Genesis 26

¹Then, when a famine arose over the land, after that barrenness which had happened in the days of Abraham, Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Palestinians, in Gerar.

²And the Lord appeared to him, and he said: “Do not descend into Egypt, but rest in the land that I will tell you,

³and sojourn in it, and I will be with you, and I will bless you. For to you and to your offspring I will give all these regions, completing the oath that I promised to Abraham your father.

⁴And I will multiply your offspring like the stars of heaven. And I will give to your posterity all these regions. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed,

⁵because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and commandments, and observed the ceremonies and the laws.”

⁶And so Isaac remained in Gerar.

⁷And when he was questioned by the men of that place about his wife, he answered, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to confess her to be his mate, thinking that perhaps they would put him to death because of her beauty.

⁸And when very many days had passed, and he had remained in the same place, Abimelech, king of the Palestinians, gazing through a window, saw him being playful with Rebekah, his wife.

⁹And summoning him, he said: “It is clear that she is your wife. Why did you falsely claim her to be your sister?” He answered, “I was afraid, lest I might die because of her.”

¹⁰And Abimelech said: “Why have you burdened us? Someone from the people could have lain with your wife, and you would have brought a great sin upon us.” And he instructed all the people, saying,

¹¹“Whoever will touch the wife of this man will die a death.”

¹²Then Isaac sowed in that land, and he found, in that same year, one hundredfold. And the Lord blessed him.

¹³And the man was enriched, and he continued prospering as well as increasing, until he became very great.

¹⁴Likewise, he had possessions of sheep and of herds, and a very large family. Because of this, the Palestinians envied him,

¹⁵so, at that time, they obstructed all the wells that the servants of his father Abraham had dug, filling them with soil.

¹⁶It reached a point where Abimelech himself said to Isaac, “Move away from us, for you have become very much more powerful than we.”

¹⁷And departing, he then went toward the torrent of Gerar, and he dwelt there.

¹⁸Again, he dug up other wells, which the servants of his father Abraham had dug, and which, after his death, the Philistines had formerly obstructed. And he called them by the same names that his father had called them before.

¹⁹And they dug in the torrent, and they found living water.

²⁰But in that place also the shepherds of Gerar argued against the shepherds of Isaac, by saying, “It is our water.” For this reason, he called the name of the well, because of what had happened, ‘Calumny.’

²¹Then they dug up yet another one. And over that one also they fought, and he called it, ‘Enmity.’

²²Advancing from there, he dug another well, over which they did not contend. And so he called its name, ‘Latitude,’ saying, “Now the Lord has expanded us and caused us to increase across the land.”

²³Then he ascended from that place into Beersheba,

²⁴where the Lord appeared to him on the same night, saying: “I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you, and I will multiply your offspring because of my servant Abraham.”

²⁵And so he built an altar there. And he invoked the name of the Lord, and he stretched out his tent. And he instructed his servants to dig a well.

²⁶When Abimelech, and Ahuzzath, his friend, and Phicol, the leader of the military, had arrived from Gerar to that place,

²⁷Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, a man whom you hate, and whom you have expelled from among you?”

²⁸And they responded: “We saw that the Lord is with you, and therefore we said: Let there be an oath between us, and let us initiate a pact,

²⁹so that you may not do us any kind of harm, just as we have touched nothing of yours, and have not caused any injury to you, but with peace we released you, augmented by the blessing of the Lord.”

³⁰Therefore, he made them a feast, and after the food and drink,

³¹arising in the morning, they swore to one another. And Isaac sent them away peacefully to their own place.

³²Then, behold, on the same day the servants of Isaac came, reporting to him about a well which they had dug, and saying: “We have found water.”

³³Therefore, he called it, ‘Abundance.’ And the name of the city was established as ‘Beersheba,’ even to the present day.

³⁴In truth, at forty years of age, Esau took wives: Judith, the daughter of Beeri, the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon, of the same place.

³⁵And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebekah.

Genesis 26

¹And when a famine came in the land, after that barrenness which had happened in the days of Abraham, Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Palestines, to Gerara.

²And the Lord appeared to him, and said: Go not down into Egypt, but stay in the land that I shall tell thee.

³And sojourn in it, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these countries, to fulfil the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father.

⁴And I will multiply thy seed like the stars of heaven: and I will give to thy posterity all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

⁵Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and commandments, and observed my ceremonies and laws.

⁶So Isaac abode in Gerara.

⁷And when he was asked by the men of that place, concerning his wife, he answered: She is my sister: for he was afraid to confess that she was his wife, thinking lest perhaps they would kill him because of her beauty.

⁸And when very many days were passed, and he abode there, Abimelech, king of the Palestines, looking out through a window, saw him playing with Rebecca, his wife.

⁹And calling for him, he said: It is evident she is thy wife: why didst thou feign her to be thy sister? He answered: I feared lest I should die for her sake.

¹⁰And Abimelech said: Why hast thou deceived us? Some man of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou hadst brought upon us a great sin. And he commanded all the people, saying:

¹¹He that shall touch this man's wife, shall surely be put to death.

¹²And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found that same year a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.

¹³And the man was enriched, and he went on prospering and increasing, till he became exceeding great.

¹⁴And he had possessions of sheep and of herds, and a very great family. Wherefore the Palestines envying him,

¹⁵Stopped up at that time all the wells, that the servants of his father, Abraham, had digged, filling them up with earth:

¹⁶Insomuch that Abimelech himself said to Isaac: Depart from us, for thou art become much mightier than we.

¹⁷So he departed, and came to the torrent of Gerara, to dwell there:

¹⁸And he digged again other wells, which the servants of his father, Abraham, had digged, and which, after his death, the Philistines had of old stopped up: and he called them by the same names, by which his father before had called them.

¹⁹And they digged in the torrent, and found living water:

²⁰But there also the herdsmen of Gerara strove against the herdsmen of Isaac, saying: It is our water. Wherefore he called the name of the well, on occasion of that which had happened, Calumny.

²¹And they digged also another; and for that they quarrelled likewise, and he called the name of it, Enmity.

²²Going forward from thence, he digged another well, for which they contended not; therefore he called the name thereof, Latitude, saying: Now hath the Lord given us room, and made us to increase upon the earth.

²³And he went up from that place to Bersabee,

²⁴Where the Lord appeared to him that same night, saying: I am the God of Abraham thy father, do not fear, for I am with thee: I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

²⁵And he built there an altar: and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent; and commanded his servants to dig a well.

²⁶To which place when Abimelech, and Ochozath his friend, and Phicol chief captain of his soldiers, came from Gerara,

²⁷Isaac said to them: Why are ye come to me, a man whom you hate, and have thrust out from you?

²⁸And they answered: We saw that the Lord is with thee, and therefore we said: Let there be an oath between us, and let us make a covenant,

²⁹That thou do us no harm, as we on our part have touched nothing of thine, nor have done any thing to hurt thee; but with peace have sent thee away, increased with the blessing of the Lord.

³⁰And he made them a feast, and after they had eaten and drunk:

³¹Arising in the morning, they swore one to another: and Isaac sent them away peaceably to their own home.

³²And behold, the same day the servants of Isaac came, telling him of a well which they had digged, and saying: We have found water.

³³Whereupon he called it Abundance: and the name of the city was called Bersabee, even to this day.

³⁴And Esau being forty years old, married wives, Judith, the daughter of Beeri, the Hethite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon, of the same place.

³⁵And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebecca.