3 Sojourn H1481 in this land, H776 and I will be with thee, and will bless H1288 thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, H2233 I will give H5414 all these H411 countries, H776 and I will perform H6965 the oath H7621 which I sware H7650 unto Abraham H85 thy father; H1
And said, H559 By myself have I sworn, H7650 saith H5002 the LORD, H3068 for because H3282 H834 thou hast done H6213 this thing, H1697 and hast not H3808 withheld H2820 thy son, H1121 thine only H3173 son: That in blessing H1288 I will bless H1288 thee, and in multiplying H7235 I will multiply H7235 thy seed H2233 as the stars H3556 of the heaven, H8064 and as the sand H2344 which is upon the sea H3220 shore; H8193 and thy seed H2233 shall possess H3423 the gate H8179 of his enemies; H341 And in thy seed H2233 shall all the nations H1471 of the earth H776 be blessed; H1288 because H834 H6118 thou hast obeyed H8085 my voice. H6963
These G3778 all G3956 died G599 in G2596 faith, G4102 not G3361 having received G2983 the promises, G1860 but G235 having seen G1492 them G846 afar off, G4207 and G2532 were persuaded of G3982 them, and G2532 embraced G782 them, and G2532 confessed G3670 that G3754 they were G1526 strangers G3581 and G2532 pilgrims G3927 on G1909 the earth. G1093 For G1063 they that say G3004 such things G5108 declare plainly G1718 that G3754 they seek G1934 a country. G3968 And G2532 truly, G3303 if G1487 they had been mindful G3421 of that G1565 country from G575 whence G3739 they came out, G1831 they might G302 have had G2192 opportunity G2540 to have returned. G344 But G1161 now G3570 they desire G3713 a better G2909 country, that is, G5123 an heavenly: G2032 wherefore G1352 God G2316 is G1870 not G3756 ashamed G1870 G846 to be called G1941 their G846 God: G2316 for G1063 he hath prepared G2090 for them G846 a city. G4172
Now the LORD H3068 had said H559 unto Abram, H87 Get thee out H3212 of thy country, H776 and from thy kindred, H4138 and from thy father's H1 house, H1004 unto a land H776 that I will shew H7200 thee: And I will make of thee H6213 a great H1419 nation, H1471 and I will bless H1288 thee, and make H1431 thy name H8034 great; H1431 and thou shalt be a blessing: H1293
[[A Psalm of David.]] H1732 Fret H2734 not thyself because of evildoers, H7489 neither be thou envious H7065 against the workers H6213 of iniquity. H5766 For they shall soon H4120 be cut down H5243 like the grass, H2682 and wither H5034 as the green H3418 herb. H1877 Trust H982 in the LORD, H3068 and do H6213 good; H2896 so shalt thou dwell H7931 in the land, H776 and verily H530 thou shalt be fed. H7462 Delight H6026 thyself also in the LORD; H3068 and he shall give H5414 thee the desires H4862 of thine heart. H3820 Commit H1556 thy way H1870 unto the LORD; H3068 trust H982 also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. H6213 And he shall bring forth H3318 thy righteousness H6664 as the light, H216 and thy judgment H4941 as the noonday. H6672
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.