Genesis — Chapter 26

1Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

2The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you.

3Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.

4I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,

5because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

6So Isaac settled in Gerar.

7But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.”

8When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

9Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”

10“What is this you have done to us?” asked Abimelech. “One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

11So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

12Now Isaac sowed seed in the land, and that very year he reaped a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him,

13and he became richer and richer, until he was exceedingly wealthy.

14He owned so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.

15So the Philistines took dirt and stopped up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham.

16Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Depart from us, for you are much too powerful for us.”

17So Isaac left that place and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.

18Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. And he gave these wells the same names his father had given them.

19Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of fresh water there.

20But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him.

21Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.

22He moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Rehoboth and said, “At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

23From there Isaac went up to Beersheba,

24and 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 multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.”

25So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there. His servants also dug a well there.

26Later, Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.

27“Why have you come to me?” Isaac asked them. “You hated me and sent me away.”

28“We can plainly see that the LORD has been with you,” they replied. “We recommend that there should now be an oath between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you

29that you will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only good to you, sending you on your way in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD.”

30So Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

31And they got up early the next morning and swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.

32On that same day, Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We have found water!” they told him.

33So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba.

34When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.

35And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

1And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

2And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

3Sojourn 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 countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

4And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

5Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

6And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

7And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

8And 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.

9And 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 for her.

10And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

11And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

12Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

13And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

14For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

15For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

16And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.

17And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

18And 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.

19And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

20And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.

21And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

22And 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 the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

23And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba.

24And the LORD 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.

25And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.

26Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

27And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?

28And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

29That 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 the LORD.

30And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

31And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

32And 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.

33And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.

34And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

35Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

1And 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.

2And Jehovah appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt. Dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of.

3Sojourn 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.

4And 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.

5Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

6And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

7And 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.

8And 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.

9And 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.

10And 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.

11And Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

12And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same year a hundredfold. And Jehovah blessed him.

13And the man waxed great, and grew more and more until he became very great.

14And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household. And the Philistines envied him.

15Now 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.

16And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us. For thou art much mightier than we.

17And Isaac departed thence, and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

18And 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.

19And Isaac`s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

20And 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.

21And they digged another well, and they strove for that also. And he called the name of it Sitnah.

22And 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.

23And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba.

24And 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.

25And 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.

26Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his host.

27And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore are ye come unto me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?

28And 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,

29that 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.

30And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

31And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another. And Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

32And 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.

33And he called it Shibah. Therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.

34And 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.

35And they were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

1There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

2The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; settle down in the land that I will point out to you.

3Stay in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, and I will fulfill the solemn promise I made to your father Abraham.

4I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants.

5All this will come to pass because Abraham obeyed me and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

6So Isaac settled in Gerar.

7When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me to get Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”

8After Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

9So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.”

10Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? One of the men nearly took your wife to bed, and you would have brought guilt on us!”

11So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

12When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, because the Lord blessed him.

13The man became wealthy. His influence continued to grow until he became very prominent.

14He had so many sheep and cattle and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.

15So the Philistines took dirt and filled up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.

16Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, for you have become much more powerful than we are.”

17So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley.

18Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham died. Isaac gave these wells the same names his father had given them.

19When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing water there,

20the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac named the well Esek because they argued with him about it.

21His servants dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it Sitnah.

22Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac named it Rehoboth, saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

23From there Isaac went up to Beer Sheba.

24The 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.”

25Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well.

26Now Abimelech had come to him from Gerar along with Ahuzzah his friend and Phicol the commander of his army.

27Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me and sent me away from you.”

28They replied, “We could plainly see that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be a pact between us—between us and you. Allow us to make a treaty with you

29so that you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed you, but have always treated you well before sending you away in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.”

30So Isaac held a feast for them and they celebrated.

31Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms.

32That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported.

33So he named it Shibah; that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba to this day.

34When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

35They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety.

1There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.

2Yahweh appeared to him, and said, “Don’t go down into Egypt. Live in the land I will tell you about.

3Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For I will give to you, and to your offspring, all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.

4I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and will give all these lands to your offspring. In your offspring will all the nations of the earth be blessed,

5because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my requirements, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

6Isaac lived in Gerar.

7The men of the place asked him about his wife. He said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “My wife”, lest, he thought, “the men of the place might kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to look at.”

8When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was caressing Rebekah, his wife.

9Abimelech called Isaac, and said, “Behold, surely she is your wife. Why did you say, ‘She is my sister?’” Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die because of her.’”

10Abimelech 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 on us!”

11Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

12Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. Yahweh blessed him.

13The man grew great, and grew more and more until he became very great.

14He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Philistines envied him.

15Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.

16Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

17Isaac departed from there, encamped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there.

18Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father. For the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. He called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

19Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

20The herdsmen of Gerar argued with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” He called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.

21They dug another well, and they argued over that, also. He called its name Sitnah.

22He left that place, and dug another well. They didn’t argue over that one. He called it Rehoboth. He said, “For now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

23He went up from there to Beersheba.

24Yahweh appeared to him the same night, and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”

25He built an altar there, and called on Yahweh’s name, and pitched his tent there. There Isaac’s servants dug a well.

26Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his army.

27Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me, and have sent me away from you?”

28They said, “We saw plainly that Yahweh was with you. We said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you,

29that you will do us no harm, as we have not touched you, and as we have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace.’ You are now the blessed of Yahweh.”

30He made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

31They rose up some time in the morning, and swore an oath to one another. Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

32The same day, Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.”

33He called it Shibah. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

34When Esau was forty years old, he took as wife Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

35They grieved Isaac’s and Rebekah’s spirits.