Genesis 26:20-30

20 the herdsmen of Gerar 1quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, "The water is ours!" So he named * the well Esek, because they contended with him.
21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named * it Sitnah.
22 He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named * it Rehoboth, for he said, "2At last * the LORD has made room for us, and we will be 3fruitful in the land."
23 Then he went up from there to 4Beersheba.
24 The LORD 5appeared to him the same night and said, "6I am the God of your father Abraham; 7Do not fear, for I am with you. I 8will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham."
25 So he built an 9altar there and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.

Covenant with Abimelech

26 Then 10Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army.
27 Isaac said to them, "11Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?"
28 They said, "We see plainly 12that the LORD has been with you; so we said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you,
29 that you will do us no harm, 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 13blessed of the LORD.' "
30 Then 14he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

Genesis 26:20-30 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 14

  • 1. Genesis 21:25
  • 2. Psalms 4:1; Isaiah 54:2, 3
  • 3. Genesis 17:6; Exodus 1:7
  • 4. Genesis 22:19
  • 5. Genesis 26:2
  • 6. Genesis 17:7, 8; Genesis 24:12; Exodus 3:6; Acts 7:32
  • 7. Genesis 15:1
  • 8. Genesis 22:17; Genesis 26:3, 4
  • 9. Genesis 12:7, 8; Genesis 13:4, 18; Psalms 116:17
  • 10. Genesis 21:22
  • 11. Judges 11:7
  • 12. Genesis 21:22, 23
  • 13. Genesis 24:31; Psalms 115:15
  • 14. Genesis 19:3

Footnotes 9

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