Genesis 26
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Lord’s First Promise to Isaac
26 There was a famine in the land in addition to the earlier one during Abraham’s time. So Isaac went to King Abimelech of the Philistines in Gerar.
2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Don’t go to Egypt. Stay where I tell you. 3 Live here in this land for a while, and I will be with you and bless you. I will give all these lands to you and your descendants. I will keep the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and give all these lands to your descendants. Through your descendant all the nations of the earth will be blessed. 5 I will bless you because Abraham obeyed me and completed the duties, commands, laws, and instructions I gave him.” 6 So Isaac lived in Gerar.
Isaac and Rebekah at Gerar
7 When the men of that place asked about his wife, Isaac answered, “She’s my sister.” He was afraid to say “my wife.” He thought that the men of that place would kill him to get Rebekah, because she was an attractive woman. 8 When he had been there a long time, King Abimelech of the Philistines looked out of his window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.
9 Abimelech called for Isaac and said, “So she’s really your wife! How could you say, ‘She’s my sister’?”
Isaac answered him, “I thought I would be killed because of her.”
10 Then Abimelech said, “What have you done to us! One of the people might have easily gone to bed with your wife, and then you would have made us guilty of sin.” 11 So Abimelech ordered his people, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death.”
12 Isaac planted ⌞crops⌟ in that land. In that same year he harvested a hundred times as much as he had planted because the Lord had blessed him. 13 He continued to be successful, becoming very rich. 14 Because he owned so many flocks, herds, and servants, the Philistines became jealous of him. 15 So the Philistines filled in all the wells that his father’s servants had dug during his father Abraham’s lifetime.
16 Finally, Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us! You’ve become more powerful than we are.”
17 So Isaac moved away. He set up his tents in the Gerar Valley and lived there. 18 He dug out the wells that had been dug during his father Abraham’s lifetime. The Philistines had filled them in after Abraham’s death. He gave them the same names that his father had given them.
19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a spring-fed well. 20 The herders from Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herders, claiming, “This water is ours!” So Isaac named the well Esek [Argument], because they had argued with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one too. So Isaac named it Sitnah [Accusation]. 22 He moved on from there and dug another well. They didn’t quarrel over this one. So he named it Rehoboth [Roomy] and said, “Now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in this land.”
The Lord’s Second Promise to Isaac
23 He went from there to Beersheba. 24 That night the Lord appeared to Isaac, and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and increase the number of your descendants for my servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He also pitched his tent in that place, and his servants dug a well there.
Isaac’s Agreement with Abimelech
26 Abimelech, his friend Ahuzzath, and Phicol, the commander of his army, came from Gerar to see Isaac. 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and sent me away from you?”
28 They answered, “We have seen that the Lord is with you. So we thought, ‘There should be a solemn agreement between us.’ We’d like to make an agreement with you 29 that you will not harm us, since we have not touched you. We have done only good to you and let you go in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.”
30 Isaac prepared a special dinner for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left peacefully.
32 That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a well they had dug. They said to him, “We’ve found water.” 33 So he named it Shibah [Oath]. That is why the name of the city is still Beersheba today.
Esau’s Marriages
34 When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 These women brought Isaac and Rebekah a lot of grief.
Genesis 26
English Standard Version
God's Promise to Isaac
26 Now there was a famine in the land, besides (A)the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to (B)Abimelech king of the (C)Philistines. 2 And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell (D)in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 (E)Sojourn in this land, and (F)I will be with you and will bless you, for (G)to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish (H)the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 (I)I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And (J)in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5 because (K)Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
Isaac and Abimelech
6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, (L)he said, “She is my sister,” for (M)he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because (N)she was attractive in appearance. 8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with[a] Rebekah his wife. 9 So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.’” 10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and (O)you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord (P)blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines (Q)envied him. 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells (R)that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”
17 So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And (S)he gave them the names that his father had given them. 19 But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar (T)quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek,[b] because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah.[c] 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth,[d] saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, (U)“I am the God of Abraham your father. (V)Fear not, for (W)I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.” 25 So he (X)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.
