Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
12 17 (J). Isaac’s Prosperity
12. an hundredfold ] Lit. “a hundred measures.” LXX = “barley bearing a hundredfold,” mistaking the Hebrew word for “measure,” and confusing it with that for “barley.” So also the Syriac Pesh. “An hundredfold,” i.e. one hundred for one.
Isaac’s agricultural pursuits offer a contrast to the roaming life of a nomad. But see, in Jacob’s career, Gen 30:14, Gen 37:7.
blessed him ] See Gen 26:3, Gen 24:1; Gen 24:35.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 26:12
Isaac sowed . . . and the Lord blessed him
The prosperity of Isaac
In this narrative it is Isaac the prosperous man who comes to view.
Examine the sources and circumstances of his remarkable, unequalled prosperity.
I. ISAAC HAD A GOOD FATHER. Happy the son whose father was chosen partner with God in a divine covenant, and twice blessed the son whose father had this testimony that he pleased God in the fulfilment of such a covenant, Not only great favour rests upon the head of such a father, but the richest blessings are pledged to his posterity.
II. ISAAC HAD TRAITS OF HIS OWN TO WHICH HIS PROSPERITY WAS LARGELY INDEBTED. His very name indicates that he was a son of laughter and joy. True to his name, his nature was of the sunny and hopeful type. The value of this disposition in the successful conduct of life is simply incalculable. It is more than capital, for capital will perish. It is more than friends, for friends die. It is more than success, for it outlives success. When everything is gone, the man who has hope has all he needs. Thus Isaac went from well to well. He was envied at Gerar, and he moved to Esek. Esek was captured by the enemy. He hopefully journeyed to Sitnah, and dug again. But Sitnah was claimed. Should he give up now? No; all these choked wells were leading him to the broader valleys of Rehoboth, where was room–room for his still multiplying flocks and growing wealth.
III. The third secret of Isaacs prosperity was HIS EXTREME PEACEABLENESS. The spirit of the beatitudes dwelt in this man more than in any other man of his times.
IV. But there remains a fourth and final element to be noticed in the prosperity of Isaac. I have said that he had a good father behind him, a brave heart within him, a good will to men about him; but he put the crown upon his success by owning and seeking THE FAVOUR OF GOD ABOVE HIM. (J. B. Clark.)
The prosperity of Isaac
I. HIS PROSPERITY WAS EVIDENTLY DUE TO THE DIVINE BLESSING. His prosperity was wonderful. Thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold, is the range of fertility in that land. Thus the yield of Isaacs land reaches the highest degree of productiveness.
1. Such was the position of the sacred historian. He who relates this story, after describing the prosperity of this man, adds, And the Lord blessed him (Gen 26:12).
2. It was evident to Isaac himself. His prosperity, the rest he enjoyed from his enemies, and room to enlarge in, he ascribed all to God (Gen 26:22).
3. It was evident to his enemies. They were constrained to acknowledge that God was with him.
II. HIS PROSPERITY MADE HIM A MARK FOR ENVY. We are told that the Philistines envied him. His prosperity was not without alloy. Every blessing of this world is accompanied by some disadvantage or evil. We have to pay a price for every earthly good.
III. HIS PROSPERITY SERVED TO DEVELOP THE VIRTUES OF HIS CHARACTER. Bacon has said that Prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue. And human experience shows that such are the usual effects of these conditions. But in the case of Isaac there were virtues that shined out in his prosperity.
1. The virtue of patience. The Philistines carried their envy into action. They stopped up the wells which he had inherited from his father (Gen 26:15).
But he met all this envy by patience. When persecuted in one place he fled to another. He removed from well to well (Gen 26:18-22).
(1) His patience was victorious. It won upon his enemies. The Philistines were at length wearied out. They came round, and asked for a treaty (Gen 26:28-30).
(2) His patience won the Divine approval. The Lord appeared to him and renewed the old promises. He was assured of perpetual protection and guidance.
2. The virtue of forgiveness. He had suffered a grievous wrong, but he forgave it on the entreaty of Abimelech. This was not the easy virtue of a man who has no strong feelings and who is soon won over. It was principle, and not a weak feeling, that made him forgive.
3. The virtue of reverence. He set up an altar for the worship of God, and pitched his tent there as if he would dwell in the Lords house (Gen 26:25). He bears a public testimony to the obligation of religion. Many a man forgets God with increasing prosperity, but it was not so with Isaac. With him it served to deepen the feeling of reverence and to strengthen every duty of piety. (T. H. Leale.)
Isaacs prosperity
I. ISAAC IN HIS BUSINESS RELATIONS.
1. He was active and enterprising (Gen 26:12-13).
2. His industry and enterprise under the blessing of God resulted in immense wealth.
II. ISAAC IN SOCIETY.
1. As tried by society (Gen 26:14; Gen 26:16; Gen 26:19-21).
2. His bearing under these trials.
(1) He bore envy and strife and hatred with perfect patience.
(2) He separated himself from those around him rather than contend with them.
(3) He recognized Gods hand in all (Gen 26:22).
(4) This example of Isaac, both in business and in society, is worthy of all commendation and imitation.
III. ISAAC IN HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE.
1. He was honoured with personal communications from God (Gen 26:24).
(1) This proves that his conduct was approved by God.
(2) This approval signified Gods encouragement to him in view of future trials.
2. Isaac evinced his appreciation of these Divine promises and privileges by a renewed consecration of himself to God (Gen 26:25).
Lessons:
1. Prosperity is as real a test of faith as adversity.
2. The test of prosperity is more severe than that of adversity.
3. Peace has ever been the choice of true believers.
4. Such a choice has ever met with the Divine approval.
5. Let Isaacs example be ours–in business, industrious and enterprizing; in society, peace-loving and yielding; in religion, ever prepared for communion with God, and ever yielding ourselves in consecration to God. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
Isaacs wanderings
I. ISAACS PATIENCE. An example of those who endure, instead of murmuring, rebelling, or despairing.
II. ISAACS PROTECTOR.
1. God directed Isaac.
2. God exhorted Isaac.
3. God encouraged Isaac.
III. ISAACS PROSPERITY.
1. The man waxed great. He grew very prosperous, and his prosperity was continuous.
2. The Lord blessed him. Gods blessing makes rich, whether it be in temporal or in spiritual things.
3. The Lord made room for him (Gen 26:22).
4. The Lord made his enemies to be at peace with him. (W. S. Smith, B. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 12. Isaac sowed in that land] Being now perfectly free from the fear of evil, he betakes himself to agricultural and pastoral pursuits, in which he has the especial blessing of God, so that his property becomes greatly increased.
A hundred-fold] , meah shearim, literally, “A hundred-fold of barley;” and so the Septuagint, . Perhaps such a crop of this grain was a rare occurrence in Gerar. The words, however, may be taken in a general way, as signifying a very great increase; so they are used by our Lord in the parable of the sower.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Isaac sowed in that land; either in the grounds which he had hired of the right owners, or in some grounds which lay neglected, and therefore were free to the first occupier; which was not strange in that age of the world, when the inhabitants of countries were not so numerous as afterward.
An hundredfold, i.e. a hundred times as much as he sowed. The same degree of increase is intimated Mat 13:8, and affirmed sometimes of other places by heathen writers; but then it was in a better soil and season than this was, for this was a time of famine or scarcity.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. Then Isaac sowed in thatlandDuring his sojourn in that district he farmed a piece ofland, which, by the blessing of God on his skill and industry, wasvery productive (Isa 65:13;Psa 37:19); and by his plentifulreturns he increased so rapidly in wealth and influence that thePhilistines, afraid or envious of his prosperity, obliged him toleave the place (Pro 27:4;Ecc 4:4). This may receiveillustration from the fact that many Syrian shepherds at this daysettle for a year or two in a place, rent some ground, in the produceof which they trade with the neighboring market, till the owners,through jealousy of their growing substance, refuse to renew theirlease and compel them to remove elsewhere.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then, Isaac sowed in that land,…. In the land of Gerar; after matters were settled between him and Abimelech, and he had ordered his servants to do him no hurt, he sowed wheat or barley, or some such grain:
and received in the same year an hundred fold; in which he sowed it, and which many take to be a year of famine; and so it was the more extraordinary, that there should be such a plentiful crop produced on Isaac’s ground, when there was such barrenness elsewhere: but it does not seem likely that it should be the same year of famine in which Isaac came to Gerar, since he is said to have been them a “long time”,
Ge 26:8; before this sowing and plenty upon it were. This increase is far from being incredible; for Pliny d, besides instances he gives of an hundred fold, says, that in a field at Byzacium in Africa one bushel produced one hundred and fifty bushels; and from the same place, the deputy of Augustus there sent him from one grain very few less than four hundred, and to Nero three hundred stalks from, one grain. Herodotus e speaks of a country, near to the place where the Euphrates runs into the Tigris, on which the city Ninus was, which nowhere failed of producing two hundred fold, and the better sort of it even three hundred; see Mt 13:23:
and the Lord blessed him; and prospered and succeeded all his endeavours; and this was the true reason of the fertility of the land he manured and sowed.
d Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 10. e Clio sive, l. 1. c. 193.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Isaac’s Increasing Wealth. – As Isaac had experienced the promised protection (“I will be with thee,” Gen 26:3) in the safety of his wife, so did he received while in Gerar the promised blessing. He sowed and received in that year “ a hundred measures, ” i.e., a hundred-fold return. This was an unusual blessing, as the yield even in very fertile regions is not generally greater than from twenty-five to fifty-fold ( Niebuhr and Burckhardt), and it is only in the Ruhbe, that small and most fruitful plain of Syria, that wheat yields on an average eighty, and barley a hundred-fold. Agriculture is still practised by the Bedouins, as well as grazing (Robinson, Pal. i. 77, and Seetzen); so that Isaac’s sowing was no proof that he had been stimulated by the promise of Jehovah to take up a settled abode in the promised land.
Gen 26:13-17 Being thus blessed of Jehovah, Isaac became increasingly ( , vid., Gen 8:3) greater (i.e., stronger), until he was very powerful and his wealth very great; so that the Philistines envied him, and endeavoured to do him injury by stopping up and filling with rubbish all the wells that had been dug in his father’s time; and even Abimelech requested him to depart, because he was afraid of his power. Isaac then encamped in the valley of Gerar, i.e., in the “undulating land of Gerar,” through which the torrent ( Jurf) from Gerar flows from the south-east (Ritter, Erdk. 14, pp. 1084-5).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Isaac’s Removal to Beersheba. | B. C. 1804. |
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him: 13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: 14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. 15 For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. 17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged 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 servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. 20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. 21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. 22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. 23 And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. 24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake. 25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.
Here we have,
I. The tokens of God’s good-will to Isaac. He blessed him, and prospered him, and made all that he had to thrive under his hands. 1. His corn multiplied strangely, v. 12. He had no land of his own, but took land of the Philistines, and sowed it; and (be it observed for the encouragement of poor tenants, that occupy other people’s lands, and are honest and industrious) God blessed him with a great increase. He reaped a hundred fold; and there seems to be an emphasis laid upon the time: it was that same year when there was a famine in the land; while others scarcely reaped at all, he reaped thus plentifully. See Isa. lxv. 13, My servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry, Ps. xxxvii. 19, In the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 2. His cattle also increased, v. 14. And then, 3. He had great store of servants, whom he employed and maintained. Note, As goods are increased those are increased that eat them, Eccl. v. 11.
II. The tokens of the Philistines’ ill-will to him. They envied him, v. 14. It is an instance, 1. Of the vanity of the world that the more men have of it the more they are envied, and exposed to censure and injury. Who can stand before envy? Prov. xxvii. 4. See Eccl. iv. 4. 2. Of the corruption of nature; for that is a bad principle indeed which makes men grieve at the good of others, as if it must needs be ill with me because it is well with my neighbor. (1.) They had already shown their ill-will to his family, by stopping up the wells which his father had digged, v. 15. This was spitefully done. Because they had not flocks of their own to water at these wells, they would not leave them for the use of others; so absurd a thing is malice. And it was perfidiously done, contrary to the covenant of friendship they had made with Abraham, Gen 21:31; Gen 21:32. No bonds will hold ill-nature. (2.) They expelled him out of their country, Gen 26:16; Gen 26:17. The king of Gerar began to look upon him with a jealous eye. Isaac’s house was like a court, and his riches and retinue eclipsed Abimelech’s; and therefore he must go further off. They were weary of his neighbourhood, because they saw that the Lord blessed him; whereas, for that reason, they should the rather have courted his stay, that they also might be blessed for his sake. Isaac does not insist upon the bargain he had made with them for the lands he held, nor upon his occupying and improving them, nor does he offer to contest with them by force, though he had become very great, but very peaceably departs thence further from the royal city, and perhaps to a part of the country less fruitful. Note, We should deny ourselves both in our rights and in our conveniences, rather than quarrel: a wise and a good man will rather retire into obscurity, like Isaac here into a valley, than sit high to be the butt of envy and ill-will.
III. His constancy and continuance in his business still.
1. He kept up his husbandry, and continued industrious to find wells of water, and to fit them for his use, v. 18, c. Though he had grown very rich, yet he was as solicitous as ever about the state of his flocks, and still looked well to his herds when men grow great, they must take heed of thinking themselves too big and too high for their business. Though he was driven from the conveniences he had had, and could not follow his husbandry with the same ease and advantage as before, yet he set himself to make the best of the country he had come into, which it is every man’s prudence to do. Observe,
(1.) He opened the wells that his father had digged (v. 18), and out of respect to his father called them by the same names that he had given them. Note, In our searches after truth, that fountain of living water, it is good to make use of the discoveries of former ages, which have been clouded by the corruptions of later times. Enquire for the old way, the wells which our fathers digged, which the adversaries of truth have stopped up: Ask thy elders, and they shall teach thee.
(2.) His servants dug new wells, v. 19. Note, Though we must use the light of former ages, it does not therefore follow that we must rest in it, and make no advances. We must still be building upon their foundation, running to and fro, that knowledge may be increased, Dan. xii. 4.
(3.) In digging his wells he met with much opposition, Gen 26:20; Gen 26:21. Those that open the fountains of truth must expect contradiction. The first two wells which they dug were called Esek and Sitnah, contention and hatred. See here, [1.] What is the nature of worldly things; they are make-bates and occasions of strife. [2.] What is often the lot even of the most quiet and peaceable men in this world; those that avoid striving yet cannot avoid being striven with, Ps. cxx. 7. In this sense, Jeremiah was a man of contention (Jer. xv. 10), and Christ himself, though he is the prince of peace. [3.] What a mercy it is to have plenty of water, to have it without striving for it. The more common this mercy is the more reason we have to be thankful for it.
(4.) At length he removed to a quiet settlement, cleaving to his peaceable principle, rather to fly than fight, and unwilling to dwell with those that hated peace, Ps. cxx. 6. He preferred quietness to victory. He dug a well, and for this they strove not, v. 22. Note, Those that follow peace, sooner or later, shall find peace; those that study to be quiet seldom fail of being so. How unlike was Isaac to his brother Ishmael, who, right or wrong, would hold what he had, against all the world! ch. xvi. 12. And which of these would we be found the followers of? This well they called Rehoboth, enlargements, room enough: in the two former wells we may see what the earth is, straitness and strife; men cannot thrive, for the throng of their neighbours. This well shows us what heaven is; it is enlargement and peace, room enough there, for there are many mansions.
