Genesis 26
26
1And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Avraham [exalted father/Fly They Will]. And Yitz’chak [Laughter] went unto Avi-melekh (my father is king) king of the P’lishtim (wanderers) unto G’rar (a lodging place).
2And the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate) appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Mitzrayim [Egypt] (Double Distress or Double Stronghold, Black Land); dwell in the land which I shall tell youi of:
3Sojourn in this land, and I will be with youi, and will bless youi; for unto youi, and unto youri seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore unto Avraham [exalted father/Fly They Will] youri father;
4And I will make youri seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto youri seed all these countries; and in youri seed shall all the nations of the earth be Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous);
5Because that Avraham [exalted father/Fly They Will] obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
6And Yitz’chak [Laughter] dwelt in G’rar (a lodging place):
7And the men of the place asked [him] of his wife; and he said, She [is] my sister: for he feared to say, [She is] my wife; lest, [said he], the men of the place should kill me for Rivkah (Tied Up; Secured); because she [was] fair to look upon.
8And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Avi-melekh (my father is king) king of the P’lishtim (wanderers) looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Yitz’chak [Laughter] [was] sporting with Rivkah his wife.
9And Avi-melekh called Yitz’chak [Laughter], and said, Behold, of a surety she [is] youri wife: and [why did] youi say, She [is] my sister? And Yitz’chak [Laughter] said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
10And Avi-melekh said, What [is] this youi hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have laid with youri wife, and youi should have brought guiltiness upon us.
11And Avi-melekh charged all [his] people, saying, He that touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
12Then Yitz’chak [Laughter] sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate) Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) him.
13And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
14For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the P’lishtim (wanderers) envied him.
15For all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Avraham [exalted father/Fly They Will] his father, the P’lishtim (wanderers) had stopped them, and filled them with earth.
16And Avi-melekh said unto Yitz’chak [Laughter], Go from us; for youi are much mightier than we.
17And Yitz’chak [Laughter] departed there, and pitched his tent in the valley of G’rar (a lodging place), and dwelt there.
18And Yitz’chak [Laughter] dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Avraham [exalted father/Fly They Will] his father; for the P’lishtim had stopped them after the death of Avraham [exalted father/Fly They Will]: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
19And Yitz’chak’s [Laughter] servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.
20And the herdsmen of G’rar did strive with Yitz’chak’s [Laughter] herdsmen, saying, The water [is] ours: and he called the name of the well ‘Esek (contention); because they strove with him.
21And they dug another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah (strife, hatred (being an enemy)).
22And he removed from there, and dug another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rekhovot (wide open spaces); and he said, For now the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate) has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
23And he went up from there to Be’er-Sheva (well of the sevenfold oath).
24And the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate) appeared unto him the same night, and said, I [am] the God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] of Avraham [exalted father/Fly They Will] youri father: fear not, for I [am] with youi, and will bless youi, and multiply youri seed for my servant Avraham’s [exalted father/Fly They Will] sake.
25And he built an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate), and pitched his tent there: and there Yitz’chak’s [Laughter] servants dug a well.
26Then Avi-melekh (my father is king) went to him from G’rar (a lodging place), and Achuzat (possession) one of his friends, and Pikhol (mouth of all) the chief captain of his army.
27And Yitz’chak [Laughter] said unto them, For what reason come you1sf to me, seeing you1sf hate me, and have sent me away from you?
28And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate) was with youi: and we said, Let there be now an oath between us, [even] between us and youi, and let us make a covenant with youi;
29That youi will do us no hurt, as we have not touched youi, and as we have done unto youi nothing but good, and have sent youi away in peace: youi [are] now the Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) of the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate).
30And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
31And they rose up early in the morning, and swore one to another: and Yitz’chak [Laughter] sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
32And it came to pass the same day that Yitz’chak’s [Laughter] servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said unto him, We have found water.
33And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city [is] unto this day.
34And ‘Esav (hairy) was forty years old when he took to wife Y’hudit (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]) the daughter of Be’eri (my well) the Hitti (terrorists), and Basmat (spice) the daughter of Eilon (terebinth- Pistacia terebinthus- source of tanning material and turpentine; mighty) the Hitti (terrorists):
35Which were a grief of mind unto Yitz’chak [Laughter] and to Rivkah (Tied Up; Secured).
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Genesis 26
26
1There was a famine in the land, as bad as the famine during the time of Abraham. And Isaac went down to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
2-5 God appeared to him and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt; stay where I tell you. Stay here in this land and I’ll be with you and bless you. I’m giving you and your children all these lands, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I’ll make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands. All the nations of the Earth will get a blessing for themselves through your descendants. And why? Because Abraham obeyed my summons and kept my charge—my commands, my guidelines, my teachings.”
6So Isaac stayed put in Gerar.
7The men of the place questioned him about his wife. He said, “She’s my sister.” He was afraid to say “She’s my wife.” He was thinking, “These men might kill me to get Rebekah, she’s so beautiful.”
8-9One day, after they had been there quite a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac fondling his wife Rebekah. Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So, she’s your wife. Why did you tell us ‘She’s my sister’?”
Isaac said, “Because I thought I might get killed by someone who wanted her.”
10Abimelech said, “But think of what you might have done to us! Given a little more time, one of the men might have slept with your wife; you would have been responsible for bringing guilt down on us.”
11Then Abimelech gave orders to his people: “Anyone who so much as lays a hand on this man or his wife dies.”
12-15Isaac planted crops in that land and took in a huge harvest. God blessed him. The man got richer and richer by the day until he was very wealthy. He accumulated flocks and herds and many, many servants, so much so that the Philistines began to envy him. They got back at him by throwing dirt and debris into all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham, clogging up all the wells.
16Finally, Abimelech told Isaac: “Leave. You’ve become far too big for us.”
17-18So Isaac left. He camped in the valley of Gerar and settled down there. Isaac dug again the wells which were dug in the days of his father Abraham but had been clogged up by the Philistines after Abraham’s death. And he renamed them, using the original names his father had given them.
19-24One day, as Isaac’s servants were digging in the valley, they came on a well of spring water. The shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s shepherds, claiming, “This water is ours.” So Isaac named the well Esek (Quarrel) because they quarreled over it. They dug another well and there was a difference over that one also, so he named it Sitnah (Accusation). He went on from there and dug yet another well. But there was no fighting over this one so he named it Rehoboth (Wide-Open Spaces), saying, “Now God has given us plenty of space to spread out in the land.” From there he went up to Beersheba. That very night God appeared to him and said,
I am the God of Abraham your father;
don’t fear a thing because I’m with you.
I’ll bless you and make your children flourish
because of Abraham my servant.
25Isaac built an altar there and prayed, calling on God by name. He pitched his tent and his servants started digging another well.
26-27Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his advisor and Phicol the head of his troops. Isaac asked them, “Why did you come to me? You hate me; you threw me out of your country.”
28-29They said, “We’ve realized that God is on your side. We’d like to make a deal between us—a covenant that we maintain friendly relations. We haven’t bothered you in the past; we treated you kindly and let you leave us in peace. So—God’s blessing be with you!”
30-31Isaac laid out a feast and they ate and drank together. Early in the morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac said good-bye and they parted as friends.
32-33Later that same day, Isaac’s servants came to him with news about the well they had been digging, “We’ve struck water!” Isaac named the well Sheba (Oath), and that’s the name of the city, Beersheba (Oath-Well), to this day.
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34-35When Esau was forty years old he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. They turned out to be thorns in the sides of Isaac and Rebekah.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.