Bible Verses About Patriarchal Government

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.

he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”

He also declared: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the servant of Shem.

Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.

They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since Lot was living in Sodom.

Then an escapee came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the Oaks of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were bound by treaty to Abram.

And when Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men born in his household, and they set out in pursuit as far as Dan.

During the night, Abram divided his forces and routed Chedorlaomer’s army, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.

He retrieved all the goods, as well as his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the rest of the people.

For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.”

Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.

At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do.

Now, therefore, swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or descendants. Show to me and to the country in which you reside the same kindness that I have shown to you.”

And Abraham replied, “I swear it.”

But when Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech’s servants had seized,

Abimelech replied, “I do not know who has done this. You did not tell me, so I have not heard about it until today.”

So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant.

Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from the flock,

and Abimelech asked him, “Why have you set apart these seven ewe lambs?”

He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand as my witness that I dug this well.”

So that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.

After they had made the covenant at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army got up and returned to the land of the Philistines.

“Listen to us, sir. You are God’s chosen one among us. Bury your dead in the finest of our tombs. None of us will withhold his tomb for burying your dead.”

“We can plainly see that the LORD has been with you,” they replied. “We recommend that there should now be an oath between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you