Genesis 26:13-23

13 And the man waxed great and went forward and grew until he became very great,

14 for he had possession of flocks, possession of herds, great store of servants, and the Philistines envied him.

15 For all the wells which his father’s slaves had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them and filled them with earth.

16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us, for thou art become much mightier than we.

17 And Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar and dwelt there.

18 And Isaac reopened the wells of water, which they had opened in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham, and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

19 And Isaac’s slaves dug in the valley and found there a well of living waters.

20 And the pastors of Gerar strove with Isaac’s pastors, saying, The water is ours; therefore he called the name of the well Esek, because they strove with him.

21 And they opened another well and strove for that one also; and he called the name of it Sitnah.

22 And he left there and opened another well; and for that one they did not strive and he called the name of it Rehoboth, and he said, For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

23 And he went up from there unto Beersheba.

Genesis 26:13-23 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.