2. He continued firm to his religion, and kept up his communion with God. (1.) God graciously appeared to him, v. 24. When the Philistines expelled him, forced him to remove from place to place, and gave him continual molestation, then God visited him, and gave him fresh assurances of his favour. Note, When men are found false and unkind, we may comfort ourselves that God is faithful and gracious; and his time to show himself so is when we are most disappointed in our expectations from men. When Isaac had come to Beer-sheba (v. 23) it is probable that it troubled him to think of his unsettled condition, and that he could not be suffered to stay long in a place; and, in the multitude of these thoughts within him, that same night that he came weary and uneasy to Beer-sheba God brought him his comforts to delight his soul. Probably he was apprehensive that the Philistines would not let him rest there: Fear not, says God to him, I am with thee, and will bless thee. Those may remove with comfort that are sure of God’s presence with them wherever they go. (2.) He was not wanting in his returns of duty to God; for there he built an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord, v. 25. Note, [1.] Wherever we go, we must take our religion along with us. Probably Isaac’s altars and his religious worship gave offence to the Philistines, and provoked them to be the more troublesome to him; yet he kept up his duty, whatever ill-will he might be exposed to by it. [2.] The comforts and encouragements God gives us by his word should excite and quicken us to every exercise of devotion by which God may be honoured and our intercourse with heaven maintained.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
12. Then Isaac sowed. Here Moses proceeds to relate in what manner Isaac reaped the manifest fruit of the blessing promised to him by God; for he says, that when he had sowed, the increase was a hundredfold: which was an extraordinary fertility, even in that land. He also adds, that he was rich in cattle, and had a very great household. Moreover, he ascribes the praise of all these things to the blessing of God; as it is also declared in the psalm, that the Lord abundantly supplies what will satisfy his people while they sleep. (Psa 127:2.) It may, however, be asked, how could Isaac sow when God had commanded him to be a stranger all his life? Some suppose that he had bought a field, and so translate the word קנה ( kanah) a possession; but the context corrects their error: for we find soon afterwards, that the holy man was not delayed, by having land to sell, from removing his effects elsewhere: besides, since the purchasing of land was contrary to his peculiar vocation and to the command of God, Moses undoubtedly would not have passed over such a notable offense. To this may be added, that since express mention is immediately made of a tent, we may hence infer, that wherever he might come, he would have to dwell in the precarious condition of a stranger. We must, therefore, maintain, that he sowed in a hired field. For although he had not a foot of land in his own possession, yet, that he might discharge the duty of a good householder, it behaved him to prepare food for his family; and perhaps hunger quickened his care and industry, that he might with the greater diligence make provision for himself against the future. Nevertheless, it is right to keep in mind, what I have lately alluded to, that he received as a divine favor the abundance which he had acquired by his own labor.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Gen. 26:13. Went forward.] Heb. Went or walked, going; i.e., Became increasingly greater. The Heb. term for walk is frequently used in the sense of continued increase.
Gen. 26:20. Strove.] Heb. They oppressed him.
Gen. 26:21. Strove for that also.] This is a different word from the former, and signifies contended. Situah. From the term Satan, meaning accusation.
Gen. 26:22. Rehoboth.] Meaning space, enlargement.
Gen. 26:26. Ahuzzath.] Called here one of his friends, by which we are to understand his priry counsellor. Phichol. Probably an official name for the commander-in-chief. But Grove (Biblical Dict.) says that it is a Philistine name, of the meaning of which we are ignorant.
Gen. 26:33. And he called it Shebah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.] He called the well Sheba (oath), in commemoration of the oath here made, thus confirming the name given the town by Abraham on the like occasion. (Gen. 21:31.) It is not here said that the place now first took its name, but that it retained its name under this new confirmation up to the writers day. It was rather the well that was named by Abraham Beer-sheba, meaning Well of an oath. Now the name was again given to the well, and was therefore fixed upon the city. (Jacobus)
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Gen. 26:12-33
THE PROSPERITY OF ISAAC
We have here a picture of the prosperity of the patriarch, and also of the blessings and dangers of that condition.
I. His prosperity was evidently due to the Divine blessing. His prosperity was wonderful. Thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold, is the range of fertility in that land. Thus the yield of Isaacs land reaches the highest degree of productiveness. In ordinary cases the return is not greater than twenty-five or thirty fold. All this prosperity was due to the blessing of God.
1. Such was the position of the sacred historian. He who relates this history, after describing the prosperity of this man, adds, And the Lord blessed him. (Gen. 26:12.)
2. It was evident to Isaac himself. His prosperity, the rest he enjoyed from his enemies, and room to enlarge in, he ascribed all to God. (Gen. 26:22.)
3. It was evident to his enemies. They were constrained to acknowledge that God was with him. The impression made by Abrahams character still lived in history, and they saw that the son was also a friend of God and enjoyed His presence and favour. (Gen. 26:28.)
II. His prosperity made him a mark for envy. We are told that the Philistines envied him. His prosperity was not without alloy. Every blessing of this world is accompanied by some disadvantage or evil. Civilisation is a blessing, but we lose thereby some of the virtues and natural endowments of simpler times. Great possessions are a blessing, but they often rob us of our quiet and repose, and they bring us new anxieties. High station in society is a blessing, but it oftens renders a man the object of jealousy. He becomes public property, and he is robbed of his peace. We have to pay a price for every earthly good.
III. His prosperity served to develop the virtues of his character. Bacon has said that, Prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue. And human experience shows that such are the usual effects of these conditions. But in the case of Isaac there were virtues that shined out in his prosperity.
1. The virtue of patience. The Philistines carried their envy into action. They stopped up the wells which he had inherited from his father. (Gen. 26:15.) But he met all this envy by patience. When persecuted in one place he fled to another. He removed from well to well. (Gen. 26:18-22.) (a.) His patience was victorious. It won upon his enemies. The Philistines were, at length wearied out. They came round, and asked for a treaty. (Gen. 26:28-30.) (b.) His patience won the Divine approval. The Lord appeared to him and renewed the old promises. He was assured of perpetual protection and guidance.
2. The virtue of forgiveness. He had suffered a grievous wrong, but he forgave it on the entreaty of Abimelech. This was not the easy virtue of a man who has no strong feelings and who is soon won over. He keenly felt the wrong. His sense of honour was wounded, he smarted under the indignity. It was principle, and not a weak feeling, that made him forgive. So it was with our Lord Himself, who while He could forgive in the greatness of His love, could yet feel indignity and shame under the cruel taunts and ingratitude of His enemies. He could say, Why smitest thou Me? Are ye come out against me as against a thief with swords and with staves.?
3. The virtue of reverence. He set up an altar for the worship of God and pitched his tent there as if he would dwell in the Lords house. (Gen. 26:25.) He bears a public testimony to the obligation of religion. Many a man forgets God with increasing prosperity, but it was not so with Isaac. With him it served to deepen the feeling of reverence and to strengthen every duty of piety. He kept up the old traditions of his father. (Gen. 26:33.) When he opened again the wells which Abraham had digged he called them by the old names. (Gen. 26:33.) This would remind him to follow in his fathers faith and footsteps.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen. 26:12-13. It is a further stage in progress when a wandering tribe changes from a pastoral to an agricultural people. In this advance we see the preparation of the chosen people to become a great nation.
Gen. 26:14. Here again we see how vanity attaches to every earthly good; prosperity begets envy, and from envy proceeds injury.(Fuller.)
Envy is the constant companion of prosperity, as David felt and complained. Succoth and Peniel contemn Gideon, out of envy of his victory; Josephs brethren cannot abide him, because more favoured of his father. Korah maligneth Moses; Saul, David; the Pharisees, our Saviour; their malice wilfully crossing their consciences.(Trapp.)
Gen. 26:15. In those countries a good well of water was a possession of immense value; and hence in predatory wars it was always an object for either party to fill the wells with earth or sand in order to distress the enemy. Had the Philistines merely forced their way to these wells and drank of them, it might have been encased; but to stop them was an act of downright barbarity, and a gross violation of the treaty of peace which had been made between a former Abimelech and Abraham (Gen. 21:25-31). But envy considers that which is lost to another as gained to itself, and not only delights in working gratuitous mischief, but will even punish itself, in a measure, to have the malicious satisfaction of doing a still greater injury to an enemy.(Bush.)
Gen. 26:16-17. Abimelech understood the temper of his people and therefore he sought to persuade Isaac to remove. He used the language of compliment and flattery. Isaac might have stood upon his ground and urged the rights of the covenant made with his father. But he was a man of peace, and choose rather to forego a right than enter into a quarrel. He acted upon the maxim of the wise man,yielding, pacifieth great offences.
A little with peace and quietness is better than much with envy and contention.(Fuller.)
Gen. 26:18. It is a pious duty to keep up the memorials of the great and good.
It seems wherever Abraham went, he improved the country; and wherever the Philistines followed him, their study was to mar his improvements, and that for no other end than the pleasure of doing mischief. Isaac, however, is resolved to open these wells again. Their waters would be doubly sweet to him for their having been first tasted by his beloved father; and to show his filial affection still more, he called their names after the names which his father had called them. Many of our enjoyments, both civil and religious, are the sweeter for being the fruits of the labour of our fathers; and if they have been corrupted by adversaries since their days, we must restore them to their former purity.(Fuller.)
Gen. 26:19-20. Isaacs servants also digged new wells, and which occasioned new strife. While we avail ourselves of the labours of our forefathers, we ought not to rest in them without making farther progress, even though it expose us to many unpleasant disputes. Envy and strife may be expected to follow those whose researches are really beneficial, provided they go a step beyond their forefathers. But let them not be discouraged: the wells of salvation are worth striving for, and after a few conflicts, they may enjoy the fruits of their labours in peace.(Fuller.)
