And Abimelech charged all [his] people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
Verse 11. He that toucheth] He who injures Isaac or defiles Rebekah shall certainly die for it. Death was the punishment for adultery among the Canaanites, Philistines, and Hebrews. See Ge 38:24.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He that hurteth or injureth. So that word is used, Gen 26:29; Jos 9:19; Psa 105:15; Zec 2:8; and being applied to a woman, it is used for the defiling or humbling of her, as Gen 20:6; Pro 6:29.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Abimelech charged all [his] people,…. All his subjects throughout his kingdom, and particularly the inhabitants of Gerar, and more especially his courtiers and servants about him:
saying, he that toucheth this man or his wife; that does any injury to one either by words or deeds, or behaves immodestly to the other, or attempts to ravish her; this being sometimes used as a modest expression carnal knowledge of a woman; or that does either of them any harm or hurt in any respect whatever:
shall surely be put to death; this severe edict he published, in order to deter his subjects from using them ill, to which they might be provoked by Isaac’s dissimulation, and by his evil suspicions of them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
11. And Abimelech charged all his people. In denouncing capital punishment against any who should do injury to this stranger, we may suppose him to have issued this edict as a special privilege; for it isnot customary thus rigidly to avenge every kind of injury. Whence, then, arose this disposition on the part of the king to prefer Isaac to all the native inhabitants of the country, and almost to treat him as an equal, except that some portion of the divine majesty shone forth in him, which secured to him this degree of reverence? God, also, to assist the infirmity of his servant, inclined the mind of the heathen king, in every way, to show him favor. And there is no doubt that his general modesty induced the king thus carefully to protect him; for he, perceiving him to be a timid man, who had been on the point of purchasing his own life by the ruin of his wife, was the more disposed to assist him in his dangers, in order that he might live in security under his own government.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Isaac’s Prosperity and Promise from God In Gen 26:11-25 the Scriptures record the blessings of Isaac. The Lord appears to Isaac and asks him to dwell in the Promised Land so that he might be blessed.
Gen 26:12 Comments – We know that God gave Isaac divine wisdom in how to farm and produce a large harvest even during times of drought. I do not believe that these crops grew abundantly out of dry ground without a good supply of water. But rather, the context of this passage indicated that Isaac was able to dig wells. He faced the same circumstances that everyone else faced during such a famine. But he learned how to prosper during such times by divine inspiration and favour. His neighbours must have marvelled at his wisdom and realised that the God he served was a great God.
Gen 26:13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
Gen 26:14 Gen 26:12-14
We can imagine Isaac’s harvest was more than enough for himself. He would have sold a part of this harvest, and received possessions of flocks and herds and servants.
Gen 26:18 “for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham” – Comments – Why did the Philistines stop up these wells? Perhaps because these wells could become a source of life and substance to marauding bands of men and armies that could attack the Philistines.
Gen 26:20 Word Study on “did strive” Strong says the Hebrew word “strive” ( ) (H7378) is a primitive root that means, “to toss, to grapple, to wrangle.”
Gen 26:20 Word Study on “Esek” Strong says the Hebrew name “Esek” ( ) (H6230) means, “strife,” and is derived from the primitive root ( ) (H6229), which means, “to press upon, quarrel, strive with.”
Gen 26:20 Comments – Today, in the Tana River District in Kenya, the Ormas, who are pastoralists, still clash with the Polomo farmers over access to water and grazing land. In arid regions of Africa, watering holes are still a common source of conflicts. Here is an excerpt from a local newspaper, “Three more people have been killed in Tana River District as the land and water conflict escalated to the Lamu border. The deaths brought to 15 those killed since fighting began between pastoralists – in this case Ormas – and Pokomo farmers over access to water and grazing land.” [230]
[230] The Daily Nation, March 10, 2001, Nairobi, Kenya.
Gen 26:21
Gen 26:22 Word Study on “Rehoboth” Strong says the Hebrew “name” ( ) (H7344) means, “streets,” and is derived from the primitive root ( ) (H7337), which means, “to broaden.”
Gen 26:22 Word Study on “hath made room” Strong says the Hebrew word “made room” ( ) (H7337) means, “to broaden.”
Gen 26:25 Comments – In building an altar unto the Lord, Isaac was following in the footsteps of his father Abraham (Gen 12:8; Gen 13:4.).
Gen 12:8, “And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.”
Gen 13:4, “Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Gen 26:11. He that toucheth i.e.. defiles. See Gen 20:6. Pro 6:29.
REFLECTIONS.We have here,
1. A famine, which obliges Isaac to remove from Canaan into the land of the Philistines. He must, like his father before him, learn to suffer, ere he receive the promise.
2. God’s appearing to him. He forbids his journey to AEgypt. Note; We are always right, when given up to the Divine guidance.
3. The promise made him. As Abraham’s chosen son, he is his successor in the covenant, and God confirms it to him for Abraham’s sake. Note; They who have God’s favour need not fear famine or any thing else.
4. Isaac’s dissimulation. Fear is one of the most dangerous passions which Satan works upon. To have got over the fear of death, is to be a great way towards heaven.
5. The discovery of his dissimulation, and the rebuke of Abimelech. Isaac is seen using some freedoms, which, however innocent in a husband, had been evil in a brother; and with reason he is reproached with the danger to which he exposed his wife, and the sin to which he might have tempted his hospitable friends. Note; When we lay snares in the way of the innocent, their sins will light upon our own heads.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 105:14-15
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 26:11 And Abimelech charged all [his] people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
Ver. 11. He that toucheth this man, &c. ] So sweetly doth God, many times, turn even our sins to our safety here, and to our salvation hereafter. What is not God able to do for his?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
saying. One of the Laws given and observed before Moses.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
toucheth: Gen 20:6, Psa 105:15, Pro 6:29, Zec 2:8
Reciprocal: Gen 20:16 – behold Gen 26:29 – not Job 1:11 – touch