1And there was a famineH7458 in the landH776, besideH905 the firstH7223 famineH7458 that was in the daysH3117 of AbrahamH85. And IsaacH3327 wentH3212 unto AbimelechH40 kingH4428 of the PhilistinesH6430 unto GerarH1642. 2And the LORDH3068 appearedH7200 unto him, and saidH559, Go not downH3381 into EgyptH4714; dwellH7931 in the landH776 which I shall tellH559 thee of: 3SojournH1481 in this landH776, and I will be with thee, and will blessH1288 thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seedH2233, I will giveH5414 all theseH411 countriesH776, and I will performH6965 the oathH7621 which I swareH7650 unto AbrahamH85 thy fatherH1; 4And I will makeH7235 thy seedH2233 to multiplyH7235 as the starsH3556 of heavenH8064, and will giveH5414 unto thy seedH2233 all theseH411 countriesH776; and in thy seedH2233 shall all the nationsH1471 of the earthH776 be blessedH1288 ; 5BecauseH6118 that AbrahamH85 obeyedH8085 my voiceH6963, and keptH8104 my chargeH4931, my commandmentsH4687, my statutesH2708, and my lawsH8451. 6And IsaacH3327 dweltH3427 in GerarH1642: 7And the menH582 of the placeH4725 askedH7592 him of his wifeH802; and he saidH559, She is my sisterH269: for he fearedH3372 to sayH559, She is my wifeH802; lest, said he, the menH582 of the placeH4725 should killH2026 me for RebekahH7259; because she was fairH2896 to look uponH4758. 8And it came to pass, when he had been there a longH748 timeH3117, that AbimelechH40 kingH4428 of the PhilistinesH6430 looked outH8259 atH1157 a windowH2474, and sawH7200, and, behold, IsaacH3327 was sportingH6711 with RebekahH7259 his wifeH802. 9And AbimelechH40 calledH7121 IsaacH3327, and saidH559, Behold, of a suretyH389 she is thy wifeH802: and how saidstH559 thou, She is my sisterH269? And IsaacH3327 saidH559 unto him, Because I saidH559, Lest I dieH4191 for her. 10And AbimelechH40 saidH559, What is this thou hast doneH6213 unto us? oneH259 of the peopleH5971 might lightlyH4592 have lienH7901 with thy wifeH802, and thou shouldest have broughtH935 guiltinessH817 upon us. 11And AbimelechH40 chargedH6680 all his peopleH5971, sayingH559, He that touchethH5060 this manH376 or his wifeH802 shall surelyH4191 be put to deathH4191 . 12Then IsaacH3327 sowedH2232 in that landH776, and receivedH4672 in the same yearH8141 an hundredfoldH3967 H8180: and the LORDH3068 blessedH1288 him. 13And the manH376 waxed greatH1431, and wentH3212 forwardH1980, and grewH1432 until he becameH1431 veryH3966 greatH1431 : 14For he had possessionH4735 of flocksH6629, and possessionH4735 of herdsH1241, and great storeH7227 of servantsH5657: and the PhilistinesH6430 enviedH7065 him. 15For all the wellsH875 which his father'sH1 servantsH5650 had diggedH2658 in the daysH3117 of AbrahamH85 his fatherH1, the PhilistinesH6430 had stoppedH5640 them, and filledH4390 them with earthH6083. 16And AbimelechH40 saidH559 unto IsaacH3327, GoH3212 from us; for thou art muchH3966 mightierH6105 than we. 17And IsaacH3327 departedH3212 thence, and pitched his tentH2583 in the valleyH5158 of GerarH1642, and dweltH3427 thereH8033. 18And IsaacH3327 diggedH2658 againH7725 the wellsH875 of waterH4325, which they had diggedH2658 in the daysH3117 of AbrahamH85 his fatherH1; for the PhilistinesH6430 had stoppedH5640 them afterH310 the deathH4194 of AbrahamH85: and he calledH7121 their namesH8034 after the namesH8034 by whichH834 his fatherH1 had calledH7121 them. 19And Isaac'sH3327 servantsH5650 diggedH2658 in the valleyH5158, and foundH4672 there a wellH875 of springingH2416 waterH4325. 