Genesis 26 commentary

Isaac had been trained up in a believing dependence upon the Divine grant of the land of Canaan to him and his heirs; and now that there is a famine in the land, Isaac still cleaves to the covenant. The real worth of God's promises cannot be lessened to a believer by any cross providences that may befall him. If God engage to be with us, and we are where he would have us to be, nothing but our own unbelief and distrust can prevent our comfort. The obedience of Abraham to the Divine command, was evidence of that faith, whereby, as a sinner, he was justified before God, and the effect of that love whereby true faith works. God testifies that he approved this obedience, to encourage others, especially Isaac.

There is nothing in Isaac's denial of his wife to be imitated, nor even excused. The temptation of Isaac is the same as that which overcame his father, and that in two instances. This rendered his conduct the greater sin. The falls of those who are gone before us are so many rocks on which others have split; and the recording of them is like placing buoys to save future mariners. This Abimelech was not the same that lived in Abraham's days, but both acted rightly. The sins of professors shame them before those that are not themselves religious.

God blessed Isaac. Be it observed, for the encouragement of poor tenants who occupy other people's lands, and are honest and industrious, that God blessed him with a great increase. The Philistines envied Isaac. It is an instance of the vanity of the world; for the more men have of it, the more they are envied, and exposed to censure and injury. Also of the corruption of nature; for that is an ill principle indeed, which makes men grieve at the good of others. They made Isaac go out of their country. That wisdom which is from above, will teach us to give up our right, and to draw back from contentions. If we are wrongfully driven from one place, the Lord will make room for us in another.

Isaac met with much opposition in digging wells. Two were called Contention and Hatred. See the nature of worldly things; they make quarrels, and are occasions of strife; and what is often the lot of the most quiet and peaceable; those who avoid striving, yet cannot avoid being striven with. And what a mercy it is to have plenty of water; to have it without striving for it! The more common this mercy is, the more reason to be thankful for it. At length Isaac digged a well, for which they strove not. Those that study to be quiet, seldom fail of being so. When men are false and unkind, still God is faithful and gracious; and his time to show himself so is, when we are most disappointed by men. The same night that Isaac came weary and uneasy to Beer-sheba, God brought comforts to his soul. Those may remove with comfort who are sure of God's presence.

When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him, Pr 16:7. Kings' hearts are in his hands, and when he pleases, he can turn them to favour his people. It is not wrong to stand upon our guard in dealing with those who have acted unfairly. But Isaac did not insist on the unkindnesses they had done him; he freely entered into friendship with them. Religion teaches us to be neighbourly, and, as much as in us lies, to live peaceable with all men. Providence smiled upon what Isaac did; God blessed his labours.

Esau was foolish in marrying two wives together, and still more in marrying Canaanites, strangers to the blessing of Abraham, and subject to the curse of Noah. It grieved his parents that he married without their advice and consent. It grieved them that he married among those who had no religion. Children have little reason to expect God's blessing who do that which is a grief of mind to good parents.

1. And there was a famine. Moses relates that Isaac was tried by nearly the same kind of temptation as that through which his father Abraham had twice passed. I have before explained how severe and violent was this assault. The condition in which it was the will of God to place his servants, as strangers and pilgrims in the land which he had promised to give them, seemed sufficiently troublesome and hard; but it appears still more intolerable, that he scarcely suffered them to exist (if we may so speak) in this wandering, uncertain, and changeable kind of life, but almost consumed them with hunger. Who would not say that God had forgotten himself, when he did not even supply his own children, — whom he had received into his especial care and trust, — however sparingly and scantily, with food? But God thus tried the holy fathers, that we might be taught, by their example, not to be effeminate and cowardly under temptations. Respecting the terms here used, we may observe, that though there were two seasons of dearth in the time of Abraham, Moses alludes only to the one, of which the remembrance was most recent. Abimelech, king of the Philistines, mentioned in this verse, was not he who is spoken of in Genesis xxi., but perhaps his descendant. “It is probable the name was common to the kings of Gerar, as Pharaoh was to the kings of Egypt. The meaning of the word אבימלך is, My father the king. Kings ought to be the fathers of their country.” — Menochius in Poli Syn.

2. And the Lord appeared unto him. I do not doubt but a reason is here given why Isaac rather went to the country of Gerar than to Egypt, which perhaps would have been more convenient for him; but Moses teaches that he was withheld by a heavenly oracle, so that a free choice was not left him. It may here be asked, why does the Lord prohibit Isaac from going to Egypt, whither he had suffered his father to go? Although Moses does not give the reason, yet we may be allowed to conjecture that the journey would have been more dangerous to the son. The Lord could indeed have endued the son also with the power of his Spirit, as he had done his father Abraham, so that the abundance and delicacies of Egypt should not have corrupted him by their allurements; but since he governs his faithful people with such moderation, that he does not correct all their faults at once, and render them entirely pure, he assists their infirmities, and anticipates, with suitable remedies, those evils by which they might be ensnared. Because, therefore, he knew that there was more infirmity in Isaac than there had been in Abraham, he was unwilling to expose him to danger; for he is faithful, and will not suffer his own people to be tempted beyond what they are able to bear. (1 Corinthians 10:13.) Now, as we must be persuaded, that however arduous and burdensome may be the temptations which alight upon us, the Divine help will never fail to renew our strength; so, on the other hand, we must beware lest we rashly rush into dangers; but each should be admonished by his own infirmity to proceed cautiously and with fear.

Dwell in the land. God commands him to settle in the promised land, yet with the understanding that he should dwell there as a stranger. The intimation was thus given, that the time had not yet arrived in which he should exercise dominion over it. God sustains indeed his mind with the hope of the promised inheritance, but requires this honor to be given to his word, that Isaac should remain inwardly at rest, in the midst of outward agitations; and truly we never lean upon a better support than when, disregarding the appearance of things present, we depend entirely upon the word of the Lord, and apprehend by faith that blessing which is not yet apparent. Moreover, he again inculcates the promise previously made, in order to render Isaac more prompt to obey; for so is the Lord wont to awaken his servants from their indolence, that they may fight valiantly for him, while he constantly affirms that their labor shall not he in vain; for although he requires from us a free and unreserved obedience, as a father does from his children, he yet so condescends to the weakness of our capacity, that he invites and encourages us by the prospect of reward.

5. Because that Abraham obeyed my voice. Moses does not mean that Abraham’s obedience was the reason why the promise of God was confirmed and ratified to him; but from what has been said before, (Genesis 22:18,) where we have a similar expression, we learn, that what God freely bestows upon the faithful is sometimes, beyond their desert, ascribed to themselves; that they, knowing their intention to be approved by the Lord, may the more ardently addict and devote themselves entirely to his service: so he now commends the obedience of Abraham, in order that Isaac may be stimulated to an imitation of his example. And although laws, statutes, rites, precepts, and ceremonies, had not yet been written, Moses used these terms, that he might the more clearly show how sedulously Abraham regulated his life according to the will of God alone — how carefully he abstained from all the impurities of the heathen — and how exactly he pursued the straight course of holiness, without turning aside to the right hand or to the left: for the Lord often honors his own law with these titles for the sake of restraining our excesses; as if he should say that it wanted nothing to constitute it a perfect rule, but embraced everything pertaining to absolute holiness. The meaning therefore is, that Abraham, having formed his life in entire accordance with the will of God, walked in his pure service.

7. And the men of the place asked him. Moses relates that Isaac was tempted in the same manner as his father Abraham, in having his wife taken from him; and without doubt he was so led by the example of his father, that he, being instructed by the similarity of the circumstances, might become associated with him in his faith. Nevertheless, on this point he ought rather to have avoided than imitated his father’s fault; for no doubt he well remembered that the chastity of his mother had twice been put in great danger; and although she had been wonderfully rescued by the hand of God, yet both she and her husband paid the penalty of their distrust: therefore the negligence of Isaac is inexcusable, in that he now strikes against the same stone. He does not in express terms deny his wife; but he is to be blamed, first, because, for the sake of preserving his life, he resorts to an evasion not far removed from a lie; and secondly, because, in absolving his wife from conjugal fidelity, he exposes her to prostitution: but he aggravates his fault, principally (as I have said) in not taking warning from domestic examples, but voluntarily casting his wife into manifest danger. Whence it appears how great is the propensity of our nature to distrust, and how easy it is to be devoid of wisdom in affairs of perplexity. Since, therefore, we are surrounded on all sides with so many dangers, we must ask the Lord to confirm us by his Spirit, lest our minds should faint, and be dissolved in fear and trembling; otherwise we shall be frequently engaged in vain enterprises, of which we shall repent soon, and yet too late to remedy the evil.

8. Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out at a window. Truly admirable is the kind forbearance of God, in not only condescending to pardon the twofold fault of his servant, but in stretching forth his hand, and in wonderfully averting, by the application of a speedy remedy, the evil which he would have brought upon himself. God did not suffer — what twice had occurred to Abraham — that his wife should be torn from his bosom; but stirred up a heathen king, mildly, and without occasioning him any trouble, to correct his folly. But although God sets before us such an example of his kindness, that the faithful, if at any time they may have fallen, may confidently hope to find him gentle and propitious; yet we must beware of self-security, when we observe, that the holy woman who was, at that time, the only mother of the Church on earth, was exempted from dishonor, by a special privilege. Meanwhile, we may conjecture, from the judgment of Abimelech, how holy and pure had been the conduct of Isaac, on whom not even a suspicion of evil could fall; and further, how much greater integrity flourished in that age than in our own. For why does he not condemn Isaac as one guilty of fornication, since it was probable that some crime was concealed, when he disingenuously obtruded the name of sister, and tacitly denied her to be his wife? And therefore I have no doubt that his religion, and the integrity of his life, availed to defend his character. By this example we are taught so to cultivate righteousness in our whole life, that men may not be able to suspect anything wicked or dishonorable respecting us; for there is nothing which will more completely vindicate us from every mark of infamy than a life passed in modesty and temperance. We must, however, add, what I have also before alluded to, that lusts were not, at that time, so commonly and so profusely indulged, as to cause an unfavourable suspicion to enter into the mind of the king concerning a sojourner of honest character. Wherefore, he easily persuades himself that Rebekah was a wife and not a harlot. The chastity of that age is further proved from this, that Abimelech takes the familiar sporting of Isaac with Rebekah as an evidence of their marriage. The following passage is here omitted in the translation: — “Non enim de coitu loquitur Moses, sed de aliquo liberiore gestu, qui vel dissolute lasciviae, vel conjugalis amoris testis esset.” For Moses does not speak about marital intercourse, but about some too free movement, which was a proof of either dissolute exuberance or conjugal love. But now licentiousness has so broken through all bounds, that husbands are compelled to hear in silence of the dissolute conduct of their wives with strangers.

10. What is this thou hast done unto us? The Lord does not chastise Isaac as he deserved, perhaps because he was not so fully endued with patience as his father was; and, therefore, lest the seizing of his wife should dishearten him, God mercifully prevents it. Yet, that the censure may produce the deeper shame, God constitutes a heathen his master and his reprover. We may add, that Abimelech chides his folly, not so much with the design of injuring him, as of upbraiding him. It ought, however, deeply to have wounded the mind of the holy man, when he perceived that his offense was obnoxious to the judgment even of the blind. Wherefore, let us remember that we must walk in the light which God has kindled for us, lest even unbelievers, who are wrapped in the darkness of ignorance, should reprove our stupor. And certainly when we neglect to obey the voice of God, we deserve to be sent to oxen and asses for instruction. The allusion is obviously to Isaiah 1:3: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.” — Ed. Abimelech, truly, does not investigate nor prosecute the whole offense of Isaac, but only alludes to one part of it. Yet Isaac, when thus gently admonished by a single word, ought to have condemned himself, seeing that, instead of committing himself and his wife to God, who had promised to be the guardian of them both, he had resorted, through his own unbelief, to an illicit remedy. For faith has this property, that it confines us within divinely prescribed bounds, so that we attempt nothing except with God’s authority or permission. Whence it follows that Isaac’s faith wavered when he swerved from his duty as a husband. We gather, besides, from the words of Abimelech, that all nations have the sentiment impressed upon their minds, that the violation of holy wedlock is a crime worthy of divine vengeance, and have consequently a dread of the judgment of God. For although the minds of men are darkened with dense clouds, so that they are frequently deceived; yet God has caused some power of discrimination between right and wrong to remain, so that each should bear about with him his own condemnation, and that all should be without excuse. If, then, God cites even unbelievers to his tribunal, and does not suffer them to escape just condemnation, how horrible is that punishment which awaits us, if we endeavor to obliterate, by our own wickedness, that knowledge which God has engraven on our consciences?

11. And Abimelech charged all his people. In denouncing capital punishment against any who should do injury to this stranger, we may suppose him to have issued this edict as a special privilege; for it isnot customary thus rigidly to avenge every kind of injury. Whence, then, arose this disposition on the part of the king to prefer Isaac to all the native inhabitants of the country, and almost to treat him as an equal, except that some portion of the divine majesty shone forth in him, which secured to him this degree of reverence? God, also, to assist the infirmity of his servant, inclined the mind of the heathen king, in every way, to show him favor. And there is no doubt that his general modesty induced the king thus carefully to protect him; for he, perceiving him to be a timid man, who had been on the point of purchasing his own life by the ruin of his wife, was the more disposed to assist him in his dangers, in order that he might live in security under his own government.

