THE FIRST BOOK OF
MOSES,
called
G E N E S I S
Genesis 26 ©
Isaac is driven by famine to remove to Gerar, vs. 1, etc. Where God bids him to stay, and not to go into Egypt, renewing unto him the promises made to Abraham, 2. Isaac gives out Rebecca to be his sister, 7. King Abimelech discovering the contrary, reproves him, and forbids his subjects to wrong this married couple in the least kind, 8. Isaac is greatly blessed by God which draws envy upon him from the Philistines that they close his wells, 12. Upon an intimation from Abimelech, he removes from there towards the lower grounds of Gerar, and is at pains to get spring water, but finds it at length, 18, 19, 32, etc. He removes to Beer-sheba and is comforted there by a vision of God to Whom he returns thanks by public worship, 23. Abimelech enters into covenant with him, 26. Esau marries to the grief of his parents, 34.
AND there was a 1famine in the land, beside the first famine that was 2in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto 3Abimelech king of the Philistines 4unto Gerar.
And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, 5Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell 6thee of:
Sojourn in this land, and I willa be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give 7all these countries, and I will perform the oath 8which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
And Ib will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and 9in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
10Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept 11my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
¶And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
And 12the 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, 13said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
And it came to pass, 14when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was 15sporting with Rebekah his wife.
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 16I said, Lest I die for her.
And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lienc with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought 17guiltiness upon us.
And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that 18toucheth this man or his wife 19shall surely be put to death.
Then Isaac sowed in that land, and 20received in the same year an 21hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
And the man waxed 22great, and 23went forward, and grew until he became very great:
For he had possession of 24flocks, and possession of herds, and 25great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
For all the wells 26which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them 27with earth.
And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go 28from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
¶And Isaac departed thence, and 29pitched his tent 30in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
31And 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.
And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well 32of springing water.
And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and 33he called the name of the well 34Esek; because they strove with him.
And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it 35Sitnah.
And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it 36Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, 37and we shall be fruitful in the land.
And he went up from 38thence to 39Beer-sheba.
And the LORD appeared unto him 40the same night, and said, 41I am the God of Abraham 42thy father: 43fear not, for 44I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed 45for my servant Abraham's sake.
And he 46builded an altar there, and 47called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.
¶Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and 48Phichol the chief captain of his army.
And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, 49and have sent me away from you?
And they said, We saw 50certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an 51oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us 52make a covenant with thee;
53That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have 54not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away 55in peace: thou 56art now the blessed of the LORD.
And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
And they rose up betimesd in the morning, and sware 57one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well 58which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.
And 59he called it 60Shebah: therefore the name of the city is 61Beer-sheba unto this day.
¶And Esau was 62forty years old when he took to wife 63Judith the daughter of Beeri 64the Hittite, and 65Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
Whiche were 66a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.