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Genesis 26 Free Bible Version

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Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings

FBV Free Bible Version
WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)
1 There was a famine in the country—not the one that happened before in Abraham's time, but a later one. So Isaac moved to Gerar in the territory of Abimelech, king of the Philistines.
1 There was a famine in the land, in addition to the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.
2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and told him, “Don't go to Egypt—live in the country that I tell you to.
2 Yahweh appeared to him, and said, “Don’t go down into Egypt. Live in the land I will tell you about.
3 Stay here in this country. I will be with you and I will bless you, because I'm going to give you and your descendants all these lands. I will keep the solemn promise that I swore to Abraham your father.
3 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 your father.
4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and I will give them all these lands. All the nations of the earth will be blessed by your descendants,
4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and will give all these lands to your offspring. In your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed,
5 because Abraham did what I told him, and kept my requirements, my commands, my regulations, and my laws.”
5 because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my requirements, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
6 Isaac lived in Gerar.
7 When the men there asked him about his wife, he told them, “She's my sister,” because he was afraid. He said to himself, “If I say she's my wife, the men here will kill me to get Rebekah, because she's so beautiful.”
7 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, because she is beautiful to look at.”
8 But later on, after he'd been there a while, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, happened to look out the window and saw Isaac lovingly fondling his wife Rebekah.
8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was caressing Rebekah, his wife.
9 Abimelech sent for Isaac and complained. “From what I saw she's clearly your wife!” he said. “Why on earth did you say, ‘She's my sister’?” “Because I thought I'd be killed because of her,” Isaac replied.
9 Abimelech called Isaac, and said, “Behold, surely she is your wife. Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die because of her.’”
10 “Why would you do this to us?” Abimelech asked. “One of the men here might have slept with your wife, and you would have made us all guilty!”
10 Abimelech 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 guilt on us!”
11 Abimelech issued orders to all the people, warning them, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be executed.”
11 Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”
12 Isaac sowed grain that year, and the Lord blessed him with a harvest that was a hundred times what he planted.
12 Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. Yahweh blessed him.
13 He became a rich man, and his wealth steadily increased until he was very rich.
13 The man grew great, and grew more and more until he became very great.
14 He owned many flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, as well as many slaves. He had so much that the Philistines became jealous of him.
14 He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Philistines envied him.
15 So the Philistines used dirt to block up all the wells his father Abraham's servants had dug.
15 Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.
16 Then Abimelech told Isaac, “You have to leave our country, because you've become much too powerful for us.”
16 Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”
17 So Isaac moved away and set up his tents in the Gerar Valley where he settled down.
17 Isaac departed from there, encamped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there.
18 He unblocked the wells that had been dug in his father Abraham's time—the ones the Philistines had blocked after the death of Abraham. He gave them the same names his father had.
18 Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. He called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
19 Isaac's servants also dug a new well in the valley and found spring water.
19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of flowing water.
20 But the herdsmen from Gerar argued with Isaac's herdsmen, claiming, “That's our water!” So Isaac named the well, “Argument,” because they argued with him.
20 The herdsmen of Gerar argued with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.
21 He had another well dug, and they argued over that one too. He named the well, “Opposition.”
21 They dug another well, and they argued over that, also. So he called its name Sitnah.
22 So they moved on from there and he had another well dug. This time there was no argument so he named the well, “Freedom,” saying, “Now the Lord has given us freedom to expand and be successful in this land.”
22 He left that place, and dug another well. They didn’t argue over that one. So he called it Rehoboth. He said, “For now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”
23 From there he moved on to Beersheba.
23 He went up from there to Beersheba.
24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Don't be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
24 Yahweh appeared to him the same night, and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”
25 Isaac built an altar and worshiped the Lord. He also set up his tent, and his servants dug a well there.
25 He built an altar there, and called on Yahweh’s name, and pitched his tent there. There Isaac’s servants dug a well.
26 Sometime later Abimelech came from Gerar to see Isaac, along with Ahuzzath his advisor, and Phicol the commander of his army.
26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his army.
27 “Why have you come to see me?” Isaac asked them. “Previously you hated me and told me to leave!”
27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me, and have sent me away from you?”
28 “Now we realize that the Lord is with you,” they replied. “So we agreed that we should make a sworn agreement with you.
28 They said, “We saw plainly that Yahweh was with you. We said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let’s make a covenant with you,
29 You'll promise not to harm us in the same way we've never hurt you. You'll agree that we've always treated you well, and when we asked you to leave we did so kindly. Now look at how the Lord is blessing you!”
29 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 Yahweh.”
30 So Isaac had a special meal prepared to celebrate the agreement. They ate and drank,
30 He made them a feast, and they ate and drank.
31 and got up early in the morning and they each swore oaths to one other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left in peace.
31 They rose up some time in the morning, and swore an oath to one another. Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
32 It was that very day when Isaac's servants who'd been digging a well came and told him, “We've found water!”
32 The same day, Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.”
33 So Isaac named the well, “Oath,” and that's why the name of the town is “Well of the Oath” (Beersheba) to this day.
33 He called it “Shibah”. Therefore the name of the city is “Beersheba” to this day.
34 When Esau was 40, he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite.
34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as wife Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah a great deal of grief.
35 They grieved Isaac’s and Rebekah’s spirits.

