Genesis 26:12-22

12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.
13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.
14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.
15 So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.
16 Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”
17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled.
18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there.
20 But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek,[a] because they disputed with him.
21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.[b]
22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,[c] saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

Genesis 26:12-22 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.

Cross References 17

  • 1. Matthew 13:8
  • 2. S ver 3; Job 42:12
  • 3. S Genesis 13:2; S Deuteronomy 8:18; Proverbs 10:22
  • 4. S Genesis 12:16; S Genesis 24:36; Genesis 32:23
  • 5. Genesis 37:11
  • 6. S Genesis 21:30
  • 7. S Genesis 21:25
  • 8. ver 27; Judges 11:7
  • 9. Exodus 1:9; Psalms 105:24-25
  • 10. S Genesis 20:1
  • 11. S Genesis 21:30
  • 12. S Genesis 13:7
  • 13. Genesis 21:25
  • 14. S Genesis 13:7
  • 15. Genesis 36:37
  • 16. Psalms 18:19; Isaiah 33:20; Isaiah 54:2; Amos 9:11
  • 17. S Genesis 17:6; Exodus 1:7

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. "Esek" means "dispute."
  • [b]. "Sitnah" means "opposition."
  • [c]. "Rehoboth" means "room."
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