Abimelech is the name of a man in Abraham’s day, but afterward the name became the title of kings of the Philistines. For example, Julius Caesar was the name of a man, but his name, Caesar, became the title of the emperors of Rome, who reigned afterward. The same would be true of Herod the Great. Herod was the name of a man, but his sons retained the title Herod, when they reigned in their father’s stead. Such a thing concerning Abimelech is thought to be so, because there are several men in the Bible who are called Abimelech. The one that proves the point occurs during David’s time, when he sought refuge from Saul by going to Achish, the king of the Philistines, but Achish is later called Abimelech in the Psalms (1Samuel 21:10-13; cp. Psalm 34:1). So, Abimelech, which may, indeed, be the name of the first king of the Philistines, transferred to being a title for the later kings of the land.
At about the same time that Isaac was weened, Abimelech and his chief captain came to Abraham in an effort to assure peaceful relations between them. Since Abimelech had stolen Sarah away from Abraham about a year before Isaac was born (Genesis 20:1-2), and, if he visited Abraham immediately after Isaac’s weaning, the event that transpired here took place after Abrahm had dwelt in the land of the Philistines for 3 to 4 years. Therefore, it would seem that Abimelech had been spying on or at least casually observing Abraham throughout this period. Abimelech’s conclusion was that he had reason to fear Abraham, because God was with him and blessed him abundantly, or at least enough that Abimelech saw the hand of God was upon Abraham for good. Therefore, he wanted Abraham to swear by his God that he would not seek to overthrow him or his royal line (Genesis 21:22-23).[1]
This covenant that Abimelech wanted was a treaty similar to that, which Abraham had formerly made with Mamre, the Amorite, and his brothers, Aner and Eshkol. The treaty was made, when Abrahm dwelt in Hebron, which was also called the Plain of Mamre, and they helped Abraham rescue Lot (Genesis 13:18; 14:13, 24). Therefore, Abimelech wasn’t simply seeking peace with a formidable potential enemy, but was, rather, seeking an ally, whose strength he could rely upon in the event of trouble from neighboring tribes.
So, Abraham swore by God that he wouldn’t actively or passively seek to harm Abimelech or his descendants, and, in effect bound him to Abimelech’s safety. The covenant was ratified by Abraham giving Abimelech an undisclosed number of sheep and oxen (Genesis 21:27) However, Abraham did use this event as an opportunity to rebuke Abimelech, because of his servants, who had used violence against Abraham’s servants in the matter of stealing a well, which Abraham had dug (Genesis 21:24-25). However, Abimelech denied any knowledge of the matter, and thought it peculiar that Abraham hadn’t mentioned the thing prior to their meeting (Genesis 21:26).
Therefore, after ratifying the treaty, which Abimelech sought to make (Genesis 21:27), Abraham set aside seven ewe lambs off by themselves (Genesis 21:28). When Abimelech inquired about them (Genesis 21:29), Abraham told him that they would be the witnesses that he had dug the well, which Abimelech’s servants stole, and, therefore, he demanded its return (Genesis 21:30), and Abimelech accepted the witnesses and returned the well to Abraham. Whereupon, Abraham named the place, where the covenant was made concerning the well, Beersheba, meaning well of the oath (Genesis 21:31),[2] after which Abimelech and Phichol, his chief captain, rose up and departed to the land of the Philistines (Genesis 21:32).
After the covenants were agreed upon, Abraham stayed in the land for many years. He planted a grove in Beersheba and called upon the everlasting God, or the God of the ages (Genesis 21:33-34). This is important to note, because in worshiping the God of the ages/Everlasting God, Abraham had to have been given a vision of the Lord being such a God, vis-à-vis God knows and rules over what the ages will bring. This is understood in Jesus’ words that Abraham had seen his day, Jesus’ time, and rejoiced (John 8:56).
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[1] We need to keep in mind that Abimelech had his gods, but he feared Abraham’s God, so he wanted Abraham to swear by the God Abimelech feared. Moreover, it is the habit of folks in power to overlook their own evil deeds and emphasize the good they had done. However, we need to also keep in mind that, had it not been for God blessing Abraham, Abimelech would not have delt so kindly with Abraham as he had. He feared to mistreat Abraham because of the Lord had all but slain Abimelech and all that was his about a year before Isaac’s birth, and, had it not been for Abraham’s prayers, Abimelech and all that was his would have been destroyed by this time.
[2] The Hebrew sheba (H7651) means seven (ewe lambs). The term, however, means well of the oath, because it became a custom that binding one’s self to seven things confirmed the oath. Abraham used it to cause Abimelech to return his well (see Fausset’s Bible Dictionary for “Beersheba.”
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