Genesis 26:5

Easy-to-Read Version

I will do this because your father Abraham obeyed my words and did what I said. He obeyed my commands, my laws, and my rules."

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

Update Bible Version
because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

New Century Version
I will do this because your father Abraham obeyed me. He did what I said and obeyed my commands, my teachings, and my rules."

New English Translation
All this will come to pass because Abraham obeyed me and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

Webster's Bible Translation
Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

World English Bible
because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

Amplified Bible
because Abraham listened to and obeyed My voice and [consistently] kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and kepte `my preceptis and comaundementis, and kepte cerymonyes and lawis.

Young's Literal Translation
because that Abraham hath hearkened to My voice, and keepeth My charge, My commands, My statutes, and My laws.'

Berean Standard Bible
because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

Contemporary English Version
because Abraham did everything I told him to do.

Complete Jewish Bible
All this is because Avraham heeded what I said and did what I told him to do — he followed my mitzvot, my regulations and my teachings."

American Standard Version
because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Bible in Basic English
Because Abraham gave ear to my voice and kept my words, my rules, my orders, and my laws.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Because that Abraham hearkened vnto my voyce, & kept my ordinaunce, my commaundementes, my statutes, and my lawes.

Darby Translation
because that Abraham hearkened to my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
because that Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.'

King James Version (1611)
Because that Abraham obeyed my voyce, and kept my charge, my Commandements, my Statutes and my Lawes.

King James Version
Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

New Life Bible
For Abraham obeyed Me. He did what I told him to do. He kept My Word and My Law."

New Revised Standard
because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Because that Abraham hearkened unto my voice, - and so kept my charge, my commandments my statutes and my laws.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Because that Abraham obeyed my voyce and kept mine ordinance, my commandements, my statutes, and my Lawes.

George Lamsa Translation
Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Good News Translation
I will bless you, because Abraham obeyed me and kept all my laws and commands."

Douay-Rheims Bible
Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and commandments, and observed my ceremonies and laws.

Revised Standard Version
because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Because Abraam thy father hearkened to my voice, and kept my injunctions, and my commandments, and my ordinances, and my statutes.

English Revised Version
because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Christian Standard Bible®
because Abraham listened to me and kept my mandate, my commands, my statutes, and my instructions.”

Hebrew Names Version
because Avraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my mitzvot, my statutes, and my laws."

Lexham English Bible
because Abraham listened to my voice and kept my charge: my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

Literal Translation
because Abraham listened to My voice and heeded My charge, My commands, My statutes, and My laws.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
because Abraham was obedient vnto my voyce, and kepte myne ordinaunces, my comaundementes, my statutes, and my lawes.

New American Standard Bible
because Abraham obeyed Me and fulfilled his duty to Me, and kept My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

New King James Version
because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

New Living Translation
I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws."

Legacy Standard Bible
because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

Contextual Overview

¹ Now there was a famine. This was like the famine that happened during Abraham's life. So Isaac went to the town of Gerar, to King Abimelech of the Philistines. ² The Lord spoke to Isaac and said, "Don't go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I commanded you to live in. ³ Stay in this land, and I will be with you. I will bless you. I will give you and your family all these lands. I will do what I promised to Abraham your father. ⁴ I will make your family as many as the stars of heaven, and I will give all these lands to your family. Through your descendants every nation on earth will be blessed. ⁵ I will do this because your father Abraham obeyed my words and did what I said. He obeyed my commands, my laws, and my rules."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Genesis 12:4, Genesis 17:23, Genesis 18:19, Genesis 22:16, Genesis 22:18, Psalms 112:1, Psalms 112:2, Psalms 128:1-6, Matthew 5:19, Matthew 7:24, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Galatians 5:6, Hebrews 11:8, James 2:21

Reciprocal: Genesis 22:12 - now Numbers 9:23 - they kept 1 Kings 15:4 - for David's 2 Chronicles 13:11 - we keep Psalms 19:8 - statutes Ezekiel 18:21 - and keep Zechariah 3:7 - if thou wilt keep

Cross-References

Genesis 12:4
So Abram left Haran just like the Lord said, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.

Genesis 17:23
Then Abraham gathered together Ishmael and all the slaves born in his house. He also gathered all the slaves he had bought. Every man and boy in Abraham's house was gathered together, and they were all circumcised. Abraham circumcised them that day, just as God had told him to do.

