CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Genesis 26
Chapter 26 of 50
Chapter Overview
What happens in Genesis 26
A famine strikes the land, and Isaac goes to Gerar. God tells him not to go to Egypt and renews the promises made to Abraham. Like his father, Isaac tells people his wife Rebekah is his sister. Isaac becomes very wealthy, causing conflict with the Philistines over wells. He eventually makes peace with Abimelech.
Scripture
Genesis 26
God Renews the Promise to Isaac
Study note
A famine comes to the land, as in Abraham's day. Isaac goes to Gerar, where Abimelech is king. God appears to Isaac and tells him not to go down to Egypt. God renews the covenant promises to Isaac — many descendants, the land of Canaan, and a blessing for all nations through his offspring — all because Abraham obeyed God.
1 Another famine hit the land — a different one from the famine back in Abraham's day. Isaac traveled to Gerar and went to see Abimelech, king of the Philistines. 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 The Lord appeared to Isaac and warned him, "Don't go down to Egypt. Stay in the land I point you to." And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
3 "Settle here for now, and I will stay with you and bless you. I'm going to give all this land to you and your descendants, keeping the oath I made to your father Abraham." 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 "I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky. I will hand over all this land to them. And through your family, every nation on earth will receive blessing." 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 "I am doing all this because Abraham listened to me. He followed everything I asked of him — my commands, my rules, and my teachings." Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
6 So Isaac stayed put in Gerar. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
Isaac's Deception about Rebekah
Study note
Like father, like son — Isaac tells the men of Gerar that Rebekah is his sister because he is afraid they will kill him for her. Abimelech looks out a window and sees Isaac and Rebekah behaving as husband and wife. He confronts Isaac, who admits his fear. Abimelech rebukes Isaac and issues a decree protecting both Isaac and Rebekah.
7 When the local men asked about Rebekah, Isaac told them, "She's my sister." He was scared to admit she was his wife, thinking, "These men might kill me to get Rebekah — she's so beautiful." 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 Isaac had been there quite a while. Abimelech the Philistine king looked out his window. He saw Isaac being loving with Rebekah. They were clearly husband and wife. 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 Abimelech called Isaac in and said, "She's obviously your wife! Why on earth did you tell us she was your sister?" Isaac admitted, "I was afraid someone might kill me to take her." 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 Abimelech exclaimed, "Look what you almost did to us! Somebody could have easily slept with your wife, and you would have brought terrible guilt down on all of us!" 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 Abimelech gave a public order right away: "Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death." And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
Isaac Becomes Wealthy
Study note
Isaac plants crops and reaps a hundredfold harvest because the Lord blesses him. He becomes so wealthy that the Philistines become jealous. They fill in the wells that Abraham's servants had dug. Abimelech asks Isaac to leave because he has become too powerful. Isaac moves to the Valley of Gerar and reopens his father's wells. His servants dig new wells, but the local herdsmen claim them. Isaac keeps moving until he finds a well no one disputes, which he names Rehoboth, meaning 'room,' saying God has made room for them.
12 Isaac planted crops in that land. That very year he gathered a hundred times what he planted, because the Lord was blessing him. Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
13 Isaac kept getting richer and richer until he was very wealthy. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
14 He owned so many flocks, herds, and servants that the Philistines started getting jealous of him. For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
15 So the Philistines filled in all the wells that Abraham's workers had dug years before. They stuffed them full of dirt. 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 Finally Abimelech told Isaac, "You need to leave. You've become way too powerful for us." And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
17 So Isaac packed up and moved to the Valley of Gerar, where he set up camp. And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
18 Isaac went back and re-dug the old wells that his father Abraham's workers had originally dug — the ones the Philistines had filled in after Abraham died. He gave them the exact same names his father had used. 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 Isaac's workers dug a new well in the valley and struck a vein of fresh, flowing water. And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.
20 But the herders from Gerar started arguing with Isaac's herders, claiming, "That water is ours!" So Isaac named that well Esek, meaning 'argument,' because they fought over it. 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 His men dug another well, and the locals quarreled over that one too. He named it Sitnah, meaning 'hostility.' And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.
22 Isaac moved on and dug yet another well. This time nobody picked a fight over it, so he named it Rehoboth, saying, "Finally the Lord has made room for us! Now we can thrive here." 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.
Treaty with Abimelech and Esau's Wives
Study note
Isaac goes up to Beersheba, where God appears to him and renews the promise. Isaac builds an altar and digs a well. Abimelech comes to Isaac seeking a peace treaty, recognizing that God is clearly with Isaac. They make a sworn agreement and feast together. On that same day, Isaac's servants find water in the well they dug. The chapter ends by noting that Esau marries two Hittite women at age forty, which is a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
23 From there, Isaac traveled up to Beersheba. And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba.
24 That very night, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Don't be scared — I am with you. I will bless you and make your family grow because of my promise to my servant Abraham." 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 Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He set up his camp at that spot, and his workers dug a well. 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 came from Gerar. He brought along his personal adviser Ahuzzath and his army commander Phicol. Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.
27 Isaac asked them, "Why are you here? You treated me like an enemy and kicked me out." And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
28 They replied, "We can clearly see that the Lord is on your side. So we thought we should make a formal agreement — a treaty between us." 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 "Promise that you won't hurt us, since we never hurt you. We always treated you well and sent you off peacefully. And now, it's obvious the Lord has blessed you." 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 Isaac threw a feast for them, and they all ate and drank together. And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
31 Bright and early the next morning, they all made their promises to each other. Then Isaac sent them off, and they left on friendly terms. 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 That same day, Isaac's servants ran up with exciting news about the well they had been digging: "We hit water!" 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 Isaac named the well Shibah. That's why the town is still called Beersheba to this day. And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.
34 Esau turned forty. He married two Hittite women. One was Judith, daughter of Beeri. The other was Basemath, daughter of Elon. 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 Both of these marriages made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah. Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
Key Themes
Themes in Genesis 26
God's promises renewed to IsaacRepeating family patternsPerseverance amid oppositionGod's blessing despite human weaknessPeace through patience
Apply This Today
Living Genesis 26
Isaac faced the same temptations and conflicts His father did, yet God continued to bless and guide Him. Your struggles may echo those of your parents, but God's promises and faithfulness extend to your generation too.
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