13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.
16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
13 And the man H376 waxed great, H1431 and went H3212 forward, H1980 and grew H1432 until he became H1431 very H3966 great: H1431
14 For he had possession H4735 of flocks, H6629 and possession H4735 of herds, H1241 and great store H7227 of servants: H5657 and the Philistines H6430 envied H7065 him.
15 For all the wells H875 which his father's H1 servants H5650 had digged H2658 in the days H3117 of Abraham H85 his father, H1 the Philistines H6430 had stopped H5640 them, and filled H4390 them with earth. H6083
16 And Abimelech H40 said H559 unto Isaac, H3327 Go H3212 from us; for thou art much H3966 mightier H6105 than we.
17 And Isaac H3327 departed H3212 thence, and pitched his tent H2583 in the valley H5158 of Gerar, H1642 and dwelt H3427 there. H8033
13 And the man waxed great, and grew more and more until he became very great.
14 And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household. And the Philistines envied him.
15 Now all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.
16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us. For thou art much mightier than we.
17 And Isaac departed thence, and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
13 and the man is great, and goeth on, going on and becoming great, till that he hath been very great,
14 and he hath possession of a flock, and possession of a herd, and an abundant service; and the Philistines envy him,
15 and all the wells which his father's servants digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines have stopped them, and fill them with dust.
16 And Abimelech saith unto Isaac, `Go from us; for thou hast become much mightier than we;'
17 and Isaac goeth from thence, and encampeth in the valley of Gerar, and dwelleth there;
13 And the man became great, and he became continually greater, until he was very great.
14 And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great number of servants; and the Philistines envied him.
15 And all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them and filled them with earth.
16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go from us; for thou art become much mightier than we.
17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his camp in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
13 The man grew great, and grew more and more until he became very great.
14 He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Philistines envied him.
15 Now all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.
16 Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go from us, for you are much mightier than we."
17 Isaac departed from there, encamped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there.
13 And his wealth became very great, increasing more and more;
14 For he had great wealth of flocks and herds and great numbers of servants; so that the Philistines were full of envy.
15 Now all the water-holes, which his father's servants had made in the days of Abraham, had been stopped up with earth by the Philistines.
16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, for you are stronger than we are.
17 So Isaac went away from there, and put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, making his living-place there.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 26
Commentary on Genesis 26 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 26
Ge 26:1-35. Sojourn in Gerar.
1. And there was a famine in the land … And Isaac went unto … Gerar—The pressure of famine in Canaan forced Isaac with his family and flocks to migrate into the land of the Philistines, where he was exposed to personal danger, as his father had been on account of his wife's beauty; but through the seasonable interposition of Providence, he was preserved (Ps 105:14, 15).
12. Then Isaac sowed in that land—During his sojourn in that district he farmed a piece of land, which, by the blessing of God on his skill and industry, was very productive (Isa 65:13; Ps 37:19); and by his plentiful returns he increased so rapidly in wealth and influence that the Philistines, afraid or envious of his prosperity, obliged him to leave the place (Pr 27:4; Ec 4:4). This may receive illustration from the fact that many Syrian shepherds at this day settle for a year or two in a place, rent some ground, in the produce of which they trade with the neighboring market, till the owners, through jealousy of their growing substance, refuse to renew their lease and compel them to remove elsewhere.
15. all the wells which his father's servants had digged … the Philistines had stopped, &c.—The same base stratagem for annoying those against whom they have taken an umbrage is practiced still by choking the wells with sand or stones, or defiling them with putrid carcases.
17. valley of Gerar—torrent-bed or wady, a vast undulating plain, unoccupied and affording good pasture.
18-22. Isaac digged again the wells of water—The naming of wells by Abraham, and the hereditary right of his family to the property, the change of the names by the Philistines to obliterate the traces of their origin, the restoration of the names by Isaac, and the contests between the respective shepherds to the exclusive possession of the water, are circumstances that occur among the natives in those regions as frequently in the present day as in the time of Isaac.
26-33. Then Abimelech went to him—As there was a lapse of ninety years between the visit of Abraham and of Isaac, the Abimelech and Phichol spoken of must have been different persons' official titles. Here is another proof of the promise (Ge 12:2) being fulfilled, in an overture of peace being made to him by the king of Gerar. By whatever motive the proposal was dictated—whether fear of his growing power, or regret for the bad usage they had given him, the king and two of his courtiers paid a visit to the tent of Isaac (Pr 16:7). His timid and passive temper had submitted to the annoyances of his rude neighbors; but now that they wish to renew the covenant, he evinces deep feeling at their conduct, and astonishment at their assurance, or artifice, in coming near him. Being, however, of a pacific disposition, Isaac forgave their offense, accepted their proposals, and treated them to the banquet by which the ratification of a covenant was usually crowned.
34. Esau … took to wife—If the pious feelings of Abraham recoiled from the idea of Isaac forming a matrimonial connection with a Canaanitish woman [Ge 24:3], that devout patriarch himself would be equally opposed to such a union on the part of his children; and we may easily imagine how much his pious heart was wounded, and the family peace destroyed, when his favorite but wayward son brought no less than two idolatrous wives among them—an additional proof that Esau neither desired the blessing nor dreaded the curse of God. These wives never gained the affections of his parents, and this estrangement was overruled by God for keeping the chosen family aloof from the dangers of heathen influence.