20And the herdmenH7462 of GerarH1642 did striveH7378 with Isaac'sH3327 herdmenH7462, sayingH559, The waterH4325 is ours: and he calledH7121 the nameH8034 of the wellH875 EsekH6230; because they stroveH6229 with him. 21And they diggedH2658 anotherH312 wellH875, and stroveH7378 for that also: and he calledH7121 the name of itH8034 SitnahH7856. 22And he removedH6275 from thence, and diggedH2658 anotherH312 wellH875; and for that they stroveH7378 not: and he calledH7121 the name of itH8034 RehobothH7344; and he saidH559, For nowH6258 the LORDH3068 hath made roomH7337 for us, and we shall be fruitfulH6509 in the landH776. 23And he went upH5927 from thence to BeershebaH884. 24And the LORDH3068 appearedH7200 unto him the same nightH3915, and saidH559, I am the GodH430 of AbrahamH85 thy fatherH1: fearH3372 not, for I am withH854 thee, and will blessH1288 thee, and multiplyH7235 thy seedH2233 for my servantH5650 Abraham'sH85 sake. 25And he buildedH1129 an altarH4196 there, and calledH7121 upon the nameH8034 of the LORDH3068, and pitchedH5186 his tentH168 there: and there Isaac'sH3327 servantsH5650 diggedH3738 a wellH875. 26Then AbimelechH40 wentH1980 to him from GerarH1642, and AhuzzathH276 one of his friendsH4828, and PhicholH6369 the chief captainH8269 of his armyH6635. 27And IsaacH3327 saidH559 unto them, WhereforeH4069 comeH935 ye to me, seeing ye hateH8130 me, and have sent me awayH7971 from you? 28And they saidH559, We sawH7200 certainlyH7200 that the LORDH3068 was with thee: and we saidH559, Let there be now an oathH423 betwixtH996 us, even betwixtH996 us and thee, and let us makeH3772 a covenantH1285 with thee; 29That thou wilt doH6213 us no hurtH7451, as we have not touchedH5060 thee, and as we have doneH6213 unto thee nothing butH7535 goodH2896, and have sent thee awayH7971 in peaceH7965: thou art nowH6258 the blessedH1288 of the LORDH3068. 30And he madeH6213 them a feastH4960, and they did eatH398 and drinkH8354 . 31And they rose up betimesH7925 in the morningH1242, and swareH7650 oneH376 to anotherH251: and IsaacH3327 sent them awayH7971, and they departedH3212 from him in peaceH7965. 32And it came to pass the same dayH3117, that Isaac'sH3327 servantsH5650 cameH935, and toldH5046 him concerningH182 the wellH875 which they had diggedH2658, and saidH559 unto him, We have foundH4672 waterH4325. 33And he calledH7121 it ShebahH7656: therefore the nameH8034 of the cityH5892 is BeershebaH884 unto this dayH3117. 34And EsauH6215 was fortyH705 yearsH8141 oldH1121 when he tookH3947 to wifeH802 JudithH3067 the daughterH1323 of BeeriH882 the HittiteH2850, and BashemathH1315 the daughterH1323 of ElonH356 the HittiteH2850: 35Which were a griefH4786 of mindH7307 unto IsaacH3327 and to RebekahH7259.
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary 1 Here, I. God tried Isaac by his providence. Isaac had been trained up in a believing dependence upon the divine grant of the land of Canaan to him and his heirs; yet now there is
a famine in the land, Gen 26:1. What shall he think of the promise when the promised land will not find him bread? Is such a grant worth accepting, upon such terms, and after so long a time? Yes, Isaac will still cleave to the covenant; and the less valuable Canaan in itself seems to be the better he is taught to value it, 1. As a token of God's everlasting kindness to him; and, 2. As a type of heaven's everlasting blessedness. Note, The intrinsic worth of God's promises cannot be lessened in a believer's eye by any cross providences.
