Genesis 26

Introduction

Genesis 26 is the only chapter in Genesis devoted entirely to Isaac as the central character. Everywhere else, Isaac appears in relation to Abraham (his father) or Jacob (his son), but here he steps into the spotlight on his own terms. The chapter presents Isaac as a transitional figure — the quiet link between the dramatic lives of Abraham and Jacob — and yet it reveals that Isaac faced many of the same trials his father did: famine, fear, deception, well disputes, and encounters with foreign kings. The narrative's setting is the Negev region, particularly the area around Gerar and Beersheba, the same territory where Abraham had sojourned a generation earlier (Genesis 20, Genesis 21:22-34).

The theological heartbeat of the chapter is the reaffirmation of the Abrahamic covenant to Isaac. God appears twice to Isaac (vv. 2-5 and v. 24), each time confirming that the promises of land, offspring, and blessing to the nations will continue through him. The chapter also explores the theme of wells — a rich image in the ancient Near East, where water meant life, prosperity, and permanence. Isaac's journey from stopped-up wells to open wells, from conflict to peace, mirrors his journey from fear and deception to trust in God's provision. The chapter ends on a discordant note with Esau's marriages to Hittite women, foreshadowing the family crisis that will erupt in Genesis 27.

God's Promise to Isaac (vv. 1-5)

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."

¹ Now there was a famine in the land, besides the earlier famine that had been in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. ² And the LORD appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt. Dwell in the land that I will tell you. ³ Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. ⁴ I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the heavens and give to your offspring all these lands, and in your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed, ⁵ because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My instructions."

Notes

רָעָב ("famine") — The narrator deliberately links this famine to the one in Abraham's time (Genesis 12:10), using the phrase "besides the earlier famine." This sets up a deliberate parallel: Abraham went down to Egypt during his famine; Isaac is explicitly told not to. The famine becomes a test of obedience — will Isaac follow his father's example of going to Egypt, or will he trust God's word to stay?
אֲבִימֶלֶךְ ("Abimelech") — This is likely not the same Abimelech whom Abraham encountered in Genesis 20 and Genesis 21, since considerable time has passed. "Abimelech" (meaning "my father is king") may have been a dynastic title or throne name among the rulers of Gerar, much as "Pharaoh" was a title in Egypt. The military commander Phicol also appears in both accounts (Genesis 21:22, Genesis 26:26), which may similarly be a hereditary title.
גּוּר ("sojourn") — God tells Isaac to שְׁכֹן ("dwell, settle") in v. 2 and then to גּוּר ("sojourn as a foreigner") in v. 3. The two verbs together capture Isaac's paradoxical status: he is to live in the land as his home, yet remain a resident alien within it. The גֵּר ("sojourner") lives under the protection of another community without full citizenship rights. This tension — being in the land but not yet possessing it — defines the patriarchal experience throughout Genesis.
The promise in vv. 3-4 combines several strands of the Abrahamic covenant: the land promise (Genesis 12:7, Genesis 15:18-21), the offspring promise (Genesis 15:5, Genesis 22:17), and the blessing-to-the-nations promise (Genesis 12:3, Genesis 22:18). God uses the verb וַהֲקִמֹתִי ("I will establish/confirm") rather than "I will make" — emphasizing that this is not a new covenant but the continuation and ratification of an existing one.
Verse 5 is remarkable for its accumulation of legal terms: מִשְׁמַרְתִּי ("My charge"), מִצְוֺתַי ("My commandments"), חֻקּוֹתַי ("My statutes"), and תוֹרֹתָי ("My instructions/laws"). This language anticipates the Mosaic law and sounds almost Deuteronomic. The verse attributes the covenant blessings not merely to God's sovereign choice but also to Abraham's faithful obedience. I translated the final term as "instructions" rather than "laws" because תּוֹרָה at its root means "instruction" or "teaching," and its full legal sense develops later in the Pentateuch.