26 When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and (Y)Phicol the commander of his army, 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and (Z)have sent me away from you?” 28 They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. (AA)You are now the blessed of the Lord.” 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and (AB)exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 He called it Shibah;[e] therefore the name of the city is (AC)Beersheba to this day.
34 When Esau was forty years old, he took (AD)Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and (AE)they made life bitter[f] for Isaac and Rebekah.
Footnotes
- Genesis 26:8 Hebrew may suggest an intimate relationship
- Genesis 26:20 Esek means contention
- Genesis 26:21 Sitnah means enmity
- Genesis 26:22 Rehoboth means broad places, or room
- Genesis 26:33 Shibah sounds like the Hebrew for oath
- Genesis 26:35 Hebrew they were bitterness of spirit
Genesis 26
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Establishes the Oath with Isaac
26 Now there was (A)a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to (B)Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 And Yahweh (C)appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; (D)dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Sojourn in this land, and (E)I will be with you and (F)bless you, for (G)to you and to your seed I will give all these lands, and I will establish (H)the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. 4 (I)And I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and I will give your seed all these lands; and (J)by your seed all the nations of the earth [a]shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham (K)listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Isaac and Abimelech
6 So Isaac [b]lived in Gerar. 7 Then the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “(L)She is my sister,” for he was (M)afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is (N)beautiful in appearance.” 8 Now it happened, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through a window and saw, and behold, Isaac was [c]caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, surely she is your wife! How then did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” 10 (O)And 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 upon us.” 11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who (P)touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
12 And Isaac sowed in that land and [d]reaped in the same year one hundredfold. And (Q)Yahweh blessed him, 13 and the man (R)became great and continued to grow greater until he became very great; 14 and (S)he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and many servants, so that the Philistines were jealous of him. 15 Now (T)all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up [e]by filling them with earth. 16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are [f](U)too mighty for us.” 17 And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar and [g]settled there.
The Quarrel over the Wells
18 Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which [h]had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, but the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he [i]called them by the same names by which his father had called them. 19 Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of [j]flowing water. 20 And the herdsmen of Gerar (V)contended with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well [k]Esek, because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they contended over it also, so he called it [l]Sitnah. 22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not contend over it; so he named it [m]Rehoboth, and he said, “[n](W)At last Yahweh has made [o]room for us, and we will be (X)fruitful in the land.”
23 And he went up from there to (Y)Beersheba. 24 And Yahweh (Z)appeared to him that night and said,
“(AA)I am the God of your father Abraham;
(AB)Do not fear, for I am with you.
I (AC)will bless you and multiply your seed,
For the sake of My servant Abraham.”
25 So he built an (AD)altar there and called upon the name of Yahweh and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug out a well.
Isaac’s Oath with Abimelech
26 Now (AE)Abimelech came to him from Gerar [p]with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, “(AF)Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 Then they said, “We see plainly (AG)that Yahweh has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us—between [q]you and us—and let us cut a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you [r]and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the (AH)blessed of Yahweh.’” 30 Then (AI)he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they arose early, and (AJ)each swore to [s]the other; then Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32 Now it happened on that 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.” 33 So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is (AK)Beersheba to this day.
34 And Esau was forty years old, (AL)and he took as a wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; 35 and (AM)they [t]brought bitterness to Isaac and Rebekah.
Footnotes
- Genesis 26:4 Or experience blessing repeatedly, bless themselves
- Genesis 26:6 Lit dwelt
- Genesis 26:8 Lit laughing with
- Genesis 26:12 Lit found
- Genesis 26:15 Lit and filled them
- Genesis 26:16 Lit much mightier than we
- Genesis 26:17 Lit dwelt
- Genesis 26:18 Lit they had dug
- Genesis 26:18 Lit called their names as the names
- Genesis 26:19 Lit living
- Genesis 26:20 Contention
- Genesis 26:21 Enmity
- Genesis 26:22 Broad places
- Genesis 26:22 Lit Truly now
- Genesis 26:22 Or broad
- Genesis 26:26 Lit and his confidential friend
- Genesis 26:28 Lit us and you
- Genesis 26:29 Lit and just as we
- Genesis 26:31 Lit his brother
- Genesis 26:35 Lit were a bitterness of spirit to
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