12. Then Isaac sowed. Here Moses proceeds to relate in what manner Isaac reaped the manifest fruit of the blessing promised to him by God; for he says, that when he had sowed, the increase was a hundredfold: which was an extraordinary fertility, even in that land. He also adds, that he was rich in cattle, and had a very great household. Moreover, he ascribes the praise of all these things to the blessing of God; as it is also declared in the psalm, that the Lord abundantly supplies what will satisfy his people while they sleep. (Psalm 127:2.) It may, however, be asked, how could Isaac sow when God had commanded him to be a stranger all his life? Some suppose that he had bought a field, and so translate the word קנה (kanah) a possession; but the context corrects their error: for we find soon afterwards, that the holy man was not delayed, by having land to sell, from removing his effects elsewhere: besides, since the purchasing of land was contrary to his peculiar vocation and to the command of God, Moses undoubtedly would not have passed over such a notable offense. To this may be added, that since express mention is immediately made of a tent, we may hence infer, that wherever he might come, he would have to dwell in the precarious condition of a stranger. We must, therefore, maintain, that he sowed in a hired field. For although he had not a foot of land in his own possession, yet, that he might discharge the duty of a good householder, it behaved him to prepare food for his family; and perhaps hunger quickened his care and industry, that he might with the greater diligence make provision for himself against the future. Nevertheless, it is right to keep in mind, what I have lately alluded to, that he received as a divine favor the abundance which he had acquired by his own labor.

14. And the Philistines envied him. We are taught by this history that the blessings of God which pertain to the present earthly life are never pure and perfect, but are mixed with some troubles, lest quiet and indulgence should render us negligent. Wherefore, let us all learn not too ardently to desire great wealth. If the rich are harassed by any cause of disquietude, let them know that they are roused by the Lord, lest they should fall fast asleep in the midst of their pleasures; and let the poor enjoy this consolation, that their poverty is not without its advantages. For it is no light good to live free from envy, tumults, and strifes. Should any one raise the objection, that it can by no means be regarded as a favor, that God, in causing Isaac to abound in wealth, exposed him to envy, to contentions, and to many troubles; there is a ready answer, that not all the troubles with which God exercises his people, in any degree prevent the benefits which he bestows upon them from retaining the taste of his paternal love. Finally, he so attempers the favor which he manifests towards his children in this world, that he stirs them up, as with sharp goads, to the consideration of a celestial life. It was not, however, a slight trial, that the simple element of water, which is the common property of all animals, was denied to the holy patriarch; with how much greater patience ought we to bear our less grievous sufferings! If, however, at any time we are angry at being unworthily injured; let us remember that, at least, we are not so cruelly treated as holy Isaac was, when he had to contend for water. Besides, not only was he deprived of the element of water, but the wells which his father Abraham had dug for himself and his posterity were filled up. This, therefore, was the extreme of cruelty, not only to defraud a stranger of every service due to him, but even to take from him what had been obtained by the labor of his own father, and what he possessed without inconvenience to any one.

16. And Abimelech said unto Isaac. It is uncertain whether the king of Gerar expelled Isaac of his own accord from his kingdom, or whether he commanded him to settle elsewhere, because he perceived him to be envied by the people. He possibly might, in this manner, advise him as a friend; although it is more probable that his mind had become alienated from Isaac; for at the close of the chapter Moses relates, that the holy man complains strongly of the king as well as of others. But since we can assert nothing with certainty respecting the real feelings of the lying, let it suffice to maintain, what is of more importance, that in consequence of the common wickedness of mankind, they who are the most eminent fall under the suspicion of the common people. Satiety, indeed, produces ferocity. Wherefore there is nothing to which the rich are more prone than proudly to boast, to carry themselves more insolently than they ought, and to stretch every nerve of their power to oppress others. No such suspicion, indeed, could fall upon Isaac; but he had to bear that envy which was the attendant on a common vice. Whence we infer, how much more useful and desirable it often is, for us to be placed in a moderate condition; which is, at least, more peaceful, and which is neither exposed to the storms of envy, nor obnoxious to unjust suspicions. Moreover, how rare and unwonted was the blessing of God in rendering Isaac prosperous, may be inferred from the fact, that his wealth had become formidable both to the king and to the people. A large inheritance truly had descended to him from his father; but Moses shows, that from his first entrance into the land, he had so greatly prospered in a very short time, that it seemed no longer possible for the inhabitants to endure him.

18. And Isaac digged again the wells of water. First, we see that the holy man was so hated by his neighbors, as to be under the necessity of seeking a retreat for himself which was destitute of water; and no habitation is so troublesome and inconvenient for the ordinary purposes of life as that which suffers from scarcity of water. Besides, the abundance of his cattle and the multitude of his servants — who were like a little army — rendered a supply of water very necessary; whence we learn that he was brought into severe straits. But that this last necessity did not instigate him to seek revenge, is a proof of singular forbearance; for we know that lighter injuries will often rack the patience even of humane and moderate men. If any one should object to this view, that he was deficient in strength; I grant, indeed, that he was not able to undertake a regular war; but as his father Abraham had armed four hundred servants, he also certainly had a large troop of domestics, who could easily have repelled any force brought against him by his neighbors. But the hope which he had entertained when he settled in the valley of Gerar, was again suddenly cut off. He knew that his father Abraham had there used wells which were his own, and which he had himself discovered; and although they had been stopped up, yet they were well known to have sufficient springs of water to prevent the labor of digging them again from being misspent. Moreover, the fact that the wells had been obstructed ever since the departure of Abraham, shows how little respect the inhabitants had for their guest; for although their own country would have been benefited by these wells, they chose rather to deprive themselves of this advantage than to have Abraham for a neighbor; for, in order that such a convenience might not attract him to the place, they, by stopping up the wells, did, in a certain sense, intercept his way. It was a custom among the ancients, if they wished to involve any one in ruin, and to cut him off from the society of men, to interdict him from water, and from fire: thus the Philistine, for the purpose of removing Abraham from their vicinity, deprive him of the element of water.

He called their names. He did not give new names to the wells, but restored those which had been assigned them by his father Abraham, that, by this memorial, the ancient possession of them might be renewed. But subsequent violence compelled him to change their names, that at least he might, by some monument, make manifest the injury which had been done by the Philistines, and reprove them on account of it: for whereas he calls one well strife, or contention, another hostility, he denies that the inhabitants possessed that by right, or by any honest title, which they had seized upon as enemies or robbers. Meanwhile, it is right to consider, that in the midst of these strifes he had a contest not less severe with thirst and deficiency of water, whereby the Philistines attempted to destroy him; such is the scope of the history. First, Moses, according to his manner, briefly runs through the summary of the affair: namely, that Isaac intended to apply again to his own purpose the wells which his father had previously found, and to acquire, in the way of recovery, the lost possession of them. He then prosecutes the subject more diffusely, stating that, when he attempted the work, he was unjustly defrauded of his labor; and whereas, in digging the third well, he gives thanks to God, and calls it Room, Latitudines, a literal Latin translation of the Hebrew word רהבת (Rehoboth,) a plural form, expressing the notion of abundant enlargement and room. — Ed because, by the favor of God, a more copious supply is now afforded him, he furnishes an example of invincible patience. Therefore, however severely he may have been harassed, yet when, after he had been freed from these troubles, he so placidly returns thanks to God, and celebrates his goodness, he shows that in the midst of trials he has retained a composed and tranquil mind.

23. And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. Next follows a more abundant consolation, and one affording effectual refreshment to the mind of the holy man. In the tranquil enjoyment of the well, he acknowledges the favor which God had showed him: but forasmuch as one word of God weighs more with the faithful than the accumulated mass of all good things, we cannot doubt that Isaac received this oracle more joyfully than if a thousand rivers of nectar had flowed unto him: and truly Moses designedly commemorates in lofty terms this act of favor, that the Lord encouraged him by his own word, (Genesis 26:24;) whence we may learn, in ascribing proper honor to each of the other gifts of God, still always to give the palm to that proof of his paternal love which he grants us in his word. Food, clothing, health, peace, and other advantages, afford us a taste of the Divine goodness; but when he addresses us familiarly, and expressly declares himself to be our Father, then indeed it is that he thoroughly refreshes us to satiety. Moses does not explain what had been the cause of Isaac’s removal to Beer-sheba, the ancient dwelling-place of his fathers. It might be that the Philistines ceased not occasionally to annoy him; and thus the holy man, worn out with their implacable malice, removed to a greater distance. It is indeed probable, taking the circumstance of the time into account, that he was sorrowful and anxious; for as soon as he had arrived at that place, God appeared unto him on the very first night. Here, then, something very opportune is noticed. Moreover, as often as Moses before related that God had appeared unto Abraham, he, at the same time, showed that the holy man was either tormented with grievous cares, or was held in suspense under some apprehension, or was plunged in sadness, or, after many distresses, was nearly borne down by fatigue, so as to render it apparent that the hand of God was seasonably stretched out to him as his necessity required, lest he should sink under the evils which surrounded him. So now, as I explain it, he came to Isaac, for the purpose of restoring him, already wearied and broken down by various miseries.

24. And the Lord appeared unto him. This vision (as I have elsewhere said) was to prepare him to listen more attentively to God, and to convince him that it was God with whom he had to deal; for a voice alone would have had less energy. Therefore God appears, in order to produce confidence in and reverence towards his word. In short, visions were a kind of symbols of the Divine presence, designed to remove all doubt from the minds of the holy fathers respecting him who was about to speak. Should it be objected, that such evidence was not sufficiently sure, since Satan often deceives men by similar manifestations, being, as it were, the ape of God; — we must keep in mind what has been said before, that a clear and unambiguous mark was engraven on the visions of God, by which the faithful might certainly distinguish them from those which were fallacious, so that their faith should not be kept in suspense: and certainly, since Satan can only delude us in the dark, God exempts his children from this danger, by illuminating their eyes with the brightness of his countenance. Yet God did not fully manifest his glory to the holy fathers, but assumed a form by means of which they might apprehend him according to the measure of their capacities; for, as the majesty of God is infinite, it cannot be comprehended by the human mind, and by its magnitude it absorbs the whole world. Besides, it follows of necessity that men, on account of their infirmity, must not only faint, but be altogether annihilated in the presence of God. Wherefore, Moses does not mean that God was seen in his true nature and greatness, but in such a manner as Isaac was able to bear the sight. But what we have said, namely, that the vision was a testimony of Deity, for the purpose of giving credibility to the oracle, will more fully appear from the context; for this appearance was not a mute spectre; but the word immediately followed, which confirmed, in the mind of Isaac, faith in gratuitous adoption and salvation.

I am the God of Abraham. This preface is intended to renew the memory of all the promises before given, and to direct the mind of Isaac to the perpetual covenant which had been made with Abraham, and which was to be transmitted, as by tradition, to his posterity. The Lord therefore begins by declaring himself to be the God who had spoken at the first to Abraham, in order that Isaac might not sever the present from the former oracles: for as often as he repeated the testimony of his grace to the faithful, he sustained their faith with fresh supports. Yet he would have that very faith to remain based upon the first covenant by which he had adopted them to himself: and we must always keep this method in mind, in order that we may learn to gather together the promises of God, as they are combined in an inseparable bond. Let this also ever occur to us, as a first principle, that God thus kindly promises us his grace because he has freely adopted us.

Fear not. Since these words are elsewhere expounded, I shall now be the more brief. In the first place, we must observe, that God thus addresses the faithful for the purpose of tranquillizing their minds; for, if his word be withdrawn, they necessarily become torpid through stupidity, or are tormented with disquietude. Whence it follows, that we can receive peace from no other source than from the mouth of the Lord, when he declares himself the author of our salvation; not that we are then free from all fear, but because the confidence of faith is sufficiently efficacious to assuage our perturbations. Afterwards the Lord gives proofs of his love, by its effect, when he promises that he will bless Isaac.

25. And he builded an altar there. From other passages we are well aware that Moses here speaks of public worship; for inward invocation of God neither requires an altar; nor has any special choice of place; and it is certain that the saints, wherever they lived, worshipped. But because religion ought to maintain a testimony before men, Isaac, having erected and consecrated an altar, professes himself a worshipper of the true and only God, and by this method separates himself from the polluted rites of heathens. He also built the altar, not for himself alone, but for his whole family; that there, with all his household, he might offer sacrifices. Moreover, since the altar was built for the external exercises of faith, the expression, he called upon God, implies as much as if Moses had said that Isaac celebrated the name of God, and gave testimony of his own faith. The visible worship of God had also another use; namely, that men, according to their infirmity, may stimulate and exercise themselves in the fear of God. Besides, since we know that sacrifices were then commanded, we must observe that Isaac did not rashly trifle in worshipping God, but adhered to the rule of faith, that he might undertake nothing without the word of God. Whence also we infer how preposterous and erroneous a thing it is to imitate the fathers, unless the Lord join us with them by means of a similar command. Meanwhile, the words of Moses clearly signify, that whatever exercises of piety the faithful undertake are to be directed to this end, namely, that God may be worshipped and invoked. To this point, therefore, all rites and ceremonies ought to have reference. But although it was the custom of the holy fathers to build an altar in whatever place they pitched their tent, we yet gather, from the connection of the words, that after God appeared to his servant Isaac, this altar was built by him in token of his gratitude.

