Genesis 26:2

2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the land that I shall show you.

Genesis 26:2 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 26:2

And the Lord appeared unto him
In a vision or dream, when he was at Gerar: and said, go not down into Egypt;
as his father had done in the like case, and where Isaac thought to have gone, and the rather, as that was a fruitful country; and so the Targum of Jonathan,

``and it was in the heart of Isaac to go down into Egypt, and the Lord appeared unto him''

and charged him not to go thither; partly to try his faith in him, and dependence on his providence for support in this time of famine, and partly lest he should think of continuing there, and be unmindful of the promise of the land of Canaan to Abraham's seed: dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of;
even the land of Canaan, which he was now about to give him on account of the promise of it to Abraham and his seed, and to renew it to him and to his seed.

Genesis 26:2 In-Context

1 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to King Abimelech of the Philistines.

2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the land that I shall show you.

3 Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.

4 I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and will give to your offspring all these lands; and all the nations of the earth shall gain blessing for themselves through your offspring,

5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb [him]