Gen. 26:21-22. We are told that he met the envy with patience, and removed from well to well. At last the Philistines desisted. Thus patience wears the world out. Endurance, meekness, the Gospel spirit, this is the only true weapon against the world. Hence, Christianity can have no addition. It is final. There is nothing beyond thisLove your enemies. Isaac, like Christ, had conquered by meekness.(Robertson.)
Gen. 26:23-24. There is shed abroad in his heart that deep peace which is most profound in the midst of storm. God was with him. The waves which lash the surface of the sea are only on the surface; below, the depths are calm. And Isaac quietly leaving place after place felt the deeps of his soul untouched. What was the loss of a well, or ten wells, to him with whom God was, for his portion, his exceeding and all-sufficient great reward.(Robertson.)
God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Therefore Isaac is assured that his father has not perished by death, that he is not clean gone for ever with the breath which he gave up. Gods covenant with his friend was not annulled.
This is the same person as the Angel of the Covenant who appeared to Moses in Horeb, in the burning bush (Exo. 3:2) and is therefore the Messiah. Abraham was the man of faith, Isaac the man of endurance, and Jacob was the man of prayer. God is God to each believer in his peculiar circumstances. Isaac is here promised the blessing for Abrahams sake. This is the actual working of the household covenant. God has so displayed Himself in all the history of the Church as a covenant God to the families of His people.(Jacobus.)
Gen. 26:25. He called upon the name of the Lord that had made room for him; and now, by His presence and promise, comforted him. Let the streams of Gods bounty lead us, as the watercourse doth, either to the spring upward, or downward to the main ocean, to the source and fountain whence they flow. Let God taste of the fruit of His own planting. We are no better than brute beasts, if, contenting ourselves with a natural use of the creatures, we rise not up to the Author; if, instead of being temples to His praise, we become graves of His benefits. Isaac first built an altar, and then digged a well.(Trapp.)
Every dwelling-place of the godly should be a sanctuary.
Gen. 26:26-27. True meekness does not arise from insensibility. The meek keenly feel the wrongs and indignities committed against them.
Isaac, while they acted as enemies, bore it patiently, as a part of his lot in an evil world; but now that they want to be thought friends, and to renew covenant with him, he feels keenly, and speaks his mind. We can bear that from an avowed adversary which we cannot bear from a professed friend; nor is it any transgression of the law of meekness and love plainly to signify our strong perception of the injuries received, and to stand on our guard in dealing with those who have once acted unfairly.(Bush.)
Gen. 26:28. The world pays an involuntary tribute of respect and admiration to good men. This is the crown of glory which society places upon their head.
Gen. 26:29. They had shown acts of hospitality to Isaac at first; but their kindness soon turned to hatred, and their hatred to persecution. Men magnify the few acts of kindness they have done for others, but forget the many wrongs they have committed against them.
Thou art now the blessed of the Lord. This explains the one-sidedness of the covenant. Isaac needed no guaranty from them as Jehovah was with him. This clause may refer to his being under the Divine protection, and therefore safe, or as being sufficiently provided for not to make account of the injury done him by the servants. Or it may express the kings salaam at the conclusion of the treaty pronouncing him blessed, or supposing he makes the treaty as proposed, calling him blessed of Jehovah.(Jacobus.)
Gen. 26:30-31. It was a large-hearted generosity which was content to admit so poor a plea. He who would work out great purposes of charity towards mankind must be prepared to make large allowances.
This reconciliation between Isaac and Abimelech was pledged in a feast. They both sware unto one another; so is our reconciliation with God pledged in the Christian feast of the Lords Supper.(Robertson.)
Gen. 26:32. Blessings follow quickly in the path of a large-hearted charity. As Isaac forgave them for depriving him of his wells (rather than quarrel with them), so the Lord opened to him another well for his need the same day.(Jacobus.)
Gen. 26:33. Beer-Sheba unto this day. So it was before; but the name was almost worn out, the well being stopped up. Isaac therefore now names it, and so preserves it for a monument of Gods mercy to his father and to himself.(Trapp.)
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
5. Isaacs Successful Venture into Agriculture (Gen. 26:12-17).
Besides planting trees, Abraham was to the end of his life a nomad, Isaac, however, begins to pursue agriculture along with his nomadic life: this venture causes commentators to classify him as a kind of semi-nomad, (The only other allusion to husbandry in the patriarchal history occur in Gen. 30:14; Gen. 37:7). Isaac is described as living in the city of Gerar itself. He tried his hand successfully at a season of farming and his yield was a hundredfold, a statement worth recording because nomads are poor farmers as a rule. Isaacs experiment is an interesting example of a nomad beginning to settle down to semi nomadism. A recurring pattern in the Near East is that nomads are attracted to sown acres, where they plant their crops, thus supplementing the living they get from their flocks. So they become agriculturists; they turn into villagers, usually still grazing their flocks, for that is a noble tradition, in keeping with their origin. Isaacs career apparently marks this transition to that intermediate stage (Cornfeld, AtD, 77).
This account agrees well with the area around Gaza,: the soil is very rich, we are told. As a result, Isaac reaped from his initial venture a rich harvest, to the extent of a hundred measures (a hundred fold). Such a rich harvest was taken as a sign of divine favor. The man became very wealthy: he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household. Since Abraham was very rich (Gen. 13:2, Gen. 14:23) and the bulk of his property had gone to Isaac, such an increase as this in Isaacs wealth must have brought his possessions up to a startling total. His establishment of necessity required also a great number of servants. The man waxed great, and grew more and more until he became very great, that is to say, he kept growing richer and richer. But a serious problem arose as a consequence of this unusual prosperity: the Philistines grew envious. The statement is an intimation of the clash with them over the wells, the account of which soon follows. Hostilities began when the natives began filling with earth the wells which Abraham had dug at Gerar and which therefore belonged to Isaac. This very act was already an indirect expulsion, for without wells it was not possible that Isaac should live a nomadic life at Gerar. As a matter of fact, Isaacs household was strong enough to constitute a threat to the safety of the Philistines had Isaac been inclined to use his power for personal ends. Gen. 26:16the kings summons is a combination of flattery, thou art much mightier than we, and ungraciousness, go from us. Isaac is a pacifist in the best sense of the word. Power is safe in his hands. He shows no inclination to abuse it. Secure in his strength but mindful primarily of his responsibilities to his God, he yields to pressure and moves farther up the valley, i.e., southeast from Gerar, and there pitches his tent with the intent of staying there permanently (he dwelt there, i.e., he settled down) (EG, 725726).
Review Questions
See Gen. 26:34-35.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(12) Isaac sowed in that land.When Abraham planted a tamarisk-tree at Beer-sheba (Gen. 21:33) it showed that he regarded the place as a permanent residence, which it was worth his while to adorn, and to provide for its increasing pleasantness. Isaac and Jacob took a still further step in advance towards a settled life when they began to cultivate plots of ground. At first, however, Isaac did no more than the Bedaween do at present; for they often sow a piece of land, wait till the crop is ripe, and then resume their roving habits. Permanently to till the soil is with them a mark of inferiority (Gen. 25:16). But the tendency, both with Abraham and Isaac, had long been to remain in the region about Beer-sheba. Isaac had been driven thence by the famine, by which he had probably lost much of his cattle, and many even of his people. Apparently he was even so weakened thereby as to be no match for the Philistines of Gerar. His large harvest recouped him for his losses, and made him once more a prosperous man; and in due time Beer-sheba was again his home, and with settled habits agriculture wassure to begin.
An hundredfold.The Heb. is, a hundred measures, but the word is unknown elsewhere, and the LXX. and Syriac read, a hundred of barley, measures being understood, as in Rth. 3:15. Herodotus (Book i. 193) mentions twoand even threehundredfold as possible in Babylonia; but our Lord seems to give one hundredfold as the extreme measure of productiveness in Palestine (Mat. 13:8). Such a return, like Isaacs, would be rare and extraordinary.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Isaac sowed He now added agriculture to the pursuits of nomadic life .
Received Hebrews, found .
A hundredfold Or, a hundred measures . Some (Sept . , Syr . ) read, , barley, instead of , measures, or fold . The letters of the two words are the same . A hundredfold is a very large increase, but Herodotus (i, 193) writes of the Babylonian territory as “so fruitful in the produce of corn, that it yields continually two hundredfold, and when it produces its best, it yields even three hundredfold . ”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isaac and Abimelech – a Story of Wells ( Gen 26:12-33 ).
Gen 26:12
‘And Isaac sowed in that land and found in that same year a hundredfold, and Yahweh blessed him. And the man became great (in riches) and grew more and more until he was very wealthy. And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds and a large household, and the Philistines envied him.’
