What Does Genesis 21:23 Mean in the King James?
Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The oath shares its Hebrew consonants with “seven,” and the chapter soon preserves that echo in the name Beer-sheba.
THE MEANING
Here, trust reaches beyond the two people speaking: the promise names a son and a grandson. It guards against deceit and binds future conduct to the faithful love already shown. Even the land where the other has stayed is included in the bond.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A promise concerns only the two people making it; this verse explicitly extends its reach to the son and grandson.
THE ROOT
הִשָּׁבְעָה
hiššāḇəʿāh
GROWS FROM
שבע
sh-b-ʿ
To swear an oath; the same consonants also appear in the word for seven.
The verb translated “swear” shares the consonants ש־ב־ע with שֶׁבַע (shevaʿ, seven). The chapter makes this sound-link vivid through seven ewe lambs and the name Beer-sheba, binding the oath to a mark that lasts.
ALSO GROWS
hiššāḇəʿāh: Swear; take an oath
הִשָּׁבְעָה
This is the oath requested in the verse, making the promise’s binding force explicit.
shevaʿ: Seven
שֶׁבַע
The seven ewe lambs in the surrounding scene echo the oath’s consonants and connect the promise to Beer-sheba.
תִּשְׁקֹר
tishqor
GROWS FROM
שקר
sh-q-r
Falsehood; to lie or deceive.
“deal falsely” in this verse is tishqor. The request names the rupture the oath is meant to exclude: false dealing. The word reaches beyond a single interaction, since the promise guards the speaker, his son, and his grandson.
ALSO GROWS
sheqer: Falsehood; a lie
שֶׁקֶר
The noun makes clear that the verse is guarding against deception, not merely discourtesy.
shāqar: To lie or deal falsely
שָׁקַר
This verb is the action the oath is asked to rule out.
כַּחֶסֶד
ka-chesed
GROWS FROM
חסד
ḥ-s-d
Faithful love; loyal kindness.
The kindness named here is חֶסֶד (ḥesed), a durable, relational love. The request asks future conduct to answer a bond that has already been shown.
ALSO GROWS
ḥasadim: Acts of faithful love or kindness
חֲסָדִים
The plural form shows this love through the acts that sustain a relationship.
ḥasid: A faithful or devoted person
חָסִיד
This related word ties chesed to loyalty as a quality of a person, not just a pleasant gesture.
THE PATTERN
Durable trust joins truthful speech with faithful love that carries a bond across time.
Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.THE THREAD
Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.The oath verb נִשְׁבְּעוּ (nishbeʿu, they swore) shares the consonants ש־ב־ע with שֶׁבַע (shevaʿ, seven). The seven ewe lambs in this scene make the sound-link visible, and the oath is preserved in the name Beer-sheba.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us