Discovery BoxGenesis 26:5-35
Context26:5 All this will come to pass 1 because Abraham obeyed me 2 and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” 3 26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” 4 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, 5 “The men of this place will kill me to get 6 Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac 7 had been there a long time, 8 Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed 9 Isaac caressing 10 his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really 11 your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” 12
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 13 One of the men 14 might easily have had sexual relations with 15 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches 16 this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 17
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, 18 because the Lord blessed him. 19 26:13 The man became wealthy. 20 His influence continued to grow 21 until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had 22 so many sheep 23 and cattle 24 and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous 25 of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up 26 all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, 27 for you have become much more powerful 28 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 29 26:18 Isaac reopened 30 the wells that had been dug 31 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 32 after Abraham died. Isaac 33 gave these wells 34 the same names his father had given them. 35
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 36 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 37 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 38 named the well 39 Esek 40 because they argued with him about it. 41 26:21 His servants 42 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 43 Sitnah. 44 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 45 named it 46 Rehoboth, 47 saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
26:23 From there Isaac 48 went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped 49 the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. 50
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 51 to him from Gerar along with 52 Ahuzzah his friend 53 and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me 54 and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see 55 that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be 56 a pact between us 57 – between us 58 and you. Allow us to make 59 a treaty with you 26:29 so that 60 you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed 61 you, but have always treated you well 62 before sending you away 63 in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” 64
26:30 So Isaac 65 held a feast for them and they celebrated. 66 26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. 67 Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. 68
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 69 26:33 So he named it Shibah; 70 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 71 to this day.
26:34 When 72 Esau was forty years old, 73 he married 74 Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. 75
[26:5] 1 tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.
[26:5] 2 tn Heb “listened to my voice.”
[26:5] 3 sn My charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The language of this verse is clearly interpretive, for Abraham did not have all these laws. The terms are legal designations for sections of the Mosaic law and presuppose the existence of the law. Some Rabbinic views actually conclude that Abraham had fulfilled the whole law before it was given (see m. Qiddushin 4:14). Some scholars argue that this story could only have been written after the law was given (C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:424-25). But the simplest explanation is that the narrator (traditionally taken to be Moses the Lawgiver) elaborated on the simple report of Abraham’s obedience by using terms with which the Israelites were familiar. In this way he depicts Abraham as the model of obedience to God’s commands, whose example Israel should follow.
[26:7] 4 sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.
[26:7] 5 tn Heb “lest.” The words “for he thought to himself” are supplied because the next clause is written with a first person pronoun, showing that Isaac was saying or thinking this.
[26:7] 6 tn Heb “kill me on account of.”
[26:8] 7 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:8] 8 tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”
[26:8] 9 tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.
[26:9] 11 tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.
[26:9] 12 tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).
[26:10] 13 tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
[26:10] 15 tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”
[26:11] 16 tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.
[26:11] 17 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.
[26:12] 18 tn Heb “a hundredfold.”
[26:12] 19 tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.
[26:13] 20 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.
[26:13] 21 tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.
[26:14] 22 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
[26:14] 23 tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”
[26:14] 24 tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”
[26:14] 25 tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).
[26:15] 26 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
[26:16] 27 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
[26:16] 28 sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).
[26:17] 29 tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”
[26:18] 30 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
[26:18] 31 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
[26:18] 32 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
[26:18] 33 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 34 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 35 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
[26:19] 36 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
[26:20] 37 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
[26:20] 38 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:20] 39 tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”
[26:20] 40 sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”
[26:20] 41 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:21] 42 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 43 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 44 sn The name Sitnah (שִׂטְנָה, sitnah) is derived from a Hebrew verbal root meaning “to oppose; to be an adversary” (cf. Job 1:6). The name was a reminder that the digging of this well caused “opposition” from the Philistines.
[26:22] 45 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:22] 46 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
[26:22] 47 sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.
[26:23] 48 tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:25] 49 tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the
[26:25] 50 tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”
[26:26] 51 tn The disjunctive clause supplies pertinent supplemental information. The past perfect is used because the following narrative records the treaty at Beer Sheba. Prior to this we are told that Isaac settled in Beer Sheba; presumably this treaty would have allowed him to do that. However, it may be that he settled there and then made the treaty by which he renamed the place Beer Sheba. In this case one may translate “Now Abimelech came to him.”
[26:26] 53 tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (merea’) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.
[26:27] 54 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.
[26:28] 55 tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.
[26:28] 56 tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:28] 57 tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.
[26:28] 58 tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).
[26:28] 59 tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”
[26:29] 60 tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”
[26:29] 62 tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”
[26:29] 63 tn Heb “and we sent you away.”
[26:29] 64 tn The Philistine leaders are making an observation, not pronouncing a blessing, so the translation reads “you are blessed” rather than “may you be blessed” (cf. NAB).
[26:30] 65 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:30] 66 tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”
[26:31] 67 tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
[26:31] 68 tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
[26:32] 69 tn Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:33] 70 sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.
[26:33] 71 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.
[26:34] 72 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.
[26:34] 73 tn Heb “the son of forty years.”
[26:34] 74 tn Heb “took as a wife.”
[26:35] 75 tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”
