreement was made, Abraham brought up an issue about a well. Abimelech’s servants seized a well that Abraham dug (Genesis 21:25). Abimelech claimed no knowledge of the event. After taking sheep and oxen to make a covenant between them, Abraham separated seven ewe lambs as a testimony to Abimelech that the well belonged to him (Genesis 21:28-30). Therefore, they called the place the well of seven (Genesis 21:31).
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree by the well having seven springs; this tree remains green all the time, as indicated by its Aramaic root, though botanically the kind of tree is unknown. Abraham used the tree as a symbol of God’s faithfulness and therefore invoked the name of the LORD, the eternal God (Genesis 21:33).
