Genesis 26
1 And when a famine came in the land, after that barrenness which had happened in the days of Abraham, Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Palestines to Gerara.
There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham [Father of a multitude]. Isaac [Laughter] went to Abimelech [My father king] king of the Philistines [To roll in dust (As an insult)], to Gerar.
2 And the Lord appeared to him and said: Go not down into Egypt, but stay in the land that I shall tell thee.
Adonai appeared to him, and said, “Don’t go down into Egypt [Abode of slavery]. Live in the land I will tell you about.
3 And sojourn in it, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these countries, to fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father.
Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For I will give to you, and to your offspring, all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham [Father of a multitude] your father.
4 And I will multiply thy seed like the stars of heaven: and I will give to thy posterity all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.
I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and will give all these lands to your offspring. By your seed, all the nations of the earth be blessed,
5 Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and commandments, and observed my ceremonies and laws.
because Abraham [Father of a multitude] sh'ma ·heard obeyed· my voice, and heeded what I told him to do— he followed my mitzvot ·instructions·, my regulations, and my torot ·teachings·.”
6 So Isaac abode in Gerara.
Isaac [Laughter] lived in Gerar.
7 And when he was asked by the men of that place, concerning his wife, he answered: She is my sister; for he was afraid to confess that she was his wife, thinking lest perhaps they would kill him because of her beauty.
The men of the place asked him about his wife. He said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “My wife,” lest, he thought, “the men of the place might kill me for Rebekah [Securely bound], because she is beautiful to look at.”
8 And when very many days were passed, and he abode there, Abimelech king of the Palestines looking out through a window, saw him playing with Rebecca his wife.
When he had been there a long time, Abimelech [My father king] king of the Philistines [To roll in dust (As an insult)] looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac [Laughter] was caressing Rebekah [Securely bound], his wife.
9 And calling for him, he said: It is evident she is thy wife: why didst thou feign her to be thy sister? He answered: I feared lest I should die for her sake.
Abimelech [My father king] called Isaac [Laughter], and said, “Behold, surely she is your wife. Why did you say, ‘She is my sister?’” Isaac [Laughter] said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die because of her.’”
10 And Abimelech said: Why hast thou deceived us? Some man of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou hadst brought upon us a great sin. And he commanded all the people, saying:
Abimelech [My father king] said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought fault incurring guilt on us!”
11 He that shall touch this man’s wife, shall surely be put to death.
Abimelech [My father king] enjoined all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”
12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found that same year a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.
Isaac [Laughter] sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. Adonai blessed him.
13 And the man was enriched, and he went on prospering and increasing, till he became exceeding great:
The man grew great, and grew more and more until he became very great.
14 And he had possessions of sheep and of herds, and a very great family. Wherefore the Palestines envying him,
He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Philistines [To roll in dust (As an insult)] envied him.
15 Stopped up at that time all the wells, that the servants of his father Abraham had digged, filling them up with earth:
Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham [Father of a multitude] his father, the Philistines [To roll in dust (As an insult)] had stopped, and filled with earth.
16 Insomuch that Abimelech himself said to Isaac: Depart from us, for thou art become much mightier than we.
Abimelech [My father king] said to Isaac [Laughter], “Go from us, for you are much mightier than we.”
17 So he departed and came to the torrent of Gerara, to dwell there:
Isaac [Laughter] departed from there, encamped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there.
18 And he digged again other wells, which the servants of his father Abraham had digged, and which, after his death, the Palestines had of old stopped up: and he called them by the same names by which his father before had called them.
Isaac [Laughter] dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham [Father of a multitude] his father. For the Philistines [To roll in dust (As an insult)] had stopped them after the death of Abraham [Father of a multitude]. He called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
19 And they digged in the torrent, and found living water.
Isaac [Laughter]’s servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.
20 But there also the herdsmen of Gerara strove against the herdsmen of Isaac, saying: It is our water. Wherefore he called the name of the well, on occasion of that which had happened, Calumny.
The herdsmen of Gerar argued with Isaac [Laughter]’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” He called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.
21 And they digged also another; and for that they quarrelled likewise, and he called the name of it, Enmity.
They dug another well, and they argued over that, also. He called its name Sitnah.
22 Going forward from thence, he digged another well, for which they contended not: therefore he called the name thereof, Latitude, saying: Now hath the Lord given us room, and made us to increase upon the earth.
He left that place, and dug another well. They didn’t argue over that one. He called it Rehoboth. He said, “For now Adonai has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”
23 And he went up from that place to Bersabee,
He went up from there to Be'er-Sheva [Well of Seven, Well of an Oath].
24 Where the Lord appeared to him that same night, saying: I am the God of Abraham thy father; do not fear, for I am with thee: I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.
Adonai appeared to him the same night, and said, “I am the God of Abraham [Father of a multitude] your father. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham [Father of a multitude]’s sake.”
25 And he built there an altar: and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent: and commanded his servants to dig a well.
He built an altar there, and called on Adonai’s name, and pitched his tent there. There Isaac [Laughter]’s servants dug a well.
26 To which place when Abimelech, and Ochozath his friend, and Phicol chief captain of his soldiers came from Gerara,
Then Abimelech [My father king] went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his army.
27 Isaac said to them: Why are ye come to me, a man whom you hate, and have thrust out from you?
Isaac [Laughter] said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me, and have sent me away from you?”
28 And they answered: We saw that the Lord is with thee, and therefore we said: Let there be an oath between us, and let us make a covenant,
They said, “We saw plainly that Adonai was with you. We said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let us make a covenant ·binding contract between two or more parties· with you,
29 That thou do us no harm, as we on our part have touched nothing of thine, nor have done any thing to hurt thee: but with peace have sent thee away increased with the blessing of the Lord.
that you will do us no harm, as we have not touched you, and as we have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace.’ You are now the blessed of Adonai.”
30 And he made them a feast, and after they had eaten and drunk:
He made them a feast, and they ate and drank.
31 Arising in the morning, they swore one to another: and Isaac sent them away peaceably to their own home.
They rose up some time in the morning, and swore to one another. Isaac [Laughter] sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
32 And behold the same day the servants of Isaac came, telling him of a well which they had digged, and saying: We have found water.
The same day, Isaac [Laughter]’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.”
33 Whereupon he called it Abundance: and the name of the city was called Bersabee, even to this day.
He called it Shibah. Therefore the name of the city is Be'er-Sheva [Well of Seven, Well of an Oath] to this day.
34 And Esau being forty years old, married wives, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hethite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon of the same place.
When Esau [Hairy] was forty years old, he took as wife Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite [Descendant of Trembling fear], and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite [Descendant of Trembling fear].
35 And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebecca.
They grieved Isaac [Laughter]’s and Rebekah [Securely bound]’s spirits.
