VERSE STUDY • KJV

Genesis 26:1-22

¹ And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. ² And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: ³ Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; ⁴ And I will 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; ⁵ Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. ⁶ And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: ⁷ And the men of the place asked [him] of his wife; and he said, She [is] my sister: 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. ⁸ And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac [was] sporting with Rebekah his wife. 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, What [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. ¹¹ And Abimelech charged all [his] people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. ¹² Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. ¹³ And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: ¹⁴ For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. ¹⁵ For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. 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 called 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 springing water. 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; because they strove with him. ²¹ And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. ²² And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

Read it in 5 translations

KJV King James Version

¹ And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. ² And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: ³ Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; ⁴ And I will 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; ⁵ Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. ⁶ And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: ⁷ And the men of the place asked [him] of his wife; and he said, She [is] my sister: 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. ⁸ And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac [was] sporting with Rebekah his wife. 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, What [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. ¹¹ And Abimelech charged all [his] people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. ¹² Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. ¹³ And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: ¹⁴ For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. ¹⁵ For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. 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 called 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 springing water. 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; because they strove with him. ²¹ And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. ²² And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

BSB Berean Standard Bible

¹ Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. ² The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you. ³ Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. ⁴ I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, ⁵ because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” ⁶ So Isaac settled in Gerar. ⁷ But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.” ⁸ When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. ⁹ Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.” ¹⁰ “What is this you have done to us?” asked Abimelech. “One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” ¹¹ So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ¹² Now Isaac sowed seed in the land, and that very year he reaped a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him, ¹³ and he became richer and richer, until he was exceedingly wealthy. ¹⁴ He owned so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. ¹⁵ So the Philistines took dirt and stopped up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham. ¹⁶ Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Depart from us, for you are much too powerful for us.” ¹⁷ So Isaac left that place and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. ¹⁸ Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. And he gave these wells the same names his father had given them. ¹⁹ Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of fresh water there. ²⁰ But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him. ²¹ Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. ²² He moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Rehoboth and said, “At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

WEB World English Bible

¹ There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar. ² Yahweh appeared to him, and said, “Don’t go down into Egypt. Live in the land I will tell you about. ³ Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For to you, and to your seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. ⁴ I will multiply your seed as the stars of the sky, and will give to your seed all these lands. In your seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed, ⁵ because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my requirements, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” ⁶ Isaac lived in Gerar. ⁷ The men of the place asked him about his wife. He said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “My wife,” lest, he thought, “the men of the place might kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to look at.” ⁸ It happened, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was caressing Rebekah, his wife. ⁹ Abimelech called Isaac, and said, “Behold, surely she is your wife. Why did you say, ‘She is my sister?’” Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die because of her.’” ¹⁰ Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” ¹¹ Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ¹² Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. Yahweh blessed him. ¹³ The man grew great, and grew more and more until he became very great. ¹⁴ He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Philistines envied him. ¹⁵ Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth. ¹⁶ Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go from us, for you are much mightier than we.” ¹⁷ Isaac departed from there, encamped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there. ¹⁸ Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father. For the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. He called their names after the names by which his father had called them. ¹⁹ Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. ²⁰ The herdsmen of Gerar argued with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” He called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. ²¹ They dug another well, and they argued over that, also. He called its name Sitnah. ²² He left that place, and dug another well. They didn’t argue over that one. He called it Rehoboth. He said, “For now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

ASV American Standard Version

¹ And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, unto Gerar. ² And Jehovah appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: ³ sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; ⁴ and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; ⁵ because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. ⁶ And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: ⁷ and the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, My wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. ⁸ And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. 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 because of her. ¹⁰ And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might easily have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. ¹¹ And Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. ¹² And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same year a hundredfold: and Jehovah blessed him. ¹³ And the man waxed great, and grew more and more until he became very great: ¹⁴ and he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household: and the Philistines envied him. ¹⁵ Now all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth. ¹⁶ And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. ¹⁷ And Isaac departed thence, and encamped 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 called 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 springing water. ²⁰ And the herdsmen of Gerar strove with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. ²¹ And they digged another well, and they strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. ²² And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now Jehovah hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

YLT Young’s Literal Translation

¹ And there is a famine in the land, besides the first famine which was in the days of Abraham, and Isaac goeth unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar. ² And Jehovah appeareth unto him, and saith, ‘Go not down towards Egypt, tabernacle in the land concerning which I speak unto thee, ³ sojourn in this land, and I am with thee, and bless thee, for to thee and to thy seed I give all these lands, and I have established the oath which I have sworn to Abraham thy father; ⁴ and I have multiplied thy seed as stars of the heavens, and I have given to thy seed all these lands; and blessed themselves in thy seed have all nations of the earth; ⁵ because that Abraham hath hearkened to My voice, and keepeth My charge, My commands, My statutes, and My laws.’ ⁶ And Isaac dwelleth in Gerar; ⁷ and men of the place ask him of his wife, and he saith, ‘She is my sister:’ for he hath been afraid to say, ‘My wife—lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, for she is of good appearance.’ ⁸ And it cometh to pass, when the days have been prolonged to him there, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looketh through the window, and seeth, and lo, Isaac is playing with Rebekah his wife. ⁹ And Abimelech calleth for Isaac, and saith, ‘Lo, she is surely thy wife; and how hast thou said, She is my sister?’ and Isaac saith unto him, ‘Because I said, Lest I die for her.’ ¹⁰ And Abimelech saith, ‘What is this thou hast done to us? as a little thing one of the people had lain with thy wife, and thou hadst brought upon us guilt;’ ¹¹ and Abimelech commandeth all the people, saying, ‘He who cometh against this man or against his wife, dying doth die.’ ¹² And Isaac soweth in that land, and findeth in that year a hundredfold, and Jehovah blesseth him; ¹³ and the man is great, and goeth on, going on and becoming great, till that he hath been very great, ¹⁴ and he hath possession of a flock, and possession of a herd, and an abundant service; and the Philistines envy him, ¹⁵ and all the wells which his father’s servants digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines have stopped them, and fill them with dust. ¹⁶ And Abimelech saith unto Isaac, ‘Go from us; for thou hast become much mightier than we;’ ¹⁷ and Isaac goeth from thence, and encampeth in the valley of Gerar, and dwelleth there; ¹⁸ and Isaac turneth back, and diggeth the wells of water which they digged in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines do stop after the death of Abraham, and he calleth to them names according to the names which his father called them. ¹⁹ And Isaac’s servants dig in the valley, and find there a well of living water, ²⁰ and shepherds of Gerar strive with shepherds of Isaac, saying, ‘The water is ours;’ and he calleth the name of the well ‘Strife,’ because they have striven habitually with him; ²¹ and they dig another well, and they strive also for it, and he calleth its name ‘Hatred.’ ²² And he removeth from thence, and diggeth another well, and they have not striven for it, and he calleth its name Enlargements, and saith, ‘For—now hath Jehovah given enlargement to us, and we have been fruitful in the land.’

Surrounding context — Genesis 26

1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

4 And I will 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;

5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

7 And the men of the place asked [him] of his wife; and he said, She [is] my sister: 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.

8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac [was] sporting with Rebekah his wife.

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, What [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.

11 And Abimelech charged all [his] people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

15 For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

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 called 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 springing water.

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; because they strove with him.

21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I [am] the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I [am] with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.

25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.

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HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION

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