Genesis 26:1–11

Isaac and Abimelek

26:1–11Ref—Ge 12:10–20; 20:1–18

26Now there was a famine in the land^s—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines^t in Gerar.^{u 2}The Lord appeared^v to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt;^w live in the land where I tell you to live.^{x 3}Stay in this land for a while,^y and I will be with you^z and will bless you.^a For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands^b and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.^{c 4}I will make your descendants^d as numerous as the stars in the sky^e and will give them all these lands,^f and through your offspring^a all nations on earth will be blessed,^{bg 5}because Abraham obeyed me^h and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decreesⁱ and my instructions.^j” ⁶So Isaac stayed in Gerar.^k

⁷When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,^l” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”

⁸When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines^m looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. ⁹So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?ⁿ”

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”

¹⁰Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us?^o One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

¹¹So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms^p this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”^q