Old Testament Commentary - Genesis 26

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 26 The Lord promises Isaac posterity as the stars of heaven in number— In his seed all nations shall be blessed—The Lord prospers Isaac, temporally and spiritually, for Abraham's sake—Isaac offers sacrifices—Esau marries Hittie wives to sorrow of his parents.
1 AND there was a ^afamine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham^a. And Isaac went unto ^bAbimelech king of the ^cPhilistines unto Gerar^b. 2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Go Not Into Egypt Unlike Abraham and Jacob who did seek unto Egypt for relief from the famine Isaac was commanded not to go into Egypt. The logic here can be seen in that in the days of Abraham's famine, Abraham was not yet established in the land and did not loose any 'ground' by his going to Egypt and Abraham did return from Egypt when the famine abated and did then establish himself in the land. Isaac, if he had gone into Egypt would have lost his status in the land and even with him staying, the wells of Abraham and even his own were already being stopped up and taken over by the Philitines. It was necessary for Isaac to remain estabished in the land. When Jacob's family went to Egypt they lost all established status in the land and had to reoccupy the land by force of war, which was only justified due to the extreme 'ripened' wickness of the occupying nations.	1^a the first famine that was in the days of Abraham That famine which was in the days of Abraham did cause Abraham to go to Egypt and stay there until the famine abated. Now in the days of Isaac there was another severe famine which would have caused Isaac to go unto Egypt except the Lord commanded him not to go to Egypt. Then again in the days of Jacob there was another great famine in the land which caused his family to seek unto Egypt which was then ruled by his presumed dead son Joseph. 1^b Gerar The region of Gerar is about the river valley, the river of Gerar which was occupied by Abraham. Verse 17 thus speaks of the 'valley of Gerar' which is the larger area from the city of Gerar where Abimelech, king of the Philistines did rule from.	1^a TG Jesus Christ, Appearances, Antemortal 2^a Josh. 5:13; TG Angels ^b 3 Ne. 11:19; Ether 6:12; TG Courtesy 3^a JST Gen. 18:3 ...brethren... 4^a TG Washing ^b TG Hospitality 5^a OR sustain... ^b Gen. 19:8
3 ^aSojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will ^bbless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these ^ccountries, and I will perform the ^doath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy ^aseed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the ^bnations of the earth be blessed; 5 Because that Abraham ^aobeyed my voice, and kept my ^bcharge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.		1^a TG Jesus Christ, Appearances, Antemortal 2^a Josh. 5:13; TG Angels ^b 3 Ne. 11:19; Ether 6:12; TG Courtesy 3^a JST Gen. 18:3 ...brethren... 4^a TG Washing ^b TG Hospitality 5^a OR sustain... ^b Gen. 19:8
6 ¶ And Isaac dwelt in ^aGerar: 7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my ^asister: 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 ^bfair to look upon.		1^a TG Jesus Christ, Appearances, Antemortal 2^a Josh. 5:13; TG Angels ^b 3 Ne. 11:19; Ether 6:12; TG Courtesy 3^a JST Gen. 18:3 ...brethren... 4^a TG Washing ^b TG Hospitality 5^a OR sustain... ^b Gen. 19:8
8 And 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. 9 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 I said, Lest I die for her.
10 And ^aAbimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have ^blien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have ^cbrought guiltiness upon us. 11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an ^ahundredfold: and the LORD ^bblessed him. 13 ^aAnd the man waxed ^bgreat, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: 14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines ^aenvied him. 15 For all the ^awells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines ^bhad stopped them, and filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much ^amightier than we.
17 ¶ And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And 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 ^anames after the names by which his father had called them.
19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. 20 And the herdmen of Gerar did ^astrive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well ^bEsek; because they strove with him. 21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it ^aSitnah. 22 And he ^aremoved from thence, and digged another well; and for that they ^bstrove not: and he called the name of it ^cRehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be ^dfruitful in the land.
23 And he went up from thence to ^aBeer-sheba. 24 And the ^aLORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: ^bfear not, for ^cI am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy ^dseed for my servant Abraham's sake. 25 And he builded an ^aaltar there, and called upon the ^bname of the LORD and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.
26 ¶ Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. 27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye ^ahate me, and have sent me away from you? 28 And they said, We saw certainly that the ^aLORD 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; 29 That 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 ^apeace: thou art now the ^bblessed of the LORD.
30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. 31 And they ^arose up betimes in the morning, and ^bsware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
32 And 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. 33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is ^aBeer-sheba unto this day.
34 ¶ And Esau was forty years old when he took to ^awife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: 35 Which were a ^agrief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.