Genesis 18:19
I have made a special agreement with him. I did this so that he would command his children and his descendants to live the way the Lord wants them to. I did this so that they would live right and be fair. Then I, the Lord , can give him what I promised."

Genesis 22:16
The angel said, "You were ready to kill your only son for me. Since you did this for me, I make you this promise: I, the Lord , promise that

Genesis 22:18
Every nation on the earth will be blessed through your descendants. I will do this because you obeyed me."

Genesis 26:1
Now there was a famine. This was like the famine that happened during Abraham's life. So Isaac went to the town of Gerar, to King Abimelech of the Philistines.

Genesis 26:2
The Lord spoke to Isaac and said, "Don't go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I commanded you to live in.

Genesis 26:6
So Isaac settled in Gerar.

Matthew 5:19
"A person should obey every command in the law, even one that does not seem important. Whoever refuses to obey any command and teaches others not to obey it will be the least important in God's kingdom. But whoever obeys the law and teaches others to obey it will be great in God's kingdom.

Matthew 7:24
"Whoever hears these teachings of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Because that Abraham obeyed my voice,.... In all things, and particularly in offering up his son at his command:

and kept my charge; whatever was given him in charge to observe; this, as Aben Ezra thinks, is the general, of which the particulars follow:

my commandments, my statutes, and my laws; whether moral, ceremonial, or civil and judicial; all and everyone which God enjoined him, he was careful to observe. Here seems to be something wanting, for the words are not to be joined with the preceding, as if Abraham's obedience was the cause of the above promises made to Isaac, or to himself: but this is mentioned rather as an example to Isaac, and to stir him up to do the like, as if it was said, because or seeing that Abraham thy father did so and so, do thou likewise.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- The Events of Isaac’s Life

5. משׁמרת mı̂shmeret, “charge, ordinance.” מציה mı̂tsvâh, “command,” special order. חק choq, “decree, statute,” engraven on stone or metal. תירה tôrâh, “law,” doctrine, system of moral truth.

10. עשׂק ‛êśeq, ‘Eseq, “strife.”

21. שׂטנה śı̂ṭnâh, Sitnah, “opposition.”

22. רחבית r^echobôt, Rechoboth, “room.”

26. אחזת 'ǎchuzat, Achuzzath, “possession.”

33. שׁבעה shı̂b‛âh, Shib’ah, “seven; oath.”

34. יהוּדית y^ehûdı̂yt, Jehudith, “praised.” בארי b^e'ērı̂y, Beeri, “of a well.” בשׂמת bāś^emat, Basemath, “sweet smell.” אילן 'êylon, Elon, “oak.”

This chapter presents the leading events in the quiet life of Isaac. It is probable that Abraham was now dead. In that case, Esau and Jacob would be at least fifteen years of age when the following event occurred.

Genesis 26:1-5

Renewal of the promise to Isaac. “A famine in the land.” We left Isaac, after the death of Abraham, at Beer-lahai-roi Genesis 25:11. The preceding events have only brought us up to the same point of time. This well was in the land of the south Genesis 24:62. The present famine is distinguished from what occurred in the time of Abraham Genesis 12:10. The interval between them is at least a hundred years. The author of this, the ninth document, is, we find, acquainted with the seventh document; and the famine to which he refers is among the earliest events recorded in it. There is no reason to doubt, then, that he has the whole history of Abraham before his mind. “Unto Abimelek unto Gerar.” The Abimelek with whom Abraham had contact about eighty years before may have been the father of the present sovereign. Both Abimelek and Phikol seem to have been official names. Gerar Genesis 10:19 was apparently on the brook of Mizraim Numbers 34:5, the Wady el-Arish, or the Wady el-Khubarah, a northern affluent of the former, or in the interval between them. It is on the way to Egypt, and is the southern city of the Philistines, who probably came from Egypt Genesis 10:14. Isaac was drawing toward Egypt, when he came to Gerar.

Genesis 26:2-5

Isaac is now the heir, and therefore the holder, of the promise. Hence, the Lord enters into communication with him. First, the present difficulty is met. “Go not down into Mizraim,” the land of corn, even when other lands were barren. “Dwell in the land of which I shall tell thee.” This reminds us of the message to Abraham Genesis 12:1. The land here spoken of refers to “all these lands” mentioned in the following verses. “Sojourn in this land:” turn aside for the present, and take up thy temporary abode here. Next, the promise to Abraham is renewed with some variety of expression. “I will be with thee” Genesis 21:22, a notable and comprehensive promise, afterward embodied in the name Immanuel, “God with us. Unto thee and unto thy seed.” This was fulfilled to his seed in due time. All these lands, now parcelled out among several tribes. “And blessed in thy seed” Genesis 12:3; Genesis 22:18.