People & places in this chapter

From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.

People

  • Abimelech

    King of Gerar

    King of Gerar who took Sarah, was warned by God in a dream and returned her to Abraham, and made a covenant with Abraham at Beersheba; an Abimelech king of the Philistines at…

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 20:2–3; Genesis 21:22–27; Genesis 26:1

    See in the family tree

  • Ahuzzath

    Abimelech's adviser

    Adviser of Abimelech who came with him and Phicol to Isaac at Beersheba to ask for a covenant.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 26:26

    See in the family tree

  • Basemath

    Hittite wife of Esau

    Daughter of Elon the Hittite, whom Esau took as a wife at age forty; she and Judith brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah, while Genesis 36:2 calls Elon the Hittite's daughter,…

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 26:34–35

    See in the family tree

  • Beeri

    Father of Esau's wife Judith

    A Hittite named only as the father of Esau's wife Judith.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 26:34

    See in the family tree

  • Elon

    Father of Esau's wives

    A Hittite named as the father of Esau's wife Basemath in Genesis 26:34 and of Esau's wife Adah in Genesis 36:2.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 26:34; Genesis 36:2

    See in the family tree

  • Esau

    Father of the Edomites

    Isaac's elder son, who traded his birthright for a bowl of stew.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 25–27; 36

    See in the family tree

  • Isaac

    Child of promise

    The long-promised son, nearly offered on Moriah, through whom the covenant continued.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 21–27

    See in the family tree

  • Judith

    Hittite wife of Esau

    Daughter of Beeri the Hittite, whom Esau took as a wife at age forty; she and Basemath brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 26:34–35

    See in the family tree

  • Phicol

    Commander of Abimelech's army

    Commander of Abimelech's army, who stood with him in the covenant at Beersheba with Abraham and again in the covenant with Isaac.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 21:22; Genesis 21:32; Genesis 26:26

    See in the family tree

  • Rebekah

    Matriarch, mother of twins

    Wife of Isaac and mother of the twins Jacob and Esau.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 24-27

    See in the family tree

Places

  • Beersheba

    Today: Southern Israel (Negev)

    The southern frontier of Israel ('from Dan to Beersheba'). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all dug wells and worshiped here at the gateway to the Negev.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 21:31; Genesis 26:23; 1 Samuel 8:2

    Bible map game · View on OpenStreetMap

Cross references (33)

Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.

