Genesis 26
King James Version
26 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
2 And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
7 And 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 Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.
9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.
13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.
16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.
20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.
21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.
22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.
24 And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.
26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.
27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
28 And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;
29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord.
30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.
33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.
34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
Genesis 26
Evangelical Heritage Version
Isaac and Abimelek
26 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that had occurred during the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines at Gerar. 2 The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down into Egypt. Live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Live in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the sky and will give all these lands to your descendants. In your seed[a] all the nations of the earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my requirements, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
6 Isaac lived in Gerar. 7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “The men of this place might kill me for Rebekah, since she is beautiful.” 8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines happened to look out a window, and there was Isaac caressing Rebekah, his wife.
9 Abimelek called Isaac and said, “It is obvious that she is your wife. So why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?”
Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘If I do not, I will die because of her.’”
10 Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!”
11 Abimelek gave this command to all the people: “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
12 Isaac planted grain in that land, and in the same year he reaped one hundred times as much as he had sown, because the Lord blessed him. 13 The man kept growing wealthier and wealthier until he became very great. 14 He possessed flocks and herds and a large household, so the Philistines were envious of him.
15 Now the Philistines had blocked all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. 16 Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us, for you are much more powerful than we are.”[b]
17 So Isaac departed from there, camped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there.
18 Isaac dug again the wells that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, because the Philistines had blocked them after the death of Abraham. He gave them the same names that his father had given them. 19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley along the stream bed and found a well there that provided a steady flow of water. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar started a dispute with Isaac’s herdsmen. They said, “The water belongs to us.” He named the well Esek,[c] because they argued with him. 21 They dug another well, but they started a dispute over that one also. He named it Sitnah.[d] 22 He left that place and dug another well. They did not start a dispute over that one, so he called it Rehoboth.[e] He said, “Now the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”
23 He traveled from there to Beersheba. 24 The Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not be afraid, for I am with you, and I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
25 He built an altar there and proclaimed[f] the name of the Lord. He pitched his tent there. Isaac’s servants dug a well there.
26 Then Abimelek came from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his advisor and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”
28 They said, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, yes, between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing but good for you, and we have sent you away in peace.’ Now you are blessed by the Lord.”
30 He made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. 31 They got up the next morning and exchanged their oaths. Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him peacefully. 32 It so happened that on the same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a well that they had dug. They said to him, “We have found water.” 33 He called it Shibah.[g] Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba[h] to this day.
Esau and Jacob
34 When Esau was forty years old, he took two wives: Judith, the daughter of Be’eri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 They were a source of bitterness for Isaac and Rebekah.
Footnotes
- Genesis 26:4 The literal rendering seed is retained here to show the continuity of the Messianic promises from Eve, through Abraham and David, to Christ, who was the promised Seed of the Woman.
- Genesis 26:16 Or too numerous for us
- Genesis 26:20 Esek means argument.
- Genesis 26:21 Sitnah means opposition.
- Genesis 26:22 Rehoboth means wide enough or enough room.
- Genesis 26:25 Or called on
- Genesis 26:33 Shibah means oath or seven.
- Genesis 26:33 Beersheba means well of the oath or well of the seven.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.