Isaac was now settled in Gerar and the famine had long passed. Good relations had been established with the local king and he began to sow seed in expectation of a considerable stay. And the seed prospered. We know today that this was particularly fertile land and it produced ‘a hundredfold’. Moreover ‘Yahweh blessed him’. Everything he touched seemed to flourish. His flocks expanded, his herds grew, and he added more and more servants to his ‘household’, his family tribe who were responsible for maintaining his wealth.
But there is always one problem with wealth. It produces envy in the heart of others, and that is what happened here. And so he was asked to move on. His wealth, and the demands it made on local amenities, was causing a problem for the inhabitants.
Gen 26:15
‘(Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them and filled them with earth).’
This very illuminating explanatory comment demonstrates both the attitude of these Philistine traders to relatively powerful semi-nomadic peoples and the reason why, when Abraham had prospered in this vicinity without it causing too much trouble, Isaac was unable to do so.
The wells of Abraham had been filled in. And why? Because when Isaac moved to Beer-lahai-roi on the death of Abraham, the Philistines decided they did not want anyone else to move in and filled in the surplus wells, which would have attracted roving semi-nomads like flies. But this was now why Isaac, with his great expansion, was proving to be such a burden on the local economy. They did not have sufficient water for him and themselves.
Gen 26:16
‘And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us. For you are much mightier than we.” ’
You are much mightier than we.’ Possibly in numbers, especially of sheep and cattle, thus consuming much water.
The water shortage was causing problems. So the Philistines no doubt held a council. The result was that they decided to ask Isaac to move on. They no doubt recognised that he was fairly amenable (would they have dared to ask the same of Abraham?) and it is possible that it was they who pointed out to him where the previous wells had been and suggested he reopened them. And fortunately Isaac recognised the truth of what they were saying.
Gen 26:17-18
‘And Isaac departed from there and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of 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.’
This passage demonstrates how closely Isaac and his household had been living with the Philistines until they had become too large for the place. But now they move to a local valley and camp there. And they redig the wells first discovered by his father and call them by the previous names given by his father. This would not be quite as easy as it sounds for they had to be rediscovered. But local memory would no doubt assist in the matter.
This serves to demonstrate how traditions tend to stick to places over considerable numbers of years, for it was obviously fairly clearly remembered what names had been attached to what places. This information would no doubt be gathered from locals and confirmed by reference to their own covenant records and memories.
Gen 26:19-20
‘And Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, and the herdmen of Gerar strove with Isaac’s herdmen saying, “The water is ours.” And he called the name of the well Esek (contention) because they contended with him.’
Gen 26:18 is now expanded on. He digs the first well that was Abraham’s. But the inhabitants claim it as theirs. And it says much for Isaac’s equable temperament that he allows them possession, for he could fairly have pointed out that he and his men had dug it and that it had once been ceded to his father. It is clear that Abraham had also called the well Esek (Gen 26:18) so that it had been a bone of contention even then. But Abraham’s response was probably different. (There are some people you do not argue with).
Gen 26:21
‘And they dug another well, and they strove for that also. And he called the name of it Sitnah (enmity).’
The same thing is repeated, and Abraham had also clearly called this well Sitnah showing that he too had experienced enmity when he dug it.
But what a different person Isaac is from Abraham. When they sought to wrest a well from Abraham he went straight to the king and demanded it back (Gen 21:25). But Isaac is more peaceable and cedes the wells to the inhabitants (possibly for a good price). Abraham was ‘the stronger’, but was not Isaac the more Christlike? He had a strength of which Abraham knew nothing. And it made for friends rather than enemies.
Gen 26:22-23
‘And he removed from there and dug another well, and for that they did not strive. And he called the name of it Rehoboth (broad places, room), and he said, “For now Yahweh has made room for us and we will be fruitful in the land.” And he went up from there to Beersheba.’
Isaac continues redigging the wells that his father had dug and this time there was no contention. Perhaps the inhabitants were impressed by his peaceable behaviour and felt ready to welcome him now as a neighbour. And he called it Reheboth (broad places), because there was now room for both him and them.
His faith in Yahweh shines out. He had been sure all along that Yahweh would make a place for him and now he has been proved right. And this proves to him that Yahweh will bless him in this place.
Following the comment in Gen 26:18 we must see this too as a name first given by Abraham, but what a different interpretation Abraham probably put on it. There is no suggestion that Abraham ever peacefully yielded a well that he had dug. He made room for himself. Different men behave in different ways because they are different, and they have different strengths, and different weaknesses requisite in different times.
“And he went up from there to Beersheba.” Note that Isaac already knows it as Beersheba before he goes there. This was naturally Isaac’s next move for he knew that his father had dug a well at Beersheba, and had called it Beersheba. With the wealth and herds he had it was necessary to have more than one well.
Gen 26:24
‘And Yahweh appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you and multiply your seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.” ‘
Once again Isaac has an awe-inspiring numinous experience of God in which the covenant is renewed, and which explains why these events were put in writing.
The grounds for the renewing of the covenant is that he is the son of Abraham. He shares in the blessing of Abraham. Abraham was the one chosen by God as His vehicle of blessing to the world, and Isaac as his seed carries on that purpose. He will thus enjoy God’s blessing and will see his descendants multiplied. We too will enjoy blessing from the God of Abraham if we are Abraham’s children through faith in Christ.
This thought is central to the book of Genesis. It is not too much to say it was why it was written. It is a proclamation of God’s covenant with the world through Abraham and the guarantee of His future blessing. We may enjoy the stories but what was important was the covenants.
Gen 26:25
‘And he built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh, and pitched his tent there and there Isaac’s servants dug for a well.’
“He built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh.” In other words he established Beersheba as the centre of worship for his people where they could regularly worship Yahweh and offer sacrifices, with Isaac himself being the priest. As we know already, this was the very place where Abraham too had established the worship of God. In all things, both good and bad, Isaac follows in the steps of his father.
“He pitched his tent there.” In other words he established it as his base camp, and naturally began to look for the well that his father had previously dug and called Beersheba. Without the well the camp could not be permanent.
Gen 26:26
‘Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzoth his friend, and Phicol the captain of his host.’
It was at Beersheba that the previous Abimelech had made a covenant under oath with Abraham. This may be the same Abimelech, in which case he was very old, but far more likely it is his son or grandson.
Abraham had won their confidence as a result of the incident with Sarah and the revelation that he was a prophet, and by his fighting strength and willingness to stand up for himself. Isaac has won it by his amenable disposition and his continual willingness not to use his strength but to be neighbourly and even beneficent. In the end his policy has worked.
“Ahuzzoth his friend.” His personal counsellor and adviser, and possibly scribe. ‘Phicol the captain of his host.’ Phicol was probably the title by which they called their warleader at any time (as the Assyrians called theirs Tartan (2Ki 18:17), although he might have been the grandson of the previous Phicol given the same name (something commonly done in those days). The presence of the general demonstrates the seriousness of the visit. This is an official deputation.
Gen 26:27
‘And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you are not friendly with me and have sent me away from you?” ’
Isaac may be amenable but it did not mean he could not be hurt. He clearly felt his friendship had been betrayed. Now he was puzzled as to why they were approaching him. Because of his friendly nature he did not consider that they were safeguarding their backs.
Gen 26:28-29
‘And they said, “We have seen 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 that you will do us no hurt, as we have not 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.” ’
Their appreciation of Isaac’s fighting strength is clear from the fact that they approach him voluntarily and peacefully. They have watched him prosper and seen him establish the cultic centre for Yahweh at Beersheba, clearly with a view to permanent settlement. They recognise he is a man of peace but they want to ensure that things remain peaceable.
“Yahweh is with you”. They recognised that his God Yahweh was effective and powerful. This was seen as proved by his growing prosperity and by his ability to find springs. ‘You are now the blessed of Yahweh’, as a result of establishing an altar and cultic centre to Yahweh. They were aware of the power of Isaac’s God. Indeed they were presumably aware of the previous history from Abraham’s time. Their connections go back a long way. They remembered Yahweh the God of Abraham and they see He is now Isaac’s God and effective on his behalf.
The result is that they want a treaty sealed by an oath, just as they had had with Abraham, a treaty of peace and mutual recognition. Isaac may not be Abraham but he is still to be feared because he is the chosen of Yahweh, and like Abraham has a private army.
Gen 26:30-31
‘And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. And they rose up early in the morning and swore to one another, and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.’
