Genesis 26

Isaac Settles in Gerar

1Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you. 3Live for a time in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your #26:3 Lit seeddescendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. 4I will multiply your #26:4 Lit seeddescendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your #26:4 Lit seeddescendants all these lands; and by your #26:4 Lit seeddescendants all the nations of the earth #26:4 Or bless themselvesshall be blessed, 5because Abraham #26:5 Lit listened diligently to My voiceobeyed Me and fulfilled his duty to Me, and kept My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

6So Isaac lived in Gerar. 7When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, “#26:7 Lit lest...placethe men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, since she is beautiful.” 8Now it came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down through a window, and saw them, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah. 9Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she certainly is your wife! So how is it that you said, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘otherwise I might be killed on account of her.’ ” 10And Abimelech said, “What is this that you have done to us? One of the people might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11So Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife will certainly be put to death.”

12Now Isaac sowed in that land and #26:12 Lit foundreaped in the same year a hundred times as much. And the Lord blessed him, 13and the man became rich, and continued to grow #26:13 Lit greatricher until he became very #26:13 Lit greatwealthy; 14for he had possessions of flocks #26:14 Lit and possessions of herdsand herds, and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him. 15Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up #26:15 Lit and filled themby filling them with dirt. 16Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are #26:16 Lit much mightier than wetoo powerful for us.” 17So Isaac departed from there and camped in the Valley of Gerar, and #26:17 Lit dweltsettled there.

Argument over the Wells

18Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which #26:18 Lit they had dughad been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he #26:18 Lit called their names as the namesgave them the same names which his father had #26:18 Lit calledgiven them. 19But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of #26:19 Lit livingflowing water, 20the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well #26:20 I.e., argumentEsek, because they argued with him. 21Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it #26:21 I.e., accusationSitnah. 22Then he moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it #26:22 I.e., broad placesRehoboth, for he said, “#26:22 Lit Truly nowAt last the Lord has made #26:22 Or broadroom for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

23And he went up from there to Beersheba. 24And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said,

“I am the God of your father Abraham;

Do not fear, for I am with you.

I will bless you and multiply your #26:24 Lit seeddescendants,

For the sake of My servant Abraham.”

25So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

Covenant with Abimelech

26Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar #26:26 Lit and his confidential friendwith his adviser Ahuzzath, and Phicol the commander of his army. 27Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28They said, “We have seen plainly that the Lord has been with you; so we said, ‘An oath must now be taken #26:28 Lit between usby us,’ that is, #26:28 Lit between us and youby you and us. So let us make a covenant with you, 29that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you #26:29 Lit and just as weand have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.” 30Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31In the morning they got up early and #26:31 Lit swore one to anotherexchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away, and they left him in peace. 32Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac’s servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” 33So he called it #26:33 Meaning uncertain, perhaps oathShibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

34When Esau was forty years old he #26:34 Lit took as wifemarried Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; 35and they #26:35 Lit were a bitterness of spirit tobrought grief to Isaac and 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.

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