And there Isaac’s servants digged a well. It is remarkable that whereas this place had already received its name from the well which had been dug in it, Isaac should there again have to seek water, especially since Abraham had purchased, for himself and his posterity, the right to the well from the king. Moreover, the digging itself was difficult and labourious; for Moses had a design in saying, that afterwards the servants came and said to him, We have found water. I have, therefore, no doubt, that throughout the whole of that region a conspiracy had been entered into by the inhabitants, for the purpose of expelling the holy man, through want of water; so that this well of Sheba also had been fraudulently stopped up. The context also shows, that the first care of the holy patriarch concerned the worship of God, because Moses relates that an altar was erected, before he speaks of the well. Now it is of importance to observe with what great troubles these holy fathers continually had to contend; which they never would have been able to overcome or to endure, unless they had been far removed from our delicate course of living. For how severely should we feel the loss of water, seeing that we often rage against God if we have not abundance of wine? Therefore, by such examples, let the faithful learn to accustom themselves to patient endurance: and if at any time food and other necessaries of life fail them, let them turn their eyes to Isaac, who wandered, parched with thirst, in the inheritance which had been divinely promised him. Qui siticulosus in haereditate sibi divinitus promissa erravit. Qui est errant en l’heritage qui Dieu lui avoit promis, et tarrissant de soif. — Fr. Tr.

26. Then Abimelech went to him. We have had an exactly similar narrative in Genesis 21:22. The Lord, therefore, followed Isaac with the same favor which he had before shown to his father Abraham. For it was no common blessing, that Abimelech should voluntarily seek his friendship. Besides, he would be relieved from no little care and anxiety, when his neighbors, who had harassed him in so many ways, being now themselves afraid of him, desire to secure his friendship. Therefore the Lord both confers signal honor upon his servant, and provides at the same time for his tranquility. There is not the least doubt that the king was led to this measure, by a secret divine impulse. For, if he was afraid, why did he not resort to some other remedy? Why did he humble himself to supplicate a private man? Why, at least, did he not rather send for him, or command him with authority to do what he wished? But God had so forcibly impressed his mind, that he, forgetting his regal pride, sought for peace and alliance with a man who was neither covetous, nor warlike, nor furnished with a great army. Thus we may learn, that the minds of men are in the hand of God, so that he not only can incline those to gentleness who before were swelling with fury, but can humble them by terror, as often as he pleases.

27. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me? Isaac not only expostulates concerning injuries received, but protests that in future he can have no confidence in them, since he had found in them a disposition so hostile to himself. This passage teaches us, that it is lawful for the faithful to complain of their enemies, in order, if possible, to recall them from their purpose of doing injury, and to restrain their force, frauds, and acts of injustice. For liberty is not inconsistent with patience: nor does God require of his own people, that they should silently digest every injury which may be inflicted upon them, but only that they should restrain their minds and hands from revenge. Neque hoc a suis requirit Deus, ut quicquid noxae illatum fuerit, taciti devorent; sed tantum ut animos et manus contineant a vindicta. Dieu ne requiert point des siens, qu’ils avallent sans mot dire toutes les nuisances qu’on leur fera, mais seulement qu’ils gardent leurs coeurs et leur mains de vengence. — Fr. Tr. Now, if their minds are pure and well regulated, their tongues will not be virulent in reproaching the faults of others; but their sole purpose will be to restrain the wicked by a sense of shame from iniquity. For where there is no hope of profiting by complaints, it is better to cherish peace by silence; unless, perhaps, for the purpose of rendering those who delight themselves in wickedness inexcusable. We must, indeed, always beware, lest, from a desire of vengeance, our tongues break out in reproaches; and, as Solomon says, hatred stirreth up strifes. (Proverbs 10:12.)

28. We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee. By this argument they prove that they desired a compact with Isaac, not insidiously, but in good faith, because they acknowledge the favor of God towards him. For it was necessary to purge themselves from this suspicion, seeing that they now presented themselves so courteously to one against whom they had before been unreasonably opposed. This confession of theirs, however, contains very useful instruction. Profane men in calling one, whose affairs all succeed well and prosperously, the blessed of the Lord, bear testimony that God is the author of all good things, and that from him alone flows all prosperity. Exceedingly base, therefore, is our ingratitude, if, when God acts kindly towards us, we pass by his benefits with closed eyes. Again, profane men regard the friendship of one whom God favors, as desirable for themselves; considering that there is no better or holier commendation than the love of God. Perversely blind, therefore, are they, who not only neglect those whom God declares to be dear unto him, but also iniquitously vex them. The Lord proclaims himself ready to execute vengeance on any one who may injure those whom he takes under his protection; but the greater part, unmoved by this most terrible denunciation, still wickedly afflict the good and the simple. We here, however, see that the sense of nature dictated to unbelievers, what we scarcely credit when spoken by the mouth of God himself. Still it is surprising that they should be afraid of an inoffensive man; and should require from him an oath that he would do them no injury. They ought to have concluded, from the favor which God had showed him, that he was a just man, and therefore there could be no danger from him; yet because they form their estimate of him from their own disposition and conduct, they also distrust his probity. Such perturbation commonly agitates unbelievers, so that they are inconsistent with themselves; or at least waver and are tossed between conflicting sentiments, and have nothing fixed and equable. For those principles of right judgment, which spring up in their breasts, are soon smothered by depraved affections. Hence it happens, that what is justly conceived by them vanishes; or is at least corrupted, and does not bring forth good fruit.

29. As we have not touched thee. An accusing conscience urges them to desire to hold him closely bound unto them; and therefore they require an oath from him that he will not hurt them. For they knew that he might rightfully avenge himself on them for the sufferings he had endured: but they dissemble on this point, and even make a wonderful boast of their own acts of kindness. At first, indeed, the humanity of the king was remarkable, for he not only entertained Isaac with hospitality, but treated him with peculiar honor; yet he by no means continued to act thus to the end. It accords, however, with the common custom of men, to disguise their own faults by whatever artifice or color they can invent. But if we have committed any offense, it rather becomes us ingenuously to confess our fault, than by denying it, to wound still more deeply the minds of those whom we have injured. Nevertheless Isaac, since he had already sufficiently pierced their consciences, does not press them any further. For strangers are not to be treated by us as domestics; but if they do not receive profit, they are to be left to the judgment of God. Therefore, although Isaac does not extort from them a just confession; yet, that he may not be thought inwardly to cherish any hostility towards them, he does not refuse to strike a covenant with them. Thus we learn from his example, that if any have estranged themselves from us, they are not to be repelled when they again offer themselves to us. For if we are commanded to follow after peace, even when it seems to fly from us, it behoves us far less to be repulsive, when our enemies voluntarily seek reconciliation; especially if there be any hope of amendment in future, although true repentance may not yet appear. And he receives them to a feast, not only for the sake of promoting peace, but also for the sake of showing that he, having laid aside all offense, has become their friend.

Thou art now the blessed of the Lord. This is commonly explained to mean that they court his favor by flatteries, just as persons are accustomed to flatter when they ask favor; but I rather think this expression to have been added in a different sense. Isaac had complained of their injuries in having expelled him through envy: they answer, that there was no reason why any particle of grief should remain in his mind, since the Lord had treated him so kindly and so exactly according to his own wish; as if they had said, What dost thou want? Art thou not content with thy present success? Let us grant that we have not discharged the duty of hospitality towards thee; yet the blessing of God abundantly suffices to obliterate the memory of that time. Perhaps, however, by these words, they again assert that they are acting towards him with good faith, because he is under the guardianship of God.

31. And sware one to another. Isaac does not hesitate to swear; partly, that the Philistines may be the more easily appeased; partly, that he may not be suspected by them. And this is the legitimate method of swearing, when men mutually bind themselves to the cultivation of peace. A simple promise, indeed, ought to have sufficed; but since dissimulations or inconstancy causes men to be distrustful of each other, the Lord grants them the use of his name, that this more holy confirmation may be added to our covenants; and he does not only permit, he even commands us to swear as often as necessity requires it. (Deuteronomy 6:13.) Meanwhile we must beware, lest his name be profaned by rashly swearing.

32. And it came to pass the same day. Hence it appears, (as I have said a little before,) that the waters were not found in a moment of time. If it be asked, whence a supply of water had been obtained for his cattle and his household during the intervening days, I doubt not, indeed, that he either bought it, or was compelled to go to a distance to see if any one would be found from whom he might obtain it by entreaty. With respect to the name, (Sheba,) they are mistaken, in my judgment, who deem it to be any other than that which Abraham had first given to the well. For since the Hebrew word is ambiguous, Abraham alluded to the covenant which he had struck with the king of Gerar; but now Isaac recalling this ancient memorial to mind, joins with it the covenant in which he had himself engaged.

34. And Esau was forty years old. For many reasons Moses relates the marriages of Esau. Inasmuch as he mingled himself with the inhabitants of the land, from whom the holy race of Abraham was separated, and contracted affinities by which he became entangled; this was a kind of prelude of his rejection. It happened also, by the wonderful counsel of God, that these daughters-in-law were grievous and troublesome to the holy patriarch (Isaac) and his wife, in order that they might not by degrees become favorable to that reprobate people. If the manners of the people had been pleasing, and they had had good and obedient daughters, perhaps also, with their consent, Isaac might have taken a wife from among them. But it was not lawful for those to be bound together in marriage, whom God designed to be perpetual enemies. For how would the inheritance of the land be secured to the posterity of Abraham, but by the destruction of those among whom he sojourned for a time? Therefore God cuts off all inducements to these inauspicious marriages, that the disunion which he had established might remain. It appears hence, with what perpetual affection Esau was loved by Isaac; for although the holy man justly regarded his son’s wives with aversion, and his mind was exasperated against them, he never failed to act with the greatest kindness towards his son, as we shall afterwards see. We have elsewhere spoken concerning polygamy. This corruption had so far prevailed in every direction among many people, that the custom, though vicious, had acquired the force of law. It is not, therefore, surprising that a man addicted to the flesh indulged his appetite by taking two wives.

CHAPTER 27.

Genesis 27:1-46

1. And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

1. Fuit autem quum senuisset Ishac, et caligassent oculi ejus ita ut non videret, vocavit Esau filium suum majorem, et dixit ad eum, Fili mi. Et dixit ad eum, Ecce adsum.

2. And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:

2. Et dixit, Ecce nunc senui: non novi diem quo moriar.

3. Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

3. Nunc igitur cape quaeso instrumenta tua, pharetram tuam, et arcum tuum, et egredere in agrum, et venare mihi venationem.

4. And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

4. Et fac mihi cibos sapidos, quemadmodum diligo, et affer mihi, et comedam: ut benedicat tibi anima mea antequam moriar.

5. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it

5. Ribca autem audiebat, dum loqueretur Ishac ad Esau filium suum: et perrexit Esau in agrum, ut venaretur venationem, ut afferret.

6. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

6. Tunc Ribca dixit ad Iahacob filium suum, dicendo, Ecce, audivi patrem tuum loquentem ad Esau fratrem tuum, dicendo, Ecce, audivi patrem tuum loquentem ad Esau fratrem tuum, dicendo,

7. Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.

7. Affer mihi venationem, et fac mihi cibos, et comedam, et benedicam tibi coram Domino antequam moriar.

8. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

8. Nunc igitur, fili mi, obedi voci neae in eo quod praecipio tibi.

9. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

9. Vade nunc ad pecudes, et cape mihi inde duos hoedos caprarum bonos, et faciam ex eis escas sapidas patri tuo, quemadmodum diligit.

10. And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

10. Et afferes patri tuo, et comedet, ut benedicat tibi antequam moriatur.

11. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

11. Et dixit Iahacob ad Ribcam matrem suam, Ecce Esau frater meus est vir pilosus, et ego vir laevis:

12. My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

12. Si forte palpaverit me pater meus, ero im oculis ejus tanquam illusor: et venire faciam super me maledictionem et non benedictionem.

13. And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them

13. Tunc dixit ei mater ejus, Super me sit maledictio tua, fili mi: veruntamen obedi voci meae et vade, cape mihi.

14. And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.

14. Profectus est itaque, et accepit, et attulit matri suae, et fecit mater ejus cibos sapidos, quemadmodum diligebat pater ejus.

15. And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:

15. Et accepit Ribca vestes Esau filii sui majoris delectabiles, quae erant apud se in domo, et induit Iahacob filium suum minorem.

16. And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:

16. Et pelles hoedorum caprarum circumdedit manibus ejus, et laevitati colli ejus.

17. And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

17. Deditque cibos sapidos et panem, quos paraverat, in manu Iahacob filii sui.

18. And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?

18. Venit ergo ad patrem suum, et dixit, Pater mi. Ille autem respondit, Ecce adsum: qui es, fili mi?

19. And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

19. Et dixit Iahacob ad patrem suum, Ego sum Esau primogenitus tuus, feci quemadmodum loquutus es ad me: surge nunc, sede, et comede de venatione mea, ut benedicat mihi anima tua.

20. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.

20. Et dixit Ishac ad filium suum, Quid hoc quod festinasti ad inveniendum, fili mi? Cui respondit, Quia occurrere fecit Iehova Deus tuus coram me.

21. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

21. Tunc dixit Ishac ad Iacob, Appropinqua nunc, et palpabo to, fili mi, utrum sis ipse filius meus Esau, an non.

22. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

22. Et appropinquavit Iahacob Ishac patri suo: qui palpavit eum, et dixit, Vox vox Iahacob est: at manus, manus Esau.

23. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.