The show of hospitality was an indication of friendly reception and peaceful intention and they ate and drank and rested in the camp. Then the solemn oath was sworn and they returned to their city with the peaceful settlement agreed between the parties. No doubt this was to Isaac the peacemaker’s satisfaction. Isaac’s methods had proved fruitful.
Gen 26:32-33
‘And it happened the same day that Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” And he called it Shibah, therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.’
The good news comes that they have rediscovered the Well of Sheba (seven) which had previously been so named Beer-sheba (the well of seven) by Abraham, and as his custom was Isaac renames it Shibah (the feminine of seven), thus ‘beer Shibah’ after Beersheba. This second giving of the same name followed Isaac’s stated policy (Gen 26:18).
“We have found water.” The constant search for sources of water was a feature of life in Palestine. To find a good reliable source of water was like manna from Heaven.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
EXPOSITION
Gen 26:12
Then Isaac sowed in that land,viz; Philistia. Though a distinct advance on the purely nomadic life pursued by Abraham, this did not imply fixed property in, or even permanent settlement on, the soil, “but only annual tenancy” thereof. Robinson (1. 77) mentions a colony of the Tawarah Arabs, about fifty families, living near Abu Zabel, in Egypt, who cultivated the soil and yet dwelt in tents. “The Biblical patriarchs were not mere Bedawin wanderers, like those who now occupy the Eastern deserts. They had large herds of cattle, which genuine Bedawins have not; they tilled the ground, which these robbers never do; and they accommodated themselves, without difficulty or reluctance, to town and city when necessary, which wild Arabs cannot endure”and received in the same year an hundred-foldliterally, an hundred measures, i.e. for each measure of that which he sowed; an exceptional return even for Philistia, though “the country is no less fertile than the very best of the Mississippi Valley”; and Arab grain stores at Nuttar-abu-Sumar, in the vicinity of Gaza, still proclaim the remunerative yield of its harvests. Herodotus speaks of two and three hundred-fold as having been reaped on the plain of Babylonia; but in Palestine the usual rate of increase was from thirty to a hundred-fold (vide Mat 13:23). The reading “an hundred of barley” (LXX; Syriac, Michaelis) is not to be preferred to that in the Textus Receptus. And the Lord blessed himas he had promised (Gen 26:3).
Gen 26:13
And the man waxed great,like his father before him (cf. Gen 24:1, Gen 24:35)and went forward,literally, went going, the verb followed by the infinitive expressing constant growth or progressive increase (cf. Gen 8:3; Gen 12:9; Jdg 4:24)and grew until he became very great“as any other farmer would who reaped such harvests” (‘Land and Book’).
Gen 26:14
For he had (literally, there was to him) possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: (LXX.), i.e. much husbandry, the abstract being put for the concrete, “implying all manner of work and service belonging to a family, and so servants and tillage of all sorts” (Ainsworth); but the reference rather seems to be to the number of his household, or domestic slaves, plurimum familiae (Vulgate)and the Philistines envied him. The patriarch’s possessions (mikneh, from kanah, to acquire) excited jealous feeling (from root kana, to burn) in the breasts of his neighbors (cf. Ecc 4:4).
Gen 26:15
For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father (vide Gen 21:30), the philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. This act, commonly regarded as legitimate in ancient warfare, was practically to Isaac an act of expulsion, it being impossible for flocks and herds to exist without access to water supplies. It was probably, as the text indicates, the outcome of envy, rather than inspired by fear that Isaac in digging and possessing wells was tacitly claiming the ownership of the land.
Gen 26:16
And Abimelech said unto Isaac (almost leading to the suspicion that the Philistine monarch had instigated the outbreak of hostilities amongst his people), Go from us (a royal command rather than a friendly advice); for thou art much mightier than we. The same apprehension of the growing numbers and strength of Isaac’s descendants in Egypt took possession of the heart of Pharaoh, and led to their enslavement (vide Exo 1:9).
Gen 26:17
And Isaacperhaps not without remonstrance, but without offering resistance, as became a saint (Mat 5:5; Rom 12:17, Rom 12:18; Heb 12:14; 1Pe 3:9)departed thence (i.e. from Gerar), and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar,a valley or nahal meant a low, flat region watered by a mountain stream. The Wady Gerar has been identified with the Joorf–el–Gerar, the rush or rapid of Gerar, three hours south-east of Gazaand dwelt there.
Gen 26:18
And Isaac digged againliterally, returned and digged, i.e. re-dug (cf. 2. Kings Gen 20:5)the wells of water, which they (the servants of Abraham) had digged in the days Of Abraham his father;from which it appears that Abraham had digged other wells besides that of Beersheba (Gen 21:31)for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham:which was a violation of the league into which Abimelech had entered with the patriarch (vide Gen 21:23)and he called their names after the names by which his father had called themand with which Isaac was sufficiently acquainted.
Gen 26:19
And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. Literally, living water (cf. Le Gen 14:5, Gen 14:6; Zec 14:8; Rev 21:6).
Gen 26:20
And the herdmen of Gerari.e. Abimelech’s servants (Gen 21:25)did strive with Isaac’s herdmen,as Lot’s with those of Abraham (Gen 13:7)saying, The water is ours:literally, to us (belong) the watersand he called the name of the well Esek (“Strife”); because they strove with himthe verb being , to strive about anything.
Gen 26:21
And they digged another well (Isaac having yielded up the first), and strove for that also:”The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water” (Pro 17:14) and he called the name of it Sitnah“Contention” (from , to lie in wait as an adversary; whence Satan); probably in Wady-es-Shutein, near Rehoboth (vide infra).
Gen 26:22
And he removed from thence (yielding that too), and digged another well; and for that they strove not (perhaps as being beyond the boundaries of Gerar): and he called the name of it Reheboth;i.e. “Wide spaces” (hence “streets,” Gen 19:2); from , to be or become broad; conjectured to have been situated in the Wady Ruhaibeh, about eight and a half hours to the south of Beersheba, where are still found a well named Bir-Rohebeh and ruins of a city of the same nameand he said, For now the Lord hath made room (literally, hath made a broad space) for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
HOMILETICS
Gen 26:12-22
A good man’s prosperity.
I. WHENCE IT PROCEEDED.
1. The industry of Isaac. “Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold.” An intimate connection subsists between diligence and prosperity.
(1) As there is no harvest without a seed-time, so there is no increase of wealth without the putting forth of personal labor in its acquisition (cf. Pro 10:4; Pro 13:4; Pro 28:19).
(2) As by God’s appointment harvest follows seed-time, so commonly “the hand of the diligent maketh rich” (cf. Pro 13:4; Pro 21:5; Pro 28:19).
2. The blessing of God. “And the Lord blessed him. As without Divine assistance the best contrived and most laboriously applied means may fail in the accumulation of material goods, so with heavenly succor the least likely instruments can achieve success. The harvests of the farmer depend more upon the goodness of God than upon the excellence of the plough (cf. Psa 127:1, Psa 127:2).
II. IN WHAT IT RESULTED.
1. The envy of the Philistines. Envy, one of the works of the flesh (Gal 5:19; Jas 4:5), a frequent characteristic of evil men (1Co 3:3; Tit 3:3), an occasional infirmity of pious souls (1Co 3:3; Php 1:15; 1Pe 2:1), and straitly forbidden by the law of God (Exo 20:17; Psa 37:1; Jas 5:9), is commonly excited by observing the prosperity of others (Psa 37:7; Psa 73:7; Ecc 4:4; cf. Rachel and Leah, Gen 30:1, Gen 30:15; Joseph’s brethren, Gen 37:4-11, Gen 37:19, Gen 37:20; Act 7:9; Miriam and Aaron, Num 12:1-10; the princes of Darius, Dan 4:4), is usually accompanied with some degree of hatred (Cain, Gen 4:4 8; Sarah, Gen 16:5, Gen 16:6; Laban, Gen 31:5), and inevitably tends, as in the case of the Philistines, to hostility, secret or open.
2. The suspicion of Abimelech. The growing power of the patriarch had filled the monarch’s mind with alarm. Interpreting the character of Isaac by his own, he conceived it impossible to possess large resources without using them to acquire dominion over others. Modern kings and statesmen are scarcely further advanced, the prosperity of neighboring empires being commonly regarded as a menace to the liberties of their own. It is the mission of Christianity, as regards both nations and individuals, to show how power of every kind can be possessed without injury, and wielded with advantage, to the highest interests of others.
