This chapter treats of Isaac’s removal to Gerar, occasioned by a famine, Gen. 26:1; of the Lord’s appearance to him there, advising him to sojourn in that place, and not go down to Egypt; renewing the covenant he had made with Abraham, concerning giving that country to him and his seed, Gen.

And there was a famine in the land In the land of Canaan, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it; besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham; of which see ; which was an hundred years before this; and Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, unto Gerar; where his father…

And the Lord appeared unto him In a vision or dream, when he was at Gerar: and said, go not down into Egypt; as his father had done in the like case, and where Isaac thought to have gone, and the rather, as that was a fruitful country; and so the Targum of Jonathan, “and it was in the heart of…

Sojourn in this land The land of Canaan, where he now was; either in Gerar, which though in the land of the Philistines was a part of Canaan, the place of his present residence; or in any other part of it he should be directed to: however, by this it appears it was the pleasure of God that he…

And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, &c.] Meaning in the line of Jacob especially, if not only; from whom sprung twelve patriarchs, the heads of so many tribes, which in process of time became very numerous, even as the stars of heaven: and I will give unto thy seed all…

Because that Abraham obeyed my voice In all things, and particularly in offering up his son at his command: and kept my charge; whatever was given him in charge to observe; this, as Aben Ezra thinks, is the general, of which the particulars follow: my commandments, my statutes, and my laws; whether…

And Isaac dwelt in Gerar. ] Continued there; in this he was obedient to the command and will of God.

And the men of the place asked him of his wife The inhabitants of Gerar inquired of Isaac who she was, whether she was his wife or not, or in what relation she stood in to him; this was not a mere civil inquiry, but what arose from the prevalence of lust in them towards her; and yet it was under…

And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time Perhaps some years: for though it is in the original, “when days were prolonged to him there” [[1]]; yet days are sometimes put for years: that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window; in his own palace, near to which, in all…

And Abimelech called Isaac Sent a messenger to desire him to come to him: and said, behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and then perhaps told him of what he had observed that passed between them; which was a clear proof that they must be man and wife, or he would never have took such liberties…

And Abimelech said, what is this thou hast done unto us? &c.] By entertaining suspicions and jealousies of us as bad men, and by exposing us to the temptation of committing iniquity; why hast thou dealt thus with us, and what have we done, or is in our character, that thou shouldest act after this…

And Abimelech charged all his people All his subjects throughout his kingdom, and particularly the inhabitants of Gerar, and more especially his courtiers and servants about him: saying, he that toucheth this man or his wife; that does any injury to one either by words or deeds, or behaves…

Then, Isaac sowed in that land In the land of Gerar; after matters were settled between him and Abimelech, and he had ordered his servants to do him no hurt, he sowed wheat or barley, or some such grain: and received in the same year an hundred fold; in which he sowed it, and which many take to be…

And the man waxed great In substance, as well as in honour and glory, among men; and went forward; in the world, and in the increase of worldly things: and grew until he became very great: as he must needs be, since Abraham his father left him all that he had, who was very rich in cattle, in gold…

For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds Many flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle, of oxen, asses and camels, in which the riches of men in those times and countries chiefly lay: and great store of servants; to look after his flocks and herds, and fields; or “much husbandry” [[5]];…

For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged, in the days of Abraham his father For the watering of his flocks and herds, see : the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth; that they might be of no use; and this they did through envy to him, and is mentioned as a proof…

And Abimelech said unto Isaac, go from us Which was either said by way of advice, consulting Isaac’s good, and the peace of his own kingdom; or else by way of command, enjoining him to depart, having a secret envy to him himself, or at least was jealous of his growing power and wealth: for thou art…

And Isaac departed thence At once, peaceably and quietly, though to his loss and disadvantage, without taking himself either to argument or arms, in favour of himself; he departed immediately, as soon as he perceived his abode was disagreeable to the king and his people; which gives us a very…

And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father This seems to refer to the same wells made mention of in , since it follows, for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham; these were what Abraham’s servants had dug, when he lived…

And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley In the valley of Gerar, as the Septuagint version expresses it: and found there a well of springing water; or “living water” [[10]], which continually flows, as Aben Ezra rightly interprets it: hence this phrase is used of the perpetual and ever living…

And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen About the well which was dug in the valley; and this shows it was near Gerar or at least was upon the border of the country, and so it was a disputable point to whom it belonged: saying, the water is ours; though the well was dug by Isaac’s…

And they digged another well That is, Isaac’s servants: and strove for that also; the herdsmen of Gerar disputed their right to that also, and strove to get it from them: and he called the name of it Sitnah; which signifies “hatred”, it being out of hatred and malice to him that they gave him so…

And he removed from thence A little further from their border, to cut off all pretence, and put a stop to all dispute and controversy for the future: and digged another well; in the place he removed to: and for that they strove not; it being at such a distance from their border, they could not have…

And he went up from thence to Beersheba. ] From the place he last, removed unto Beersheba; the famine being over, he returns to the place where he and his rather formerly lived, .

And the Lord appeared to him in the same night The first night he came to Beersheba, in a dream or vision, in which the Lord was represented as speaking to him: and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father; though he was dead, he remembered the covenant he made with him, and the promises he made…

And he builded an altar there At Beersheba, where his father Abraham had planted a grove before, and very probably had built an altar also, though it might not be now standing, ; and called upon the name of the Lord; and gave him thanks for all his mercies to him; for the care he had taken of him,…

Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar After Isaac was settled at Beersheba, and was still increasing in his family and substance, of which Abimelech very probably was informed; and fearing lest he should resent his being sent out of his country by him, and the ill treatment he met with afterwards…

And Isaac said unto them, wherefore come ye to me What is the meaning of this visit? what has brought you hither? it cannot be from affection and friendship to me: seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? the latter he mentions as a proof of the former; they envied his prosperity, and…

And they said, we saw certainly that the Lord was with thee, &c.] Not only while he was among them, by the fruitfulness of the land he sowed, by the increase of his family, his flocks and herds, but also since he was gone from them, in the valley of Gerar, and now in Beersheba: and we said; one to…

That thou wilt do us no hurt Neither to our persons nor properties, to our kingdom and subjects, by invading our land, and seizing on our kingdom, all which was feared from Isaac’s growing wealth and power: as we have not touched thee; not done the least injury to him, to his person, family, and…

And he made them a feast Made a feast like a king, for the king and his grandees; he treated them in a generous way, according to their dignity, and agreeable to his own disposition and substance: and they did eat and drink; freely, cheerfully, and in a friendly manner; for both having spoken their…

And they rose up betimes in the morning Abimelech and his friends, in order to return home, and Isaac to take his leave of them, and both to make the covenant between them in form, and confirm it by an oath, for which the morning was the fitter time; when the mind is quite free and composed, and…

And it came to pass the same day That the above things were transacted: that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged; they had dug it before Abimelech came to Isaac, but they had not had an opportunity of acquainting him with it until he was gone, and then they…

And he called it Sheba Which, according to Jerom, signifies “fulness”, as if it had its name from the abundance of water in it; but rather it signifies an “oath”, and was so called from the oath, which he and Abimelech had just took to one another; and these circumstances meeting together, the…

And Esau was forty years old The same age his father was of when he married, : when he took to wife Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite; Josephus [[11]] makes her to be the same with Aholibamah; but her father’s name was Zibeon, and an Hivite, and must therefore be another person, not only…

Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac, and to Rebekah. ] The marriage of them itself was a trouble to them, it being contrary to their will that any of their children should marry with the Canaanites, and those the worst sort of them, the Hittites; it having been the care of Abraham, the father of…