Глава 26

Isaac's stay in Gerar and God's new revelation to Isaac Chapter 26 is the only chapter in the book of Genesis devoted exclusively to the history of Isaac, while from verse 20 of chapter 25 (Gen. 25:20), as well as in chapter 27, and before (Gen. 28:16), the history of Isaac is combined with the history of his sons, and earlier it was included in the history of Abraham. This chapter sets out the external circumstances of Isaac’s life, which took place no less than 75 years after a similar visit to Gerar and Bathsheba by Abraham, according to the circumstances of the case (Gen. 20-21). Despite the obvious similarities of the two biblical stories, they also present many differences, they have clearly unequal plots, so nothing justifies the opinion of some biblical critics (for example, N. Gunkel, in Handkommentar z. Alt. Test. hrgs. v. W. Nowack, Genesis, Gottingen 1901), as if in the mentioned episodes there are 26 chapters. we have only unsuccessful doublets of similar stories in chapters 20 and 21. Gen.26:1–2. There was a famine in the land, above and beyond the first famine that was in the days of Abraham; And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. The Lord appeared to him and said: do not go to Egypt; live in the land that I will tell you about, Abimelech - “my father the king” or “the king my father” is the usual title of the kings of the Philistines, like the “Pharaoh” of Egypt: the name Abimelech is borne by the kings of the Philistines from the times of Abraham (Gen. 20-21), Isaac (Gen. 26) and David (Ps. 33:1, 2 Sam. 11:21). Probably, Isaac is dealing with the successor of Abimelech, a contemporary of Abraham: Abimelech, contemporary to Abraham, appears with features of greater nobility than Isaac’s contemporary. It is also possible, however, that in both cases the same person acts (let us remember the longevity of that time). The latter can be assumed about Phichol, the military leader of Abimelech, who also appears in both the history of Abraham and the history of Isaac, although some are inclined to see in the name “Pichol” (from Hebrew - “the mouth of all”) a common name for the speaker of requests or complaints from the Philistine king. Gerar, according to Delitzsch, is now Kir-bet-el-Gerar, in the southern part of Palestine. The story of Isaac according to chapter 26. begins with the same disaster of famine that visited Abraham in the first time after his settlement in Canaan (Gen. 12:10). Following the example of his father, Isaac had to move to Egypt. But God leads each of His chosen ones in accordance with his needs, and above all, in accordance with His wise plans. Therefore, He did not allow Isaac to travel to Egypt, which was allowed to Abraham. “The Lord God,” says blessed Theodoret (question on Genesis, 78), “allows us to see His wisdom and care in everything. For he also allowed Abraham to go to Egypt, not because it was difficult for him to live in Palestine, but in order to show the Egyptians the virtue of this man and encourage them to compete with the virtue of the patriarch. He commanded Isaac to remain in Palestine and provided him with an abundance of everything necessary... For with the scarcity and lack of necessary things, when the earth became barren, Isaac, having sowed, reaped abundant fruit (Gen. 26:12).” According to Jewish commentators, Isaac could not leave the holy land, as he had been sanctified by sacrifice (L. Philippson, Dieisraelitische Bibel. Th. 1, 1859, p. 124). Perhaps the short duration of the famine also played a role here. Gen.26:3–5. wander through this land, and I will be with you and bless you, for I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to Abraham your father; I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and I will give to your descendants all these lands; Through your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because Abraham [your father] obeyed My voice and kept what I commanded to observe: My commandments, My statutes and My laws. To encourage Isaac, the Lord repeats to him the promises given to Abraham (cf. Gen. 12:7, 13:15, 15:7–18, 18:18), but partly with abbreviation, partly with a deliberate indication that the mercies of God are given to Isaac precisely for the sake of Abraham - his faithfulness to everything commanded by God: commandments (Heb.: mitzvot), statutes (hukkot ) and laws (torot). The latter terms are specific to Mosaic terminology and are most often found in Deuteronomy. The difference between these terms, indicated by Jud. commentators (Rashi, Abarbanel), very vague (see Philippson, s. 125–126); in any case, in relation to Abraham, they have a completely general meaning, without a special relationship to individual incidents of his life (according to Abarb.: mitzvah - the circumcision of Isaac and the expulsion of Ishmael; hukka - the sacrifice of Isaac; Torah - the marriage of Isaac to a relative); by separately indicating these terms “the wisdom of God, according to St. I. Chrysostom, awakens the spirit of the righteous (Isaac), encourages him and directs him to become an imitator of his father” (Creation of St. I. Chrysostom in Russian translation, St. Petersburg 1898, vol. IV, book 2, Demon. 