23. Et non agnovit eum: quia erant manus ejus sicut manus Esau fratris sui pilosae: et benedixit ei:

24. And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am

24. Et dixit, Tu es ipse filius meus Esau? Respondit, Sum.

25. And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.

25. Tunc dixit, Admove mihi, et comedam de venatione filii mei, ut benedicat tibi anima mea. Et admovit ei, et comedit: attulitque ei vinum, et babit.

26. And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

26. Et dixit ad eum Ishac pater ejus, Apppropinqua nunc, et osculare me, fili mi.

27. And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:

27. Et appropinquavit, et osculatus est eum: et odoratus est odorem vestimentorum ejus: et benedixit ei, et dixit, Vide, odorem filii mei sicut odorem agri, cui benedixit Iehova.

28. Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

28. Et det tibi Deus de rore coeli, et de pinguedinibus terrae, et multitudinem frumenti et musti novi.

29. Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

29. Serviant tibi populi, et incurvent se tibi populi: esto dominus fratribus tuis, et incurvent se tibi filii matris tuae: maledicentes tibi, maledicti erunt, et benedicentes tibi, benedicti.

30. And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

30. Et fuit, quando complevit Ishac benedicere Iahacob: fuit, inquam, tantum egrediendo egressus erat Iahacob a facie Ishac patris sui, tunc Esau frater ejus venit a venatione sua.

31. And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.

31. Et fecit etiam ipse cibos sapidos, et attulit patri suo: dixitque patri suo, Surgat pater meus, et comedat de venatione filii sui, ut benedicat mihi anima tua.

32. And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.

32. Et dixit ei Ishac Pater ejus, Quis es? Ille respondit, Ego sum filius tuus, primogenitus tuus Esau.

33. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.

33. Et expavit Ishac pavore magno vehementissime, et dixit, Quis est, et ubi est qui venatus est venationem, et attulit mihi, et comedi ex omnibus antequam venires? et benedixi ei, etiam benedictus erit.

34. And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.

34. Quum audisset Esau verba patris sui, clamavit clamore magno, et amaro valde valde, dixitque patri suo, Benedic mihi: etiam ego filius tuus sum, pater mi.

35. And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.

35. Et dixit, Venit frater tuus dolose et accepit benedictionem tuam.

36. And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

36. Dixit ergo, Vere vocatum est nomen ejus Iahacob, quia supplantavit me jam duabus vicibus: primogenituram meam accepit, et ecce nunc accepit benedictionem mean. Et dixit, Annon reservasti mihi apud to benedictionem?

37. And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

37. Et respondit Ishac, et dixit ad Esau, Ecce, dominum posui eum tibi, et omnes fratres ejus dedi ei in servos, frumentumque et vinum addixi ei: et tibi nunc quid faciam, fili mi?

38. And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

38. Tunc dixit Esau ad patrem suum, Numquid benedictio una est tibi, pater mi? benedic mihi, et etiam ego filius tuus, pater mi: et elevavit Esau vocem suam et flevit.

39. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

39. Tunc respondit Ishac pater ejus, et dixit ad eum, Ecce, de pinguedinibus terrae erit habitatio tua et de rore coeli desuper.

40. And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

40. Et in gladio tuo vives, et fratri tuo servies: et erit, quando dominaberis, franges jugum ejus a collo tuo.

41. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

41. Itaque odio habuit Esau Iahacob propter benedictionem, qua benedixerat ei pater ejus: et cogitavit Esau in corde suo, Appropinquabunt dies luctus patris mei, et occidam Iahacob fratrem meum.

42. And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.

42. Et nuntiata sunt Ribcae verba Esau filii sui majoris: et misit, et vocavit Iahacob filium suum minorem, et dixit ad eum, Ecce, Esau frater tuus consolatur se super to, ut occidat to.

43. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;

43. Et nunc fili mi, obedi voci meae, et surge, et fuge ad Laban fratrem meum in Charan.

44. And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away;

44. Et habita cum eo dies aliquot, donec avertatur furor fratris tui a to.

45. Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?

45. Donec avertatur ira fratris tui a to, et obliviscatur eorum quae fecisti ei: et mittam, et accipiam to inde: utquid orbabor etiam ambobus vobis die una?

46. And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

46. Et dixit Ribca ad Ishac, Angustiis affecta sum in vita mea propter filias Heth: si acceperit Iahacob uxorem de filiabus Heth, sicut istas de filiabus terrae, utquid est mihi vita?

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 (Psa 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 (Is 65:13; Psa 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.

There was a famine - When this happened we cannot tell; it appears to have been after the death of Abraham. Concerning the first famine, see Gen 12:10.

Abimelech - As we know not the time when the famine happened, so we cannot tell whether this was the same Abimelech, Phichol, etc., which are mentioned Gen 20:1, Gen 20:2, etc., or the sons or other descendants of these persons.

Go not down into Egypt - As Abraham had taken refuge in that country, it is probable that Isaac was preparing to go thither also; and God, foreseeing that he would there meet with trials, etc., which might prove fatal to his peace or to his piety, warns him not to fulfill his intention.

Sojourn in this land - In Gerar, whither he had gone, Gen 26:1, and where we find he settled, Gen 26:6, though the land of Canaan in general might be here intended. That there were serious and important reasons why Isaac should not go to Egypt, we may be fully assured, though they be not assigned here; it is probable that even Isaac himself was not informed why he should not go down to Egypt. I have already supposed that God saw trials in his way which he might not have been able to bear. While a man acknowledges God in all his ways, he will direct all his steps, though he may not choose to give him the reasons of the workings of his providence. Abraham might go safely to Egypt, Isaac might not; in firmness and decision of character there was a wide difference between the two men.

I will make thy seed - as the stars of heaven - A promise often repeated to Abraham, and which has been most amply fulfilled both in its literal and spiritual sense.

Abraham obeyed my voice - מימרי meimeri, my Word. See Gen 15:1.

My charge - משמרתי mishmarti, from שמר shamar, he kept, observed, etc., the ordinances or appointments of God. These were always of two kinds:

1. Such as tended to promote moral improvement, the increase of piety, the improvement of the age, etc. And

2. Such as were typical of the promised seed, and the salvation which was to come by him.

For commandments, statutes, etc., the reader is particularly desired to refer to Lev 16:15, etc., where these things are all explained in the alphabetical order of the Hebrew words.

He said, She is my sister - It is very strange that in the same place, and in similar circumstances, Isaac should have denied his wife, precisely as his father had done before him! It is natural to ask, Did Abraham never mention this circumstance to his son? Probably be did not, as he was justly ashamed of his weakness on the occasion - the only blot in his character; the son, therefore, not being forewarned, was not armed against the temptation. It may not be well in general for parents to tell their children of their former failings or vices, as this might lessen their authority or respect, and the children might make a bad use of it in extenuation of their own sins. But there are certain cases, which, from the nature of their circumstances, may often occur, where a candid acknowledgment, with suitable advice, may prevent those children from repeating the evil; but this should be done with great delicacy and caution, lest even the advice itself should serve as an incentive to the evil. I had not known lust, says St. Paul, if the law had not said, Thou shalt not covet. Isaac could not say of Rebekah, as Abraham had done of Sarah, She is my sister; in the case of Abraham this was literally true; it was not so in the case of Isaac, for Rebekah was only his cousin. Besides, though relatives, in the Jewish forms of speaking, are often called brothers and sisters, and the thing may be perfectly proper when this use of the terms is generally known and allowed, yet nothing of this kind can be pleaded here in behalf of Isaac; for he intended that the Gerarites should understand him in the proper sense of the term, and consequently have no suspicion that she was his wife. We have already seen that the proper definition of a lie is any word spoken with the intention to deceive. See Gen 20:12.

Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife - Whatever may be the precise meaning of the word, it evidently implies that there were liberties taken and freedom used on the occasion, which were not lawful but between man and wife.

Thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us - It is likely that Abimelech might have had some knowledge of God's intentions concerning the family of Abraham, and that it must be kept free from all impure and alien mixtures; and that consequently, had he or any of his people taken Rebekah, the Divine judgment might have fallen upon the land. Abimelech was a good and holy man; and he appears to have considered adultery as a grievous and destructive crime.

He that toucheth - He who injures Isaac or defiles Rebekah shall certainly die for it. Death was the punishment for adultery among the Canaanites, Philistines, and Hebrews. See Gen 38:24.

Isaac sowed in that land - Being now perfectly free from the fear of evil, he betakes himself to agricultural and pastoral pursuits, in which he has the especial blessing of God, so that his property becomes greatly increased.

A hundred-fold - מאה שערים, meah shearim, literally, "A hundred-fold of barley;" and so the Septuagint, ἑκατοστευουσαν κριθην. Perhaps such a crop of this grain was a rare occurrence in Gerar. The words, however, may be taken in a general way, as signifying a very great increase; so they are used by our Lord in the parable of the sower.

The man waxed great - There is a strange and observable recurrence of the same term in the original: ויגדל האיש וילך הלוך וגדל עד כי גדל מאד vaiyigdal haish vaiyelech haloch vegadel ad ki gadal meod, And the man was Great; and he went, going on, and was Great, until that he was exceeding Great. How simple is this language, and yet how forcible!

He had possession of flocks - He who blessed him in the increase of his fields blessed him also in the increase of his flocks; and as he had extensive possessions, so he must have many hands to manage such concerns: therefore it is added, he had great store of servants - he had many domestics, some born in his house, and others purchased by his money.

For all the wells - the Philistines had stopped them - In such countries a good well was a great acquisition; and hence in predatory wars it was usual for either party to fill the wells with earth or sand, in order to distress the enemy. The filling up the wells in this case was a most unprincipled transaction, as they had pledged themselves to Abraham, by a solemn oath, not to injure each other in this or any other respect. See Gen 21:25-31.

Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we - This is the first instance on record of what was termed among the Greeks ostracism; i.e., the banishment of a person from the state, of whose power, influence, or riches, the people were jealous. There is a remarkable saying of Bacon on this subject, which seems to intimate that he had this very circumstance under his eye: "Public envy is an ostracism that eclipseth men when they grow too great." On this same principle Pharaoh oppressed the Israelites. The Philistines appear to have been jealous of Isaac's growing prosperity, and to have considered it, not as a due reward of his industry and holiness, but as their individual loss, as though his gain was at their expense; therefore they resolved to drive him out, and take his well-cultivated ground, etc., to themselves, and compelled Abimelech to dismiss him, who gave this reason for it, עצמת ממנו atsamta mimmennu, Thou hast obtained much wealth among us, and my people are envious of thee. Is not this the better translation? for it can hardly be supposed that Isaac was "mightier" than the king of whole tribes.

In the days of Abraham - Instead of בימי bimey, in the days, Houbigant contends we should read עבדי abdey, servants. Isaac dug again the wells which the servants of Abraham his father had dug. This reading is supported by the Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate; and it is probably the true one.

A well of springing water - באר מים חיים beer mayim chaiyim, A well of living waters. This is the oriental phrase for a spring, and this is its meaning both in the Old and New Testaments: Lev 14:5, Lev 14:50; Lev 15:30; Num 19:17; Sol 4:15. See also Joh 4:10-14; Joh 7:38; Rev 21:6; Rev 22:1. And by these scriptures we find that an unfailing spring was an emblem of the graces and influences of the Spirit of God.

They dug another well - Never did any man more implicitly follow the Divine command, Resist not evil, than Isaac; whenever he found that his work was likely to be a subject of strife and contention, he gave place, and rather chose to suffer wrong than to have his own peace of mind disturbed. Thus he overcame evil with good.

The Lord appeared unto him - He needed especial encouragement when insulted and outraged by the Philistines; for having returned to the place where his noble father had lately died, the remembrance of his wrongs, and the remembrance of his loss, could not fail to afflict his mind; and God immediately appears to comfort and support him in his trials, by a renewal of all his promises.

Builded an altar there - That he might have a place for God's worship, as well as a place for himself and family to dwell in.

And called upon the name of the Lord - And invoked in the name of Jehovah. See note on Gen 12:8; See note on Gen 13:15.

Abimelech went to him - When a man's ways please God, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him; so Isaac experienced on this occasion. Whether this was the same Abimelech and Phichol mentioned Gen 21:22, we cannot tell, it is possible both might have been now alive, provided we suppose them young in the days of Abraham; but it is more likely that Abimelech was a general name of the Gerarite kings, and that Phichol was a name of office.

Ahuzzath - The Targum translates this word a company, not considering it as a proper name: "Abimelech and Phichol came with a company of their friends." The Septuagint calls him Οχοζαθ ὁ νυμφαγωγος, Ochozath, the paranymph, he who conducts the bride to the bridegroom's house. Could we depend on the correctness of this version, we might draw the following curious conclusions from it:

1. That this was the son of that Abimelech the friend of Abraham.

2. That he had been lately married, and on this journey brings with him his confidential friend, to whom he had lately entrusted the care of his spouse.

Seeing ye hate me - He was justified in thinking thus, because if they did not injure him, they had connived at their servants doing it.

Let there be now an oath betwixt us - Let us make a covenant by which we shall be mutually bound, and let it be ratified in the most solemn manner.

He made them a feast - Probably on the sacrifice that was offered on the occasion of making this covenant. This was a common custom.

They rose up be times - Early rising was general among the primitive inhabitants of the world, and this was one cause which contributed greatly to their health and longevity.

