1 Mose 26

1 Es kam aber eine Teuerung in das Land; außer der vorigen Teuerung, die zu Abrahams Zeiten gewesen. Und Isaak zog gen Gerar zu Abimelech, dem König der Philister.

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: Reise nicht nach Ägypten hinab, sondern bleib in dem Lande, das ich dir sage!

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 Sei ein Fremdling in diesem Lande, und ich will mit dir sein und dich segnen; denn dir und deinem Samen will ich dieses ganze Land geben und will den Eid bestätigen, 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 und will deinen Samen mehren wie die Sterne des Himmels und will deinem Samen das ganze Land geben, und durch deinen Samen sollen alle Völker auf Erden gesegnet werden;

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 weil Abraham meiner Stimme gehorsam gewesen und meine Rechte, meine Gebote, meine Sitten und meine Gesetze gehalten hat.

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 Also wohnte Isaak zu Gerar.

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

7 Und da die Leute desselben Ortes nach seinem Weibe fragten, so sprach er: Sie ist meine Schwester. Denn er fürchtete sich zu sagen: Sie ist mein Weib, weil er dachte: Die Leute an diesem Ort möchten mich um Rebekkas willen töten; denn sie war schön von Angesicht.

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 Da er sich aber längere Zeit daselbst aufhielt, sah Abimelech, der Philister König, durchs Fenster und bemerkte, daß Isaak scherzte mit seinem Weibe Rebekka.

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 und sprach: Siehe, sie ist dein Weib! Wie durftest du sagen: «Sie ist meine Schwester?» Isaak antwortete ihm: Ich dachte, ich möchte vielleicht sterben müssen um ihretwillen.

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: Warum hast du uns das getan? Wie leicht hätte jemand vom Volk sich zu deinem Weibe legen können, so hättest du eine Schuld auf 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 dem ganzen Volke und sprach: Wer diesen Mann oder sein Weib antastet, der 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 Und Isaak säte in dem Lande und erntete in demselben Jahr hundertfältig; denn der HERR segnete ihn.

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

13 Und der Mann ward reich und immer reicher, bis er sehr reich war;

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

14 und er hatte Schaf und Rinderherden und eine große Dienerschaft. Darum 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 verstopften alle Brunnen, die seines Vaters Knechte gegraben hatten zu Abrahams, seines Vaters, Zeiten, 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: Geh fort von uns; denn du bist uns viel zu mächtig geworden!

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 Da zog Isaak von dannen und lagerte sich im Tale Gerar und wohnte daselbst.

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

18 Und Isaak ließ die Wasserbrunnen aufgraben, die sie zu Abrahams, seines Vaters, Zeiten gegraben, und nannte sie mit denselben Namen, mit welchen sein Vater sie benannt hatte.

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 Tal und fanden daselbst einen Brunnen lebendigen Wassers.

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

20 Aber die Hirten von Gerar zankten mit den Hirten Isaaks und sprachen: Das Wasser gehört uns! Da hieß er den Brunnen Esek, weil sie daselbst sich mit ihm gezankt 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 Da gruben sie einen andern Brunnen, um den stritten sie auch; darum hieß er ihn Sithna.

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 Da brach er von dort auf und grub einen andern Brunnen, um den zankten sie nicht, darum hieß er ihn Rechobot und sprach: Nun hat uns der HERR einen weiten Raum gemacht, daß wir im Lande wachsen können.

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 hinauf nach Beerseba.

From there Isaac went up to Beersheba.

24 Und der HERR erschien ihm in derselben Nacht und sprach: Ich bin der Gott deines Vaters Abraham. Fürchte dich nicht! Denn ich bin mit dir, und ich will dich segnen und deinen Samen mehren um Abrahams, meines Knechtes, 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 Da baute er einen Altar daselbst und rief den Namen des HERRN an und richtete daselbst seine Hütte auf; und Isaaks Knechte gruben daselbst 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 Und Abimelech kam zu ihm von Gerar, mit Achussat, seinem Freund, und Pichol, seinem Feldhauptmann.

[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 Aber Isaak sprach zu ihnen: Warum kommt ihr zu mir, da ihr mich doch hasset und mich von euch getrieben habt?

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 deutlich gesehen, daß der HERR mit dir ist, darum sprachen wir: Es soll ein Eid zwischen uns sein, zwischen uns und dir, und wir wollen einen Bund mit dir machen,

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 keinen Schaden zufügest, wie wir dich auch nicht angetastet und dir nur Gutes getan und dich im Frieden haben ziehen lassen. Du bist nun einmal 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 machte er ihnen ein Mahl, und sie aßen und tranken.

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

31 Und am Morgen früh standen sie auf und schwuren einer dem andern. Da ließ Isaak sie gehen, und sie zogen in Frieden von ihm.

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 An demselben Tage kamen Isaaks Knechte und sagten ihm von dem Brunnen, den sie gegraben hatten, und sprachen 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 Und er nannte ihn Scheba. Daher heißt der Ort Beer-Scheba bis auf den heutigen Tag.

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 vierzig Jahre alt war, nahm er Weiber, Judith, die Tochter Beris, des Hetiters, und Basmath, die Tochter Elons, des Hetiters;

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 die machten Isaak und Rebekka viel Verdruß.

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