CHAPTER XXVI _A famine in the land obliges Isaac to leave Beer-sheba and_ _go to Gerar_, 1. _God appears to him, and warns him not to go to Egypt_, 2. _Renews the promises to him which he had made to his father_ _Abraham_, 3-5. _Isaac dwells at Gerar_, 6. _Being questioned concerning Rebekah,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:2. _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, c., which might prove fatal to his peace or to his piety, warns him not to fulfil his inten... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:3. _SOJOURN IN THIS LAND_] In Gerar, whither he had gone, Genesis 26:1, and where we find he settled, Genesis 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... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:4. _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.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:5. _ABRAHAM OBEYED MY VOICE_] מימרי _meimeri_, my WORD. See Genesis 15:1. _MY CHARGE_] משמרתי _misitmarti_, from שמר _shamar_, he kept, observed, c., the _ordinances_ or _appointments_ of God. These were always of two kinds: 1. Such as tended to promote _moral_ _improvement_, the i... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:7. _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 _... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:8. _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.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:10. _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... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:11. _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 Genesis 38:24.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:12. _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_, liter... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:13. _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 th... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:14. _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... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:15. _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 wa... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:16. _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... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:18. _IN THE DAYS OF ABRAHAM_] Instead of בימי _bimey_, in the days, Houbigant contends we should read עבדי _abdey_, servants. Isaac digged again the wells which the _servants_ of Abraham his father had digged. This reading is supported by the _Samaritan,_ _Septuagint, Syriac_, and _... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:19. _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: Leviticus 14:5, Leviticus 14:50; Leviticus 15:30; Numbers 19:17; Song of Solomon 4... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:21. _THEY DIGGED 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... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:24. _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 hi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:25. _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. Genesis 12:8, Genesis 12:8; _"_Genesis 13:15_"_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:26. _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 Genesis 21:22, we cannot tell, it is possible both might have been now alive... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:27. _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.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:28. _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.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:30. _HE MADE THEM A FEAST_] Probably on the _sacrifice_ that was offered on the occasion of making this covenant. This was a common custom.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:31. _THEY ROSE UP BETIMES_] Early rising was general among the primitive inhabitants of the world, and this was one cause which contributed greatly to their _health_ and _longevity_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:33. _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 _... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:34. _HE TOOK TO WIFE - THE DAUGHTER, C._] 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.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 26:35. _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... [ Continue Reading ]