He called it Shebah - This was probably the same well which was called Beersheba in the time of Abraham, which the Philistines had filled up, and which the servants of Isaac had reopened. The same name is therefore given to it which it had before, with the addition of the emphatic letter ה he, by which its signification became extended, so that now it signified not merely an oath or full, but satisfaction and abundance.

The name of the city is Beer-sheba - This name was given to it a hundred years before this time; but as the well from which it had this name originally was closed up by the Philistines, probably the name of the place was abolished with the well; when therefore Isaac reopened the well, he restored the ancient name of the place.

He took to wife - the daughter, etc. - It is very likely that the wives taken by Esau were daughters of chiefs among the Hittites, and by this union he sought to increase and strengthen his secular power and influence.

Which were a grief of mind - Not the marriage, though that was improper, but the persons; they, by their perverse and evil ways, brought bitterness into the hearts of Isaac and Rebekah. The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, and that of Jerusalem, say they were addicted to idol worship, and rebelled against and would not hearken to the instructions either of Isaac or Rebekah. From Canaanites a different conduct could not be reasonably expected. Esau was far from being spiritual, and his wives were wholly carnal.

The same reflections which were suggested by Abraham's conduct in denying his wife in Egypt and Gerar, will apply to that of Isaac; but the case of Isaac was much less excusable than that of Abraham. The latter told no falsity; he only through fear suppressed a part of the truth.

1. A good man has a right to expect God's blessing on his honest industry. Isaac sowed, and received a hundred-fold, and he had possession of flocks, etc., for the Lord blessed him. Worldly men, if they pray at all, ask for temporal things: "What shall we eat? what shall we drink? and wherewithal shall we be clothed?" Most of the truly religious people go into another extreme; they forget the body, and ask only for the soul! and yet there are "things requisite and necessary as well for the body as the soul," and things which are only at God's disposal. The body lives for the soul's sake; its life and comfort are in many respects essentially requisite to the salvation of the soul; and therefore the things necessary for its support should be earnestly asked from the God of all grace, the Father of bounty and providence. Ye have not because ye ask not, may be said to many poor, afflicted religious people; and they are afraid to ask lest it should appear mercenary, or that they sought their portion in this life. They should be better taught. Surely to none of these will God give a stone if they ask bread: he who is so liberal of his heavenly blessings will not withhold earthly ones, which are of infinitely less consequence. Reader, expect God's blessing on thy honest industry; pray for it, and believe that God does not love thee less, who hast taken refuge in the same hope, than he loved Isaac. Plead not only his promises, but plead on the precedents he has set before thee. "Lord, thou didst so and so to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, and to others who trusted in thee; bless my field, bless my flocks, prosper my labor, that I may be able to provide things honest in the sight of all men, and have something to dispense to those who are in want." And will not God hear such prayers? Yea, and answer them too, for he does not willingly afflict the children of men. And we may rest assured that there is more affliction and poverty in the world than either the justice or providence of God requires. There are, however, many who owe their poverty to their want of diligence and economy; they sink down into indolence, and forget that word, Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; nor do they consider that by idleness a man is clothed with rags. Be diligent in business and fervent in spirit, and God will withhold from thee no manner of thing that is good.

2. From many examples we find that the wealth of the primitive inhabitants of the world did not consist in gold, silver, or precious stones, but principally in flocks of useful cattle, and the produce of the field. With precious metals and precious stones they were not unacquainted, and the former were sometimes used in purchases, as we have already seen in the case of Abraham buying a field from the children of Heth. But the blessings which God promises are such as spring from the soil. Isaac sowed in the land, and had possessions of flocks and herds, and great store of servants, Gen 26:12-14. Commerce, by which nations and individuals so suddenly rise and as suddenly fall, had not been then invented; every man was obliged to acquire property by honest and persevering labor, or be destitute. Lucky hits, fortunate speculations, and adventurous risks, could then have no place; the field must be tilled, the herds watched and fed, and the proper seasons for ploughing, sowing, reaping, and laying up, be carefully regarded and improved. No man, therefore, could grow rich by accident. Isaac waxed great and went forward, and grew until he became very great, Gen 26:13. Speculation was of no use, for it could have no object; and consequently many incitements to knavery and to idleness, that bane of the physical and moral health of the body and soul of man, could not show themselves. Happy times! when every man wrought with his hands, and God particularly blessed his honest industry. As he had no luxuries, he had no unnatural and factitious wants, few diseases, and a long life.

O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint, Agricolas!

O thrice happy husbandmen! did they but know their own mercies.

But has not what is termed commerce produced the reverse of all this? A few are speculators, and the many are comparatively slaves; and slaves, not to enrich themselves, (this is impossible), but to enrich the speculators and adventurers by whom they are employed. Even the farmers become, at least partially, commercial men; and the soil, the fruitful parent of natural wealth, is comparatively disregarded: the consequence is, that the misery of the many, and the luxury of the few, increase; and from both these spring, on the one hand, pride, insolence, contempt of the poor, contempt of God's holy word and commandments, with the long catalogue of crimes which proceed from pampered appetites and unsubdued passions: and on the other, murmuring, repining, discontent, and often insubordination and revolt, the most fell and most destructive of all the evils that can degrade and curse civil society. Hence wars, fightings, and revolutions of states, and public calamities of all kinds. Bad as the world and the times are, men have made them much worse by their unnatural methods of providing for the support of life. When shall men learn that even this is but a subordinate pursuit; and that the cultivator. of the soul in the knowledge, love, and obedience of God, is essentially necessary, not only to future glory, but to present happiness?

The Lord said, go not down into Egypt. Sojourn in this land - There was a famine in Jacob's days, and God bid him go down into Egypt, Gen 46:3,4, a famine in Isaac's days, and God bid him not go down: a famine in Abraham's days, and God left him to his liberty, directing him neither way, which (considering that Egypt was always a place of trial to God's people) some ground upon the different characters of these three patriarchs. Abraham was a man of very intimate communion with God, and to him all places and conditions were alike; Isaac a very good man, but not cut out for hardship, therefore he is forbidden to go to Egypt; Jacob inured to difficulties, strong and patient, and therefore he must go down into Egypt, that the trial of his faith might be to praise, and honour, and glory. Thus God proportions his people's trials to their strength.

Abraham obeyed my voice - Do thou do so too, and the promise shall be sure to thee. A great variety of words is here used to express the Divine Will to which Abraham was obedient, my voice, my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws - Which may intimate, that Abraham's obedience was universal; he obeyed the original laws of nature, the revealed laws of divine worship, particularly that of circumcision, and all the extraordinary precepts God gave him, as that of quitting his country, and that (which some think is more especially referred to) the offering up of his son, which Isaac himself had reason enough to remember. Those only shall have the benefit of God's covenant with their parents, that tread the steps of their obedience.

He said, she is my sister - So Isaac enters into the same temptation that his father had been once and again surprised and overcome by, viz. to deny his wife, and to give out that she was his sister! It is an unaccountable thing, that both these great and good men should be guilty of so odd a piece of dissimulation, by which they so much exposed both their own and their wives reputation.

This Abimelech was not the same that was in Abraham's days, Ge 20:2 - 18, for this was near an hundred years after, but that was the common name of the Philistine kings, as Caesar of the Roman emperors.

Lightly - Perhaps.

Isaac received an hundred fold - And there seems to be an emphasis laid upon the time; it was that same year when there was a famine in the land; while others scarce reaped at all, he reaped thus plentifully.

Esek - That is, contention.

Sitnah - That is, hatred.

He digged a well, and for that they strove not - Those that follow peace, sooner or later, shall find peace: those that study to be quiet seldom fail of being so. This well they called Rehoboth - Enlargements, room enough.

Fear not, I am with thee, and will bless thee - Those may remove with comfort that are sure of God's presence with them wherever they go.

The Lord is with thee, and thou art the blessed of the Lord, q.d. Be persuaded to overlook the injuries offered thee, for God has abundantly made up to thee the damage thou receivedst. Those whom God blesseth and favours, have reason enough to forgive those that hate them, since the worst enemy they have cannot do them any real hurt. Let there be an oath betwixt us - Whatever some of his envious subjects might mean, he and his prime ministers, whom he had now brought with him, designed no other but a cordial friendship. Perhaps Abimelech had received by tradition the warning God gave to his predecessor not to hurt Abraham, Ge 20:7, and that made him stand in such awe of Isaac, who appeared to be as much the favourite of heaven as Abraham was.

He took to wife - Marrying Canaanites, who were strangers to the blessing of Abraham, and subject to the curse of Noah.

1 AND there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham: and Isaac went unto Abimelech King of the Philistines unto Gerar.

Not he mentioned Gen. 20. 2. but most probably his son and successour called by his Fathers name.

Marginal references: Chap. 12. 10.; Chap. 26. 1.

2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt , dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of.

Whither it seems Isaac intended to go, it being a very fruitful place, and being incouraged to do so by his Fathers example upon the same occasion. But God saw good reasons to forbid Isaac to go thither, which it is needless to enquire, and not difficult to conjecture.

3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for unto thee, and unto thy seed I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father.

To thee, to enjoy for thy present comfort, and to them to possess as an inheritance. See the notes on Gen. 13. 15. and 15. 18.

(i. e.) The promises confirmed by Oath. Gen. 22. 16, &c.

Marginal references: Chap. 13. 1[illegible: 1+ letters]. and 15. 1[illegible: 1+ letters].; Chap. 22. 16.

5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice , and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my Laws.

Here was a covenant made between God and Abraham: and as if Abraham had broken the condition of walking before God required on his part, God had been discharged from the promise made on his part; so contrarily, because Abraham performed his condition, God engageth himself to perform his promise to him and to his seed. But as that promise and covenant was made by God of meer grace, as is evident and confessed, so the mercies promised and performed to him and his, are so great and vast that it is an idle thing to think they could be merited, by so mean a compensation as Abrahams obedience, which was a debt that he owed to God, had there been no such covenant or promise made by God, and which also was an effect of Gods graces to him and in him.

8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech King of the Philistines looked out of a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife .

Using more free and familiar carriage then became a Brother and Sister, but such as was allowable between Husband and Wife: See Deut. 24. 5. Prov. 5. 18, 19. But that this was not the conjugal act may easily be gathered from the circumstances of the time, and place, which was open to Abimelechs view, and therefore that was not consistent either with Isaacs modesty, or with his prudence, because he would not have her thought to be his Wife.

10 And Abimelech said, what is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife , and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us .

Because the Heathens esteemed Fornication either no sin or a very little one.

The guilt of Adultery, which was heinous and formidable even amongst the Heathens, and especially here, because it was fresh in memory how forely God had punished Abimelech and all his Family onely for an intention of Adultery, Gen. 20. Note here, they take it for granted, that their ignorance had not been a sufficient excuse for their sin.

Marginal references: Chap. 20. [illegible: 1+ letters].; Heb. sin.

11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man, or his wife, shall surely be put to death.

(i. e.) Hurteth or injureth. So that word is used ver. 29. and Ios. 9. 19. Psal. 105. 15. Zech. 2. 8. and being applied to a woman it is used for the defiling or humbling of her, as Gen. 20. 6. Prov. 6. 29.

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land , and received in the same year an hundred fold : and the LORD blessed him.

Either in the grounds which he had hired of the right owners; or in some grounds which lay neglected and therefore were free to the first occupier; which was not strange in that age of the World, when the Inhabitants of Countreys were not so numerous as afterward.

(i. e.) An hundred times as much as he sowed. The same degree of increase is intimated, Mitth. 13. 8. and affirmed sometimes of other places by Heathen Writers, but then it was in a better soil and season then this was; for this was a time of Famine or scarcity.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word].

14 For he had possession of slocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants , and the Philistines envied him.

Or rather, of husbandry, as this word is elsewhere used, of Corn fields, Vineyards, &c. for he is describing his Riches, which then consisted in the two things here expressed, Cattle and lands, which he diligently and successefully managed, ver. 12.

Marginal references: Or, Husbandry.

16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us, for thou art much mightier then we .

Which breeds Envy, and Jealousie, and Fear, among my Subjects, and may occasion greater mischiefs, and therefore it is better that we should part Friends, than by continuing together be turned into Enemies.

Marginal references: Exod. 1. 9.

18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father : for the Philistines had stopped them, after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

For though there might be a brook there, probably it was but little and soon dried up.

He digged those rather than new ones, partly to keep up his Fathers memory, and partly because he had most right to them, and others less cause of quarrel with him about them.

20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaacs herdmen, saying, The water is ours : and he called the name of the well Esek, because they strove with him.

Because▪ digged in our soil: Which was no good argument, because he digged it by their consent or permission at his own charge and for his own use.

Marginal references: That is, contention.

23 And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba .

Where he lived before the famine drave him thence.

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and A huzzath one of his friends, and Phicol the chief captain of his army.

This may be either 1. The title of an office; for the word signifies, the mouth of all; or he by whom all the people were to present their addresses to the King, and receive the Kings commands. Or 2. The name of a man: and then this might be the Son of him mentioned, G[illegible: 1+ letters]. 21. 32. called by his Fathers name, as Abimelech also was.

29 That thou wilt do us no hurt; as we have not touched thee , and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD .

To wit, so as to injure or hurt thee, as above ver. 11.

