Genesis 26:8

26:8 After Isaac ¹  had been there a long time, ²  Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed ³  Isaac caressing ⁴  his wife Rebekah.

Genesis 26:18

26:18 Isaac reopened ⁵  the wells that had been dug ⁶  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ⁷  after Abraham died. Isaac ⁸  gave these wells ⁹  the same names his father had given them. ¹⁰ 

[26:8]  ¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:8]  ² tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”

[26:8]  ³ 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.

[26:8]  ⁴ tn Or “fondling.”

[26:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

[26:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

[26:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

[26:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”