This is the great, universal promise to the whole human race through the seed of Abraham, twice explicitly announced to that patriarch. “All the nations.” In constancy of purpose the Lord contemplates, even in the special covenant with Abraham, the gathering in of the nations under the covenant with Noah and with Adam Genesis 9:9; Hosea 6:7. “Because Abraham hearkened to my voice,” in all the great moments of his life, especially in the last act of proceeding on the divine command to offer Isaac himself. Abraham, by the faith which flows from the new birth, was united with the Lord, his shield and exceeding great reward Genesis 15:1, with God Almighty, who quickened and strengthened him to walk before him and be perfect Genesis 17:1. The Lord his righteousness worketh in him, and his merit is reflected and reproduced in him Genesis 22:16, Genesis 22:18. Hence, the Lord reminds Isaac of the oath which he had heard at least fifty years before confirming the promise, and of the declaration then made that this oath of confirmation was sworn because Abraham had obeyed the voice of God. How deeply these words would penetrate into the soul of Isaac, the intended victim of that solemn day! But Abraham’s obedience was displayed in all the acts of his new life. He kept the charge of God, the special commission he had given him; his commandments, his express or occasional orders; his statutes, his stated prescriptions, graven on stone; his laws, the great doctrines of moral obligation. This is that unreserved obedience which flows from a living faith, and withstands the temptations of the flesh.

Genesis 26:6-11

Rebekah preserved from dishonor in Gerar. Gerar was probably a commercial town trading with Egypt, and therefore Isaac’s needs during the famine are here supplied. “The men of the place” were struck with the appearance of Rebekah, “because she was fair.” Isaac, in answer to their inquiries, pretends that she is his sister, feeling that his life was in peril, if she was known to be his wife. Rebekah was at this time not less than thirty-five years married, and had two sons upwards of fifteen years old. She was still however in the prime of life, and her sons were probably engaged in pastoral and other field pursuits. From the compact between Abraham and Sarah Genesis 20:13, and from this case of Isaac about eighty years after, it appears that this was a ready pretence with married people among strangers in those times of social insecurity.

Genesis 26:8-11

Abimelek observes Isaac sporting with Rebekah as only husband and wife should, constrains him to confess that she is his wife, charges him with the impropriety of his conduct, and commands his people to refrain from harming either of them on pain of death. We see how insecure a female’s honor was in those days, if she was in a strange land, and had not a band of men to keep back the hand of violence. We perceive also that God mercifully protects his chosen ones from the perils which they bring upon themselves by the vain self-reliance and wicked policy of the old corrupt nature. This remnant of the old man we find in the believers of old, as in those of the present time, though it be different and far less excusable in its recent manifestations.

Genesis 26:12-16

The growing prosperity of Isaac. “And Isaac sowed in that land.” This does not imply a fixed property in the soil, but only an annual tenancy. “A hundred-fold.” The rates of increase vary from thirty to a hundred. Sixty-fold is very good, and was not unusual in Palestine. A hundred-fold was rare, and only in spots of extraordinary fertility. Babylonia, however, yielded two hundred and even three hundred-fold, according to Herodotus (I. 193). Thus, the Lord began to “bless him.” The amazing growth of the stranger’s wealth in flocks and herds and servants awakens the envy of the inhabitants. The digging of the well was an enterprise of great interest in rural affairs. It conferred a sort of ownership on the digger, especially in a country where water was precious. And in a primeval state of society the well was the scene of youthful maidens drawing water for domestic use, and of young men and sometimes maidens watering the bleating flocks and lowing herds, and therefore the gathering center of settled life. Hence, the envious Philistines were afraid that from a sojourner he would go on to be a settler, and acquire rights of property. They accordingly took the most effectual means of making his abiding place uncomfortable, when they stopped up the wells. At length the sovereign advised a separation, if he did not enjoin the departure of Isaac.

