Genesis 21:32-33

21:32 So they made a treaty ¹  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ²  to the land of the Philistines. ³  21:33 Abraham ⁴  planted a tamarisk tree ⁵  in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, ⁶  the eternal God.

[21:32]  ¹ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:32]  ² tn Heb “arose and returned.”

[21:32]  ³ sn The Philistines mentioned here may not be ethnically related to those who lived in Palestine in the time of the judges and the united monarchy. See D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 238.

[21:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:33]  ⁵ sn The planting of the tamarisk tree is a sign of Abraham’s intent to stay there for a long time, not a religious act. A growing tree in the Negev would be a lasting witness to God’s provision of water.

[21:33]  ⁶ tn Heb “he called there in the name of the Lord.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.