Genesis 26
26
Isaac and Abimelek
1Now there was a famine in the land – besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time – and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring#26:4 Or seed all nations on earth will be blessed,#26:4 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20) 5because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.’ 6So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
7When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, ‘She is my sister,’ because he was afraid to say, ‘She is my wife.’ He thought, ‘The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.’
8When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, ‘She is really your wife! Why did you say, “She is my sister”?’
Isaac answered him, ‘Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.’
10Then Abimelek said, ‘What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.’
11So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: ‘Anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.’
12Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. 13The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. 14He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 15So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.
16Then Abimelek said to Isaac, ‘Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.’
17So Isaac moved away from there and camped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. 18Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
19Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20But the herdsmen of Gerar quarrelled with those of Isaac and said, ‘The water is ours!’ So he named the well Esek,#26:20 Esek means dispute. because they disputed with him. 21Then they dug another well, but they quarrelled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.#26:21 Sitnah means opposition. 22He moved on from there and dug another well, and no-one quarrelled over it. He named it Rehoboth,#26:22 Rehoboth means room. saying, ‘Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.’
23From there he went up to Beersheba. 24That night the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.’
25Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.
26Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal advisor and Phicol the commander of his forces. 27Isaac asked them, ‘Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?’
28They answered, ‘We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, “There ought to be a sworn agreement between us” – between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you 29that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.’
30Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. 31Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.
32That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, ‘We’ve found water!’ 33He called it Shibah,#26:33 Shibah can mean oath or seven. and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.#26:33 Beersheba can mean well of the oath and well of seven.
Jacob takes Esau’s blessing
34When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
Currently Selected:
Genesis 26: NIVUK
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Genesis 26
26
1And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine which had been in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines, to Gerar. 2And Jehovah appeared to him and said, Go not down to Egypt: dwell in the land that I shall tell thee of. 3Sojourn in this land; and I will be with thee and bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries; and I will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father. 4And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and unto thy seed will I give all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves — 5because that Abraham hearkened to my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
6And Isaac dwelt at Gerar. 7And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, She is my sister; for he feared to say, my wife, saying to himself, Lest the men of the place slay me on account of Rebecca — because she was fair in countenance. 8And it came to pass when he had been there some time, that Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked out of the window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was dallying with Rebecca his wife. 9Then Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, she is certainly thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? and Isaac said to him, Because I said, Lest I die on account of her. 10And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done to us? But a little and one of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought a trespass on us. 11And Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He that touches this man or his wife shall certainly be put to death.
12And Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold; and Jehovah blessed him. 13And the man became great, and he became continually greater, until he was very great. 14And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great number of servants; and the Philistines envied him. 15And all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them and filled them with earth. 16And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go from us; for thou art become much mightier than we. 17And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his camp in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18And Isaac dug again the wells of water that they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and that the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham; and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. 19And Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. 20But the shepherds of Gerar strove with Isaac's shepherds, saying, The water is ours. And he called the name of the well Esek, because they had quarrelled with him. 21And they dug another well, and they strove for that also; and he called the name of it Sitnah. 22And he removed thence and dug another well; and they did not strive for that. And he called the name of it Rehoboth, and said, For now Jehovah has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. 23And he went up thence to Beer-sheba. 24And Jehovah appeared to him the same night, and said, I am the God#GodHebrew: Elohim 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. 25And he built an altar there, and called upon the name of Jehovah. And he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.
26And Abimelech, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phichol the captain of his host, went to him from Gerar. 27And Isaac said to them, Why are ye come to me, seeing ye hate me, and have driven me away from you? 28And they said, We saw certainly that Jehovah is with thee; and we said, Let there be then an oath between us — between us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee, 29that thou wilt do us no wrong, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done to thee nothing but good, and have let thee go in peace; thou art now blessed of Jehovah. 30And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31And they rose early in the morning, and swore one to another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well that they had dug, and said to him, We have found water. 33And he called it Shebah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.
34And Esau was forty years old, when he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basmath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and to Rebecca.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.