The First Book of Moses: Genesis

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- Chapter 26 -

(Genesis 12:1–9)

Some time later there was a severe famine in the land. That was different from the famine that occurred when Abraham was alive. So Isaac went southeast to the city of Gerar to talk to Abimelech, the king of the Philistine people.

But Yahweh appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt! Live in the land that I tell you!

Stay in this land, and I will help you and bless you, because it is to you and your descendants that I will give all these lands, and I will do what I solemnly promised to your father.

I will cause your descendants to be as numerous as the stars in the sky. I will give to your descendants all these lands, and I will cause your descendants to be a blessing to all the people groups on the earth.

I will do that because Abraham obeyed me. He obeyed all that I told him to do, all that I commanded him to do, all that I declared and all the laws that I gave him.”

Isaac Deceives Abimelech

So Isaac stayed in Gerar along with his wife and sons.

When the men in Gerar asked who that woman was, Isaac said, “She is my sister.” He said that because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “Rebekah is very beautiful, so they will want her. They will kill me to get her.”

When Isaac had been there a long time, one day Abimelech, the king of the Philistine people, looked down from a window in his palace and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said to him, “Now I realize that she is really your wife! So why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied to him, “I said that because I thought that someone here might kill me to get her.”

Abimelech said, “You should not have done this to us! One of our people might have slept with your wife, and you would have caused us to be guilty of a great sin!”

Then Abimelech commanded all his people, saying, “Do not harm this man or his wife! Anyone who does that will surely be executed!”

Isaac’s Prosperity

Isaac planted grain in that land that year, and he harvested a very large crop, because Yahweh had blessed him.

Isaac continued to acquire more and more possessions, until finally he became very wealthy.

He had large herds of sheep, goats, and cattle, and many slaves. Because of that, the Philistine people envied him.

So all the wells that the servants of his father Abraham had dug, the people filled up with earth.

Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “You have become more numerous than we are, so I want you to leave from our area.”

So Isaac and his family moved from there. They went and set up their tents in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.

There were several wells in that area that had been dug when Isaac’s father Abraham was living, but Philistine people had filled them up with earth after Abraham died. But Isaac and his servants dug the wells out again, and Isaac gave the wells the same names that his father had given to them.

Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water.

But the men who herded animals in the Valley of Gerar argued with the men who took care of Isaac’s animals. They said, “The water in this well is ours!” So Isaac named the well Esek, which means “dispute,” because they disputed about who owned it.

Then Isaac’s servants dug another well, but they quarreled about who owned that one also. So Isaac named it Sitnah, which means “opposition.”

They moved on from there and dug another well, but this time no one quarreled about who owned it. So he named it Rehoboth, which means “empty place,” saying, “Yahweh has given us an empty place to live in, a place that is not wanted by other people, and we will become very prosperous here.”

From there Isaac went up to Beersheba.

The first night that he was there, Yahweh appeared to him and said, “I am the God whom your father Abraham worshiped. Do not be afraid of anything. I will help you and bless you, and because of what I promised my servant Abraham, I will greatly increase the number of your descendants.”

So Isaac built an altar there and offered a sacrifice to worship Yahweh. He set up their tents there, and his servants started to dig a well.

Isaac’s Covenant with Abimelech

While they were digging the well, King Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, along with Ahuzzath, his advisor, and Phicol, the commander of his army.

Isaac asked them, “You acted in a hostile way toward me before and sent me away. So why have you come to me now?”

One of them answered, “We have seen that Yahweh helps you. So we said to each other, ‘We should have an agreement between ourselves and Isaac.’ So we should make a peace treaty with you,

stating that you will not harm us, in the same way that we did not molest you. We always treated you well, and we sent you away peacefully. And now Yahweh is blessing you.”

So Isaac made a feast for them, and they all ate and drank.

Early the next morning they all swore to each other that they would do what they had promised. Then Isaac sent them home peacefully.

That day Isaac’s servants came to him and told him about the well that they had finished digging. They said, “We found water in the well!”

Isaac named the well Shibah, which sounds like the Hebrew word that means “oath.” To the present time the town there has the name Beersheba which means “peace treaty well.”

Esau’s Wives

When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon. Both of those women were descendants of Heth, not from Isaac’s clan.

Esau’s two wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.

(Genesis 12:1–9)

There was a famine in the land, in addition to the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.

The LORD appeared to him, and said, “Don’t go down into Egypt. Live in the land I will tell you about.

Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For I will give to you, and to your offspring, all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.

I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and will give all these lands to your offspring. In your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed,

because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my requirements, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Isaac Deceives Abimelech

Isaac lived in Gerar.

The men of the place asked him about his wife. He said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “My wife”, lest, he thought, “the men of the place might kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to look at.”

When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was caressing Rebekah, his wife.

Abimelech called Isaac, and said, “Behold, surely she is your wife. Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die because of her.’”

Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!”

Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

Isaac’s Prosperity

Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. The LORD blessed him.

The man grew great, and grew more and more until he became very great.

He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Philistines envied him.

Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.

Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

Isaac departed from there, encamped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there.

Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. He called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of flowing

(a)

water.

The herdsmen of Gerar argued with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek,(b) because they contended with him.

They dug another well, and they argued over that, also. So he called its name Sitnah.(c)

He left that place, and dug another well. They didn’t argue over that one. So he called it Rehoboth.(d) He said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

He went up from there to Beersheba.

The LORD appeared to him the same night, and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”

He built an altar there, and called on the LORD’s name, and pitched his tent there. There Isaac’s servants dug a well.

Isaac’s Covenant with Abimelech

Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his army.

Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me, and have sent me away from you?”

They said, “We saw plainly that the LORD was with you. We said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let’s make a covenant with you,

that you will do us no harm, as we have not touched you, and as we have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace.’ You are now the blessed of the LORD.”

He made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

They rose up some time in the morning, and swore an oath to one another. Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

The same day, Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.”

He called it “Shibah”.(e) Therefore the name of the city is “Beersheba”(f) to this day.

Esau’s Wives

When Esau was forty years old, he took as wife Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

They grieved Isaac’s and Rebekah’s spirits.

Footnotes

(a)26:19 Or, living. Or, fresh.

(b)26:20 “Esek” means “contention”.

(d)26:22 “Rehoboth” means “broad places”.

(e)26:33 Shibah means “oath” or “seven”.

(f)26:33 Beersheba means “well of the oath” or “well of the seven”