Genesis 26 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Genesis 26

God’s Promise to Isaac

26:1 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5 because 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, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because 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 with¹ 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 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 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 envied him. 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells 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 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 quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek,² because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah.³ 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth,⁴ 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, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he 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 Phicol the commander of his army, 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and 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. 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 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;⁵ therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

34 When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and they made life bitter⁶ for Isaac and Rebekah.

Footnotes

[1] 26:8 Hebrew may suggest an intimate relationship
[2] 26:20 Esek means contention
[3] 26:21 Sitnah means enmity
[4] 26:22 Rehoboth means broad places, or room
[5] 26:33 Shibah sounds like the Hebrew for oath
[6] 26:35 Hebrew they were bitterness of spirit

Commentary

v1: In 21.22-34, Abraham had made a covenant with Abimelech, some 70-90 years before this incident. It is interesting that both Abimelech and Phichol (v26) are still alive. (It is possible that the writer uses their names for their sons.)

The famine is probably preceded by a drought, hence the demand for wells; see v15, 18-22.

v2: Isaac is commanded not to go to Egypt, as in Ruth 1.1. In difficult times we are best to stay in the place of blessing, the place of God's promises. Isaac is obedient, and God honours him by providing wells of water; "We shall be fruitful in the land."

v3-6: God's promises are made directly to Isaac, although they are based on Abraham's obedience, see 1 Kings 11.32, "for David's sake." We are blessed for the sake of Jesus Christ.

v7: Like Abraham, Isaac lies about his wife; 12.13; 20.2.

v8-11: Abimelech's moral integrity; he rebuked Isaac for his deceit.

v12-15: In spite of his error, Isaac prospered, 20.14-16. This prosperity brings the envy of the Philistines, and the previous covenants are broken, see 21.25-31. We should avoid being envious of others who are blessed 'more' than us, or in different ways. Envy is a powerful and destructive thing.

v17-18: Isaac makes an effort, to avoid conflict, and to put right the wrongs of the past.

v19-21: Further arguments; although such things are unpleasant, they are a common part of human life. The important thing is that we react in a spiritual way.

v22: Eventually, at Rehoboth, Isaac finds a well without dispute; here is spaciousness, room to grow and flourish.

v23: Isaac moves to Beersheba, where Abraham and Abimelech previously made their covenant.

v24-25: Here the Lord appears to Isaac, bringing encouragement and promises. As in v4-5, these promises are for Abraham's sake. Isaac follows Abraham's example in building an altar: it is important to set and to follow good examples.

v26-29: Abimelech recognises God's blessing upon Isaac, as in 21.22. He does not refer to the earlier disputes; and Isaac is gracious enough not to mention them.

v30-33: Isaac continues to enjoy God's provision, with another well.

v34-35: Although Isaac entered covenant with Abimelech, his relationship with Esau is strained. There are some trials that always remain with us.