Or, O thou who art now the blessed of the Lord, whom God hath inriched with great and manifold blessings, which we did not take away from thee, as we could easily have done, but thou doest still enjoy them; and now art, as thou wert amongst us, the blessed of the Lord. Or, Seeing God hath blessed thee, it will not become thee to curse us, or to bear any grudge against us for that little unkindness which we expressed to thee. Or it may be a wish, if thou makest this covenant with us, be thou now the blessed of the Lord, we heartily wish thy blessings and prosperity may increase.

Marginal references: Heb if [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word], &c.

31 And they arose up betimes in the morning , and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

Partly for the dispatch of their journey and business, and partly because then their minds were most vigorous and sober and fit to perform so sacred an action as an oath was.

33 And he called it Sheba: therefore the name of the City is Beer-sheba unto this day.

This name had been given before either to this or a neighbouring place by Abraham, Gen. 21. 31. But was now buried in oblivion, as his wells were, and the wells being revived, he revives and renews the name, which proved now a lasting name, unto this day, as here follows, which is not added Gen. 21. 31. because then the name though given by Abraham was soon forgotten and neglected by others.

Marginal references: That is, an oath.; That is, the well of the oath.

34. And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite .

Both Hittites, the worst of the Canaanites, Ezek. 16. 3. Which from his Grand-father Abrahams severe charge, Gen. 24. 3. he must needs know would be highly displeasing both to God and to his Parents. And as Esau had several names, being called also Edom and Seir, so it seems these women and their Parents had, by comparing this with Gen. 36. 2. which was usual in those times and places. Or Esau had more Wives then these.

35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac, and to Rebekah .

Because to their Idolatry and other wickedness, they added obstinacy and incorrigibleness, despising their persons and godly counsels whereby they invited them to Repentance.

Marginal references: chap. 27. 46.; Heb. bitterness of spirit.

Gen 26:1-5

Renewal of the Promise. - A famine “in the land” (i.e., Canaan, to which he had therefore returned from Hagar’s well; Gen 25:11), compelled Isaac to leave Canaan, as it had done Abraham before. Abraham went to Egypt, where his wife was exposed to danger, from which she could only be rescued by the direct interposition of God. Isaac also intended to go there, but on the way, viz., in Gerar, he received instruction through a divine manifestation that he was to remain there. As he was the seed to whom the land of Canaan was promised, he was directed not to leave it. To this end Jehovah assured him of the fulfilment of all the promises made to Abraham on oath, with express reference to His oath (Gen 22:16) to him and to his posterity, and on account of Abraham’s obedience of faith. The only peculiarity in the words is the plural, “all these lands.” This plural refers to all the lands or territories of the different Canaanitish tribes, mentioned in Gen 15:19-21, like the different divisions of the kingdom of Israel or Judah in 1Ch 13:2; 2Ch 11:23. האל; an antique form of האלּה occurring only in the Pentateuch. The piety of Abraham is described in words that indicate a perfect obedience to all the commands of God, and therefore frequently recur among the legal expressions of a later date. יהוה משׁמרת שׁמר “to take care of Jehovah's care,” i.e., to observe Jehovah, His persons, and His will, Mishmereth, reverence, observance, care, is more closely defined by “commandments, statutes, laws,” to denote constant obedience to all the revelations and instructions of God.

Gen 26:6-11

Protection of Rebekah at Gerar. - As Abraham had declared his wife to be his sister both in Egypt and at Gerar, so did Isaac also in the latter place. But the manner in which God protected Rebekah was very different from that in which Sarah was preserved in both instances. Before any one had touched Rebekah, the Philistine king discovered the untruthfulness of Isaac’s statement, having seen Isaac “sporting with Rebekah,” sc., in a manner to show that she was his wife; whereupon he reproved Isaac for what he had said, and forbade any of his people to touch Rebekah on pain of death. Whether this was the same Abimelech as the one mentioned in Gen 20 cannot be decided with certainty. The name proves nothing, for it was the standing official name of the kings of Gerar (cf. 1Sa 21:11 and Ps 34), as Pharaoh was of the kings of Egypt. The identity is favoured by the pious conduct of Abimelech in both instances; and no difficulty is caused either by the circumstance that 80 years had elapsed between the two events (for Abraham had only been dead five years, and the age of 150 was no rarity then), or by the fact, that whereas the first Abimelech had Sarah taken into his harem, the second not only had no intention of doing this, but was anxious to protect her from his people, inasmuch as it would be all the easier to conceive of this in the case of the same king, on the ground of his advanced age.

Gen 26:12

Isaac’s Increasing Wealth. - As Isaac had experienced the promised protection (“I will be with thee,” Gen 26:3) in the safety of his wife, so did he received while in Gerar the promised blessing. He sowed and received in that year “a hundred measures,” i.e., a hundred-fold return. This was an unusual blessing, as the yield even in very fertile regions is not generally greater than from twenty-five to fifty-fold (Niebuhr and Burckhardt), and it is only in the Ruhbe, that small and most fruitful plain of Syria, that wheat yields on an average eighty, and barley a hundred-fold. Agriculture is still practised by the Bedouins, as well as grazing (Robinson, Pal. i. 77, and Seetzen); so that Isaac’s sowing was no proof that he had been stimulated by the promise of Jehovah to take up a settled abode in the promised land.

Gen 26:13-17

Being thus blessed of Jehovah, Isaac became increasingly (הלוך, vid., Gen 8:3) greater (i.e., stronger), until he was very powerful and his wealth very great; so that the Philistines envied him, and endeavoured to do him injury by stopping up and filling with rubbish all the wells that had been dug in his father’s time; and even Abimelech requested him to depart, because he was afraid of his power. Isaac then encamped in the valley of Gerar, i.e., in the “undulating land of Gerar,” through which the torrent (Jurf) from Gerar flows from the south-east (Ritter, Erdk. 14, pp. 1084-5).

Gen 26:18-22

Reopening and Discovery of Wells. - In this valley Isaac dug open the old wells which had existed from Abraham’s time, and gave them the old names. His people also dug three new wells. But Abimelech’s people raised a contest about two of these; and for this reason Isaac called them Esek and Sitnah, strife and opposition. The third there was no dispute about; and it received in consequence the name Rehoboth, “breadths,” for Isaac said, “Yea now (כּי־עתּה, as in Gen 29:32, etc.) Jehovah has provided for us a broad space, that we may be fruitful (multiply) in the land.” This well was probably not in the land of Gerar, as Isaac had removed thence, but in the Wady Ruhaibeh, the name of which is suggestive of Rehoboth, which stands at the point where the two roads from Gaza and Hebron meet, about 3 hours to the south of Elusa, 8 1/3 to the south of Beersheba, and where there are extensive ruins of the city of the same name upon the heights, also the remains of wells (Robinson, Pal. i. 289ff.; Strauss, Sinai and Golgotha); where too the name Sitnah seems to have been retained in the Wady Shutein, with ruins on the northern hills between Ruhaibeh and Khulasa (Elusa).

Gen 26:23-25

Isaac’s Journey to Beersheba. - Here, where Abraham had spent a long time (Gen 21:33.), Jehovah appeared to him during the night and renewed the promises already given; upon which, Isaac built an altar and performed a solemn service. Here his servants also dug a well near to the tents.

Gen 26:26-33

Abimelech’s Treaty with Isaac. - The conclusion of this alliance was substantially only a repetition of renewal of the alliance entered into with Abraham; but the renewal itself arose so completely out of the circumstances, that there is no ground whatever for denying that it occurred, or for the hypothesis that our account is merely another form of the earlier alliance; to say nothing of the fact, that besides the agreement in the leading event itself, the attendant circumstances are altogether peculiar, and correspond to the events which preceded. Abimelech not only brought his chief captain Phicol (supposed to be the same as in Gen 21:22, if Phicol is not also an official name), but his מרע “friend,” i.e., his privy councillor, Ahuzzath. Isaac referred to the hostility they had shown; to which Abimelech replied, that they (he and his people) did not smite him (נגע), i.e., drive him away by force, but let him depart in peace, and expressed a wish that there might be an oath between them. אלה the oath, as an act of self-imprecation, was to form the basis of the covenant to be made. From this אלה came also to be used for a covenant sanctioned by an oath (Deu 29:11, Deu 29:13). תּעשׂה אם “that thou do not:” אם a particle of negation used in an oath (Gen 14:23, etc.). (On the verb with zere, see Ges. §75, Anm. 17; Ewald, §224.) - The same day Isaac’s servants informed him of the well which they had dug; and Isaac gave it the name Shebah (שׁבעה, oath), in commemoration of the treaty made on oath. “Therefore the city was called Beersheba.” This derivation of the name does not shut the other (Gen 21:31) out, but seems to confirm it. As the treaty made on oath between Abimelech and Isaac was only a renewal of his covenant concluded before with Abraham, so the name Beersheba was also renewed by the well Shebah. The reality of the occurrence is supported by the fact that the two wells are in existence still (vid., Gen 21:31).

Gen 26:34-35

Esau’s Marriage. - To the various troubles which the Philistines prepared for Isaac, but which, through the blessing of God, only contributed to the increase of his wealth and importance, a domestic cross was added, which caused him great and lasting sorrow. Esau married two wives in the 40th year of his age, the 100th of Isaac’s life (Gen 25:26); and that not from his own relations in Mesopotamia, but from among the Canaanites whom God had cast off. On their names, see Gen 34:2-3. They became “bitterness of spirit,” the cause of deep trouble, to his parents, viz., on account of their Canaanitish character, which was so opposed to the vocation of the patriarchs; whilst Esau by these marriages furnished another proof, how thoroughly his heart was set upon earthly things.

Removal of Isaac to Gerar. (b. c. 1804.)

1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. 2 And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Here, I. God tried Isaac by his providence. Isaac had been trained up in a believing dependence upon the divine grant of the land of Canaan to him and his heirs; yet now there is a famine in the land, v. 1. What shall he think of the promise when the promised land will not find him bread? Is such a grant worth accepting, upon such terms, and after so long a time? Yes, Isaac will still cleave to the covenant; and the less valuable Canaan in itself seems to be the better he is taught to value it, 1. As a token of God's everlasting kindness to him; and, 2. As a type of heaven's everlasting blessedness. Note, The intrinsic worth of God's promises cannot be lessened in a believer's eye by any cross providences.

II. He directed him under this trial by his word. Isaac finds himself straitened by the scarcity of provisions. Somewhere he must go for supply; it should seem, he set out for Egypt, whither his father went in the like strait, but he takes Gerar in his way, full of thoughts, no doubt, which way he had best steer his course, till God graciously appeared to him, and determined him, abundantly to his satisfaction. 1. God bade him stay where he was, and not go down into Egypt: Sojourn in this land, v. 2, 3. There was a famine in Jacob's days, and God bade him go down into Egypt (ch. xlvi. 3, 4), a famine in Isaac's days, and God bade him not to go down, a famine in Abraham's days, and God left him to his liberty, directing him neither way. This variety in the divine procedure (considering that Egypt was always a place of trial and exercise to God's people) some ground upon the different characters of these three patriarchs. Abraham was a man of very high attainments, and intimate communion with God; and to him all places and conditions were alike. Isaac was a very good man, but not cut out for hardship; therefore he is forbidden to go to Egypt. Jacob was inured to difficulties, strong and patient; and therefore he must go down into Egypt, that the trial of his faith might be to praise, and honour, and glory. Thus God proportions his people's trials to their strength. 2. He promised to be with him, and bless him, v. 3. As we may go any where with comfort when God's blessing goes with us, so we may stay any where contentedly if that blessing rest upon us. 3. He renewed the covenant with him, which had so often been made with Abraham, repeating and ratifying the promises of the land of Canaan, a numerous issue, and the Messiah, v. 3, 4. Note, Those that must live by faith have need often to review, and repeat to themselves, the promises they are to live upon, especially when they are called to any instance of suffering or self-denial. 4. He recommended to him the good example of his father's obedience, as that which had preserved the entail of the covenant in his family (v. 5): "Abraham obeyed my voice; do thou do so too, and the promise shall be sure to thee." Abraham's obedience is here celebrated, to his honour; for by it he obtained a good report both with God and men. A great variety of words is here used to express the divine will, to which Abraham was obedient (my voice, my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws), which may intimate that Abraham's obedience was universal; he obeyed the original laws of nature, the revealed laws of divine worship, particularly that of circumcision, and all the extraordinary precepts God gave him, as that of quitting his country, and that (which some think is more especially referred to) of the offering up of his son, which Isaac himself had reason enough to remember. Note, Those only shall have the benefit and comfort of God's covenant with their godly parents that tread in the steps of their obedience.

Isaac's Denial of His Wife. (b. c. 1840.)

6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: 7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. 8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. 9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. 10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lain with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. 11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

Isaac had now laid aside all thoughts of going to Egypt, and, in obedience to the heavenly vision, sets up his staff in Gerar, the country in which he was born (v. 6), yet there he enters into temptation, the same temptation that his good father had been once and again surprised and overcome by, namely, to deny his wife, and to give out that she was his sister. Observe,

I. How he sinned, v. 7. Because his wife was handsome, he fancied the Philistines would find some way or other to take him off, that some of them might marry her; and therefore she must pass for his sister. It is an unaccountable thing that both these great and good men should be guilty of so strange a piece of dissimulation, by which they so much exposed both their own and their wives' reputation. But we see, 1. That very good men have sometimes been guilty of very great faults and follies. Let those therefore that stand take heed lest they fall, and those that have fallen not despair of being helped up again. 2. That there is an aptness in us to imitate even the weaknesses and infirmities of those we have a value for. We have need therefore to keep our foot, lest, while we aim to tread in the steps of good men, we sometimes tread in their by-steps.

