Genesis 26, Isaac

We have moved from the story of Abraham to the story of Isaac (and his young family, Rebekah, Esau and Jacob.)  The book of Genesis covers the life of Abram/Abraham in 14 chapters, chapters 12 to 25.  In chapter 25 we transition over to the life of Isaac and the main character of this chapter is Isaac. But by the end of chapter 27 we have moved on to the story of Isaac's son, Jacob.  Of the three patriarchal heroes of the Israelites, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we really learn very little about Isaac!

Genesis 26:1-6, Famine and promise
Now there was a famine in the land--besides the earlier famine of Abraham's time--and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. 

The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws."

So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

God's covenant with Abraham is renewed with Isaac. There continues to be an emphasis on staying in the land (and staying out of Egypt.)

Genesis 26:7-11, Just like his father
When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," because he was afraid to say, "She is my wife." He thought, "The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful."

When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, "She is really your wife! Why did you say, `She is my sister'?" 

Isaac answered him, "Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her."

Then Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us." So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: "Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."

Isaac, like his father Abraham, pretends his wife is his sister! But Abimelech catches Isaac "caressing" Rebekah, obviously in a sexual manner. Of the three she-is-my-sister episodes (Genesis 12:10-20, 20:1-18 and here), this one progresses the least; Rebekah is not (yet) part of the king's harem.

Genesis 26:12-17, Isaac leaves Abimelech

Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. So all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. 

Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us." So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.

Isaac is forced to leave, due to his prosperity! In that arid land, sources of water were critical and so the Philistines drive Isaac away by filling up the wells that Abraham had created.

Genesis 26:18-22, Dispute with the herdsmen of Gerar
Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them. Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there.

But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land."

The people are quarreling over wells. This is a land where rain is always a blessing, so any spring or seep, where water has pooled, is a source of wealth. The name Eseq (עֵשֶׂק) has the same three consonants as asaq (עָשַׂק), meaning "to quarrel." The word sitnah (שִׂטְנָה) means "accusation." We have already seen the name Rehoboth as the possible name of a city in Genesis 10:11 where the word may mean "square" or "broad places." 

Genesis 26:23-25, God's covenant with Isaac

From there he went up to Beersheba. That night the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham." Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.

God repeats His covenant with Isaac and Isaac responds by building an altar, where he will worship, and digging a well, which lays claim to the land.

Genesis 26:26-33, Agreement with Abimelech

Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?"

They answered, "We saw clearly that the LORD was with you; so we said, `There ought to be a sworn agreement between us'--between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you that you will do us no harm, just as we did not molest you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD."

Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.

That day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, "We've found water!" He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.

Abimelech decides he wants to be on Isaac's side!

Genesis 26:34-35, Esau

When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

The last verse in this passage hints at a family conflict that will reach its climax in the next chapter.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is rechob, 

רְחֹב

a feminine noun meaning "a broad place" or a "square." It shows up in Genesis 19:2, when Lot's visitors offer to spend the night in the city square. That word then changes slightly, above, where a version of the word in verse 22 is a name representing space or room.

Some Random Thoughts

As a new Christian, in my teens, and just beginning to date, my girlfriend and I occasionally read the King James Version of the Bible together. In verse 8 above, Abimelech looks out a window and sees Isaac with Rebekah. According to the KJV, Isaac is "sporting with" his wife. I loved that rather delicate and vague phrase -- and my active (male) imagination could fill in details, details which included the NIV's "caressing." Although it is easy to ridicule the KJV's ancient English, it turns out that "sporting with" is probably a pretty good translation. The Hebrew word is a version of tsachaq (צְחַק), a word we met before as "laughter" in God's conversations with Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 17-19. Indeed, it is the name of Isaac! But in Genesis 21:9-10, the word is translated "mocking". The Hebrew word apparently includes "teasing" or "play" within its meanings. Isaac is teasing or playing with his wife, in a manner that apparently makes it clear that they have a sexual relationship.

.

First published Jan 31, 2023; updated Jan 30, 2026