III. HOW IT WAS MAINTAINED. By
1. Patience, or the exhibition of a meek and unresisting spirit in submitting to injury. When Abimelech requested him to leave the town of Gerar, he left. When the Philistines filled up his father’s wells, he quietly dug them out again. When the herdmen of Gerar wrangled with his shepherds about a spring, he simply gave it up, and sought another; and when this too was disputed, he retired and sank a third. And all the while his flocks and herds kept on multiplying. A beautiful example of the spirit which Christ has enjoined (Mat 5:39-42): and of the promise which Christ has made (Mat 5:5) to his followers.
2. Perseverance, or the diligent exercise of means in selecting pasture grounds and digging wells; not permitting himself to be discouraged by the opposition of his neighbors, but, while peacefully allowing himself to be despoiled, steadily attending to his business. An illustration of that quiet, determined, and unwearied application which often contributes more to success in life than brilliant abilities.
3. Piety, or the grateful recognition of God’s hand in putting an end to the irritation and annoyance of his neighbors, and giving him at last a comfortable settlement at Rehoboth. It is grace in God which affords quiet neighborhoods to reside in, easy circumstances to live in, and hopeful futures to trust in; and it is piety in us to acknowledge that grace.
Learn
1. That there is only one royal road to material prosperity, viz; diligence and devotion.
2. That if material prosperity can procure comforts, it is also attended by drawbacks.
3. That material prosperity is often thrown away in litigation when it might be preserved by submission.
4. That material prosperity should stir the heart’s gratitude to God.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY
Gen 26:22
Digging wells of salvation.
“And he removed from thence, and digged another well.” Historically, an instance of a meek and quiet spirit in contact with the world. Wells precious. Often formed with much labor. Herdsmen of Gerar took what Isaac had digged. Twice he yielded for the sake of peace. Then he digged another, and for it they strove not. His example (cf. Mat 5:39; 1Co 6:7). But we may also observe a typical significance. Wells, fountains, sources of “living water” (Isa 12:3; Zec 13:1) connected with spiritual blessings (cf. 1Co 10:4 with Joh 4:14, and Joh 7:39).
I. ISAAC DIGGED, to find “the gift of God” (common. Eastern name for water). The gift is from God alone (Isa 44:3; Zec 12:10). His will to bless appears through the whole Biblein the first formation of man, and in care for the salvation of sinners (Luk 19:10). But many, though thirsty, do not seek living water. They have not peace. Separation from God brings unrest (Isa 57:20). But the cause is not believed, and the way of comfort not loved. Many try all ways to find peace except the right one. They will follow preachers, or take up systems, or join associations. But Christ’s word is “Come unto me.” Again, many will not dig; content merely to wish. God who bestows the gift has appointed means (Mat 11:12). These do not really desire a work of grace in their souls. Want to be made safe, not to be renewed; to be delivered from fear, but not disturbed just now. Hence do not search their Bibles (Psa 119:130), or pray for the Holy Spirit (Eze 37:9), or care for the salvation of others (1Jn 3:17). It is God’s will we should dig. He may send a blessing unsought. But usually he works through means. The Bible, prayer, the Lord’s table, Christian converse, Christian work (Pro 11:25), all are as wells, means for getting the water of life; nothing in themselves, yet made effectual where the blessing is desired.
II. HINDRANCES. Let none expect to possess wells of salvation without. They form the trial of faith (1Pe 1:7). From those who love not God. A Christian member of a worldly family, or cast among careless associates, meets many hindrances. They may be open or veiled; in opposition or in mistaken kindness. And time for prayer is intruded on, and work for God is hindered, and a constant opposing influence is felt to chill the love of God. Or the hindrance may be from within. In prayer the mind overpowered by intrusive thoughts; besetting sins constantly gaining the victory; our spirits not in harmony with the “still small voice.” Remember it is God’s will through trial to give victory (1Co 10:13). Amalek fought against Israel (Exo 17:1-16.) as the herdsmen strove against Isaac, but the way of victory was the same in both instancestrust and perseverance.
III. DIGGED ANOTHER WELL (Gal 6:9). Will the Lord fail his people though surrounded by hindrances? Is some means of grace debarred? Is some line of Christian work, some way of Christian progress, closed against thee? Dig another well. Seek and pray for other channels in which to consecrate thy life. Perhaps the real foe hindering thee was self-will, and God has helped thee to put down self. Jesus cried, “Come unto me and drink.” Whatever be the well, he is the source of its spring. Make it clear to your own heart that you are pressing to him. Tell God that it is indeed so. Then in some form or other the prayer, “Spring up, O well,” shall have an abundant answer.M.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Gen 26:12. Then Isaac sowed, &c. Continuing a long time in the land, Gen 26:8 he applied himself to husbandry, for his own and his family’s support; and that God, whose blessing maketh rich the hand of the diligent, crowned his labours with very great increase, in proof of his regard to his promise, and to shew Isaac that he lost nothing by not going into AEgypt. The expression of an hundred fold is indefinite, and expresses a very great increase. Indeed God’s benediction was not confined to the fruit of his fields: in every respect the Divine Providence prospered him; insomuch that the Philistines, among whom he sojourned, saw and envied his felicity: an emblem of human life! And to indicate their malice, as much as was in their power, they stopped up all the wells which his father had digged, and which was an act of high inhumanity in those dry countries, where wells were of so great consequence.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
That is a sweet promise Isa 65:18 ; Psa 112:1-3
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 26:12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
Ver. 12. Then Isaac sowed in that land. ] In ground hired for his use, and managed by himself: for it was anciently a great commendation, saith Cicero, to be a good husbandman. a M. Curius, after three triumphs, returned to the plough, and held it no disgrace; neither ever was there more plenty at Rome than then, saith Pliny; Quasi gauderet terra laureato vomere, et Aratore triumphali. This good husbandman in the text, sowing in that barren land, and in a time of famine too, hath a hundredfold increase; which is the utmost that our Saviour mentioneth in the parable of the sower; Mat 13:23 and in reference hereunto, he elsewhere assureth such as part with all for his sake and the gospel’s, they “shall receive a hundredfold here, and eternal life hereafter”. Mat 19:29 That which Herodotus and Pliny report of Babylon is beyond belief: that the land thereabouts returns two hundredfold increase. b But grant it were true, yet he that is a good husband for his soul, sows in a better ground, and shall have a better return: for, “he that soweth to the Spirit, shall, of the Spirit, reap life everlasting.” Only it is required, that he “be not weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not”. Gal 6:8-9 We must not look to sow and reap all in a day, as he c saith of the Hyperborean people far north; that they sow shortly after the sunrising, and reap before the sunset; because the whole half year is one continual day with them. We must “wait,” with “the husbandman, for the precious fruit of the earth, and have long patience for it, until we receive the former and latter rain”. Jam 5:7 And “be diligent” in the meanwhile, that when Christ comes, “we may be found of him in peace”. 2Pe 3:14 Heaven will pay for all our pains and patience. “He which soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully,” 2Co 9:6 even blessing upon blessing, as the word there ( ) signifies: he “shall doubtless come again with joy, bringing his sheaves with him”. Psa 126:6
a Veteres siquem virum bonum colonum appellassent, amplissime laudasse exstimabant. – Cic.
b D . – Her., lib. i. – Plin., lib. vi. cap. 26.
c Heresbach., De Re Rustica.
Genesis
THE FIRST APOSTLE OF PEACE AT ANY PRICE
Gen 26:12 – Gen 26:25 The salient feature of Isaac’s life is that it has no salient features. He lived out his hundred and eighty years in quiet, with little to make history. Few details of his story are given, and some of these are not very creditable. He seems never to have wandered far from the neighbourhood of Beersheba. These quiet, rolling stretches of thinly peopled land contented him, and gave pasture for his flocks, as well as fields for his cultivation. Like many of the tribes of that district still, he had passed from the purely nomad and pastoral life, such as Abraham led, and had begun to ‘sow in that land.’ That marks a stage in progress. His father’s life had been like a midsummer day, with bursts of splendour and heavy thunder-clouds; his was liker a calm day in autumn, windless and unchanging from morning till serene evening. The world thinks little of such lives, but they are fruitful.
Our text begins with a sweet little picture of peaceful industry, blessed by God, and therefore prospering. Travellers tell us that the land where Isaac dwelt is still marvellously fertile, even to rude farming. But to be merely a successful farmer and sheep-owner might have seemed poor work to the heir of such glowing promises, and the prospect of a high destiny often disgusts its possessor with lowly duties. ‘But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it,’ and the best way to fit ourselves for great things in the future is to bend our backs and wills to humble toil in the present. Peter expected every day to see the risen Lord, when he said, ‘I go a-fishing.’
