Isaac and Abimelech

26 There was a famine in the land, besides athe first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to bAbimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: c“Do not go down to Egypt; live in dthe land of which I shall tell you. 3 eDwell in this land, and fI will be with you and gbless you; for to you and your descendants hI give all these lands, and I will perform ithe oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And jI will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; kand in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 lbecause Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And mhe said, “She is my sister”; for nhe was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is obeautiful to behold.” 8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, 1showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’ ”

10 And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and pyou would have brought guilt on us.” 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who qtouches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”