Interpretations

The language of verse 5 — describing Abraham as keeping God's "commandments, statutes, and laws" — has generated significant discussion, since the Mosaic law had not yet been given. Several views exist:

Prospective/Prophetic reading: The language is deliberately chosen by the author of Genesis (traditionally Moses) to connect Abraham's obedience to the later Sinai covenant. Abraham is presented as a model Israelite, keeping the spirit of the law before it was formally given. This reading emphasizes the unity of God's moral expectations across the covenants.
Natural/Moral law view: Abraham obeyed God's direct commands (such as the call to leave Ur, the command of circumcision, and the binding of Isaac) as well as a moral law written on the heart (Romans 2:14-15). The legal terminology in v. 5 is a retrospective description using vocabulary familiar to the original audience.
Jewish traditional view: The Talmud (Yoma 28b) teaches that Abraham kept the entire Torah, including later rabbinic ordinances, through prophetic insight. While most Protestant interpreters do not follow this reading literally, it reflects the text's striking use of Sinaitic vocabulary.

Isaac Deceives Abimelech (vv. 6-11)

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."

⁶ So Isaac settled in Gerar. ⁷ When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," for he was afraid to say "my wife," thinking, "The men of this place might kill me because of Rebekah, for she is beautiful in appearance." ⁸ Now when he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through the window and saw — there was Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife. ⁹ So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, "She is clearly your wife! How could you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "Because I thought, 'I might die because of her.'" ¹⁰ Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might well have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us." ¹¹ Then Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, "Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."

Notes

מְצַחֵק ("laughing, caressing, playing") — This is one of the most cleverly placed words in Genesis. The verb is from the root צָחַק — the same root from which Isaac's name יִצְחָק is derived, meaning "he laughs." The KJV translates it as "sporting," the ESV as "laughing with," and the BSB as "caressing." The word has a range of meanings from innocent laughter to sexual intimacy (cf. Genesis 39:14 where the same root describes Potiphar's wife's accusation against Joseph). The wordplay is untranslatable: Abimelech looked out and saw "Isaac Isaac-ing" — that is, he saw the one whose name means "laughter" laughing/playing with Rebekah in a way that was clearly intimate, not sisterly. I kept "laughing with" to preserve the name-wordplay while letting the context indicate the intimacy.
The wife-sister deception is the third such episode in Genesis. Abraham called Sarah his sister before Pharaoh in Egypt (Genesis 12:10-20) and before Abimelech of Gerar (Genesis 20:1-18). Now Isaac repeats the same stratagem with the same excuse: fear for his life because of his wife's beauty. Unlike Abraham, Isaac cannot even claim a half-truth — Rebekah was not his sister in any sense (she was his cousin, Genesis 24:15). The repetition shows how deeply ingrained patterns of fear and deception can be within families. The son inherits the father's weakness.
אָשָׁם ("guilt") — Abimelech's concern is not merely personal but communal. The word asham carries connotations of guilt-offering and corporate liability. If someone had taken Rebekah, the entire community would bear the guilt. This same word becomes a technical term for the guilt offering in Leviticus (Leviticus 5:14-19). Abimelech, a pagan king, shows a more refined moral sensibility here than Isaac, the covenant heir.
הַנֹּגֵעַ ("whoever touches") — The decree uses the verb נָגַע ("to touch"), which here carries the sense of "to harm" or "to lay a hand on." The penalty — מוֹת יוּמָת ("shall surely be put to death") — is the strongest form of legal pronouncement in Hebrew, using the infinitive absolute with the finite verb for emphasis. Abimelech's royal protection of Isaac and Rebekah ironically becomes a vehicle of God's providence: the very king Isaac feared becomes his protector.

