Genesis 26:17-32

17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled.
18 Isaac 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.
19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there.
20 But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek,[a] because they disputed with him.
21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.[b]
22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,[c] saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”
23 From there he went up to Beersheba.
24 That 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.”
25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.
26 Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.
27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?”
28 They 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
29 that 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.”
30 Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.
31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.
32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!”

Genesis 26:17-32 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 26

This chapter treats of Isaac's removal to Gerar, occasioned by a famine, Ge 26:1; of the Lord's appearance to him there, advising him to sojourn in that place, and not go down to Egypt; renewing the covenant he had made with Abraham, concerning giving that country to him and his seed, Ge 26:2-6; of what happened unto him at Gerar on account of his wife, Ge 26:7-11; of Isaac's great prosperity and success, which drew the envy of the Philistines upon him, Ge 26:12-15; of his departure from hence to the valley of Gerar, at the instance of Abimelech; and of the contentions between his herdsmen, and those of Gerar, about wells of water, which caused him to remove to Beersheba, Ge 26:16-23; of the Lord's appearance to him there, renewing the above promise to him, where he built an altar, pitched his tent, and his servants dug a well, Ge 26:24,25; of Abimelech's coming to him thither, and making a covenant with him, Ge 26:26-31; which place had its name from the oath then made, and the well there dug, Ge 26:32,33; and lastly, of the marriage of Esau, which was a great grief to Isaac and Rebekah, Ge 26:34,35.

Cross References 26

  • 1. S Genesis 20:1
  • 2. S Genesis 21:30
  • 3. S Genesis 13:7
  • 4. Genesis 21:25
  • 5. S Genesis 13:7
  • 6. Genesis 36:37
  • 7. Psalms 18:19; Isaiah 33:20; Isaiah 54:2; Amos 9:11
  • 8. S Genesis 17:6; Exodus 1:7
  • 9. S Genesis 22:19
  • 10. S Genesis 24:12; Exodus 3:6
  • 11. S Genesis 15:1; S Joshua 8:1
  • 12. S Genesis 21:20
  • 13. S ver 4
  • 14. ver 4; Genesis 17:7; S Genesis 22:17; Genesis 28:14; Genesis 30:27; Genesis 39:5; Deuteronomy 13:17
  • 15. S Genesis 8:20; Genesis 12:7,8; Genesis 13:4,18; Psalms 116:17
  • 16. S Genesis 4:26; S Acts 2:21
  • 17. S Genesis 21:30
  • 18. S Genesis 21:22
  • 19. S ver 16
  • 20. S Genesis 21:22
  • 21. S Genesis 21:27; Joshua 9:6
  • 22. Genesis 31:29,52
  • 23. S Genesis 24:31; Psalms 115:15
  • 24. Genesis 31:54; Exodus 18:12; Exodus 24:11; 1 Samuel 20:27; Genesis 19:3
  • 25. S Genesis 21:23,27; Genesis 21:31
  • 26. S Genesis 21:30

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. "Esek" means "dispute."
  • [b]. "Sitnah" means "opposition."
  • [c]. "Rehoboth" means "room."
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