Genesis 26

1And there was a famine in the lande besides the first famine that was in the dayes of Abraham. Wherefore Izhak went to Abimelech King of the Philistims vnto Gerar. 2For the Lord appeared vnto him, and sayde, Goe not downe into Egypt, but abide in the land which I shall shewe vnto thee. 3Dwell in this lande, and I will be with thee, and will blesse thee: for to thee, and to thy seede I will giue all these countreys: and I will performe the othe which I sware vnto Abraham thy father. 4Also I wil cause thy seede to multiply as the starres of heauen, and will giue vnto thy seede all these countreys: and in thy seede shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, 5Because that Abraham obeyed my voyce and kept mine ordinance, my commandements, my statutes, and my Lawes. 6So Izhak dwelt in Gerar. 7And the men of the place asked him of his wife, and he sayd, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife, least, sayde he, the men of the place shoulde kill me, because of Rebekah: for she was beautifull to the eye. 8So after hee had bene there long time, Abimelech King of the Philistims looked out at a windowe, and loe, he sawe Izhak sporting with Rebekah his wife. 9Then Abimelech called Izhak, and sayde, Loe, shee is of a suertie thy wife, and why saydest thou, She is my sister? To whom Izhak answered, Because I thought this, It may be that I shall dye for her. 10Then Abimelech said, Why hast thou done this vnto vs? one of the people had almost lien by thy wife, so shouldest thou haue brought sinne vpon vs. 11Then Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man, or his wife, shall die the death. 12Afterwarde Izhak sowed in that lande, and founde in the same yeere an hundreth folde by estimation: and so the Lord blessed him. 13And the man waxed mightie, and stil increased, till he was exceeding great, 14For he had flockes of sheepe, and heards of cattell, and a mightie housholde: therefore the Philistims had enuy at him. 15In so much that the Philistims stopped and filled vp with earth all the welles, which his fathers seruantes digged in his father Abrahams time. 16Then Abimelech sayde vnto Izhak, Get thee from vs, for thou art mightier then wee a great deale. 17Therefore Izhak departed thence and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18And Izhak returning, digged the welles of water, which they had digged in the dayes of Abraham his father: for the Philistims had stopped them after the death of Abraham, and hee gaue them the same names, which his father gaue them. 19Izhaks seruantes then digged in the valley, and found there a well of liuing water. 20But the herdmen of Gerar did striue with Izhaks herdmen, saying, The water is ours: therefore called he the name of the well Esek, because they were at strife with him. 21Afterwarde they digged another well, and stroue for that also, and he called the name of it Sitnah. 22Then he remoued thence, and digged an other well, for the which they stroue not: therefore called hee the name of it Rehoboth, and sayde, Because the Lord hath nowe made vs roome, we shall increase vpon the earth. 23So he went vp thence to Beer-sheba. 24And the Lord appeared vnto him the same night, and sayde, I am the God of Abraham thy father: feare not, for I am with thee, and wil blesse thee, and will multiplie thy seede for my seruant Abrahams sake. 25Then he builte an altar there, and called vpon the Name of the Lord, and there spred his tent: where also Izhaks seruauntes digged a well. 26Then came Abimelech to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friendes, and Phichol the captaine of his armie. 27To whom Izhak sayd, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate mee and haue put mee away from you? 28Who answered, Wee sawe certainely that the Lord was with thee, and wee thought thus, Let there be nowe an othe betweene vs, euen betweene vs and thee, and let vs make a couenant with thee. 29If thou shalt do vs no hurt, as we haue not touched thee, and as we haue done vnto thee nothing but good, and sent thee away in peace: thou nowe, the blessed of the Lord, doe this. 30Then hee made them a feast, and they dyd eate and drinke. 31And they rose vp betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: then Izhak let them go, and they departed from him in peace. 32And that same day Izhaks seruantes came and tolde him of a well, which they had digged, and said vnto him, We haue found water. 33So hee called it Shibah: therefore the name of the citie is called Beer-sheba vnto this day. 34Nowe when Esau was fourtie yeere olde, he tooke to wife Iudith, the daughter of Beeri an Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon an Hittite also. 35And they were a griefe of minde to Izhak and to Rebekah.

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Genesis 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.

The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®

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