Genesis Vol 3.pdf - College Press

20: 1-21 :34 GENESIS
ings so far, and claimed the district as their own, as is
evident from the fact that Abimelech’s people had taken
the well from Abraham. On the other hand, Abraham
with his numerous flocks would not confine himself to
the Wady es Seba, but must have sought for pasturage in
the whole surrounding country; and as Abimelech had
given him full permission to dwell in the land (2O:l5),
he would still, as heretofore, frequently come as far as
Gerar, so that his dwelling at Beersheba (22:19) might
be correctly described as sojourning (nomadizing) in the
land of the Philistines” (BCOTP, 247). There are several
wells in this vicinity, in our day, we are told, the largest
of which is a little over 12 feet in diameter; “the digging
of this well involved cutting through 16 feet of solid rock.
. . Conder found a date indicating that repairs had
been carried out as late as the 12th century A.D. At the
time of his visit in 1874, it was 38 feet to the surface of
the water” (NBD, 1 38).
V. 33-Tlhe tamarisk tree, planted by Abraham in
Beersheba, common in Egypt and in Petraea, has been
found growing in recent years near the ancient Beersheba.
This is a species of stunted bush or gnarled tree of desert
areas. “The planting of this long-lived tree, with its hard
wood, and its long, narrow, thickly clustered, evergreen
leaves, was to be a type of the ever-enduring grace of the
faithful covenant God.” But there is no mention whatever
of a cult associated with this place, or of sacrifice in
memoriam of the treaty made there. “The tamarisk with
its firm and durable wood was a fitting emblem of the
Everlasting God. Why some make a fetish of this tree, or
others say that the tree was only ‘believed to have been
planted by Abraham,’ is beyond our power to explain”
(EG, 614). Sacred trees, sacred wells, sacred stones, etc.,
each sacred by virtue of the event which it memorialized,
are common throughout the Scriptures (cf. Josh. 4:7;
Gen. 35:8, 13:18; Exo. 3:1-5; cf. Exo. 34:13; Deut.
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