Genesis 26:2-12

2 The Lord appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you about;
3 stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.
4 I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed[a] by your offspring,[b]
5 because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My mandate, My commands, My statutes, and My instructions."[c]
6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

Isaac's Deception

7 When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, "She is my sister,"[d] for he was afraid to say "my wife," [thinking], "The men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is a beautiful woman."
8 When Isaac had been there for some time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see[e] Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.
9 Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, "So she is really your wife! How could you say, 'She's my sister'?" Isaac answered him, "Because I thought I might die on account of her."
10 Then Abimelech said, "What is this you've done to us? One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us."[f]
11 So Abimelech warned all the people with these words: "Whoever harms this man or his wife will certainly die."

Conflicts over Wells

12 Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in that year he reaped[g] a hundred times [what was sown]. The Lord blessed him,

Genesis 26:2-12 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.

Footnotes 7

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