^26:26Now Abimelech had come⁶² to him from Gerar along with⁶³ Ahuzzah his friend⁶⁴ and Phicol the commander of his army. ^26:27Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me⁶⁵ and sent me away from you.” ^26:28They replied, “We could plainly see⁶⁶ that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be⁶⁷ a pact between us⁶⁸—between us⁶⁹ and you. Allow us to make⁷⁰ a treaty with you ^26:29so that⁷¹ you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed⁷² you, but have always treated you well⁷³ before sending you away⁷⁴ in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.”⁷⁵

^26:30So Isaac⁷⁶ held a feast for them and they celebrated.⁷⁷^26:31Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other.⁷⁸ Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms.⁷⁹

^26:32That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported.⁸⁰^26:33So he named it Shibah;⁸¹ that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba⁸² to this day.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

62 The disjunctive clause supplies pertinent supplemental information. The past perfect is used because the following narrative records the treaty at Beer Sheba. Prior to this we are told that Isaac settled in Beer Sheba; presumably this treaty would have allowed him to do that. However, it may be that he settled there and then made the treaty by which he renamed the place Beer Sheba. In this case one may translate “Now Abimelech came to him.”
63 Heb “and.”
64 Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (merea’) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.
65 The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.
66 The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.
67 Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’ ” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
68 The pronoun “us” here is inclusive—it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.
69 The pronoun “us” here is exclusive—it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).
70 The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’ ”
71 The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”
72 Heb “touched.”
73 Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”
74 Heb “and we sent you away.”
75 The Philistine leaders are making an observation, not pronouncing a blessing, so the translation reads “you are blessed” rather than “may you be blessed” (cf. ).
76 Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
77 Heb “and they ate and drank.”
78 Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
79 Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
80 Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’ ” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
81 The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.
82 The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bé’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26–33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.” So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?”

They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”

Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.

That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army. Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? You hated me and sent me away from you.”

They replied, “We have clearly seen how the Lord has been with you. We think there should be an oath between two parties—between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you: You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the Lord.”

So he prepared a banquet for them, and they ate and drank. They got up early in the morning and swore an oath to each other. Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. On that same day Isaac’s servants came to tell him about the well they had dug, saying to him, “We have found water!” He called it Sheba. Therefore the name of the city is still Beer-sheba, today.

NLTNew Living Translation

One day King Abimelech came from Gerar with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander. “Why have you come here?” Isaac asked. “You obviously hate me, since you kicked me off your land.”

They replied, “We can plainly see that the Lord is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you. Let’s make a covenant. Swear that you will not harm us, just as we have never troubled you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the Lord has blessed you!”

So Isaac prepared a covenant feast to celebrate the treaty, and they ate and drank together. Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath not to interfere with each other. Then Isaac sent them home again, and they left him in peace.

That very day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a new well they had dug. “We’ve found water!” they exclaimed. So Isaac named the well Shibah (which means “oath”). And to this day the town that grew up there is called Beersheba (which means “well of the oath”).

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol his army commander. And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me and sent me away from you.” And they said, “We see clearly that Yahweh has been with you, so we thought let there be an oath between us—between us and you—and let us make a covenant with you that you may not do us harm just as we have not touched you, but have only done good to you and sent you away in peace. You are now blessed by Yahweh.” So he made a meal for them, and they ate and drank. And they arose early in the morning and each one swore to the other, and Isaac sent them away. And they left him in peace. And it happened that on that same day the servants of Isaac came and told him about the well that they had dug. And they said, “We have found water!” And he called it Sheba. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.

KJV 1900King James Version

Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord. And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.

Public Domain