Genesis 26:1–11

Isaac Lives at Gerar

26There was another famine in the land besides the earlier one during the time of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. ²The Lord had appeared to Isaac and had said, “Do not go to Egypt; stay in this land, where I tell you to stay. ^3*Live here, and I will be with you and bless you. I am going to give all this territory to you and to your descendants. I will keep the promise I made to your father Abraham. ^4*I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, and I will give them all this territory. All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants. ⁵I will bless you, because Abraham obeyed me and kept all my laws and commands.”

⁶So Isaac lived at Gerar. ^7*When the men there asked about his wife, he said that she was his sister. He would not admit that she was his wife, because he was afraid that the men there would kill him to get Rebecca, who was very beautiful. ⁸When Isaac had been there for some time, King Abimelech looked down from his window and saw Isaac and Rebecca making love. ⁹Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is your wife! Why did you say she was your sister?”

He answered, “I thought I would be killed if I said she was my wife.”

¹⁰“What have you done to us?” Abimelech said. “One of my men might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have been responsible for our guilt.” ¹¹Abimelech warned all the people: “Anyone who ill-treats this man or his wife will be put to death.”