Genesis 26:26-35

26 Then Avimelekh went to him from G'rar with his friend Achuzat and Pikhol the commander of his army.

27 Yitz'chak said to them, "Why have you come to me, even though you were unfriendly to me and sent me away?"

28 They answered, "We saw very clearly that ADONAI has been with you; so we said, 'Let there be an oath between us: let's make a pact between ourselves and you

29 that you will not harm us, just as we have not caused you offense but have done you nothing but good and sent you on your way in peace. Now you are blessed by ADONAI.'"

30 Yitz'chak prepared a banquet for them, and they ate and drank.

31 The next morning, they got up early and swore to each other. Then Yitz'chak sent them on their way, and they left him peacefully.

32 That very day Yitz'chak's servants came and told him about the well they had dug, "We have found water."

33 So he called it Shiv'ah [oath, seven], and for this reason the name of the city is Be'er-Sheva [well of seven, well of an oath] to this day.

34 When 'Esav was forty years old, he took as wives Y'hudit the daughter of Be'eri the Hitti and Basmat the daughter of Elon the Hitti.

35 But they became a cause for embitterment of spirit to Yitz'chak and Rivkah.

Genesis 26:26-35 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.