  1. 1 Genesis 12:10; Genesis 25:11; Genesis 21:22–32; Genesis 20:1–2
  2. 2 Genesis 12:7; Genesis 18:1; Genesis 17:1; Genesis 12:1; Psalm 37:3
  3. 3 Genesis 28:15; Psalm 105:9; Genesis 22:16–18; Hebrews 11:9; Genesis 17:8
  4. 4 Acts 3:25; Genesis 15:5; Genesis 12:2–3; Galatians 3:8; Genesis 22:17–18
  5. 5 Matthew 7:24; Genesis 22:18; Genesis 22:16; James 2:21; Psalm 112:1–2
  6. 6 Genesis 20:1
  7. 7 Proverbs 29:25; Genesis 20:2; Genesis 12:13; Genesis 24:16; Genesis 20:12–13
  8. 8 Isaiah 62:5; Proverbs 5:18–19; Proverbs 7:6; Song of Songs 2:9; Judges 5:28
  9. 10 Genesis 12:18–19; Genesis 20:9–10
  10. 11 Psalm 105:15; Genesis 20:6; Proverbs 6:29; Zechariah 2:8
  11. 12 Mark 4:8; Genesis 26:3; Zechariah 8:12; 2 Corinthians 9:10–11; Genesis 24:1
  12. 13 Proverbs 10:22; Psalm 112:3; Genesis 24:35
  13. 14 Genesis 37:11; Job 1:3; Job 5:2; Proverbs 27:4; Proverbs 10:22
  14. 15 Genesis 21:30; Genesis 21:25
  15. 16 Exodus 1:9
  16. 18 Zechariah 13:2; Psalm 16:4; Genesis 21:31; Hosea 2:17; Numbers 32:38
  17. 19 John 4:10–11; John 7:38; Song of Songs 4:15
  18. 20 Genesis 21:25
  19. 21 Ezra 4:6
  20. 22 Genesis 17:6; Exodus 1:7; Psalm 118:5; Genesis 41:52; Genesis 28:3
  21. 23 Genesis 46:1; Judges 20:1; Genesis 21:31
  22. 24 Genesis 15:1; Exodus 3:6; Genesis 17:7; Acts 7:32; Genesis 24:12
  23. 25 Genesis 13:18; Psalm 116:17; Genesis 12:7–8; Genesis 35:1; Genesis 33:20
  24. 26 Genesis 21:22–32; Genesis 20:3
  25. 27 Genesis 26:16; Judges 11:7; Acts 7:35; Acts 7:9; Acts 7:27
  26. 28 Genesis 21:22–23; Isaiah 45:14; Isaiah 61:9; Genesis 21:31–32; Joshua 3:7
  27. 29 Genesis 24:31; Genesis 21:22; Genesis 12:2; Psalm 115:15; Genesis 22:17
  28. 30 Genesis 19:3; Hebrews 12:14; Romans 12:18; Genesis 31:54; 1 Peter 4:9
  29. 31 1 Samuel 30:15; Genesis 25:33; Genesis 21:31–32; 1 Samuel 20:16–17; Genesis 31:44
  30. 32 Proverbs 10:4; Matthew 7:7; Proverbs 13:4; Genesis 26:25; Proverbs 2:4–5
  31. 33 Genesis 21:31; Genesis 26:28
  32. 34 Genesis 36:2; Genesis 36:13; Exodus 34:16; Genesis 24:3; Genesis 28:9
  33. 35 Genesis 27:46–28:2; Genesis 28:8; Genesis 6:2

Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences

What the Fathers said

Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).

How these were chosen

“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).

  1. Quotes verse 26:1–5 Augustine of Hippo, The City of God (Book XVI, Chapters 33–36)

    … the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all this land: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because that Abraham thy father obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts, my commandments, my righteousness, and my laws." This patriarch neither had another wife, nor any concubine, but was content with the twin-children …

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)

  2. Quotes verse 26:24 Augustine of Hippo, The City of God (Book XVI, Chapters 33–36)

    … kept my precepts, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." And again in another oracle He says, "I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake." So that we must understand how chastely Abraham acted, because imprudent men, who seek some …

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)

  3. Quotes verse 26:4 Augustine of Hippo, Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament (Sermon XXXVIII)

    That which He promised to Abraham, saying, "In thy seed shall all nations be blessed." What is the faithfulness of God?

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)