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
Contemporary English Version
Isaac and Abimelech
26 Once during Abraham's lifetime, the fields had not produced enough grain, and now the same thing happened. So Isaac went to King Abimelech of the Philistines in the land of Gerar, 2 because the Lord had appeared to Isaac and said:
Isaac, stay away from Egypt! I will show you where I want you to go. 3 (A) You will live there as a foreigner, but I will be with you and bless you. I will keep my promise to your father Abraham by giving this land to you and your descendants.
4 I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all of this land. They will be a blessing to every nation on earth,[a] 5 because Abraham did everything I told him to do.
6 Isaac moved to Gerar 7 (B) with his beautiful wife Rebekah. He was afraid that someone might kill him to get her, and so he told everyone that Rebekah was his sister. 8 After Isaac had been there a long time, King Abimelech looked out a window and saw Isaac hugging and kissing Rebekah. 9 Abimelech called him in and said, “Rebekah must be your wife! Why did you say she is your sister?”
“Because I thought someone would kill me,” Isaac answered.
10 “Don't you know what you've done?” Abimelech exclaimed. “If someone had slept with her, you would have made our whole nation guilty!” 11 Then Abimelech warned his people that anyone who even touched Isaac or Rebekah would be put to death.
12 Isaac planted grain and had a good harvest that same year. The Lord blessed him, 13 and Isaac was so successful that he became very rich. 14 In fact, the Philistines were jealous of the large number of sheep, goats, and slaves that Isaac owned, 15 and they stopped up the wells that Abraham's servants had dug before his death. 16 Finally, Abimelech said, “Isaac, I want you to leave our country. You have become too powerful to stay here.”
17 Isaac left and settled in Gerar Valley, 18 where he cleaned out those wells that the Philistines had stopped up. Isaac also gave each of the wells the same name[b] that Abraham had given to them. 19 While his servants were digging in the valley, they found a spring-fed well. 20 But the shepherds of Gerar Valley quarreled with Isaac's shepherds and claimed the water belonged to them. So this well was named “Quarrel,” because they had quarreled with Isaac.
21 Isaac's servants dug another well, and the shepherds also quarreled about it. So that well was named “Jealous.” 22 Finally, they dug one more well. There was no quarreling this time, and the well was named “Lots of Room,” because the Lord had given them room and would make them very successful.
23 Isaac went on to Beersheba, 24 where the Lord appeared to him that night and told him, “Don't be afraid! I am the God who was worshiped by your father Abraham, my servant. I will be with you and bless you, and because of Abraham I will give you many descendants.” 25 Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. Then he set up camp, and his servants started digging a well.
26 (C) Meanwhile, Abimelech had left Gerar and was taking his advisor Ahuzzath and his army commander Phicol to see Isaac. 27 When they arrived, Isaac asked, “Why are you here? Didn't you send me away because you hated me?”
28 They answered, “We now know for certain that the Lord is with you, and we have decided there needs to be a peace treaty between you and us. So let's make a solemn agreement 29 not to harm each other. Remember, we have never hurt you, and when we sent you away, we let you go in peace. The Lord has truly blessed you.”
30 Isaac gave a big feast for them, and everyone ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning Isaac and the others made a solemn agreement, then he let them go in peace.
32 Later that same day Isaac's servants came and said, “We've struck water!” 33 So Isaac named the well Shibah,[c] and the town is still called Beersheba.[d]
Esau's Foreign Wives
34 When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 But these two women brought a lot of grief to Esau's parents Isaac and Rebekah.
Footnotes
- 26.4 They … on earth: Or “All nations on earth will ask me to bless them.”
- 26.18 gave … same name: By doing this Isaac claimed ownership of the wells.
- 26.33 Shibah: In Hebrew “Shibah” sounds something like “good luck” and “promise.”
- 26.33 Beersheba: Meaning “Well of Good Fortune” or “Peace Treaty Well.”
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.
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