Genesis 26:1–11

Yahweh Establishes the Oath with Isaac

¹Now there was ^aa famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to ^bAbimelech king of the Philistines.

²And Yahweh ^aappeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; ^bdwell in the land of which I shall tell you.

³“Sojourn in this land, and ^aI will be with you and ^bbless you, for ^cto you and to your seed I will give all these lands, and I will establish ^dthe oath which I swore to your father Abraham.

⁴“^aAnd I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and I will give your seed all these lands; and ^bby your seed all the nations of the earth ¹shall be blessed;

⁵because Abraham ^alistened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

Isaac and Abimelech

⁶So Isaac ¹lived in Gerar.

⁷Then the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “^aShe is my sister,” for he was ^bafraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is ^cbeautiful in appearance.”

⁸Now it happened, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through a window and saw, and behold, Isaac was ¹caressing his wife Rebekah.

⁹Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, surely she is your wife! How then did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’”

^10aAnd 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 upon us.”

¹¹So Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who ^atouches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”