Genesis 26:8

8 When he had been there a long time, Abim'elech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac fondling Rebekah his wife.

Genesis 26:8 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 26:8

And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time
Perhaps some years: for though it is in the original, "when days were prolonged to him there" ^F2; yet days are sometimes put for years: that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window;
in his own palace, near to which, in all likelihood, were the apartments that Isaac and Rebekah dwelt in; and this he did accidentally, and not out of curiosity, or with any intention to observe or pry into the behaviour and conduct of these two persons one towards the other: and saw, and, behold, Isaac [was] sporting with Rebekah his wife;
laughing and joking with her, which by his motions and gestures, and the airs and freedoms he took, Abimelech could perceive were such as were not usual between brothers and sisters, though honest and lawful between man and wife; such as embracing her in his arms, and frequently kissing her, and the like.

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 (Mymyh Mv wl wkra yk) "cum prolongati essent ei ibi dies", Pagninus, Montanus, Schmidt.

Genesis 26:8 In-Context

6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

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

8 When he had been there a long time, Abim'elech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac fondling Rebekah his wife.

9 So Abim'elech called Isaac, and said, "Behold, she is your wife; how then could you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "Because I thought, 'Lest I die because of her.'"

10 Abim'elech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us."