Genesis 26
26
Isaac and Abimelek
Ge 12:10–20; 20:1–18
1#Ge 12:10There was a famine in the land, in addition to the first famine that was during the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2#Ge 12:1; 12:7The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land of which I will tell you. 3#Ge 13:15; 28:15Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you; for I will give to you and all your descendants all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4#Ge 15:5; 22:17–18I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of the heavens and will give your descendants all these lands. By your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed,#Or will bless themselves. 5#Ge 22:16; 22:18because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” 6So Isaac lived in Gerar.
7#Ge 12:13; 20:2The men of the place asked him about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” thinking, “The men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful in appearance.”
8When he had been there a long time, Abimelek the king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah his wife. 9Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is surely your wife, so how is it you said, ‘She is my sister’?”
Then Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘I might die on account of her.’ ”
10Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might have easily lain with your wife, and you might have brought guilt upon us!”
11#Ps 105:15Abimelek charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”
12#Ge 26:3; 24:1Then Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; the Lord blessed him. 13The man became rich and continued to prosper until he became very wealthy. 14#Ge 37:11; Ecc 4:4For he had possessions of flocks and herds and a great number of servants so that the Philistines envied him. 15#Ge 21:30For the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father by filling them with dirt.
16#Ex 1:9Abimelek said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much more powerful than we are.”
17So Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18#Ge 21:31Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called their names after the names his father had called them.
19But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of running water there, 20#Ge 21:25the herdsmen of Gerar contended with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. 21They dug another well and quarreled over that also. So he called the name of it Sitnah. 22#Ge 17:6; Ex 1:7Then he moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called the name of it Rehoboth, for he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”
23He went up from there to Beersheba. 24#Ge 15:1; 17:7The Lord appeared to him that same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.”
25#Ge 13:18; Ps 116:17He built an altar there, called on the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
26Then Abimelek went to him from Gerar, along with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phicol the commander of his army. 27#Ge 26:16; Jdg 11:7Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”
28#Ge 21:22–23And they said, “We saw plainly that the Lord was with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29#Ge 24:31; Ps 115:15so that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you, and have done you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’ ”
30#Ge 19:3Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31They rose up early in the morning and swore an oath with one another. Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
32That 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#Ge 21:31And he called it Shibah. Therefore, the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.
34#Ge 36:2Esau was forty years old when he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35and they brought grief to Isaac and to Rebekah.
Military Bible Association
Genesis 26
26
Isaac and Abimelek
1Now there was a famine in the land – besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time – and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring#26:4 Or seed all nations on earth will be blessed,#26:4 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20) 5because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.’ 6So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
7When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, ‘She is my sister,’ because he was afraid to say, ‘She is my wife.’ He thought, ‘The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.’
8When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, ‘She is really your wife! Why did you say, “She is my sister”?’
Isaac answered him, ‘Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.’
10Then Abimelek said, ‘What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.’
11So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: ‘Anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.’
12Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. 13The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. 14He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 15So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.
16Then Abimelek said to Isaac, ‘Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.’
17So Isaac moved away from there and camped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. 18Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
19Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20But the herdsmen of Gerar quarrelled with those of Isaac and said, ‘The water is ours!’ So he named the well Esek,#26:20 Esek means dispute. because they disputed with him. 21Then they dug another well, but they quarrelled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.#26:21 Sitnah means opposition. 22He moved on from there and dug another well, and no-one quarrelled over it. He named it Rehoboth,#26:22 Rehoboth means room. saying, ‘Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.’
23From there he went up to Beersheba. 24That night the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.’
25Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.
26Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal advisor and Phicol the commander of his forces. 27Isaac asked them, ‘Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?’
28They answered, ‘We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, “There ought to be a sworn agreement between us” – between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you 29that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.’
30Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. 31Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.
32That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, ‘We’ve found water!’ 33He called it Shibah,#26:33 Shibah can mean oath or seven. and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.#26:33 Beersheba can mean well of the oath and well of seven.
Jacob takes Esau’s blessing
34When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
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