1 Mose 26

1 Nun kam eine Hungersnot ins Land, eine andere als jene frühere zu Abrahams Zeiten. So zog Isaak zum Philisterkönig Abimelech nach Gerar.

Some time later there was a severe (famine/scarcity of food) there. That was different from the famine that occurred when Abraham was alive. So Isaac went [southeast] to Gerar [town, to talk] to Abimelech, the king of the Philistine people-group. [What happened was this: Isaac considered going to Egypt],

2 Da erschien ihm der Herr und sprach: "Zieh nicht nach Ägypten hinab! Bleib in dem Land, das ich dir anweise!

but Yahweh appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt! Live in the land where I will tell you to go!

3 Bleib in diesem Lande zu Gast! Und ich will mit dir sein und dich segnen; denn dir und deinem Stamm gebe ich all diese Lande; dann erfülle ich den Schwur, den ich deinem Vater Abraham geschworen habe.

Stay in this land for a while, and I will help you and bless you, because it is to you and your descendants that I will give all these lands, and I will do what I solemnly promised to your father.

4 Dann mehre ich deinen Stamm wie des Himmels Sterne und gebe deinem Stamm all diese Lande. In deinem Stamm sollen sich der Erde Völker alle segnen,

I will cause your descendants to be as numerous as the stars in the sky. I will give to your descendants all these lands, and I will cause your descendants to be a blessing to the people of [MTY] all nations on the earth.

5 zum Lohn dafür, daß Abraham auf meine Stimme gehört hat; er befolgte mein Gebot, meine Satzungen, Gesetze und Vorschriften."

I will do that because your father Abraham obeyed me. He obeyed everything that I told him to do, everything that I declared and all the laws that I gave him.” So Isaac [went and asked King Abimelech if he would permit him to live in the Gerar area. The king said, “Okay,”]

6 So blieb Isaak zu Gerar.

[so Isaac] stayed there [along with his wife and sons].

7 Als aber die Leute des Ortes nach seinem Weibe fragten, sprach er: "Sie ist nur meine Schwester"; denn er fürchtete sich zu sagen: "Sie ist mein Weib"; sonst könnten mich die Leute des Ortes umbringen; denn Rebekka ist schön.

When the men in Gerar [town] asked who Rebekah was, Isaac said, “She is my sister.” He said that because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “Rebekah is very beautiful, so they will want her. [If I say that she is my sister, they know they will have to negotiate about a bride price because I am her older brother; but if I say that she is my wife, no negotiation will be possible]. They will just kill me to get her.”

8 Als er längere Zeit dort gewesen war, geschah es, daß der Philisterkönig Abimelech zum Fenster hinausschaute. Da sah er Isaak mit seinem Weib Rebekka kosen.

When Isaac had been there a long time, one day Abimelech, the king of the Philistine people-group, looked down from a window [in his palace] and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

9 Da rief Abimelech den Isaak herbei und sprach: "Also dein Weib ist sie! Wie hast du sagen können: 'Sie ist meine Schwester!'?" Da sprach Isaak zu ihm: "Ich habe gedacht, ich müßte ihretwegen sterben."

So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said to him, “Now I realize that she is really your wife! So why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied to him, “I said that because I thought that someone here might kill me to get her.”

10 Abimelech sprach: "Was hast du uns da getan? Wie leicht hätte einer aus dem Volke deinem Weibe beiwohnen können. Dann hättest du Schuld über uns gebracht."

Abimelech said, “(You should not have done this to us!/Why did you do this?) [RHQ] One of our people might have (had sex with/slept with) [EUP] your wife, and you would have caused us to be guilty of a great sin!”

11 Da gebot Abimelech allem Volke: "Wer diesen Mann und sein Weib berührt, soll des Todes sterben."

Then Abimelech commanded all his people, saying, “Do not harm/molest this man or his wife! Anyone who does that will surely be executed!”

12 Isaak aber säte in jenem Lande. Und er erntete in jenem Jahre hundert Speicher voll. So segnete der Herr ihn.

Isaac planted grain in that land that year, and he harvested a very large crop, because Yahweh blessed him.

13 Und so ward der Mann reich und immer reicher, bis er schwer reich geworden war.

Isaac continued to acquire more and more possessions, until finally he became very wealthy.

14 Er besaß Schaf- und Rinderherden und viel Arbeitsvieh. Da beneideten ihn die Philister.

He had large herds of sheep and goats and cattle, and many slaves. Because of that, the Philistine people envied him.

15 Und die Philister verschütteten alle Brunnen, die seines Vaters Knechte bei seines Vaters Abraham Lebzeiten gegraben, und füllten sie mit Erde.

So all the wells that the servants of his father Abraham had dug during the time when he was alive, the people filled up with dirt.

16 Und Abimelech sprach zu Isaak: "Zieh fort von uns! Du bist ja mächtiger geworden, als uns lieb."

Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “You people have become more numerous than we are, so I want you to get out of our area.”

17 Und Isaak zog von da weg und lagerte sich im Tale von Gerar und wohnte da.

So Isaac [and his family] moved from there. They set up their tents in Gerar Valley [and started to live there].

