Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Genesis 21:24 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 24. 24And Abraham said, I will swear.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Abraham agrees to swear the requested oath. His concise response accepts peaceful obligation, while the next verse shows that agreement does not prevent him from confronting an unresolved wrong.
Read It With
- Genesis 21:22–34
Read verses 23–27. Verse 23 defines the oath, verse 24 records Abraham's consent, verses 25–26 expose the disputed well, and verse 27 completes the covenant. Without what follows, the oath can be misread as passive silence.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Abraham's short oath accepts the peace obligation before he introduces the unresolved well dispute.
Read Genesis 21:22–24 together
Why these verses belong together: Recognized divine presence leads Abimelech to request a multigenerational oath of truth and loyal treatment, which Abraham accepts.
Verse 22. 22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
Verse 23. 23 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.
Verse 24. 24 And Abraham said, I will swear.
What Remains True
A commitment to peace can include truthful confrontation rather than avoidance of legitimate grievance.
How It Can Shape Life
- When agreeing to reconciliation, state unresolved harms before finalizing terms so peace is based on truth rather than suppression.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 21:22–34 — Abraham and Abimelech Make a TreatySources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? very strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, narrative sequence, oath, well, animals, witness, place name, worship, sojourn, and canonical recurrence.
Exact location: Genesis 21:22–34 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 20; 22:1–19; 26:12–33; 28:10; 46:1; and later Beer-sheba references
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Divine-presence claim, oath, false dealing, loyal treatment, dispute, seizure, covenant idiom, seven/oath wordplay, witness, place name, planting, invocation, divine title, and sojourner status.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 21:22–34; lemmas and morphology for hayah im, shava, shaqar, hesed, yakhach, gazal, karat berit, sheva, edah, Be'er Sheva, nata, qara, El Olam, and gur
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Time formula, Phichol, oath wording, hesed, well seizure, covenant idiom, seven lambs, Beer-sheba wordplay, tamarisk, El Olam, and sojourn translation checks.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 21 and translator notes on 21:22–34
Open NET Genesis 21 ↗