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Read Genesis Chapter 26

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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 Beersheba.

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 Beersheba 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.

You are readingKing James Version

Explanation

Genesis 26

In short

A famine forces Isaac to stay in the land of Gerar, where God promises him the same blessings given to his father Abraham. Isaac lies about his wife to protect himself, prospers greatly, faces jealousy and water disputes, then moves to Beersheba where God appears to him again and his former enemies come to make peace.

What the text says

Verses 1-5: A famine arrives. Isaac goes to Abimelech king of the Philistines. God appears to Isaac and tells him to stay in the land, not go to Egypt. God promises to be with him, bless him, give him all the countries, multiply his descendants like the stars, and bless all nations through his seed, because Abraham obeyed God's voice and laws.

Verses 6-11: Isaac tells the men of the place that Rebekah is his sister, because he fears they will kill him for her since she is beautiful. After a long time, Abimelech sees Isaac and Rebekah together and realizes she is his wife. Abimelech confronts Isaac. Isaac admits his fear. Abimelech warns his people that anyone who touches Isaac or his wife will be put to death.

Verses 12-16: Isaac farms the land and receives a hundred times what he planted. He becomes very wealthy with flocks, herds, and servants. The Philistines envy him because they had stopped up the wells his father's servants had dug. Abimelech asks Isaac to leave because he is now more powerful than they are.

Verses 17-22: Isaac moves to the valley of Gerar and reopens the old wells, naming them as his father had. His servants find a well of fresh water. Men of Gerar argue that the water is theirs; he calls this well Esek. They fight over another well; he calls it Sitnah. He digs a third well without conflict and names it Rehoboth, saying God has made room for him to be fruitful.

Verses 23-25: Isaac goes to Beersheba. God appears that night and says "I am the God of Abraham thy father" and promises to be with him, bless him, and multiply his seed for Abraham's sake. Isaac builds an altar, calls on God's name, pitches his tent, and his servants dig a well.

Verses 26-31: Abimelech comes from Gerar with his friend and army commander. Isaac questions why they come when they hate him and sent him away. They say they saw that God is with Isaac and want to make a covenant so neither will harm the other. Isaac makes them a feast. They eat, drink, swear an oath, and leave in peace.

Takeaways

  • God's promise to Abraham extends to Isaac and his descendants, secured by oath and reaffirmed at moments of danger and doubt.
  • Isaac repeats his father's mistake of hiding his wife's identity, yet God protects him and makes him prosper despite this deception.
  • Conflict over resources gives way to peace when others recognize that God's blessing is on Isaac, not on strength or possession of wells.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.