Interpretations

The three wife-sister narratives in Genesis (Genesis 12:10-20, Genesis 20:1-18, and here) have been interpreted in several ways:

Source-critical view: Many scholars following the Documentary Hypothesis see these as three versions of a single story from different sources (J, E, and J again). On this reading, they are not three historical events but one tradition preserved in variant forms.
Literary-theological view: Other scholars argue that the repetition is intentional and meaningful. The three episodes show a pattern of decline — Abraham's deception was at least partially true (Sarah was his half-sister), while Isaac's is entirely false. At the same time, the consequences diminish: in Genesis 12 Pharaoh's household is struck with plagues; in Genesis 20 God threatens death; here the deception is discovered through an observation rather than divine intervention. The pattern may show that God's protection of the covenant family persists even as the family's faithfulness deteriorates.
Typological/Instructional view: The repeated pattern serves as a warning to Israel about the dangers of assimilation and fear — a theme deeply relevant for the original audience entering the promised land. The patriarchs' failures in foreign settings anticipate Israel's own temptations.

Isaac's Prosperity and the Well Disputes (vv. 12-22)

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."

¹² And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in that same year a hundredfold, for the LORD blessed him. ¹³ The man grew great, and continued to grow until he became very great. ¹⁴ He had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a large household, and the Philistines envied him. ¹⁵ Now all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped up and filled with dirt. ¹⁶ And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you have become far too powerful for us." ¹⁷ So Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar and settled there. ¹⁸ And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham's death. He called them by the same names that his father had called them. ¹⁹ When Isaac's servants dug in the valley, they found there a well of living water. ²⁰ But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water is ours." So he called the name of that well Esek, because they contended with him. ²¹ Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one too, so he called its name Sitnah. ²² He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. He called its name Rehoboth, and said, "For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."

Notes

מֵאָה שְׁעָרִים ("a hundredfold") — Isaac's harvest yield is extraordinary. A hundredfold return on sowing is almost unheard of in ancient agriculture, where tenfold or even thirtyfold was considered excellent. Jesus later uses similar language in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:8). The narrator attributes this directly to divine blessing: "the LORD blessed him." Isaac's prosperity is not the result of superior farming but of covenant faithfulness.
The Hebrew of v. 13 uses a striking construction to convey Isaac's growing wealth: וַיִּגְדַּל הָאִישׁ וַיֵּלֶךְ הָלוֹךְ וְגָדֵל עַד כִּי גָדַל מְאֹד — literally "the man grew great and went on going and growing until he was very great." The threefold repetition of the root גָּדַל ("to be great, grow") in a single verse hammers home the point. I preserved this with "grew great...continued to grow...became very great."
וַיְקַנְאוּ ("they envied him") — The verb קָנָא means "to be jealous, envious." Envy drives the Philistines to the destructive act of stopping up Abraham's wells. In an arid climate, filling wells with dirt was an act of economic warfare — it destroyed the infrastructure that made pastoral life possible. The wells represented Abraham's legacy and claim to the land; filling them was an attempt to erase his presence.
בְּאֵר מַיִם חַיִּים ("a well of living water") — The BSB translates this as "fresh water," which captures the practical meaning (spring-fed water as opposed to a stagnant cistern). But the Hebrew חַיִּים literally means "living" — the water is alive, flowing, fresh from underground springs. This phrase carries rich theological resonance. Jeremiah calls God "the fountain of living water" (Jeremiah 2:13), and Jesus uses the image of "living water" in His conversation with the Samaritan woman (John 4:10-14) and at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:38). I retained "living water" in the translation to preserve this dimension.
The three wells tell a story through their names. עֵשֶׂק ("contention") comes from the root עָשַׂק, meaning "to contend, dispute." שִׂטְנָה ("enmity, accusation") comes from the root שָׂטַן, the same root that gives us "Satan" — the adversary, the accuser. רְחֹבוֹת ("broad places, open spaces") comes from רָחַב, "to be wide, spacious." The progression moves from contention to hostility to spaciousness. Isaac's response to each conflict is not to fight but to move on. His strategy of yielding — of refusing to escalate — is ultimately vindicated when God provides a well that no one disputes. The naming of Rehoboth is an act of faith: "the LORD has made room for us."
Isaac's re-digging of Abraham's wells (v. 18) and his insistence on calling them by the same names is an act of both piety and claim. Names signify ownership in the ancient world. By restoring his father's names to the wells, Isaac is asserting continuity with Abraham's legacy and, by extension, Abraham's covenant claim on the land. The Philistines understood this — which is why they had stopped up the wells and why they continued to contest new ones.