II. How he was detected, and the cheat discovered, by the king himself. Abimelech (not the same that was in Abraham's days, ch. 20, for this was nearly 100 years after that, but this was the common name of the Philistine kings, as Cæsar of the Roman emperors) saw Isaac more familiar and pleasant with Rebekah than he knew he would be with his sister (v. 8): he saw him sporting with her, or laughing; it is the same word with that from which Isaac had his name. He was rejoicing with the wife of his youth, Prov. v. 18. It becomes those in that relation to be pleasant with one another, as those that are pleased with one another. Nowhere may a man more allow himself to be innocently merry than with his own wife and children. Abimelech charged him with the fraud (v. 9), showed him how frivolous his excuse was and what might have been the bad consequences of it (v. 10), and then, to convince him how groundless and unjust his jealousy of them was, took him and his family under his particular protection, forbidding any injury to be done to him or his wife upon pain of death, v. 11. Note, 1. A lying tongue is but for a moment. Truth is the daughter of time; and, in time, it will out. 2. One sin is often the inlet to many, and therefore the beginnings of sin ought to be avoided. 3. The sins of professors shame them before those that are without. 4. God can make those that are incensed against his people, though there may be some colour of cause for it, to know that it is at their peril if they do them any hurt. See Ps. cv. 14, 15.

Isaac's Removal to Beersheba. (b. c. 1804.)

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him: 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. 18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. 19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. 20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. 21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. 22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. 23 And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. 24 And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. 25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord , and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.

Here we have,

I. The tokens of God's good-will to Isaac. He blessed him, and prospered him, and made all that he had to thrive under his hands. 1. His corn multiplied strangely, v. 12. He had no land of his own, but took land of the Philistines, and sowed it; and (be it observed for the encouragement of poor tenants, that occupy other people's lands, and are honest and industrious) God blessed him with a great increase. He reaped a hundred fold; and there seems to be an emphasis laid upon the time: it was that same year when there was a famine in the land; while others scarcely reaped at all, he reaped thus plentifully. See Isa. lxv. 13, My servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry, Ps. xxxvii. 19, In the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 2. His cattle also increased, v. 14. And then, 3. He had great store of servants, whom he employed and maintained. Note, As goods are increased those are increased that eat them, Eccl. v. 11.

II. The tokens of the Philistines' ill-will to him. They envied him, v. 14. It is an instance, 1. Of the vanity of the world that the more men have of it the more they are envied, and exposed to censure and injury. Who can stand before envy? Prov. xxvii. 4. See Eccl. iv. 4. 2. Of the corruption of nature; for that is a bad principle indeed which makes men grieve at the good of others, as if it must needs be ill with me because it is well with my neighbor. (1.) They had already shown their ill-will to his family, by stopping up the wells which his father had digged, v. 15. This was spitefully done. Because they had not flocks of their own to water at these wells, they would not leave them for the use of others; so absurd a thing is malice. And it was perfidiously done, contrary to the covenant of friendship they had made with Abraham, ch. xxi. 31, 32. No bonds will hold ill-nature. (2.) They expelled him out of their country, v. 16, 17. The king of Gerar began to look upon him with a jealous eye. Isaac's house was like a court, and his riches and retinue eclipsed Abimelech's; and therefore he must go further off. They were weary of his neighbourhood, because they saw that the Lord blessed him; whereas, for that reason, they should the rather have courted his stay, that they also might be blessed for his sake. Isaac does not insist upon the bargain he had made with them for the lands he held, nor upon his occupying and improving them, nor does he offer to contest with them by force, though he had become very great, but very peaceably departs thence further from the royal city, and perhaps to a part of the country less fruitful. Note, We should deny ourselves both in our rights and in our conveniences, rather than quarrel: a wise and a good man will rather retire into obscurity, like Isaac here into a valley, than sit high to be the butt of envy and ill-will.

III. His constancy and continuance in his business still.

1. He kept up his husbandry, and continued industrious to find wells of water, and to fit them for his use, v. 18, &c. Though he had grown very rich, yet he was as solicitous as ever about the state of his flocks, and still looked well to his herds; when men grow great, they must take heed of thinking themselves too big and too high for their business. Though he was driven from the conveniences he had had, and could not follow his husbandry with the same ease and advantage as before, yet he set himself to make the best of the country he had come into, which it is every man's prudence to do. Observe,

(1.) He opened the wells that his father had digged (v. 18), and out of respect to his father called them by the same names that he had given them. Note, In our searches after truth, that fountain of living water, it is good to make use of the discoveries of former ages, which have been clouded by the corruptions of later times. Enquire for the old way, the wells which our fathers digged, which the adversaries of truth have stopped up: Ask thy elders, and they shall teach thee.

(2.) His servants dug new wells, v. 19. Note, Though we must use the light of former ages, it does not therefore follow that we must rest in it, and make no advances. We must still be building upon their foundation, running to and fro, that knowledge may be increased, Dan. xii. 4.

(3.) In digging his wells he met with much opposition, v. 20, 21. Those that open the fountains of truth must expect contradiction. The first two wells which they dug were called Esek and Sitnah, contention and hatred. See here, [1.] What is the nature of worldly things; they are make-bates and occasions of strife. [2.] What is often the lot even of the most quiet and peaceable men in this world; those that avoid striving yet cannot avoid being striven with, Ps. cxx. 7. In this sense, Jeremiah was a man of contention (Jer. xv. 10), and Christ himself, though he is the prince of peace. [3.] What a mercy it is to have plenty of water, to have it without striving for it. The more common this mercy is the more reason we have to be thankful for it.

(4.) At length he removed to a quiet settlement, cleaving to his peaceable principle, rather to fly than fight, and unwilling to dwell with those that hated peace, Ps. cxx. 6. He preferred quietness to victory. He dug a well, and for this they strove not, v. 22. Note, Those that follow peace, sooner or later, shall find peace; those that study to be quiet seldom fail of being so. How unlike was Isaac to his brother Ishmael, who, right or wrong, would hold what he had, against all the world! ch. xvi. 12. And which of these would we be found the followers of? This well they called Rehoboth, enlargements, room enough: in the two former wells we may see what the earth is, straitness and strife; men cannot thrive, for the throng of their neighbours. This well shows us what heaven is; it is enlargement and peace, room enough there, for there are many mansions.

2. He continued firm to his religion, and kept up his communion with God. (1.) God graciously appeared to him, v. 24. When the Philistines expelled him, forced him to remove from place to place, and gave him continual molestation, then God visited him, and gave him fresh assurances of his favour. Note, When men are found false and unkind, we may comfort ourselves that God is faithful and gracious; and his time to show himself so is when we are most disappointed in our expectations from men. When Isaac had come to Beer-sheba (v. 23) it is probable that it troubled him to think of his unsettled condition, and that he could not be suffered to stay long in a place; and, in the multitude of these thoughts within him, that same night that he came weary and uneasy to Beer-sheba God brought him his comforts to delight his soul. Probably he was apprehensive that the Philistines would not let him rest there: Fear not, says God to him, I am with thee, and will bless thee. Those may remove with comfort that are sure of God's presence with them wherever they go. (2.) He was not wanting in his returns of duty to God; for there he built an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord, v. 25. Note, [1.] Wherever we go, we must take our religion along with us. Probably Isaac's altars and his religious worship gave offence to the Philistines, and provoked them to be the more troublesome to him; yet he kept up his duty, whatever ill-will he might be exposed to by it. [2.] The comforts and encouragements God gives us by his word should excite and quicken us to every exercise of devotion by which God may be honoured and our intercourse with heaven maintained.

Isaac's Covenant with Abimelech. (b. c. 1760.)

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. 27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? 28 And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; 29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord . 30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. 31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. 33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.

We have here the contests that had been between Isaac and the Philistines issuing in a happy peace and reconciliation.

I. Abimelech pays a friendly visit to Isaac, in token of the respect he had for him, v. 26. Note, When a man's ways please the Lord he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him, Prov. xvi. 7. Kings' hearts are in his hands, and when he pleases he can turn them to favour his people.

II. Isaac prudently and cautiously questions his sincerity in this visit, v. 27. Note, In settling friendships and correspondences, there is need of the wisdom of the serpent, as well as the innocence of the dove; nor is it any transgression of the law of meekness and love plainly to signify our strong perception of injuries received, and to stand upon our guard in dealing with those that have acted unfairly.

III. Abimelech professes his sincerity, in this address to Isaac, and earnestly courts his friendship, v. 28, 29. Some suggest that Abimelech pressed for this league with him because he feared lest Isaac, growing rich, should, some time or other, avenge himself upon them for the injuries he had received. However, he professes to do it rather from a principle of love. 1. He makes the best of their behaviour towards him. Isaac complained they had hated him, and sent him away. No, said Abimelech, we sent thee away in peace. They turned him off from the land he held of them; but they suffered him to take away his stock, and all his effects, with him. Note, The lessening of injuries is necessary to the preserving of friendship; for the aggravating of them exasperates and widens breaches. The unkindness done to us might have been worse. 2. He acknowledges the token of God's favour to him, and makes this the ground of their desire to be in league with him: The Lord is with thee, and thou art the blessed of the Lord. As if he had said, "Be persuaded to overlook and pass by the injuries offered thee; for God had abundantly made up to thee the damage thou receivedst." Note, Those whom God blesses and favours have reason enough to forgive those who hate them, since the worst enemy they have cannot do them any real hurt. Or, "For this reason we desire thy friendship, because God is with thee." Note, It is good to be in covenant and communion with those who are in covenant and communion with God, 1 John i. 3; present address to him was the result of mature deliberation: We said, Let there be an oath between us. Whatever some of his peevish envious subjects might mean otherwise, he and his prime-ministers of state, whom he had now brought with him, designed no other than a cordial friendship. Perhaps Abimelech had received, by tradition, the warning God gave to his predecessor not to hurt Abraham (ch. xx. 7), and this made him stand in such awe of Isaac, who appeared to be as much the favourite of Heaven as Abraham was.

IV. Isaac entertains him and his company, and enters into a league of friendship with him, v. 30, 31. Here see how generous the good man was, 1. In giving: He made them a feast, and bade them welcome. (2.) In forgiving. He did not insist upon the unkindnesses they had done him, but freely entered into a covenant of friendship with them, and bound himself never to do them any injury. Note, Religion teaches us to be neighbourly, and, as much as in us lies, to live peaceably with all men.

V. Providence smiled upon what Isaac did; for the same day that he made this covenant with Abimelech his servants brought him the tidings of a well of water they had found, v. 32, 33. He did not insist upon the restitution of the wells which the Philistines had unjustly taken from him, lest this should break off the treaty, but sat down silent under the injury; and, to recompense him for this, immediately he is enriched with a new well, which, because it suited so well to the occurrence of the day, he called by an old name, Beer-sheba, The well of the oath.

Esau's Foolish Marriage. (b. c. 1760.)

34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: 35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Here is, 1. Esau's foolish marriage—foolish, some think, in marrying two wives together, for which perhaps he is called a fornicator (Heb. xii. 16), or rather in marrying Canaanites, who were strangers to the blessing of Abraham, and subject to the curse of Noah, for which he is called profane; for hereby he intimated that he neither desired the blessing nor dreaded the curse of God. 2. The grief and trouble it created to his tender parents. (1.) It grieved them that he married without asking, or at least without taking, their advice and consent: see whose steps those children tread in who either contemn or contradict their parents in disposing of themselves. (2.) It grieved them that he married the daughters of Hittites, who had no religion among them; for Isaac remembered his father's care concerning him, that he should by no means marry a Canaanite. (3.) It should seem, the wives he married were provoking in their conduct towards Isaac and Rebekah; those children have little reason to expect the blessing of God who do that which is a grief of mind to their good parents.

CHAP. XXVI.

