Phicol, also spelled Phichol ( KJV) or Phikol, (, meaning "great"; ) was a

Philistine Philistines (; Septuagint, LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philist ...

military leader. Phicol was the chief captain of the army of

Abimelech Abimelech (also spelled Abimelek or Avimelech; ) was the generic name given to all Philistine kings in the Hebrew Bible from the time of Abraham through King David. In the Book of Judges, Abimelech, son of Gideon, of the Tribe of Manasseh, is ...

, the Philistine king of Gerar. He entered into an alliance with

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

with reference to a certain well which, from this circumstance, was called

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

, "the well of the oath" ( Genesis 21:22,32; 26:26). The Phicol mentioned in Genesis 26:26 is in relation to an agreement between

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

and Abimelech, whereas the Phicol mentioned in Genesis 21:22, 32 is in relation to an agreement between Abraham and Abimelech. Therefore, the name Phicol may be a namesake handed down through a generation or possibly even the name of a title (both are referred to as "commander of the army"), such as

. Walvoord, John F. and Zuck, Roy B. The Bible Knowledge Commentary, ChariotVictor Publishing, 1985, p. 71.

References

Philistines Book of Genesis people Vayeira {{Asia-reli-bio-stub