II. He directed him under this trial by his word. Isaac finds himself straitened by the scarcity of provisions. Somewhere he must go for supply; it should seem, he set out for Egypt, whither his father went in the like strait, but he takes Gerar in his way, full of thoughts, no doubt, which way he had best steer his course, till God graciously appeared to him, and determined him, abundantly to his satisfaction. 1. God bade him stay where he was, and
not go down into Egypt: Sojourn in this land, Gen 26:2,
Gen 26:3. There was a famine in Jacob's days, and God bade him
go down into Egypt (
Gen 46:3,
Gen 46:4), a famine in
Isaac's days, and God bade him
not to go down, a famine in Abraham's days, and God left him to his liberty, directing him neither way. This variety in the divine procedure (considering that Egypt was always a place of trial and exercise to God's people) some ground upon the different characters of these three patriarchs. Abraham was a man of very high attainments, and intimate communion with God; and to him all places and conditions were alike. Isaac was a very good man, but not cut out for hardship; therefore he is forbidden to go to Egypt. Jacob was inured to difficulties, strong and patient; and therefore he must go down into Egypt, that
the trial of his faith might be to praise, and honour, and glory. Thus God proportions his people's trials to their strength. 2. He promised to be
with him, and bless him, Gen 26:3. As we may go any where with comfort when God's blessing goes with us, so we may stay any where contentedly if that blessing rest upon us. 3. He renewed the covenant with him, which had so often been made with Abraham, repeating and ratifying the promises of the land of Canaan, a numerous issue, and the Messiah,
Gen 26:3,
Gen 26:4. Note, Those that must live by faith have need often to review, and repeat to themselves, the promises they are to live upon, especially when they are called to any instance of suffering or self-denial. 4. He recommended to him the good example of his father's obedience, as that which had preserved the entail of the covenant in his family (
Gen 26:5):
Abraham obeyed my voice; do thou do so too, and the promise shall be sure to thee. Abraham's obedience is here celebrated, to his honour; for by it he obtained a good report both with God and men. A great variety of words is here used to express the divine will, to which Abraham was obedient (
my voice, my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws ), which may intimate that Abraham's obedience was universal; he obeyed the original laws of nature, the revealed laws of divine worship, particularly that of circumcision, and all the extraordinary precepts God gave him, as that of quitting his country, and that (which some think is more especially referred to) of the offering up of his son, which Isaac himself had reason enough to remember. Note, Those only shall have the benefit and comfort of God's covenant with their godly parents that tread in the steps of their obedience.
6 Isaac had now laid aside all thoughts of going to Egypt, and, in obedience to the heavenly vision, sets up his staff in Gerar, the country in which he was born (
Gen 26:6), yet there he enters into temptation, the same temptation that his good father had been once and again surprised and overcome by, namely, to deny his wife, and to give out that she was his sister. Observe,
I. How he sinned,
Gen 26:7. Because his wife was handsome, he fancied the Philistines would find some way or other to take him off, that some of them might marry her; and therefore she must pass for his sister. It is an unaccountable thing that both these great and good men should be guilty of so strange a piece of dissimulation, by which they so much exposed both their own and their wives' reputation. But we see, 1. That very good men have sometimes been guilty of very great faults and follies. Let those therefore that stand take heed lest they fall, and those that have fallen not despair of being helped up again. 2. That there is an aptness in us to imitate even the weaknesses and infirmities of those we have a value for. We have need therefore to keep our foot, lest, while we aim to tread in the steps of good men, we sometimes tread in their by-steps.
