Bible Verses About Patriarchal Government

Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

He said, “Canaan is cursed. He will be a servant of servants to his brothers.”

He said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant.

The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your seed.” He built an altar there to the LORD, who appeared to him.

He left from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the LORD’s name.

They took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

One who had escaped came and told Abram, the Hebrew. Now he lived by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and these were allies of Abram.

When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan.

He divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative, Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that the LORD may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him.”

Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder; and gave her the child, and sent her away. She departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

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

Now, therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son. But according to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall do to me, and to the land in which you have lived as a foreigner.”

Abraham said, “I will swear.”

Abraham complained to Abimelech because of a water well, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away.

Abimelech said, “I don’t know who has done this thing. You didn’t tell me, neither did I hear of it, until today.”

Abraham took sheep and cattle, and gave them to Abimelech. Those two made a covenant.

Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

Abimelech said to Abraham, “What do these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves mean?”

He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that it may be a witness to me, that I have dug this well.”

Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because they both swore there.

So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Abimelech rose up with Phicol, the captain of his army, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

“Hear us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb. Bury your dead.”

They said, “We saw plainly that the LORD was with you. We said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you,