18 Da grub Isaak die Wasserbrunnen wieder auf, die man in seines Vaters Abrahams Tagen gegraben und die nach Abrahams Tod die Philister verschüttet hatten, und benannte sie wieder mit den Namen, die ihnen sein Vater gegeben.

There were several wells in that area that had been dug when Isaac’s father Abraham was living, but Philistine people had filled them up [with dirt] after Abraham died. Now Isaac and his servants removed the dirt, and Isaac gave the wells the same names that his father had given to them.

19 Auch gruben Isaaks Knechte im Tale nach und fanden dort einen Brunnen fließenden Wassers.

Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water.

20 Die Hirten von Gerar aber stritten mit Isaaks Knechten und sprachen: "Unser ist das Wasser." Da nannte man den Brunnen Esek, weil sie dort gestritten hatten.

But other men who lived in Gerar [Valley] who took care of their animals argued/quarreled with the men who took care of Isaac’s animals, and said, “The water in this well is ours!” So Isaac named the well Esek, which means ‘dispute’, because they disputed about who owned it.

21 Dann bohrten sie einen anderen Brunnen; aber auch um diesen stritten sie, und man nannte ihn Sitna.

Then Isaac’s servants dug another well, but they quarreled about who owned that one also. So Isaac named it Sitnah, [which means ‘opposition]’.

22 Er zog von dort weiter und grub einen anderen Brunnen. Um diesen stritten sie nicht mehr. Und er nannte ihn Rechobot und sprach: "Nun hat der Herr uns freien Raum geschaffen, und wir können im Lande sorglos sein."

They moved on from there and dug another well, but this time no one quarreled about who owned it. So Isaac named it Rehoboth, [which means ‘uninhabited place’], saying, “Yahweh has given us an uninhabited place to live in, a place that is not wanted by other people, and we will become very prosperous here.”

23 Von dort zog er nach Beerseba hinauf.

From there Isaac went up to Beersheba.

24 Und der Herr erschien ihm in selbiger Nacht und sprach: "Ich bin der Gott deines Vaters Abraham. Fürchte dich nicht! Ich bin mit dir. Ich segne dich und mehre deinen Stamm um meines Dieners Abraham Willen."

The first night that he was there, Yahweh appeared to him and said, “I am God, whom your father Abraham worshiped. Do not be afraid of anything. I will help you and bless you, and because of what I promised my servant Abraham, I will greatly increase the number of your descendants.”

25 Und er erbaute dort einen Altar und rief den Namen des Herrn an. Er schlug auch hier sein Zelt auf. Und Isaaks Knechte gruben dort einen Brunnen.

So Isaac built a stone altar there [and offered a sacrifice] to worship Yahweh. He [and his servants] set up their tents there, and his servants started to dig a well.

26 Da kam Abimelech zu ihm aus Gerar, mit seinem Vertrauten Achuzat und seinem Heerführer Pikol.

[While they were digging the well], King Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, along with Ahuzzath, his advisor, and Phicol, the commander of his army.

27 Da sprach Isaak zu ihnen: "Warum kommt ihr zu mir? Ihr hasset mich doch und jagtet mich von euch fort?"

Isaac asked them, “You (acted in a hostile way toward me/treated me like an enemy) before, and sent me away. So why have you come to me now?”

28 Sie sprachen: "Wir haben gesehen, daß der Herr mit dir ist. Da sagten wir: Zwischen uns und dir sei ein Eid! Wir wollen einen Bund mit dir schließen,

One of them answered, “We have seen that Yahweh helps you. So we said to each other, ‘We should have an agreement between us and you. We should make a peace treaty with you,

29 daß du uns kein Übel tust, wie wir dich nicht angetastet, sondern dir bloß Gutes getan; wir entließen dich doch in Frieden. Du bist ja der Gesegnete des Herrn."

stating that you will not harm us, in the same way that we did not molest [EUP] you.’ We always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now Yahweh is blessing you.”

30 Da gab er ihnen ein Mahl, und sie aßen und tranken.

So Isaac made a feast for them, and they all ate and drank.

31 Frühmorgens schwuren sie einander zu. Dann verabschiedete sie Isaak, und sie gingen von ihm in Frieden.

Early the next morning they all (swore/solemnly promised) each other that they would do what they had promised. Then Isaac sent them home peacefully.

32 Am selben Tage aber kamen Isaaks Knechte und machten ihm Meldung über den Brunnen, den sie gegraben; sie sagten zu ihm: "Wir haben Wasser gefunden."

That day Isaac’s servants came to him and told him about the well that they had finished digging. They said, “We found water in the well!”

33 Da nannte er ihn Siba; daher heißt die Stadt bis auf diesen Tag Beerseba.

Isaac named the well Shibah, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘oath’]. To the present time the town there has the name Beersheba [which means ‘Friendship Agreement Well’].

34 Als Esau 40 Jahre alt ward, heiratete er des Chittiters Beeri Tochter Judith, ebenso des Chittiters Elon Tochter Basemat.

When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon. Both of those women were descendants of Heth, [not from Isaac’s clan].

35 Sie waren ein schwerer Kummer für Isaak und Rebekka.

Esau’s two wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.