God Appears at Beersheba (vv. 23-25)

²³ From there Isaac went up to Beersheba, ²⁴ and 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 multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham." ²⁵ So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there. His servants also dug a well there.

²³ From there he went up to Beersheba. ²⁴ And the LORD appeared to him that night and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your offspring for the sake of Abraham My servant." ²⁵ So he built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there. And Isaac's servants dug a well there.

Notes

אָנֹכִי אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם אָבִיךָ ("I am the God of Abraham your father") — God identifies Himself not by a new title but through relationship: He is the God of Isaac's father. This self-identification establishes continuity — the same God who spoke to Abraham now speaks to Isaac. The phrase "your father" is both genealogical and theological: Isaac's identity is rooted in his father's covenant. This is the formula that will later become "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" (Exodus 3:6).
אַל תִּירָא ("do not be afraid") — God's first words to Isaac after the self-identification are a command not to fear. This suggests that Isaac had been living in fear — fear of the Philistines, fear of losing Rebekah, fear of the future. The divine reassurance addresses the root cause of Isaac's earlier deception (v. 7: "he was afraid"). God does not rebuke Isaac for the deception but addresses the fear that caused it. The antidote to fear is the promise: "I am with you."
בַּעֲבוּר אַבְרָהָם עַבְדִּי ("for the sake of Abraham My servant") — The blessing comes to Isaac not because of Isaac's own merit but for Abraham's sake. The title עֶבֶד ("servant") applied to Abraham is one of the highest honors in the Hebrew Bible — it is later given to Moses (Deuteronomy 34:5), David (2 Samuel 7:5), and the Suffering Servant of Isaiah (Isaiah 52:13). God's faithfulness to Abraham extends to Abraham's descendants, embodying the intergenerational nature of covenant.
Isaac's threefold response — building an altar, calling on the LORD's name, and pitching his tent — mirrors Abraham's own pattern of worship and settlement (cf. Genesis 12:7-8, Genesis 13:18). The order is significant: worship first, then dwelling, then provision (the well). Isaac establishes Beersheba as a sacred site, a place of encounter with God. His servants digging a well there signals permanence — they intend to stay where God has spoken.

Isaac's Covenant with Abimelech (vv. 26-33)

²⁶ Later, Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army. ²⁷ "Why have you come to me?" Isaac asked them. "You hated me and sent me away." ²⁸ "We can plainly see that the LORD has been with you," they replied. "We recommend that there should now be an oath between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you ²⁹ that you will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only good to you, sending you on your way in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD." ³⁰ So Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ And they got up early the next morning and swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. ³² On that same day, Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug. "We have found water!" they told him. ³³ So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba.

²⁶ Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army. ²⁷ Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me, seeing that you hated me and sent me away from you?" ²⁸ They said, "We have clearly seen that the LORD has been with you. So we said, 'Let there now be a sworn agreement between us — between us and you — and let us make a covenant with you: ²⁹ that you will do us no harm, just as we have not harmed you but have done you only good and sent you away in peace.' You are now blessed by the LORD." ³⁰ So he made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ They rose early in the morning and swore oaths to one another. Then Isaac sent them off, and they departed from him in peace. ³² That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water!" ³³ He called it Shibah. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

