Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart: as a subsequent action it may be clearer to say “Then Abraham….” Set apart means “set apart from the herd,” “took out of the herd,” “put in a place by themselves.” Ewe lambs are female lambs, that is, young female sheep.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .