Genesis 26:4-14

4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,

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

6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

7 And the men of the place asked him concerning his wife. And he said, "She is my sister"; for he feared to say, "She is my wife," lest, said he, "the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah, because she was fair to look upon."

8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out a window and saw, and behold, Isaac was frolicking with Rebekah his wife.

9 And Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, `She is my sister'?" And Isaac said unto him, "Because I said, `Lest I die for her.'"

10 And Abimelech said, "What is this thou hast done unto us? One of the people might lightly have lain with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us."

11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, "He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him.

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

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

Genesis 26:4-14 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.