ANd there was a famine, in the land; besides the first famine, which was in the dayes of Abraham: and Isaak went unto Abimelech King of the Philistims unto Gerar. And Iehovah, appeared unto him; and said, Goe not downe into Aegypt: dwell in the land which I shall say unto thee. Sojourne in this land; and I will bee with thee, and will blesse thee: for to thee and to thy seed, will I give all these lands; and I will stablish the oath, which I sware unto Abraham thy father. And I will multiply thy seed, as the starres of the heavens: and will give unto thy seed, all these lands: and in thy seed, all nations of the earth shall blesse themselves. Because that Abraham obeyed my voyce: and kept my charge, my commandements, my statutes and my lawes. And Isaak dwelt, in Gerar. And the men of the place, asked of his wife; and he said, she is my sister: for he feared to say my wife, left the men of the place should kill mee for Rebekah, because shee was of a good countenance. And it was, when the dayes had been prolonged by him there; that Abimelech King of the Philistims, looked out through a window: and saw, and behold Isaak was sporting, with Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaak, and said, Behold surely she is thy wife; and how saydest thou, she is my sister? And Isaak said unto him; Because I said, lest I dye for her. And Abimelech said; what is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lyen with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought upon us guiltinesse. And Abimelech commanded all the people, saying: he that toucheth this man, or his wife, dying he shall be put to death. And Isaak sowed, in that land; and found in that yeere, an hundred measures: and Iehovah blessed him. And the man waxed-great; and went going-on, and waxing-great; untill hee was waxed-great, exceedingly. And he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and much husbandry: and the Philistims envied him. And all the wells which his fathers servants had digged, in the dayes of Abraham his father: the Philistims stopped them, and filled them with dust. And Abimelech said, unto Isaak: Goe from us, for thou art very-much mightier then we. And Isaak went from thence: and pitched in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. And Isaak returned, and digged the wels of water; which they had digged, in the dayes of Abraham his father, and the Philistims had stopped them, after the death of Abraham: and hee called their names, according to the names that his father had called them. And Isaaks servants digged in the valley: and found there a well of living waters. And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with the herdmen of Isaak, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well, Esek; because they contended with him. And they digged another well; and they strove also for it: and hee called the name of it, Sitnah. And hee removed from thence, and digged another well; and they strove not for it: and he called the name of it, Rechoboth; and hee said, for now Iehovah hath made-roome for us, and we shall be fruitfull in the land. And he went-up from thence, to Beersheba. And Iehovah appeared unto him, the same night; and sayd, I am the God of Abraham thy father: feare not, for I am with thee; and will blesse thee, and multiply thy seed, for my servant Abrahams sake. And hee builded there an altar, and called on the name of Iehovah; and stretched-out there, his tent: and there Isaaks servants digged a well. And Abimelech went unto him, from Gerar: and Achuzzath his friend, and Phicol, the Prince of his army. And Isaak sayd unto them; wherefore come ye unto me: and ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, Seeing we have seen, that Iehovah is with thee; and we said, Let there now be an oath-of-execration betwixt us, betwixt us and thee; and let us strike a covenant with thee. If thou shalt doe unto vs evill, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee, but-onely good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou now, the blessed of Iehovah. And he made unto them a banquet; and they did eate and drinke. And they rose early in the morning, and sware ech-man to his brother: and Isaak sent them away, and they went from him, in peace. And it was, the same day; that Isaaks servants came, and shewed unto him, concerning the well which they had digged: & they said unto him, we have found water. And he called it, Shibeah: therfore the name of the Citie, is Beer-sheba, unto this day.

And Esau was fourty yeeres old; and he tooke a wife, Iudith; the daughter of Beeri, a Chethite: and Basemath, the daughter of Elon, a Chethite. And they were, a bitternesse of spirit: to Isaak, and to Rebekah.

Annotations. FIrst famine] whereof see Gen. 12. 10. Abimelech] of whom see Gen. 20. 1. 2. &c. which history is to be compared with this. Vers. 2. Aegypt] as Abraham did, Gen. 12. 10. and whither it seemeth Isaak was purposing to go. Vers. 3. this land] of Canaan, the land of promise, and figure of the place of heavenly rest; see the notes on Gen. 12. 5. So by David hee exhorteth, Dwell in the land, and feed on faith, Psalm. 37. 3. See Gen. 37. 1. I will be] the Chaldee expoundeth it, my word shall be an helpe unto thee: so in vers. 24. and 28. these lands] or countries, possessed by so many nations, Gen. 15. 19. 20. 21. so Psalm. 105. 44. The Greeke translateth singularly, land; and so was the promise made to Abraham, Gen. 13. 15. and 15. 18. and 17. 8. see the notes there. stablish the oath] that is, performe the promises: sworne, Gen. 22. 16. 17. Vers. 4. starres] that is, innumerable: see Genes. 15. 5. seed] meaning Christ: Gal. 3. 16. 8. blesse themselves] or as the Greeke translateth, shall be blessed, see Gen. 22. 18. Vers. 5. charge] Hebr. keeping, or observation: that is, ordinances to be kept. So in Lev. 8. 35. and 22. 9. Deut. 11. 1. lawes] for this word, elsewhere the Scripture saith, judgements, Deut. 11. 1. and 5. 1. 31. and 6. 1. 20. and 7. 11. and 8. 11. &c. and under these three particulars, the whole charge or custody forespoken of, is comprehended; as afterward by Moses God gave the ten commandements, or morall precepts, Exod. 20. Iudgements, or judiciall lawes for punishing transgressors, Exod. 21. &c. and Statutes, or rules, ordinances and decrees for the service of God, Lev. 3. 17. and 6. 18. 22. Exod. 12. 24. & 27. 31. & 29. 9. & 30. 21. Al which Abraham observed, and is commended of God therefore. Vers. 7. my sister] He imitateth his father Abrahams practice, Gen. 12. 11. 12. 13. and 20. 2. kill me] Moses expresseth this as Isaaks owne words of himselfe. The Greeke translateth it, should kill him: so elsewhere that version changeth the person, for more easie order of speech, and understanding to the reader. See Psal. 144. 12. good countenance] elsewhere it is faire of countenance, (or visage) Gen. 12. 11. so the Greek turneth it here: and before, good is used for faire, or goodly, Gen. 24. 16. V. 8. by him] or to him: that is, when he had beene, a long time there. sporting] or laughing, playing, rejoycing: it is the word whereof Isaak himselfe had his name, Gen. 17. 17. 19. and 21. 6. Solomon saith, Rejoyce with the wife of thy youth, &c. Prov. 5. 18. 19 Vers. 10. might lightly] or, had almost lyen. guiltinesse] a sinne making us guiltie of punishment, a shamefull crime: named in Hebrew Asham: the Greeke translateth it Ignorance: and so Paul calleth the sinnes of the people Ignorances, or ignorant trespasses, Heb. 9. 7. rightly so gathered from Levit. 4. 22. See the further explication of this word, there. Abimelech by this word Asham, meaneth both the sin and the punishment for the same; as in the law, Asham, is both the Guilty-sin, and the Sacrifice for the same, Lev. 5. 5. 6. Vers. 11. toucheth] that is, hurteth, or injureth: so in vers. 29. and in Ios. 9. 19. Ruth 2. 9. Iob 1. 11. Psal. 105. 15. Zach. 2. 8. or] Hebr. and: which is often used for or, as is observed on Gen. 13. 8. dying] that is, he shall surely be put to death: as Gē. 2. 17 Vers. 12. 100 measures] that is, as the Chaldee explaineth it, a hundred for one when he measured it: or an hundred, may meane many: as an hundred fold, Matth. 19. 29. is elsewhere called manifold more, Luke 18. 23. The word Shegnarim, signifieth publicke measures, such as were used at the gates of cities, which were full and large. And this increase, (which is the most that our Saviour speaketh of in Matth. 13. 23.) sheweth the fruitfulnesse of the land of Canaan when God blessed it; and figured the bountifull reward which the godly sha l find of their labours, in the heavenly country, which we seeke, Gal. 6. 7. 8. 9. Heb. 11. 14. 16. The fruitfulnesse of Canaan, signified also the graces of the Gospel, Ezek. 34. 27. Zac. 8. 12. Ps. 67. 7. blessed him] & his blessing maketh rich, Pro. 10. 22. Iob 42. 12. This the next words of Isaak do also confirm. Vers. 14. possession] or cattell: so Gen. 47. 17. husbandry] so also the Greeke turneth it georgia. It implieth all manner worke and service belonging to a family; and so servants, and tillage of all sorts. The like is said of Iob, Iob 1. 3. envied] had an envious zeale and emulation. So Solomon saw how all labour and rightnesse of worke, brought envy to a man from his neighbour, Eccles. 4. 4. Vers. 15. with dust] or earth, as the Greeke translateth. This also they enviously did against their oath before, Gen. 21. 30. 31. And this injury was great, because of scarcity of waters there, Gen. 21. 25. It figured out the corrupting of the cleare doctrines of the gospell, by earthly glosses and traditions of Antichristians. Psal. 65. 10. and 84. 7. Song 4. 15. Num. 21. 16. 18. Iohn 4. 10. 14. Vers. 17. pitched] to weer, his tents: or, encamped. A word used for pitching of camps or armies, Exod. 14. 9. and 15. 27. &c. applyed first here to Isaaks family, afterwards to Iakobs, Gen. 33. 18. and so to his posterity. And betokeneth a residing, or quiet sitting: opposed to removing, or journying, Num. 1. 50. 51. 52. and 9. 17. 18. The Chaldee translateth it dwelled. Vers. 18. returned and digged] that is, as the Greek explaineth it, againe digged. Figuring the restoring of the ancient truth, out of corruption: as v. 15. their names] so renewing the ancient good names (that caried, as seemeth, the memoriall of Gods graces) which the wicked had defaced: as on the contrary, the idolatrous names of places, on which the heathens had set the memoriall of false gods and superstition, were by the Israelites changed, when they came into their possession, Num. 32. 38. for the very names of idols, are not to be heard out of our mouthes, Exod. 23. 13. Psal. 16. 4. Vers. 19. the valley] of Gerar, as the Greeke yersion doth expresse. living] that is, as the Chaldee here translateth, springing waters. Waters that spring or runne, are for their continuall motion, called living, Levit. 14. 5. 50. and 15. 13. Num. 19. 17. Song 4. 15. For life consisteth in continuall motion. The Greeke keepeth the Hebrew phrase: and so in the New Testament, where living waters, signifie heavenly graces, Iohn 4. 10. 11. 14. and 7. 38. Rev. 21. 6. and 22 1. Vers. 20. ours] or (belonging) to us: the Greeke changeth the person, saying that the water was theirs. So ver. 7. Ezek] that is, Contention, or wrongfull strife: Wrangling, the Greeke translateth, Injurie, because they injuried him. Vers. 21. Sitnah] that is, Hatred, or Spitefulnesse. Of this the devill hath his name, Satan. Vers. 22. Rechoboth] that is, Roomths; or large spaces. Compare Psalm. 4. 2. in distresse thou hast made roomth for me. Vers. 24. feare not] for the opposition of the Philistims, and other afflictions that are incident unto thee. So God comforted Abraham, Gen. 15 1. Vers. 25. called on] the Chaldee saith, prayed: so did Abraham his father, Gen. 12. 7. 8. and 13. 4. 18. [illegible: 1 word] stretched out] that is, set up, or pitched his tent, as the Greeke explaineth it, which was with spreading and stretching out the curtaines and cords unto stakes, Esa. 33. 20. Vers. 26. Achuzzath his friend] or, aretinue of his friends: and so the Chaldee translateth it, a company of his friends: but the Greeke takes it for a proper name, Ochozath; and his friend, the Greek calleth nymphagogos, which is the companion (or leader) of the bridegroome; like that in Iudg. 14. 20. which the Greek there translateth as this here. Prince] that is, Chiefe captaine: in Greeke, the Chiefe leader of the army, as in Gen. 21. 22. with which this history is to bee compared. Isaaks wayes pleasing the Lord; he made his enemies to be at peace with him: as Prov. 16. 7. Vers. 28. Seeing &c.] that is, wee have evidently seene. Iehovah] the Chaldee expounds it, the word of the Lord is thine helpe. an oath-of-execration] in Greeke, a curse? that is, an oath wishing a curse to the breaker of it: as Gen. 24. 41. The Chaldee paraphraseth thus, Let the oath now be confirmed, which was betweene our fathers; and betweene us and thee. strike] Hebr. [illegible: 1 word] foe Gen. 15. 18. Vers. 29. If thou shalt] understand, Taking a curse upon thee, if thou shalt: meaning, that thou shalt not (or wi[illegible: 1 span]) doe evill, as the Greeke explaineth it. See Gen 21. 23. touched] that is, hurt, as v. 11. blessed] see Gen. 24. 31. An imperfect speech, as if he should say, O thou blessed of the Lord, doe thou likewise deale with us: or, as thou art now blessed of the Lord, so sweare unto us by him. The Greeke translateth, and now thou art the blessed of the Lord. Vers. 30. a banquet] used when men made covenants together, Gen. 31. 54. Vers. 31. man to his brother] that is, one to another: the Greeke saith, man to his neighbour. Vers. 33. Shibeah] in Greeke Horkos; in English, Oath. Beersheba] that is, the well of the oath: as the Greeke also interprets it. This name was given before, Gen. 21. 31. It seemeth in tract of time the name was forgotten, the rather because the well then digged by Abraham, (vers. 30.) was by the Philistims stopped, Gen. 26. 15. and they would therefore have no such monument: but Isaak now reneweth the name. Or here the citie is named Beersheba; there the place, Gen. 21. 3. that is, the whole region. Vers. 34. old] Hebr. sonne. This also was the age of his father Isaak when he maried, Gen. 25. 20. Iudith] one of the daughters of the Canaanites, called by another name, Gen. 36. 2. see the annotations there. This fact was contrary to Abrahams charge, Gen. 24. 3. and his father Isaaks, as is likely by vers. 35. and Gen. 28. 2. 6. 8. a Chethite] in Greeke, an Evite: see Gen. 36. 2. These were of the worst sort of people in the land, Ezek. 16. 3. Vers. 35. a bitternesse of spirit] that is, a griefe of mind, through their bitter provocation and rebellious cariage: so that they were yrked of their life by reason of them, Gen. 27. 46. Or, of a rebellious spirit, resisting their parents. This latter the Greeke followeth, calling them Contentious with Isaak and Rebekah: and the Chaldee saith, they were rebellious and stubborne against the word of Isaak and Rebekah: unto which the Ierusalemy Thargum addeth, that they served (God) with strange service (that is, idolatry) and received not the instruction either of Isaak or of Rebekah. See Gen. 27. 46.