Genesis 26:2-5

2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.
3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.
4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,[b]
5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.”

Genesis 26:2-5 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 15

  • 1. S Genesis 12:7; Genesis 17:1; Genesis 18:1
  • 2. Genesis 46:3
  • 3. S Genesis 12:1
  • 4. Genesis 20:1; Genesis 28:15
  • 5. S Genesis 21:20; Genesis 27:45; Genesis 31:3,5; Genesis 32:9; Genesis 35:3; Genesis 48:21; Exodus 3:12; Exodus 33:14-16; Numbers 23:21; Deuteronomy 31:23; Joshua 1:5; Isaiah 43:2; Jeremiah 1:8,19; Haggai 1:13
  • 6. ver 12; S Genesis 12:2; Genesis 22:16-18
  • 7. S Genesis 12:7; Genesis 13:15; Genesis 15:18; Acts 7:5
  • 8. S Genesis 17:19
  • 9. ver 24; Genesis 48:4
  • 10. S Genesis 12:2; S Numbers 10:36; Genesis 15:5; Genesis 22:17; Exodus 32:13
  • 11. S Genesis 12:7
  • 12. S Genesis 12:3; Genesis 22:18; Acts 3:25*; Galatians 3:8
  • 13. S Genesis 18:19; Genesis 22:16
  • 14. Psalms 119:80,112; Ezekiel 18:21
  • 15. Lev 18:4,5,26; Leviticus 19:19,37; Leviticus 20:8,22; Leviticus 25:18; Leviticus 26:3; Numbers 15:40; Deuteronomy 4:40; Deuteronomy 6:2; Deuteronomy 11:1; 1 Kings 2:3

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Or "seed"
  • [b]. Or "and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings" (see 48:20)
Scripture quoted by permission.  Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.  NIV®.  Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica.  All rights reserved worldwide.