Genesis 26:17-22

Isaac retires, and sets about the digging of wells. He retreats from Gerar and its suburbs, and takes up his abode in the valley, or wady of Gerar. These wadys are the hollows in which brooks flow, and therefore the well-watered and fertile parts of the country. He digs again the old wells, and calls them by the old names. He commences the digging of new ones. For the first the herdmen of Gerar strive, claiming the water as their property. Isaac yields. He digs another; they strive, and he again yields. He now removes apparently into a distinct region, and digs a third well, for which there is no contest. This he calls Rehoboth, “room” - a name which appears to be preserved in Wady er-Ruhaibeh, near which is Wady esh-Shutein, corresponding to Sitnah. “For now the Lord hath made room for us.” Isaac’s homely realizing faith in a present and presiding Lord here comes out.

Genesis 26:23-25

Isaac now proceeds to Beer-sheba. “Went up.” It was an ascent from Wady er-Ruhaibeh to Beer-sheba; which was near the watershed between the Mediterranean and the Salt Sea. “In that night” - the night after his arrival, in a dream or vision. “I am the God of Abraham thy father.” Isaac is again and again reminded of the relation in which his father stood to God. That relation still subsists; for Abraham still lives with God, and is far nearer to him than he could be on earth. “The God of Abraham” is another name for Yahweh. “Fear not,” as he had said to Abraham after his victory over the four kings Genesis 15:1. Then follow the reasons for courage: I, with thee, blessing thee, multiplying thy seed; a reassurance of three parts of the promise involving all the rest. Then comes the instructive reason for this assurance - “for the sake of Abraham my servant.” “An altar” - the first on record erected by Isaac. “Called on the name of the Lord” - engaged in the solemn and public invocation of Yahweh Genesis 4:26; Genesis 12:8. “His tent there.” It was hallowed ground to his father Genesis 21:33, and now to himself. “Digged a well,” and thereby took possession of the soil at least for a time. We hear of this well again in the next passage.

Genesis 26:26-33

The treaty with Abimelek. This is an interview similar to what Abraham had with the king of Gerar; and its object is a renewal of the former league between the parties. Besides Phikol, the commander-in-chief, he is now accompanied by Ahuzzath, his privy counsellor. Isaac upbraids him with his unkindness in sending him away, and his inconsistency in again seeking a conference with him. “We clearly saw.” His prosperity was such as to be a manifest token of the Lord’s favor. Hence, they desired the security of a treaty with him by an oath of execration on the transgressor. “Do us no hurt.” The covenant is one-sided, as expressed by Abimelek. “As we have not touched thee.” This implies the other side of the covenant. “Thou art now blessed of Yahweh.” This explains the one-sidedness of the covenant. Isaac needed no guarantee from them, as the Lord was with him. Abimelek is familiar with the use of the name Yahweh. Isaac hospitably entertains and lodges the royal party, and on the morrow, after having sworn to the treaty, parts with them in peace. On the same day Isaac’s servants report concerning the well they had digged Genesis 26:25 that they had found water. This well he calls Sheba, “an oath,” and hence the town is called Beer-sheba, “the well of the oath.” Now the writer was aware that this place had received the same name on a former occasion Genesis 21:31. But a second well has now been dug in like circumstances in the same locality. This gives occasion for a new application of the name in the memories of the people. This is another illustration of the principle explained at Genesis 25:30. Two wells still exist at this place to attest the correctness of the record.

Gen 25:34-35

Esau at forty years of age forms matrimonial connections with the Hittites. Heth was the second son of Kenaan, and had settled in the hills about Hebron. Esau had got acquainted with this tribe in his hunting expeditions. From their names we learn that they spoke the same language with himself. They belonged to a family far gone in transgression and apostasy from God. The two wives chosen from such a stock were a source of great grief to the parents of Esau. The choice manifested his tolerance at least of the carnal, and his indifference to the spiritual.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 26:5. Abraham obeyed my voice — מימרי meimeri, my WORD. See Genesis 15:1.

My charge — משמרתי misitmarti, from שמר shamar, he kept, observed, &c., the ordinances or appointments of God. These were always of two kinds: 1. Such as tended to promote moral improvement, the increase of piety, the improvement of the age, &c. And 2. Such as were typical of the promised seed, and the salvation which was to come by him. For commandments, statutes, &c., the reader is particularly desired to refer to Leviticus 16:15, &c., where these things are all explained in the alphabetical order of the Hebrew words.