26:1 Now there was a famine in the land–besides the earlier famine of Abraham’s time–and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar.
26:2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.
26:3 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.
26:4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,
26:5 because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.”
26:6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
26:8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.
26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”
26:10 Then Abimelech 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.”
26:11 So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
26:12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.
26:13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.
26:14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.
26:15 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.
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”
26:17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.
26:18 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.
26:19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there.
26:20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him.
26:21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.
26:22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”
26:23 From there he went up to Beersheba.
26:24 That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
26:25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.
26:26 Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.
26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?”
26:28 They answered, “We saw clearly that the LORD was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’–between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you
26:29 that you will do us no harm, just as we did not molest you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD.”
26:30 Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.
26:31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!”
26:33 He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.
26:34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
26:35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
26:1 And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines at Gerar.
26:2 And Jehovah appeared to him and said, Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I will tell you.
26:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you; for to you and to your seed I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.
26:4 And I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and will give to your seed all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed,
26:5 Because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.
26:6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.
26:7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, She is my sister, for he was afraid to say, My wife, thinking, The men of this place might slay me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful in appearance.
26:8 And when he had been there a long time, Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked out through his window and saw, and there was Isaac playfully caressing Rebekah his wife.
26:9 And Abimelech called Isaac and said, So she is indeed your wife. How then did you say, She is my sister? And Isaac said to him, Because I thought I might die on account of her.
26:10 And Abimelech 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.
26:11 And Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
26:12 And Isaac sowed in that land and gained in the same year a hundredfold. And Jehovah blessed him,
26:13 And the man became rich and continued to grow richer until he became very rich.
26:14 And he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him.
26:15 Now all the wells which his father s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father the Philistines had stopped up and filled with earth.
26:16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.
26:17 So Isaac went away from there and camped in the valley of Gerar and dwelt there.
26:18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of Abraham his father and which the Philistines had stopped up after the death of Abraham; and he called them by the same names which his father had given them.
26:19 And Isaac s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of springing water.
26:20 And the shepherds of Gerar strove with Isaac s shepherds, saying, The water is ours. So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.
26:21 And they dug another well; and they strove over that also, so he called the name of it Sitnah.
26:22 And he moved away from there and dug another well, but they did not strive over it, so he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, Now Jehovah has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.
26:23 And he went up from there to Beer-sheba.
26:24 And Jehovah appeared to him the same night and said, I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not be afraid, for I am with you, and I will bless you and multiply your seed for My servant Abraham s sake.
26:25 And he built an altar there and called upon the name of Jehovah and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac s servants dug a well.
26:26 And Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the captain of his army.
26:27 And Isaac said to them, Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?
26:28 And they said, We see plainly that Jehovah is with you; so we say, Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you,
26:29 That you will not do us any harm, just as we have not touched you, and just as we have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of Jehovah.
26:30 And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.
26:31 And they rose up early in the morning and swore to one another. And Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
26:32 And the same day Isaac s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug and said to him, We have found water.
26:33 And he called it Shibah. Therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.
26:34 Now when Esau was forty years old, he took as wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
26:35 And they caused bitterness of spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.