Genesis 26:28 - Exposition

And they said, We saw certainly —literally, seeing we saw , i . e . we assuredly perceived, or, we have indeed discovered. Abimelech and his ministers first explain the motive which has impelled them to solicit a renewal of the old alliance— that the Lord was with thee :—the use of Jehovah instead of Elohim, as in Genesis 21:22 , does not prove that this is a Jehovistic elaboration of the earlier legend. Neither is it necessary to suppose that the term Jehovah is a Mosaic translation of the epithet employed by Abimelech (Rosenmüller). The long-continued residence of Abraham in Gemr and Beersheba afforded ample opportunity for Abimelech becoming acquainted with the patriarch's God. The introduction of Jehovah into the narrative may be noted as a third point of dissimilarity between this and the previous account— and we said, Let there he now an oath— i.e. a treaty secured by an oath or self-imprecation on the transgressor (cf. Genesis 24:41 ; Deuteronomy 29:11 , Deuteronomy 29:13 )— betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee ,—a farther particularization of the parties to the covenant for the sake of emphasis— and let us make a covenant with thee . The phrase "to cut a covenant," here used in a so-called Jehovistic portion of the history, occurs in Genesis 21:27 , Genesis 21:32 , which confessedly belongs to the fundamental document.