The Philistines’ envy was very natural, since Isaac was an alien, and, in some sense, an intruder. Their stopping of the wells was a common act of hostility, and an effectual one in that land, where everything lives where water comes, and dies if it is cut off. Abimelech’s reason for ‘extraditing’ Isaac might have provoked a more pugnacious person to stay and defy the Philistines to expel him. ‘Thou art much mightier than we,’ and so he could have said, ‘Try to put me out, then,’ and the result might have been that Abimelech and his Philistines would have been the ones to go. But the same spirit was in the man as had been in the lad, when he let his father bind him and lay him on the altar without a struggle or a word, and he quietly went, leaving his fields and pastures. ‘Very poor-spirited,’ says the world; what does Christ say?
Isaac was not ‘original.’ He cleaned out the wells which his father had digged, and with filial piety gave them again the old names ‘which his father had called them.’ Some of us nowadays get credit for being ‘advanced and liberal thinkers,’ because we regard our fathers’ wells as much too choked with rubbish to be worth clearing out, and the last thing we should dream of would be to revive the old names. But the old wells were not enough for the new time, and so fresh ones were added. Isaac and his servants did not say, ‘We will have no water but what is drawn from Abraham’s wells. What was enough for him is enough for us.’ So, like all wise men, they were conservatively progressive and progressively conservative. The Gerar shepherds were sharp lawyers. They took strong ground in saying, ‘The water is ours; you have dug wells, but we are ground-owners, and what is below the surface, as well as what is on it, is our property.’ Again Isaac fielded, moved on a little way, and tried again. A second well was claimed, and given up, and all that Isaac did was to name the two ‘Contention’ and ‘Enmity,’ as a gentle rebuke and memorial. Then, as is generally the result, gentleness wearied violence out, and the Philistines tired of annoying before Isaac tired of yielding. So he came into a quiet harbour at last, and traced his repose to God, naming his last well ‘Broad Places,’ because the Lord had made room for him.
Such a quiet spirit, strong in non-resistance, and ready to yield rather than quarrel, was strangely out of place in these wild days and lands. He obeyed the Sermon on the Mount millenniums before it was spoken. Whether from temperament or from faith, he is the first instance of the Christian type of excellence in the Old Testament. For there ought to be no question that the spirit of meekness, which will not meet violence by violence, is the Christian spirit. Christian morals alter the perspective of moral excellences, and exalt meekness above the ‘heroic virtues’ admired by the world. The violets and lilies in Christ’s garden outshine voluptuous roses and flaunting sunflowers. In this day, when there is a recrudescence of militarism, and we are tempted to canonise the soldier, we need more than ever to insist that the highest type is ‘the Lamb of God,’ who was ‘as a sheep before her shearers.’ To fight for my rights is not the Christian ideal, nor is it the best way to secure them. Isaac will generally weary out the Philistines, and get his well at last, and will have escaped much friction and many evil passions.
‘Tis safer being meek than fierce.’
Isaac won the friendship of his opponents by his patience, as the verses after the text tell. Their consciences and hearts were touched, and they ‘saw plainly that the Lord was with him,’ and sued him for alliance. It is better to turn enemies into friends than to beat them and have them as enemies still. ‘I’ll knock you down unless you love me’ does not sound a very hopeful way of cementing peaceful relations. But ‘when a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.’ But Isaac won more than the Philistines’ favour by his meek peacefulness, for ‘the Lord appeared unto him,’ and assured him that, undefended and unresisting as he was, he had a strong defence, and need not be afraid: ‘Fear not, for I am with thee.’ The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is, in the sight of God, of great price, and that not only for ‘a woman’; and it brings visions of God, and assurances of tranquil safety to him who cherishes it. The Spirit of God comes down in the likeness of a dove, and that bird of peace sits ‘brooding “only” on the charmed wave’ of a heart stilled from strife and wrath, like a quiet summer’s sea.
Isaac’s new home at Beersheba, having been thus hallowed by the appearance of the Lord, was consecrated by the building of an altar. We should hallow by grateful remembrance the spots where God has made Himself known to us. The best beginning of a new undertaking is to rear an altar. It is well when new settlers begin their work by calling on the name of the Lord. Beersheba and Plymouth Rock are a pair. First comes the altar, then the tent can be trustfully pitched, but ‘except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.’ And if the house is built in faith, a well will not be lacking; for they who ‘seek first the kingdom of God’ will have all needful ‘things added unto them.’
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 26:12-17
12Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him, 13and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy; 14for he had possessions of flocks and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him. 15Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up by filling them with earth. 16Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are too powerful for us.” 17And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and settled there.
Gen 26:12-14 Note the blessings.
1. reaped a hundredfold, Gen 26:12
2. became rich and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy, Gen 26:13
3. had flocks and herds, Gen 26:14
4. had a great household, Gen 26:14
The second item in #2 is a Qal INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and Qal IMPERFECT VERB of the same root (BDB 229, KB 246), which denotes intensity.
The third item in #2 is an ADJECTIVE and VERB of the same root (BDB 152, KB 178, Qal PERFECT).
Gen 26:12 “the LORD blessed him” This is a direct theological recognition that it was God and not Isaac’s husbandry that was the source of blessing.
Gen 26:14 “the Philistines envied him” This is the VERB (BDB 888, KB 1109, Piel IMPERFECT) “to be jealous.”
1. they stopped up Abraham’s wells, Gen 26:15
2. they sent Isaac away, Gen 26:16
Isaac’s prosperity was intended to help the Philistines come to YHWH, but instead it caused jealousy and resentment.
Gen 26:15 “Philistines stopped up” As Isaac grew, both in numbers and wealth, he became a source of fear for the Philistines. They show their distress and fear by stopping up Isaac’s wells. Knowing that Isaac was a herdsmen, lack of water would force him to move away. This section of chapter 26 shows us the patience and faith of Isaac. Much of his personality type can be discerned by how he handles this tension over water rights.
received. Hebrew found. Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Species). Compare Gen 6:8. Rom 4:1.
sowed: The author of the ” History of the Piratical States of Barbary ” observes – p. 44 that the Moors of that country are divided into tribes like the Arabians, and like them dwell in tents, formed into itinerant villages; that “these wanderers farm lands of the inhabitants of the towns, sow and cultivate them, paying their rent with the produce, such as fruits, corn, wax, etc. They are very skilful in choosing the most advantageous soils for every season, and very careful to avoid the Turkish troops, the violence of the one little suiting the simplicity of the other.” It is natural to suppose, that Isaac possessed the like sagacity, when he sowed in the land of Gerar, and received that year an hundred-fold.
received: Heb. found
an hundredfold: Psa 67:6, Psa 72:16, Ecc 11:6, Zec 8:12, Mat 13:8, Mat 13:23, Mar 4:8, 1Co 3:6, 2Co 9:10, 2Co 9:11, Gal 6:7, Gal 6:8
blessed: Gen 26:3, Gen 26:29, Gen 24:1, Gen 24:35, Gen 30:30, Job 42:12
Reciprocal: Gen 13:2 – General Gen 27:27 – which Gen 41:47 – General Lev 25:21 – I will Deu 2:7 – blessed Deu 28:3 – in the field 2Ch 31:10 – the Lord Job 1:10 – thou hast blessed Psa 65:9 – thou preparest Psa 107:37 – which may Pro 10:22 – it Hag 2:19 – from Mar 4:20 – an hundred Luk 8:8 – an hundredfold Luk 12:16 – The ground 1Co 16:2 – as God
Gen 26:12. Isaac sowed in that land Either in grounds which he had hired of the right owners, or in some which lay neglected, and therefore were free to the first occupier. That this should be the case, in that age of the world, is not strange, considering how few the inhabitants, even of Canaan, then were, in comparison of what they were three hundred years after, when the Israelites came out of Egypt. He received a hundred-fold A hundred times as much as he sowed. The same degree of increase is spoken of Mat 13:8; and affirmed sometimes of other places by heathen writers. But then it was in a better soil and season than this was; for this was in a time of famine. Accordingly an emphasis is laid upon the time; it was the same year when there was a famine in the land; while others scarce reaped at all, he reaped thus plentifully, through the divine blessing.
4. Isaac’s wells 26:12-33
This section of verses shows God’s faithfulness in blessing Isaac as He had promised (cf. Gen 26:3; Gen 24:1; Gen 25:11). Isaac enjoyed a bountiful harvest (Gen 26:12). Abimelech testified to Isaac’s power (Gen 26:16), which was another testimony to God’s faithfulness.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)