¹⁰Sarah said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman. Get rid of her son. The slave woman’s son will never have a share of the family’s property with my son Isaac.”

¹¹What Sarah said upset Abraham very much. After all, Ishmael was his son.

¹²But God said to him, “Do not be so upset about the boy and your servant Hagar. Listen to what Sarah tells you, because your family line will continue through Isaac. ¹³I will make the son of your servant into a nation also. I will do it because he is your child.”

¹⁴Early the next morning Abraham got some food and a bottle of water. The bottle was made out of animal skin. He gave the food and water to Hagar. He placed them on her shoulders. Then he sent her away with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.

¹⁵When the water in the bottle was gone, she put the boy under a bush. ¹⁶Then she went off and sat down nearby. She was about as far away as a person can shoot an arrow. She thought, “I can’t stand to watch the boy die.” As she sat nearby, she began to sob.

¹⁷God heard the boy crying. Then the angel of God called out to Hagar from heaven. He said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. ¹⁸Lift the boy up. Take him by the hand. I will make him into a great nation.”

¹⁹Then God opened Hagar’s eyes. She saw a well of water. So she went and filled the bottle with water. And she gave the boy a drink.

²⁰God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and learned to shoot with a bow. ²¹While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got him a wife from Egypt.

The Peace Treaty at Beersheba

²²At that time Abimelech and Phicol spoke to Abraham. Phicol was the commander of Abimelech’s army. They said, “God is with you in everything you do. ²³Now make a promise to me here while God is watching. Take an oath that you will treat me fairly. Promise that you will treat my children and their children the same way.

“I’ve been kind to you. Now you be kind to me. And be kind to the country where you are living as an outsider.”

²⁴Abraham said, “I promise with an oath that I’ll do it.”

²⁵Then Abraham objected to Abimelech about what Abimelech’s servants had done. They had taken over a well of water.

²⁶But Abimelech said, “I don’t know who has done this. You didn’t tell me. Today is the first time I heard about it.”

²⁷So Abraham gave Abimelech sheep and cattle. The two men made a peace treaty. ²⁸Then Abraham took out seven female lambs from his flock.

²⁹Abimelech asked Abraham, “What’s the meaning of these seven female lambs? Why have you taken them out and put them by themselves?”

³⁰Abraham replied, “Accept the seven lambs from me. They will be a witness that I dug this well.”

³¹That place was named Beersheba. That’s because there the two men made a promise with an oath.

³²After the peace treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelech went back to the land of the Philistines. His army commander Phicol went with him.

³³Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba. There he worshiped the Lord, the God who lives forever. ³⁴Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

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