26:1 Then there was famine in this area
outside of the famine during Abraham's time.
So Isaac went to Abimelek
the leader of the Philistines in Gerar.
26:2 Yahweh appeared to Isaac saying:
Don’t go to
But stay in the land
I will tell you about.
26:3 Stay in this land for now
and I will be with you and bless you.
For you and your followers
will inherit a greater world
confirming My promise
to your teacher Abraham.
26:4 I will make your followers many
just as there are stars in the sky
and they will inherit a greater world.
And through your followers
all people on earth will be blessed.
26:5 This is because Abraham followed Me
and did everything I asked of him
by following My instructions
My decrees and requests.
26:6 And so Isaac remained in Gerar.
26:7 When the men of that place
asked about his wife he said:
She is my sister.
He was afraid to say:
She is my wife.
He thought:
The men here could kill me
on account of Rebekah
because she is attractive.
26:8 When Isaac was there for awhile
Abimelek king of the Philistines
looked out from a window
and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.
26:9 So Abimelek summoned Isaac saying:
She is really your wife!
Why did you say she was your sister?
Isaac replied:
I thought I might be killed on account of her.
26:10 Abimelek then asked:
What have you done to us?
One of the men could have slept with her
and you would have accused us.
26:11 So Abimelek commanded the people:
Anyone who harms this man or his wife
will surely be put to death.
26:12 Isaac was productive in that land
and during the year reaped a hundredfold
due to the blessings of Yahweh.
26:13 And the man became powerful
and he continued to grow
to the point of his becoming magnanimous.
26:14 Because he possessed land
and herds and workers
the Philistines envied him.
26:15 Then all the wells his father's workers
dug during the time of his father Abraham
were blocked by the Philistines
after they filled them with dirt.
26:16 Then Abimelek spoke to Isaac:
Leave us for you are
now too powerful for us.
26:17 So Isaac left that place
and camped in the
and there he lived.
26:18 Isaac dug up the water wells
dug during the time of Abraham
which were blocked by the Philistines
after Abraham passed away.
He named them what his father had given.
26:19 Isaac's workers dug in the valley
and discovered a fresh spring of water.
26:20 But the shepherds of Gerar
quarreled with Isaac.
They said it was their water.
So he named the well Esek
because they disputed with him.
26:21 Then they dug another well
but a quarrel arose over that one too
so he named it Sitnah (hatred).
26:22 Then he left that place
and dug another well
and no one quarreled over that.
He named it Rehoboth (enlargement) and said:
Now Yahweh gave us place
so we can prosper in this land.
26:23 From there he traveled to
26:24 Then that same night Yahweh
appeared to him and said:
I am the God of your teacher Abraham.
Do not worry because I am with you.
I will bless you and increase your following
for the sake of My servant Abraham.
26:25 Then he built an altar there
and praised the name of Yahweh.
He pitched his tent there
and there his workers dug a well.
26:26 Then Abimelek came to him from Gerar
with Ahuzzath his close adviser
and Phicol the leader of his fighters.
26:27 So Isaac asked them:
Why have you approached me?
Before you were hostile
and sent me away.
26:28 So they answered:
We saw with certainty
that Yahweh was with you
so we figured we should have
an understanding between us.
Let’s have an alliance with you.
26:29 So you will not harm us
just as we did not harm you
but always treated you well
and sent you away in peace.
Now you are blessed by Yahweh.
26:30 Then he made them a feast
and they ate and drank.
26:31 They rose early the next morning
and made a promise to each other.
Then Isaac wished them farewell
and they left in peace.
26:32 That very day
Isaac's workers came
and they told him
about the well they dug
and that they found water.
26:33 He named that place Shibah (oath)
and today this town is called
26:34 Esau was 40 years old
and he married Judith
daughter of Beeri the Hittite
as well as Basemath
daughter of Elon the Hittite.
26:35 They brought grief
to Isaac and Rebekah.
