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.
These seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand. Abimelech's acceptance of this specific present was an earnest or pledge of his acknowledgment that the well was the patriarch's property; and while the former donation was, on Abraham's part, a token of his friendly disposition, the select ewe lambs (the number seven being a sacred and significant number) were given and received as a symbol of infeftment in the possession of the watering-place.