The First Book of Moses, called Genesis
Genesis 26
Chapter XXVI · Vol. I, pp. 254–258
1 Isaac because of famine went to Gerar. 2 God instructeth and blesseth him. 6 He is reproved by Abimelech for denying his wife. 12 He groweth rich. 18 He diggeth Esek, Sitnah, and Rehoboth. 26 Abimelech maketh a covenant with him at Beer-sheba. 34 Esau's wives.
1 And there was a famine in the land, besides the afirst famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went bunto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.9
A.M. 2200. B.C. 1804.
a ch. 12.10.
b Perhaps not that, ch. 20.2; 21.22-32.
9 See above on ch. 20.1.—P.
2 And the Lord cappeared unto him, and said, Go not down dinto Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of.
c ch. 12.7; 17.1; 18.1,10-20.
d As Abram did, ch. 12. Ps. 37.3.
3 Sojourn in this land, and eI will be with thee, and will bless thee: for unto thee, and unto thy seed, fI will give all these countries; and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father:1
4 And I gwill 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;
g ch. 12.2,3; 13.16; 15.5,18; 17.4-23; 18.18; 22.17,18.
5 Becauseh that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
h ch. 22.18; 18.19. 1 Co. 15.58. Ps. 128.1-6.
6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.
7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and ihe said, She is my sister:2 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.
i ch. 12.13; 20.2,5,12,13. Pr. 29.25. Mat. 10.28. Col. 3.9. Ep. 5.25.
2 Though we pity a man living in the midst of a lawless people where he is afraid to tell the truth, yet we must condemn him if he prevaricate or falsify. God is a God of truth, Ps. 31.5, and requires it of his people, at all times, in all places, and upon all subjects. Isaac is therefore to be condemned, as Abram was under similar circumstances. His prevarication is not to be defined as a small fault in so good a man, but as a great stain on so fair a character. Lord, what is man! thy grace is sufficient for us! Remember, Christian, thou canst do all things through Christ strengthening thee. Be valiant, therefore, for the truth.—C.
8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech, king of the Philistines, klooked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was lsporting with Rebekah his wife.1
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 Abimelech said, mWhat 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.
m ch.20.9,10;12.18.
11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that ntoucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.2
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received3 in the same year oan hundred fold; and the LORD blessed him.
3 Heb. found.
o This marks great increase, Ps.67.6. Zec. 8.12. Mat.13.23. Ga. 6. 7,8.
13 And the man waxed great, and went forward,4 and grew, until he became very great:
4 Heb. went going.
14 For he phad possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants:5 and the Philistines qenvied him.
15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had rstopped them, and filled them with earth.
r This was contrary to covenant and oath, ch. 21. 25-32.
16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier 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 scalled their names 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 tspringing water.
t Heb. living, Ca. 4.15. Jn.4.10,11;7.38.
20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek;6 because they strove with him.
6 i.e. contention.
21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also:7 and he called the name of it Sitnah.8
7 It is our ignorance of patriarchal life which makes us think it unaccountable to hear, in these early days, of so many contests about wells: for on nearer inspection we should find that in these arid regions, a well of springing water was a possession of inestimable value. Hence we find Moses, in magnifying the divine bounty to the children of Israel, among other parts of the inventory, reckoning up not only 'great and goodly cities which they builded not,' but 'wells likewise digged which they digged not.'—Biblioth. Bibl.
8 i.e. malicious hatred.
22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth;9 and he said, For now the LORD hath umade room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
23 And he went up from thence to xBeer-sheba.
x The south-most city in Canaan, ch. 21.31;46.1. Ju.20.1.
24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, yI am the God of Abraham thy father:z fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed, for my servant Abraham's sake.
y ch.15.1;17.7;24.12. Mat.22.32.
z Is.41.10, 13, 15; 43. 1,2;44.1. Re.1.18, with ch.13.16;22.17.
25 And he abuilded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD,1 and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.
a ch.8.20;12.7;13.18; 22.9;35.1;33.20. Ex.17. 15.
1 It is too common with individuals, families, churches, and nations, to fall away in religion as they advance in riches and honours. It was not so with Isaac. In the midst of all his wealth and prosperity he does not forget God. Family religion is not expelled by family advancement; but, like Abraham, his father, he builds his altar, and calls on the name of the Lord; that is, acknowledges, and worships him in all his revealed attributes, consequently seeks not only the promised protection from the Almighty God which his defenceless, and, as it were, insulated, situation required; but the pardon of the merciful God, which his sense of his sin, especially in the case of Abimelech, must have dictated to a pious and awakened mind.—C.
26 Then bAbimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath2 one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.
b Perhaps not that, ch.20.2;21.22-32.
