Genesis 21:33

And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
planted	וַיִּטַּ֥ע vai.yi.Ta'	H5193	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
grove	אֶ֖שֶׁל 'E.shel	H815	a tamarisk tree · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Beer-sheba	בִּבְאֵ֣ר biv.'Er	H884	Beer-Sheba · preposition + proper noun, a place name
called	וַיִּ֨קְרָא vai.Yik.ra'-	H7121	to call out to (i.e. properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
name	בְּשֵׁ֥ם be.Shem	H8034	an appellation · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD	יְהוָ֖ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
everlasting	עוֹלָֽם o.Lam	H5769	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
God	אֵ֥ל 'el	H410	strength · noun, common masculine singular construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Isaiah 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is…
Psalms 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art G…
Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not…
Romans 16:26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nati…
Genesis 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
Genesis 12:8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: an…
Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, D…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 21:33–end

Observe, 1. Abraham, having got into a good neighbourhood, knew when he was well off, and continued a great while there. There he planted a grove for a shade to his tent, or perhaps an orchard of fruit-trees; and there, though we cannot say he settled, for God would have him, while he lived, to be a stranger and a pilgrim, yet he sojourned many days, as many as would consist with his character, as Abraham the Hebrew, or passenger. 2. There he made, not only a constant practice, but an open profession, of his religion: There he called on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God, probably in the grove he planted, which was his oratory or house of prayer. Christ prayed in a garden, on a mounta…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 21:33

Abraham planted a grove--Hebrew, "of tamarisks," in which sacrificial worship was offered, as in a roofless temple.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 21:33

Abraham planted a grove - The original word אשל eshel has been variously translated a grove, a plantation, an orchard, a cultivated field, and an oak. From this word, says Mr. Parkhurst, may be derived the name of the famous asylum, opened by Romulus between two groves of oaks at Rome; (μεθοριον δυοιν δρυμως, Dionys. Hal., lib. ii. c. 16): and as Abraham, Gen 21:33, agreeably, no doubt, to the institutes of the patriarchal religion, planted an oak in Beer-sheba, and called on the name of Jehovah, the everlasting God, (compare Gen 12:8; Gen 18:1), so we find that oaks were sacred among the idolaters also. Ye shall be ashamed of the oaks ye have chosen, says Isaiah, Isa 1:29, to the idolatrous…

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John Gill on Genesis 21:33

And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba,.... The Jewish writers (w) are divided about the use of this grove, as Jarchi relates; one says it was for a paradise or orchard, to produce fruits out of it for travellers and for entertainment; another says it was for an inn to entertain strangers in; it rather was for a shade, to shelter from the sun in those sultry and hot countries; and perhaps for a religious use, and to be an oratory, as the following words seem to suggest: in the midst of it very likely Abraham built an altar, and sacrificed to the Lord; hence might come the superstitious use of groves among the Heathens; and, when they came to be abused to idolatrous purposes, they were forb…

The Church Fathers

DID NOT ABRAHAM POSSESS ANY FIELD IN THE LAND OF CHANAAN? — We may ask how Abraham planted a field not far from the well of the oath, if, as St. Stephen says (Cf Acts 7:5), he had not received an inheritance in this country, not even a foot of land. But we must understand here by inheritance (Cf Gen. 21:27-30), not the one he bought for money, but the one God had to give him for his goodness. The space around the well was no doubt included in the acquisition of seven young sheep by Abraham, when he and Abimelech swore to one another faithfully. [
— Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 55 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Abimelech — My father a king, or father of a king, a common name of the Philistine kings, as “Pharaoh” was of the Egyptian kings. (1.) The Philistine king of Gerar in the time of Abraham (Gen. 20:1-18). By an…
Everlasting — Eternal, applied to God (Gen. 21:33; Deut. 33:27; Ps. 41:13; 90:2). We also read of the “everlasting hills” (Gen. 49:26); an “everlasting priesthood” (Ex. 40:15; Num. 25:13). (See ETERNAL.)
Grove — (1.) Heb. ‘asherah, properly a wooden image, or a pillar representing Ashtoreth, a sensual Canaanitish goddess, probably usually set up in a grove (2 Kings 21:7; 23:4). In the Revised Version the…
Idolatry — Image-worship or divine honour paid to any created object. Paul describes the origin of idolatry in Rom. 1:21-25: men forsook God, and sank into ignorance and moral corruption (1:28). The forms of…
Tamarisk — Heb. ‘eshel (Gen. 21:33; 1 Sam. 22:6; 31:13, in the R.V.; but in A.V., “grove,” “tree”); Arab. asal. Seven species of this tree are found in Palestine. It is a “very graceful tree, with long feathery…
Beer-Sheba · .Named by Abraham, who lived there — .Named by Abraham, who lived there
Groves · Antiquity of — Antiquity of
Trees · Early custom of planting, in consecrated grounds — Early custom of planting, in consecrated grounds

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Genesis 21:33

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 21:33–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 21:33

Adam Clarke on Genesis 21:33

John Gill on Genesis 21:33

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 21:33

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 21:33–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 21:33

Adam Clarke on Genesis 21:33

John Gill on Genesis 21:33

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 21:33–end

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 21:33

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 21:33-34

Rashi on Genesis 21:33