1 Now there was 1a famine in the land, besides* the previousfamine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaacwent to Gerar, to 2Abimelechking of the Philistines.
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The LORD3appeared to him and said, "Do not godown to Egypt; 4stay in the land of which I shall tell you.
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"Sojourn in thisland and 5I will be with you and 6bless you, for 7to you and to your descendants I will givealltheselands, and I will establish8the oathwhich I swore to your fatherAbraham.
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"9I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendantsalltheselands; and 10by your descendantsall the nations of the earth shall be blessed;
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because*Abraham11obeyed* Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws."
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When the men of the placeasked about his wife, he said, "12She is my sister," for he was 13afraid to say, "my wife," thinking, "the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is 14beautiful."
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It came about, when he had been there a longtime, that Abimelechking of the Philistineslooked out through a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wifeRebekah.
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Then AbimelechcalledIsaac and said, "Behold, certainly she is your wife! How then did you say, 'She is my sister '?" And Isaacsaid to him, "Because I said, 'I mightdie on account of her.' "
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15Abimelechsaid, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have broughtguilt upon us."
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So Abimelechchargedall the people, saying, "He who 16touchesthisman or his wife shall surely be put to death."
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Now Isaacsowed in that land and reaped in the sameyear a hundredfold*. And 17the LORDblessed him,
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and the man18becamerich, and continued to growricheruntil he becameverywealthy;
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for 19he hadpossessions of flocks and herds and a greathousehold, so that the Philistinesenvied him.
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Now 20all the wellswhich his father'sservants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistinesstopped up by filling them with earth.
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Then Abimelechsaid to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are 21toopowerful for us."
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And Isaacdeparted from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and settledthere.
Quarrel over the Wells
18 Then Isaacdugagain the wells of waterwhich had been dug in the days of his fatherAbraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the samenameswhich his father had given them.
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But when Isaac'sservantsdug in the valley and foundthere a well of flowingwater,
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the herdsmen of Gerar22quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, "The water is ours!" So he named* the wellEsek, because they contended with him.
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Then they duganotherwell, and they quarreledover it too, so he named* it Sitnah.
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He movedaway from there and duganotherwell, and they did not quarrelover it; so he named* it Rehoboth, for he said, "23At last* the LORD has maderoom for us, and we will be 24fruitful in the land."
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The LORD26appeared to him the samenight and said, "27I am the God of your fatherAbraham; 28Do not fear, for I am with you. I 29will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servantAbraham."
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So he built an 30altarthere and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tentthere; and thereIsaac'sservantsdug a well.
Covenant with Abimelech
26 Then 31Abimelechcame to him from Gerar with his adviserAhuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army.
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Isaacsaid to them, "32Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?"
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They said, "We seeplainly33that the LORD has been with you; so we said, 'Let there now be an oathbetween us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you,
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that you will do us noharm, 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 34blessed of the LORD.' "
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Then 35he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.
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In the morning they aroseearly and 36exchangedoaths; then Isaacsent them away and they departed from him in peace.
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Now it came about on the sameday, that Isaac'sservantscame in and told him about* the wellwhich they had dug, and said to him, "We have foundwater."
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So he called it Shibah; therefore* the name of the city is 37Beersheba to thisday.
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When Esau was fortyyearsold38he married*Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite;