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¹ And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.² And Yahweh appeared to him, and said, Don't go down into Egypt. Dwell in the land which I shall tell you of.³ Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For to you, and to your seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.⁴ And I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and will give to your seed all these lands. And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,⁵ because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

⁶ And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.⁷ And the men of the place asked him of his wife. And he said, She's my sister. For he feared to say, My wife, because the men of the place would kill me for Rebekah since she was fair to look at.⁸ And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, look, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.⁹ And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Look, certainly she's your wife. And how have you said, She's my sister? And Isaac said to him, Because I said if I didn't I would die because of her.¹⁰ And 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 on us.¹¹ And Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He that touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

¹² And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same year a hundredfold. And Yahweh blessed him.¹³ And the man waxed great, and grew more and more until he became very great.¹⁴ And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household. And the Philistines envied him.¹⁵ Now all the wells which his father's slaves had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.¹⁶ And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go from us. For you are much mightier than we.¹⁷ And Isaac departed there, and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.¹⁸ And Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father. For the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. And he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.¹⁹ And Isaac's slaves dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.²⁰ And the herdsmen of Gerar strove with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, The water is ours. And he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.²¹ And they dug another well, and they strove for that also. And he called the name of it Sitnah.²² And he removed from there, and dug another well. And for that they didn't strive. And he called the name of it Rehoboth. And he said, For now Yahweh has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.²³ And he went up from there to Beer-sheba.²⁴ And Yahweh appeared to him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham your father. Don't be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your seed for my slave Abraham's sake.²⁵ And he built an altar there, and called on the name of Yahweh, and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's slaves dug a well.

²⁶ Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his host.²⁷ And Isaac said to them, Why have you come to me, seeing you hate me, and have sent me away from you?²⁸ And they said, We saw plainly that Yahweh was with you. And we said, Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you,²⁹ that you will do us no hurt, as we haven't touched you, and as we have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of Yahweh.³⁰ And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.³¹ And they rose up early in the morning, and swore one to another. And Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.³² And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's slaves came, and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said to him, We have found water.³³ And he called it Shibah. Therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.

³⁴ And when Esau was forty years old he took as wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.³⁵ And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and to Rebekah.