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.
Genesis 26
Easy-to-Read Version
Isaac Lies to Abimelech
26 Now there was a famine. This was like the famine that happened during Abraham’s life. So Isaac went to the town of Gerar, to King Abimelech of the Philistines. 2 The Lord spoke to Isaac and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I commanded you to live in. 3 Stay in this land, and I will be with you. I will bless you. I will give you and your family all these lands. I will do what I promised to Abraham your father. 4 I will make your family as many as the stars of heaven, and I will give all these lands to your family. Through your descendants[a] every nation on earth will be blessed. 5 I will do this because your father Abraham obeyed my words and did what I said. He obeyed my commands, my laws, and my rules.”
6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 His wife Rebekah was very beautiful. The men of that place asked Isaac about Rebekah. He said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to tell them Rebekah was his wife. He was afraid the men would kill him so that they could have her.
8 After Isaac had lived there a long time, Abimelech looked out of his window and saw Isaac and his wife enjoying one another. 9 Abimelech called for Isaac and said, “This woman is your wife. Why did you tell us that she was your sister?”
Isaac said to him, “I was afraid that you would kill me so that you could have her.”
10 Abimelech said, “You have done a bad thing to us. One of our men might have had sex with your wife. Then he would be guilty of a great sin.”
11 So Abimelech gave a warning to all the people. He said, “No one must hurt this man or this woman. If anyone hurts them, they will be killed.”
Isaac Becomes Rich
12 Isaac planted fields in that place, and that year he gathered a great harvest. The Lord blessed him very much. 13 Isaac became rich. He gathered more and more wealth until he became a very rich man. 14 He had many flocks and herds of animals. He also had many slaves. All the Philistines were jealous of him. 15 So they destroyed all the wells that Isaac’s father Abraham and his servants had dug many years before. They filled them with sand. 16 Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave our country. You have become much more powerful than we are.”
17 So Isaac left that place and camped near the little river of Gerar. He stayed there and lived. 18 Long before this time, Abraham had dug many wells. After he died, the Philistines filled the wells with sand. So Isaac went back and dug those wells again. He gave them the same names his father had given them. 19 Isaac’s servants also dug a well near the little river and found fresh water.[b] 20 But the men who herded sheep in the Valley of Gerar argued with Isaac’s servants. They said, “This water is ours.” So Isaac named that well Esek.[c] He gave it that name because it was the place where they had argued with him.
21 Then Isaac’s servants dug another well. But there was an argument over this well too. So Isaac named that well Sitnah.[d]
22 Isaac moved from there and dug another well. No one came to argue about this well. So Isaac named it Rehoboth.[e] He said, “Now the Lord has found a place for us. We will grow and be successful in this place.”
23 From there Isaac went to Beersheba. 24 The Lord spoke to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid. I am with you, and I will bless you. I will make your family great. I will do this because of my servant Abraham.” 25 So Isaac built an altar and worshiped the Lord in that place. He set up camp there, and his servants dug a well.
26 Abimelech came from Gerar to see Isaac. He brought with him Ahuzzath, his advisor, and Phicol, the commander of his army.
27 Isaac asked, “Why have you come to see me? You were not friendly to me before. You even forced me to leave your country.”
28 They answered, “Now we know that the Lord is with you. We think that we should make an agreement. We want you to make a promise to us. 29 We did not hurt you; now you should promise not to hurt us. We sent you away, but we sent you away in peace. Now it is clear that the Lord has blessed you.”
30 So Isaac gave a party for them. They all ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning each man made a promise and a vow. Then the men left in peace.
32 On that day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. The servants said, “We found water in that well.” 33 So Isaac named it Shibah.[f] And that city is still called Beersheba.[g]
Esau’s Wives
34 When Esau was 40 years old, he married two Hittite women. One was Judith the daughter of Beeri. The other was Basemath the daughter of Elon. 35 These marriages made Isaac and Rebekah very unhappy.
Footnotes
- Genesis 26:4 descendants Or “Descendant.” See Gal. 3:16.
- Genesis 26:19 fresh water Or “an underground stream.” Literally, “living water.”
- Genesis 26:20 Esek This means “argument” or “fight.”
- Genesis 26:21 Sitnah This means “hatred” or “being an enemy.”
- Genesis 26:22 Rehoboth This means “open place” or “crossroads.”
- Genesis 26:33 Shibah A Hebrew word meaning “seven” or “oath.”
- Genesis 26:33 Beersheba This name means “well of the oath.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International