What Does Genesis 21:30 Mean in the King James?
And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
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 seven lambs make the well’s oath visible: in Hebrew, the word for seven shares its root with the word for swearing.
THE MEANING
Seven ewe lambs pass from one hand to another as a witness that the speaker dug the well. The verse holds labor, a tangible sign, and a claim together, so the testimony reaches beyond the speaker’s own words.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that testimony must be spoken: here, the transferred lambs themselves stand as witness.
THE ROOT
שֶׁבַע
sheva
GROWS FROM
שבע
Seven; the same consonantal root is used for swearing an oath.
The count carries the sound of an oath. The following verse makes that connection explicit: the two men swear, and the well is named Beersheba. Here, seven lambs turn the agreement into a visible witness.
ALSO GROWS
nishbaʿ: swore; took an oath
נִשְׁבַּע
The next verse uses this verb for the two men’s oath, joining the lambs’ number to the agreement they witness.
Be’er-sheva: well of seven; well of the oath
בְּאֵר שָׁבַע
The place-name joins the well to the same seven-and-oath word-family.
THE PATTERN
A claim becomes shareable and durable when a witness stands beside the speaker.
Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.THE THREAD
Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.The next verse names the oath already carried in the seven lambs: the men swear, and the place becomes Beersheba. The shared Hebrew root connects the number seven with swearing, making the flock a visible sign of their agreement.
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