II. How he was detected, and the cheat discovered, by the king himself. Abimelech (not the same that was in Abraham's days, ch. 20, for this was nearly 100 years after that, but this was the common name of the Philistine kings, as Caesar of the Roman emperors) saw Isaac more familiar and pleasant with Rebekah than he knew he would be with his sister (
Gen 26:8): he saw him sporting with her, or
laughing; it is the same word with that from which Isaac has his name. He was
rejoicing with the wife of his youth, Prov 5:18. It becomes those in that relation to be pleasant with one another, as those that are pleased with one another. Nowhere may a man more allow himself to be innocently merry than with his own wife and children. Abimelech charged him with the fraud (
Gen 26:9), showed him how frivolous his excuse was and what might have been the bad consequences of it (
Gen 26:10), and then, to convince him how groundless and unjust his jealousy of them was, took him and his family under his particular protection, forbidding any injury to be done to him or his wife upon pain of death,
Gen 26:11. Note, 1. A lying tongue is but for a moment. Truth is the daughter of time; and, in time, it will out. 2. One sin is often the inlet to many, and therefore the beginnings of sin ought to be avoided. 3. The sins of professors shame them before those that are without. 4. God can make those that are incensed against his people, though there may be some colour of cause for it, to know that it is at their peril if they do them any hurt. See
Pss 105:14,
Pss 105:15.
12 Here we have,
I. The tokens of God's good-will to Isaac. He
blessed him, and prospered him, and made all that he had to thrive under his hands. 1. His corn multiplied strangely,
Gen 26:12. He had no land of his own, but took land of the Philistines, and sowed it; and (be it observed for the encouragement of poor tenants, that occupy other people's lands, and are honest and industrious) God blessed him with a great increase. He reaped
a hundred fold; and there seems to be an emphasis laid upon the time: it was that
same year when there was a famine in the land; while others scarcely reaped at all, he reaped thus plentifully. See
Isa 65:13,
My servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry, Pss 37:19,
In the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 2. His cattle also increased,
Gen 26:14. And then, 3. He had
great store of servants, whom he employed and maintained. Note,
As goods are increased those are increased that eat them, Qoh 5:11.
II. The tokens of the Philistines' ill-will to him. They
envied him, Gen 26:14. It is an instance, 1. Of the vanity of the world that the more men have of it the more they are envied, and exposed to censure and injury.
Who can stand before envy? Prov 27:4. See
Qoh 4:4. 2. Of the corruption of nature; for that is a bad principle indeed which makes men
grieve at the good of others, as if it must needs be ill with me because it is well with my neighbor. (1.) They had already shown their ill-will to his family, by stopping up the wells which his father had digged,
Gen 26:15. This was spitefully done. Because they had not flocks of their own to water at these wells, they would not leave them for the use of others; so absurd a thing is malice. And it was perfidiously done, contrary to the covenant of friendship they had made with Abraham,
Gen 21:31,
Gen 21:32. No bonds will hold ill-nature. (2.) They expelled him out of their country,
Gen 26:16,
Gen 26:17. The king of Gerar began to look upon him with a jealous eye. Isaac's house was like a court, and his riches and retinue eclipsed Abimelech's; and therefore he must go further off. They were weary of his neighborhood, because they saw that the Lord blessed him; whereas, for that reason, they should the rather have courted his stay, that they also might be blessed for his sake. Isaac does not insist upon the bargain he had made with them for the lands he held, nor upon his occupying and improving them, nor does he offer to contest with them by force, though he had become very great, but very peaceably departs thence further from the royal city, and perhaps to a part of the country less fruitful. Note, We should deny ourselves both in our rights and in our conveniences, rather than quarrel: a wise and a good man will rather retire into obscurity, like Isaac here into a valley, than sit high to be the butt of envy and ill-will.
