Genesis 21:32

Summary

The verse narrates the conclusion of a covenant between Abraham, Abimelech, and Phicol at Beersheba, followed by Abimelech and Phicol's departure and return to Philistine territory. The Hebrew text uses a sequence of narrative verbs to mark the successive stages of the action: making the covenant, rising, and returning.

Key words

• yikhretu ("they made/cut", H3772H) — qal narrative form of the verb "to cut," used idiomatically with berit for making a covenant; the narrative vav marks this as the next event in the sequence.
• berit ("a covenant", H1285) — feminine singular noun, the direct object of the cutting/making action.
• yaqom ("he arose", H6965B) — qal narrative verb, third person masculine singular, marking Abimelech's departure as the next narrated action.
• sar ("commander of", H8269) construct with tzeva ("army", H6635A) — a construct chain meaning "commander of an army," here further specified by the suffix -o ("his") in tzevaò, "his army."
• yashuvu ("they returned", H7725G) — qal narrative plural verb, indicating the final action of the sequence, the return to Philistine land.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built as a chain of three narrative (vav-consecutive) verbs: yikhretu ("they made"), yaqom ("he arose"), and yashuvu ("they returned"). Each is introduced by the narrative va- (H9001), which links the clauses sequentially, presenting the events as a continuous chronological progression rather than separate statements. The subject of the first verb (yikhretu, plural) is not explicitly named in this verse alone but continues from the preceding context; the second verb shifts to a singular subject, Avimelekh (H0040G), joined by u- ("and") to Fikhol (H6369), described in construct as sar tzevaò — "commander of his army," where the pronominal suffix -o ("his") ties the army to Abimelech.

The final clause, va-yashuvu el-eretz Pelishtim, uses the plural verb yashuvu to indicate that both Abimelech and Phicol together returned, and eretz Pelishtim is a construct phrase, "land of the Philistines," identifying their destination by gentilic reference to the Pelishtim (H6430G).

Differences between versions

The LXX inserts an additional figure, "Ochozath his groomsman" (ὁ νυμφαγωγὸς αὐτοῦ), who does not appear in the Hebrew text's list of persons rising and returning. The Hebrew names only Avimelekh and Fikhol as those who arose, while the LXX names three individuals. The Vulgate (VULCLEM) preserves only the first clause of the verse ("Et inierunt fœdus pro puteo juramenti"), rendering Be'er Shava' ("Beersheba") as "puteo juramenti" ("well of the oath"), a translation of the place name's components rather than a transliteration, and omits the remainder of the verse concerning Abimelech, Phicol, and their return.