2 The Targum of Onkelos understands by Ahuzzath not one individual, but a party of his friends.—C.
27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, cseeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
c ver.16. Ju.11.7. Ac. 7.27,35.
28 And they said, We saw3 certainly dthat the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now ean oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;
29 That thou wilt4 do us no hurt, as we have fnot touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the gblessed of the LORD.
31 And they rose up ibetimes in the morning, and ksware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
i ch. 19. 2; 21. 14; 22. 3;31.55.
k ch.14.22; 21. 23,31, 32;31.44;25.33. 1 Sa.14. 24; 20. 3, 16,17; 30. 15. He.6.16.
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, lWe have found water.
33 And he called it Shebah:5 therefore the name of the city is mBeer-sheba unto this day.
5 i.e. an oath.
m i.e. the well of the oath, ver.23.
34 And Esau was forty years6 old when he took to wife nJudith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite;
6 1796.
n It seems Judith had no children, and perhaps did not live long, ch.36.2,5,13.
35 Which were oa grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.5
A.M. 2208. B.C. 1796.
o Heb. bitterness of spirit, ch.27.46; 28. 2,8;6.2.
5 Nothing else could have happened. The Septuagint has it, 'They were quarrelling with Isaac and Rebekah.' Polygamy has always produced discord and mischief. But Esau still further violated the command of God in this respect, by joining himself in marriage with the heathen, who were under the curse of God; thus, in a double sense, meriting the epithet profane, as he neither regarded the blessing nor the curse of God.—I.
Notes
[Ver. 4. The same promise, in all its details, which was originally given to Abraham, is here renewed to Isaac, see ch. 12. 3; 22. 17, 18. P.]
Ver. 12. This fertility was emblematical of fruitfulness in grace, Ps. 67. 6; Mat. 13. 23; and of the bountiful but gracious rewards which we shall enjoy in heaven, Ga. 6. 7, 8; Ps. 31. 19; 19. 11.
Ver. 18. This was typical of Christ's reforming his church, and reviving the oracles, ordinances, and influences of grace, Eze. 47. 1-10; Jn. 5. 10; Zec. 13. 1; 14 8.
Ver. 22. [The name still clings to the place. About 23 miles south-west of Beersheba is Wady Ruhaibeh, which is radically identical with Rehoboth. In the valley are some very ancient ruins, and wells; and near it are the remains of a city of a later age. P.]
Ver. 24. Not for the sake of Abraham's merit, but from respect to the covenant made with him, Ge. 12. 2, 3; 15. 8; 17. 6, 7.
Ver. 26. [The Hebrew word signifies 'councillor.' The mission of Abimelech was a delicate one, and he took with him those most competent to advise and aid him. P.]
Ver. 29. And since God hath so abundantly blessed thee, we hope that thou wilt not remember the small unkindness which we did thee.
Ver. 31. [Notwithstanding the defect in Isaac's character, and his sin in the case of Abimelech, verse 10, yet, like the sun emerging from a cloud, the prevailing excellence of his character is acknowledged, the blessing of the Lord is visibly perceived to rest on him, and his integrity is admitted by reliance upon his covenant and oath; and a heathen people are led by his residence among them to the knowledge of the true God. C.]
Ver. 33. [Beersheba still exists, and retains its ancient name in a slightly modified form. The old wells too are there, of great depth, and of great value to the surrounding Arabs. P.]
Ver. 34. This was contrary to the will of God, Ex. 34. 16; De. 7. 3; Jos. 23. 12; Ezr. 9. 1-3; Ne. 13. 23-25; 2 Co. 6. 14, 15; 1 Co. 7. 39; and of his grandfather and parents, ch. 24. 38; 27. 46; 28. 1, 2, 6; see ch. 6. 2.
Reflections.—A mixture of providential smiles and frowns is ordinarily in the lot of God's loved children. But what a mercy is it to have the promise of grace established between God and our progenitors, that it may be renewed with us! The fear of men, the fear of temporal death, often causeth a snare: and we readily rush into the same snares in which others before had almost ruined themselves. Yet the kindness of God is infinitely great in rescuing his people, when they are thus busied in entangling themselves. But what a scandal to a saint to be discovered a dissembler! and how painful to have the snares which we laid for the innocent entangling ourselves, or their sins charged to our account before God! To what trouble and expense will envious men put themselves in order to gratify their lust. And how often are the most flourishing outward enjoyments imbittered by the envy which attends them! What a mercy to have God smiling on us when the world frowns! For, when our ways please the Lord, he maketh even our enemies to be at peace with us, and to pursue the friendship which they once refused. The wickedness of children, who break their parents' hearts when they ought to be their comfort, is great, and observed by God; and his curse frequently attends those marriages which are made without the consent of parents.