III. His constancy and continuance in his business still.
1. He kept up his husbandry, and continued industrious to find wells of water, and to fit them for his use,
Gen 26:18, etc. Though he had grown very rich, yet he was as solicitous as ever about the state of his flocks, and still looked well to his herds; when men grow great, they must take heed of thinking themselves too big and too high for their business. Though he was driven from the conveniences he had had, and could not follow his husbandry with the same ease and advantage as before, yet he set himself to make the best of the country he had come into, which it is every man's prudence to do. Observe,
(1.) He opened the wells that his father had digged (
Gen 26:18), and out of respect to his father called them by the same names that he had given them. Note, In our searches after truth, that fountain of living water, it is good to make use of the discoveries of former ages, which have been clouded by the corruptions of later times. Enquire for the old way, the wells which our fathers digged, which the adversaries of truth have stopped up:
Ask thy elders, and they shall teach thee. (2.) His servants dug new wells,
Gen 26:19. Note, Though we must use the light of former ages, it does not therefore follow that we must rest in it, and make no advances. We must still be building upon their foundation,
running to and fro, that knowledge may be increased, Dan 12:4.
(3.) In digging his wells he met with much opposition,
Gen 26:20,
Gen 26:21. Those that open the fountains of truth must expect contradiction. The first two wells which they dug were called
Esek and
Sitnah, contention and
hatred. See here, [1.] What is the nature of worldly things; they are make-bates and occasions of strife. [2.] What is often the lot even of the most quiet and peaceable men in this world; those that avoid striving yet cannot avoid being striven with,
Pss 120:7. In this sense, Jeremiah was a
man of contention (
Jer 15:10), and Christ himself, though he is the prince of peace. [3.] What a mercy it is to have plenty of water, to have it without striving for it. The more common this mercy is the more reason we have to be thankful for it.
(4.) At length he removed to a quiet settlement, cleaving to his peaceable principle, rather to fly than fight, and unwilling to dwell with those that hated peace,
Pss 120:6. He preferred quietness to victory.
He dug a well, and for this they strove not, Gen 26:22. Note, Those that follow peace, sooner or later, shall find peace; those that study to be quiet seldom fail of being so. How unlike was Isaac to his brother Ishmael, who, right or wrong, would hold what he had, against all the world!
Gen 16:12. And which of these would we be found the followers of? This well they called
Rehoboth, enlargements, room enough: in the two former wells we may see what the earth is,
straitness and
strife; men cannot thrive, for the throng of their neighbours. This well shows us what heaven is; it is
enlargement and
peace, room enough there, for there are many mansions.
2. He continued firm to his religion, and kept up his communion with God. (1.) God graciously appeared to him,
Gen 26:24. When the Philistines expelled him, forced him to remove from place to place, and gave him continual molestation, then God visited him, and gave him fresh assurances of his favour. Note, When men are found false and unkind, we may comfort ourselves that God is faithful and gracious; and his time to show himself so is when we are most disappointed in our expectations from men. When Isaac had come to Beer-sheba (
Gen 26:23) it is probable that it troubled him to think of his unsettled condition, and that he could not be suffered to stay long in a place; and, in the multitude of these thoughts within him, that same night that he came weary and uneasy to Beer-sheba God brought him his comforts to delight his soul. Probably he was apprehensive that the Philistines would not let him rest there:
Fear not, says God to him,
I am with thee, and will bless thee. Those may remove with comfort that are sure of God's presence with them wherever they go. (2.) He was not wanting in his returns of duty to God; for
there he built an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord, Gen 26:25. Note, [1.] Wherever we go, we must take our religion along with us. Probably Isaac's altars and his religious worship gave offence to the Philistines, and provoked them to be the more troublesome to him; yet he kept up his duty, whatever ill-will he might be exposed to by it. [2.] The comforts and encouragements God gives us by his word should excite and quicken us to every exercise of devotion by which God may be honoured and our intercourse with heaven maintained.
26 We have here the contests that had been between Isaac and the Philistines issuing in a happy peace and reconciliation.
I. Abimelech pays a friendly visit to Isaac, in token of the respect he had for him,
Gen 26:26. Note,
When a man's ways please the Lord he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him, Prov 16:7. King's hearts are in his hands, and when he pleases he can turn them to favour his people.
