^{23 (J)} From there he went up to Beersheba. ^{24 (J)} And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake." ^{25 (J)} So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well.

^{26 (J)} When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, ^{27 (J)} Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?" ^{28 (J)} They said, "We see plainly that the Lord has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, ^{29 (J)} that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord." ^{30 (J)} So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. ^{31 (J)} In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. ^{32 (J)} That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, "We have found water." ^{33 (J)} He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.