Genesis26

¹A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.

²The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you.

³Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.

⁴I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

⁵I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.”

⁶So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

⁷When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.”

⁸But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah.

⁹Immediately, Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, “She is obviously your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” “Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me,” Isaac replied.

¹⁰“How could you do this to us?” Abimelech exclaimed. “One of my people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin.”

¹¹Then Abimelech issued a public proclamation: “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death!”

¹²When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him.

¹³He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow.

¹⁴He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.

¹⁵So the Philistines filled up all of Isaac’s wells with dirt. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham.

¹⁶Finally, Abimelech ordered Isaac to leave the country. “Go somewhere else,” he said, “for you have become too powerful for us.”

¹⁷So Isaac moved away to the Gerar Valley, where he set up their tents and settled down.

¹⁸He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham’s death. Isaac also restored the names Abraham had given them.

¹⁹Isaac’s servants also dug in the Gerar Valley and discovered a well of fresh water.

²⁰But then the shepherds from Gerar came and claimed the spring. “This is our water,” they said, and they argued over it with Isaac’s herdsmen. So Isaac named the well Esek (which means “argument”).

²¹Isaac’s men then dug another well, but again there was a dispute over it. So Isaac named it Sitnah (which means “hostility”).

²²Abandoning that one, Isaac moved on and dug another well. This time there was no dispute over it, so Isaac named the place Rehoboth (which means “open space”), for he said, “At last the Lord has created enough space for us to prosper in this land.”

²³From there Isaac moved to Beersheba,

²⁴where the Lord appeared to him on the night of his arrival. “I am the God of your father, Abraham,” he said. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.”

²⁵Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well.

²⁶One day King Abimelech came from Gerar with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander.

²⁷“Why have you come here?” Isaac asked. “You obviously hate me, since you kicked me off your land.”

²⁸They replied, “We can plainly see that the Lord is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you. Let’s make a covenant.

²⁹Swear that you will not harm us, just as we have never troubled you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the Lord has blessed you!”

³⁰So Isaac prepared a covenant feast to celebrate the treaty, and they ate and drank together.

³¹Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath not to interfere with each other. Then Isaac sent them home again, and they left him in peace.

³²That very day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a new well they had dug. “We’ve found water!” they exclaimed.

³³So Isaac named the well Shibah (which means “oath”). And to this day the town that grew up there is called Beersheba (which means “well of the oath”).

³⁴At the age of forty, Esau married two Hittite wives: Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon.

³⁵But Esau’s wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.