Notes

אֲחֻזַּת ("Ahuzzath") — The name appears to derive from אָחַז ("to seize, hold"), possibly meaning "possession" or "holding." He is called מֵרֵעֵהוּ ("his friend/adviser"), a term that may denote a formal court position — a "king's friend" or personal counselor. The delegation of three — king, adviser, and army commander — signals the seriousness and formality of the visit. This parallels Abraham's covenant ceremony with Abimelech in Genesis 21:22-32, where Phicol (or his predecessor) was also present.
רָאוֹ רָאִינוּ ("we have clearly seen") — The infinitive absolute construction emphasizes certainty: "we have surely seen." What they have seen is that הָיָה יְהוָה עִמָּךְ ("the LORD has been with you"). This is a remarkable confession from pagan rulers. Despite having expelled Isaac, they cannot deny the evidence of divine favor. Their motivation for the covenant is not affection but pragmatism — they want to be on the right side of the God who blesses Isaac.
Abimelech's claim that "we have done you only good" (v. 29) is a somewhat self-serving revisionism. They had stopped up his wells (v. 15) and expelled him from their territory (v. 16). The narrator does not comment on this, but the reader can see the gap between Abimelech's words and his deeds. Nevertheless, Isaac graciously hosts a feast and makes peace. His willingness to overlook the injustice and enter into covenant reflects the same nonconfrontational character he showed at the disputed wells.
מִשְׁתֶּה ("feast") — From the root שָׁתָה ("to drink"), the word denotes a banquet or drinking feast. Shared meals in the ancient Near East formalized relationships and sealed agreements. The feast precedes the oath-taking the next morning, creating a complete covenant ceremony: hospitality, meal, and sworn commitment.
שִׁבְעָה ("Shibah") — The well's name is linked to the word שְׁבוּעָה ("oath") and the number שֶׁבַע ("seven"). The narrator explains that the city בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע ("Beersheba") derives its name from this well. The name can mean either "well of the oath" or "well of seven" — both meanings are relevant, since seven was the number of completeness and oaths were often sealed with sevenfold rituals. Abraham had named the same site Beersheba after his own oath with Abimelech's predecessor (Genesis 21:31), so the naming here reinforces rather than replaces the earlier tradition.
The timing of v. 32 is providential: "that same day" Isaac's servants report finding water. The discovery of water on the very day the covenant is sealed serves as divine confirmation. Throughout the chapter, wells have been contested, stopped up, and fought over. Now, on the day of peace, water flows freely. God's provision follows Isaac's acts of faith and reconciliation.

Esau's Wives (vv. 34-35)

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he took as a wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ And they were a bitterness of spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.

Notes

מֹרַת רוּחַ ("bitterness of spirit, grief of mind") — The phrase is striking and unusual. מֹרַת comes from the root מָרָה ("to be bitter"), and רוּחַ is "spirit." The compound expression suggests deep emotional anguish — not merely disappointment but an ongoing, bitter grief. The BSB translates it smoothly as "brought grief," but the Hebrew is more visceral: these marriages were a constant source of bitterness in Isaac and Rebekah's spirits.
Esau's marriage to Hittite women directly violates the principle Abraham had established in Genesis 24:3, where he made his servant swear not to take a wife for Isaac from the Canaanite peoples. The Hittites were among the peoples of Canaan (Genesis 15:20). Esau's disregard for this family principle reveals his character — the same impulsiveness that led him to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew (Genesis 25:29-34). He values immediate desire over covenantal identity.
The names of Esau's wives present a well-known textual difficulty. Here his wives are Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. But in Genesis 36:2-3, his wives are listed as Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah daughter of Anah, and Basemath daughter of Ishmael. The discrepancies in names may reflect multiple names for the same women (a common practice), different traditions preserved in the text, or changes of name upon marriage. No single harmonization has achieved scholarly consensus.
These two verses serve as a narrative hinge. They close the chapter about Isaac's life in the land and set the stage for the explosive events of Genesis 27, where Rebekah's grief over Esau's choices contributes to her determination to secure the blessing for Jacob instead. Rebekah will later cite Esau's Hittite wives as a reason to send Jacob away to find a wife among her own relatives (Genesis 27:46).
Esau's age of forty at marriage is noted as matching Isaac's own age at marriage (Genesis 25:20). The parallel highlights the contrast: Isaac married the woman God providentially selected from Abraham's kinsmen; Esau married women of his own choosing from the surrounding pagan population. The same milestone age leads to very different outcomes depending on whether one lives within or outside the covenant's principles.