54 | Genesis 26:6
of him , keep ing my com mands , my de crees and my in struc tions .” 6 So Isaac stayed in Ge rar .
7
When the men of that place asked him about his wife , he said , “ She is my sis ter ,” be cause he was afraid to say , “ She is my wife .” He thought , “ The men of this place might kill me on ac count of Re bek ah , be cause she is beau ti ful .”
8
When Isaac had been there a long time , Abime lek king of the Phi lis tines looked down from a win dow and saw Isaac ca ress ing his wife Rebek ah . 9 So Abim e lek sum moned Isaac and said , “ She is real ly your wife ! Why did you say , ‘ She is my sis ter ’?”
Isaac an swered him , “ Be cause I thought I might lose my life on ac count of her .”
10
Then Abim e lek said , “ What is this you have done to us ? One of the men might well have slept with your wife , and you would have brought guilt upon us .”
11
So Abim e lek gave or ders to all the peo ple : “ Any one who harms this man or his wife shall sure ly be put to death .”
12
Isaac plant ed crops in that land and the same year reaped a hun dred fold , be cause the Lord blessed him . 13 The man be came rich , and his wealth con tin ued to grow un til he be came very wealthy . 14 He had so many flocks and herds and ser vants that the Phi lis tines en vied him . 15 So all the wells that his fa ther ’ s ser vants had dug in the time of his fa ther Abra ham , the Phi lis tines stopped up , fill ing them with earth .
16
Then Abim e lek said to Isaac , “ Move away from us ; you have be come too pow er ful for us .”
17
So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Val ley of Ge rar , where he set tled .
18
Isaac re opened the wells that had been dug in the time of his fa ther Abra ham , which the Phi lis tines had stopped up af ter Abra ham died , and he gave them the same names his fa ther had giv en them .
19
Isaac ’ s ser vants dug in the val ley and dis covered a well of fresh wa ter there . 20 But the herd ers of Ge rar quar reled with those of Isaac and said , “ The wa ter is ours !” So he named the well Esek , a be cause they dis put ed with him . 21 Then they dug an oth er well , but they quar reled over that one also ; so he named it Sit nah . b 22 He moved on from there and dug an oth er well , and no one quar reled over it . He named it Re ho both , c say ing , “ Now the Lord has giv en us room and we will flour ish in the land .”
23
From there he went up to Be er she ba . 24 That night the Lord ap peared to him and said , “ I am the God of your fa ther Abra ham . Do not be afraid , for I am with you ; I will bless you and will in crease the num ber of your de scen dants for the sake of my ser vant Abra ham .”
25
Isaac built an al tar there and called on the name of the Lord . There he pitched his tent , and there his ser vants dug a well .
26
Mean while , Abim e lek had come to him from Ge rar , with Ahuz zath his per son al ad vis er and Phi col the com mand er of his forc es . 27 Isaac asked them , “ Why have you come to me , since you were hos tile to me and sent me away ?”
28
They an swered , “ We saw clear ly that the a
20 Esek means dispute . b
21 Sitnah means opposition . c
22 Rehoboth means room .
26:6 – 23 Isaac ’ s interactions with Abimelek parallel his father ’ s with a Philistine king by the same name . Just as his father did ( ch . 20 ), Isaac lies about his wife being his sister , and Abimelek confronts him ( vv . 7 – 11 ). After this , Isaac enjoys fruitful harvests and becomes rich as God blesses him ( vv . 12 – 15 ). When Abimelek sends him away , Isaac restores the wells that Abraham dug ( vv . 16 – 18 ). The local herdsmen clash with Isaac ’ s herdsmen over the wells , causing Isaac to move ( vv . 19 – 23 ).
26:6 Gerar A Canaanite city in the western Negev .
Genesis 26:6
GERAR Gerar marked the southern border of Canaan , as it was near Gaza ( 10:19 ). At the time when Isaac lived there ( see 26:6 ), the city was under the rule of the Philistine king , Abimelek ( see 26:1 ).
26:9 – 11 As with Abraham , Abimelek is angry at Isaac ’ s deception since it put him and his household in danger of taking another man ’ s wife for his own . Abimelek warned his people to avoid any ill-intentioned actions against Isaac and Rebekah on pain of death . Abimelek ’ s caution could be based on a general belief that adultery with another man ’ s wife would bring harm from deities or be based on Abimelek recalling God ’ s earlier warnings ( 20:3 ; compare note on 26:1 ).
26:12 Isaac ’ s proximity to the border of the promised land is neither ungodly nor unwise . He reaps a bountiful crop and becomes very wealthy , and he gives the credit to God . The Philistines envy Isaac so much that Abimelek asks him to leave , perhaps recalling the conflict that occurred with Abraham previously ( see 21:19 – 30 ).
26:17 Valley of Gerar This location was the same region that Abraham formerly occupied ( 21:34 ), since Isaac redigs the wells of his father that the Philistines closed up . 26:22 Rehoboth Located roughly 20 miles southwest of Beersheba . 26:23 Beersheba Where Isaac went with Abraham after nearly being sacrificed ( ch . 22 ).
26:26 – 33 Abimelek visits Isaac to form a covenant peace treaty , just as a king by the same name did with Abraham ( see 21:22 – 34 and note ). ( The two kings could be the same or different people with the same name .) The first king named Abimelek wanted to avoid conflict with Abraham ( whose wealth was considerable ). However , this Abimelek ’ s motive with Isaac is different : He believes Isaac is divinely blessed and fears offending Yahweh , whom he considers protective of Isaac .
26:26 Phicol The same commander who accompanied Abimelek when the treaty with Abraham was made ( 21:32 ).