Genesis 26

Isaac Settles in Gerar

1 Now there was a famine in the land [of Canaan], besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to *26:1 This is not the Abimelech of ch 20. Abimelech may actually be a dynastic title, like Caesar or Pharaoh, instead of a proper name. The events recounted in chapters 20 and 26 are separated by almost a hundred years.Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 The Lord appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I will tell you. 3 Live temporarily [as a resident] in this land and I will be with you and will bless and favor you, for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, and I will establish and carry out the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. [Gen 22:16-18; Ps 105:9] 4 I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of the heavens, and will give to your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, [Gen 22:18; Acts 3:25, 26; Gal 3:16] 5 because Abraham listened to and obeyed My voice and [consistently] kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 7 The men of the place asked him about his wife, and he said, "She is my *26:7 When Abraham used this ploy, it was a half-truth; when Isaac said this it was a complete lie. At this time Isaac was at least seventy-five years old; Rebekah’s age at this time is not known.sister," for he was afraid to say, "my wife"—thinking, "the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, since she is very beautiful." 8 It happened when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac *26:8 The name "Isaac" is based on the Hebrew verb translated "caressing," whose primary meaning is "to laugh" (cf 17:19).caressing Rebekah his wife.