Genesis 26

1 And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, unto Gerar.2 And Jehovah appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt. Dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of.3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee. For unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father.4 And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.5 Because that 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 of his wife. And he said, She is my sister. For he feared to say, 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 at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting 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 because of her.10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? One of the people might easily have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.11 And Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same year a hundredfold. And Jehovah blessed him.13 And the man waxed great, and grew more and more until he became very great.14 And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household. And the Philistines envied him.15 Now all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us. For thou art much mightier than we.17 And Isaac departed thence, and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father. For the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. And he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.19 And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.20 And the herdsmen of Gerar strove with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, The water is ours. And he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.21 And they digged another well, and they strove for that also. And he called the name of it Sitnah.22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well. And for that they strove not. And he called the name of it Rehoboth. And he said, For now Jehovah hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

23 And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba.24 And Jehovah appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father. Fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of Jehovah, and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants digged a well.

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his host.27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore are ye come unto me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?28 And they said, We saw plainly that Jehovah was with thee. And we said, Let there now be an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee,29 that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace. Thou art now the blessed of Jehovah.30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another. And Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.33 And he called it Shibah. Therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.

34 And when Esau was forty years old he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.35 And they were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Genesis 26

Isaac and Abimelech

1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurredt in the days of Abraham.s Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt;s settle down in the land that I will point out to you.t3 Stayt in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you,ts for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants,ts and I will fulfillt the solemn promise I madets to your father Abraham.4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give themt all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants.t5 All this will come to passt because Abraham obeyed met and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”s

6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.”s He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself,t “The men of this place will kill me to gett Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
8 After Isaact had been there a long time,t Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observedt Isaac caressingts his wife Rebekah.

9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is reallyt your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.”t
10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us?t One of the ment might easily have had sexual relations witht your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!”

11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touchest this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”t
12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown,t because the Lord blessed him.t13 The man became wealthy.t His influence continued to growt until he became very prominent.14 He hadt so many sheept and cattlet and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealoust of him.

15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled upt all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.
16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere,t for you have become much more powerfuls than we are.”17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley.ts

18 Isaac reopenedt the wells that had been dugt back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them upt after Abraham died. Isaact gave these wellst the same names his father had given them.t
19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowingt water there,20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreledt with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaact named the wellt Eseks because they argued with him about it.t21 His servantst dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named itt Sitnah.s

22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaact named itt Rehoboth,s saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
23 From there Isaact went up to Beer Sheba.24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshipedt the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well.t
26 Now Abimelech had comet to him from Gerar along witht Ahuzzah his friendt and Phicol the commander of his army.27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate met and sent me away from you.”28 They replied, “We could plainly seet that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should bet a pact between ust – between ust and you. Allow us to maket a treaty with you

29 so thatt you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmedt you, but have always treated you wellt before sending you awayt in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.”t
30 So Isaact held a feast for them and they celebrated.t

31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other.t Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms.t
32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported.t

33 So he named it Shibah;s that is why the name of the city has been Beer Shebas to this day.
34 Whent Esau was forty years old,t he marriedt Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety.t