II. Isaac prudently and cautiously questions his sincerity in this visit,
Gen 26:27. Note, In settling friendships and correspondences, there is need of the wisdom of the serpent, as well as the innocence of the dove; nor is it any transgression of the law of meekness and love plainly to signify our strong perception of injuries received, and to stand upon our guard in dealing with those that have acted unfairly.
III. Abimelech professes his sincerity, in this address to Isaac, and earnestly courts his friendship,
Gen 26:28,
Gen 26:29. Some suggest that Abimelech pressed for this league with him because he feared lest Isaac, growing rich, should, some time or other, avenge himself upon them for the injuries he had received. However, he professes to do it rather from a principle of love. 1. He makes the best of their behaviour towards him. Isaac complained they had
hated him, and sent him away. No, said Abimelech,
we sent thee away in peace. They turned him off from the land he held of them; but they suffered him to take away his stock, and all his effects, with him. Note, The lessening of injuries is necessary to the preserving of friendship; for the aggravating of them exasperates and widens breaches. The unkindness done to us might have been worse. 2. He acknowledges the token of God's favour to him, and makes this the ground of their desire to be in league with him:
The Lord is with thee, and thou art the blessed of the Lord. As if he had said, Be persuaded to overlook and pass by the injuries offered thee; for God had abundantly made up to thee the damage thou receivedst. Note, Those whom God blesses and favours have reason enough to forgive those who hate them, since the worst enemy they have cannot do them any real hurt. Or, For this reason we desire thy friendship, because
God is with thee. Note, It is good to be in covenant and communion with those who are in covenant and communion with God,
1John 1:3; present address to him was the result of mature deliberation:
We said, Let there be an oath between us. Whatever some of his peevish envious subjects might mean otherwise, he and his prime-ministers of state, whom he had now brought with him, designed no other than a cordial friendship. Perhaps Abimelech had received, by tradition, the warning God gave to his predecessor not to hurt Abraham (
Gen 20:7), and this made him stand in such awe of Isaac, who appeared to be as much the favourite of Heaven as Abraham was.
IV. Isaac entertains him and his company, and enters into a league of friendship with him,
Gen 26:30,
Gen 26:31. Here see how generous the good man was, 1. In giving:
He made them a feast, and bade them welcome. (2.) In forgiving. He did not insist upon the unkindnesses they had done him, but freely entered into a covenant of friendship with them, and bound himself never to do them any injury. Note, Religion teaches us to be neighbourly, and, as much as in us lies, to
live peaceably with all men. V. Providence smiled upon what Isaac did; for the same day that he made this covenant with Abimelech his servants brought him the tidings of a well of water they had found,
Gen 26:32,
Gen 26:33. He did not insist upon the restitution of the wells which the Philistines had unjustly taken from him, lest this should break off the treaty, but sat down silent under the injury; and, to recompense him for this, immediately he is enriched with a new well, which, because it suited so well to the occurrence of the day, he called by an old name, Beer-sheba, The well of the oath.
34 Here is, 1. Esau's foolish marriage - foolish, some think, in marrying two wives together, for which perhaps he is called a
fornicator (
Hebre 12:16), or rather in marrying Canaanites, who were strangers to the blessing to Abraham, and subject to the curse of Noah, for which he is called
profane; for hereby he intimated that he neither desired the blessing nor dreaded the curse of God. 2. The grief and trouble it created to his tender parents. (1.) It grieved them that he married without asking, or at least without taking, their advice and consent: see whose steps those children tread in who either contemn or contradict their parents in disposing of themselves. (2.) It grieved them that he married the daughters of Hittites, who had no religion among them; for Isaac remembered his father's care concerning him, that he should by no means marry a Canaanite. (3.) It should seem, the wives he married were provoking in their conduct towards Isaac and Rebekah; those children have little reason to expect the blessing of God who do that which is a grief of mind to their good parents.
