Genesis 26: God's promise to Isaac, and the quarrels over wells
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What happens?
During a famine Yahweh tells Isaac to stay in the land and repeats to him the promises he made to Abraham. In Gerar Isaac says Rebekah is his sister, as Abraham had done, and King Abimelech finds out the truth. Isaac grows rich, quarrels with the Philistines over wells, and at Beersheba Abimelech comes to make a covenant with him; the chapter ends with Esau's two Hittite wives, who bring grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
Who is speaking?
The narrator tells the story. Yahweh, Isaac, Abimelech and his men, the herdsmen of Gerar and Isaac's servants speak. God's own words are in 5 of the 35 verses: Yahweh appears to Isaac twice, during the famine (verses 2-5) and at Beersheba (verse 24). God's own words are printed in gold, and those verses are marked God speaks
1There was a famine in the land, in addition to the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.
In plain English: There was a famine in the land, besides the earlier famine in Abraham's time. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.
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2Yahweh appeared to him, and said, “Don’t go down into Egypt. Live in the land I will tell you about.God speaks
In plain English: Yahweh appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land I will tell you about.
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3Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For I will give to you, and to your offspring, all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.God speaks
In plain English: Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. I will give all these lands to you and to your offspring, and I will keep the oath I swore to your father Abraham.
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4I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and will give all these lands to your offspring. In your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed,God speaks
In plain English: I will make your offspring as many as the stars in the sky, and I will give all these lands to your offspring. Through your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed (or: will bless themselves),
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5because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my requirements, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”God speaks
In plain English: because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my requirements, my commands, my rules, and my laws."
Good to know: "My laws" uses torah: instruction or law, the word later used for the law given through Moses. This is the only verse in Genesis that uses it.
What changes: Some read the verse as saying Abraham kept laws like those later given through Moses. Others read "my laws" more broadly, as everything God told Abraham to do. Genesis does not list them.
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6Isaac lived in Gerar.
In plain English: So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
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7The men of the place asked him about his wife. He said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “My wife”, lest, he thought, “the men of the place might kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to look at.”
In plain English: When the men of the 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 here might kill me to get Rebekah, because she is beautiful."
Good to know: Abraham did the same with Sarah twice: in Egypt () and in Gerar (), where the king was also called Abimelech. Genesis does not say whether he is the same man.
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8When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was caressing Rebekah, his wife.
In plain English: When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac caressing (or: laughing and playing with) his wife Rebekah.
Good to know: "Caressing" is metsacheq, from tsachaq, "laugh": the same word as "mocking" in . It sounds like Isaac's own name. In Hebrew, Yitschaq was metsacheq Rebekah.
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9Abimelech called Isaac, and said, “Behold, surely she is your wife. Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die because of her.’”
In plain English: Abimelech called for Isaac and said, "So she really is your wife! Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "Because I thought, 'I might die because of her.'"
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10Abimelech 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 on us!”
In plain English: Abimelech said, "What have you done to us? One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!"
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11Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”
In plain English: So Abimelech gave an order to all the people: "Anyone who touches this man or his wife will certainly be put to death."
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12Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. Yahweh blessed him.
In plain English: Isaac planted crops in that land, and that same year he harvested a hundred times what he had planted. Yahweh blessed him.
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13The man grew great, and grew more and more until he became very great.
In plain English: The man became great, and he grew greater and greater until he was very great.
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14He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Philistines envied him.
In plain English: He had flocks and herds and a large household (many servants), and the Philistines envied him.
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15Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.
In plain English: The Philistines had blocked up all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, and filled them with earth.
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16Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”
In plain English: Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, because you have become much stronger than we are."
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17Isaac departed from there, encamped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there.
In plain English: So Isaac left there, camped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there.
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18Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. He called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
In plain English: Isaac dug again the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had blocked up after Abraham died. He gave them the same names his father had given them.
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19Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of flowing water.
In plain English: Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found a well of flowing water there.
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20The herdsmen of Gerar argued with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.
In plain English: The herdsmen of Gerar argued with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water is ours." So he named the well Esek, because they had quarreled with him.
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21They dug another well, and they argued over that, also. So he called its name Sitnah.
In plain English: They dug another well, and they argued over that one too, so he named it Sitnah.
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22He left that place, and dug another well. They didn’t argue over that one. So he called it Rehoboth. He said, “For now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”
In plain English: He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one argued over that one. So he named it Rehoboth. He said, "Now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land."
Good to know: Each well name fits its story. Esek means "strife", because the herdsmen quarreled over it (). Sitnah is also a Hebrew word for "opposition" (). Rehoboth sounds like rachab, "to make wide", which is why Isaac says "Yahweh has made room for us".
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23He went up from there to Beersheba.
In plain English: From there he went up to Beersheba.
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24Yahweh appeared to him the same night, and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”God speaks
In plain English: That night Yahweh appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and give you many offspring for the sake of my servant Abraham."
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25He built an altar there, and called on Yahweh’s name, and pitched his tent there. There Isaac’s servants dug a well.
In plain English: Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well there.
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26Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his army.
In plain English: Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar, with his friend Ahuzzath and Phicol, the commander of his army.
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27Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me, and have sent me away from you?”
In plain English: Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me, since you hate me and sent me away from you?"
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28They said, “We saw plainly that Yahweh was with you. We said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let’s make a covenant with you,
In plain English: They said, "We have seen clearly that Yahweh is with you. So we said, 'Let there be an oath between us, between you and us. Let us make a covenant with you,
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29that you will do us no harm, as we have not touched you, and as we have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace.’ You are now the blessed of Yahweh.”
In plain English: that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you, and have done you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace.' You are now the one Yahweh has blessed."
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30He made them a feast, and they ate and drank.
In plain English: Isaac made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.
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31They rose up some time in the morning, and swore an oath to one another. Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
In plain English: Early in the morning they got up and swore an oath to each other. Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.
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32The same day, Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.”
In plain English: That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, "We have found water."
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33He called it “Shibah”. Therefore the name of the city is “Beersheba” to this day.
In plain English: He named it Shibah. That is why the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.
Good to know: Shibah sounds like the Hebrew words for "oath" and "seven". This is the second reason Genesis gives for the name Beersheba. In Abraham and Abimelech swore an oath there; here Isaac and Abimelech have just sworn an oath too ().
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34When Esau was forty years old, he took as wife Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
In plain English: When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
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35They grieved Isaac’s and Rebekah’s spirits.
In plain English: They were a bitter grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
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