41, p. 552). Gen. 26:7–11. The inhabitants of the place asked about [Rebekah] his wife, and he said: This is my sister; because he was afraid to say: my wife, lest they kill me, he thought, the inhabitants of this place for Rebekah, because she is beautiful in appearance. But when he had already lived there for a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looking out the window, saw that Isaac was playing with Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac and said, Behold, this is your wife; How did you say: she is my sister? Isaac said to him: because I thought that I should not die for her sake. But Abimelech said [to him], “What hast thou done to us?” As soon as one of [my] people had not copulated with your wife, you would have led us into sin. And Abimelech gave commandment to all the people, saying: Whoever touches this man and his wife will be put to death. Slav:. “King of Gerar”, according to LXX (in some, however, LXX lists) Φιλιστείμ (57, 130, 15, 72, 82, 135 in Golmes), Russian:. "Philistine", Heb: pelischtim, Vulg:. Palestinorum. This adventure, quite similar to the double incident with Abraham and Sarah in Egypt (Gen. 12:13–20) and in Gerar (Gen. 20:2–18), differs from the latter in some details. Isaac's cowardice is less excusable and plausible, since he was apparently exposed to less danger than Abraham. Isaac's marital relationship with Rebekah is revealed in this case to the king not through a formidable divine visitation (as with Abraham), but by chance - through Isaac's loving treatment (this is the meaning of his “playing”, v. 8) with his wife. Abimelech does not take Rebekah into his home, as Pharaoh and later the king of the Philistines did with Sarah, but only fears for the possibility of the crime of “asham” (Gen. 26:10–11, cf. Gen. 20:9) in relation to her on the part of one of his people (Kurtz and Delitzsch see here an indication of Abimelech’s advanced age). In any case, the formidable admonition of the king and the people under Abraham lived in the memory of the inhabitants of Gerar. Enrichment of Isaac and his removal from Gerar at the request of Abimelech Gen.26:12. And Isaac sowed in that land and received barley a hundredfold that year: so the Lord blessed him. If Abraham was a simple nomad and sometimes did planting trees (Gen. 21:33), then Isaac begins, along with cattle breeding, to engage in agriculture, and Jacob develops this industry, apparently on a large scale (cf. Joseph’s dream about sheaves) (Gen. 37:7). The current Bedouins of Arabia, Syria and Palestine do the same. The beginning of regular farming among the ancient Jews dates back to their time in Egypt. According to the Syriac text (Peshito), LXX, Slavs, and Russian, Isaac sowed barley. LXX and others read in the Hebrew text: seorim, barley (ἑκατοστεύουσαν κριθήν); in the Masoretic text: schearim, “shearim” – a measure of an unknown quantity; Vulg:. centuplum. It seems that preference should be given to the last reading, i.e. see here the thought of bread in general, and not only of barley, which was very lowly valued in biblical antiquity (cf. Judges 7:13; 1 Kings 4:28). A hundredfold harvest, very rare in Palestine both in ancient times (Matthew 13:8) and now (the usual harvest is 25–30), was a gift of special favor from God to Isaac for his obedience. Gen.26:13. And the man became great and increased more and more until he became very great. Locupletatus est homo (Vulg.). M. Filaret: became rich. Gen. 26:14–16. He had flocks of flocks and herds of cattle and many arable fields, and the Philistines began to envy him. Hebrew: abbuddah rabbah, slav.: “a lot of agriculture”, Russian: “many arable fields”. Same with Ev. the expression is used in (Job 1:3), where in Russian: “many servants.” This is probably the case here, since the context is the same in both cases. And all the wells that his father's servants had dug during the life of his father Abraham, the Philistines filled them up and covered them with earth. And Abimelech said to Isaac: Get away from us, for you have become much stronger than us. Isaac's wealth and power arouse the envy of the Philistines, which is revealed at first indirectly, although very sensitively for him, in the filling up of his wells, without which he and his herds could no longer roam in the vicinity of Gerar (filling up wells in the East is a very large crime, expressing and causing strong enmity, and was common during the war). Then Abimelech directly demands the removal of Isaac from Gerar, out of danger to himself from the powerful sheikh. Unjust and unmerciful, although politically natural (cf. Pharaoh’s fear) (Ex. 1:8–10), this demand was, as it were, a punishment for Isaac’s lie regarding Rebekah. The Philistines fight with Isaac over the wells Gen. 26:17, 20–22. And Isaac departed from there, and pitched tents in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. And the shepherds of Gerar argued with the shepherds of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours.” And he called the name of the well Esek, because they argued with him. [When Isaac moved from there,] they dug another well; they also argued about him; and he called his name Sitna. And he moved from here and dug another well, about which they no longer argued, and called its name Rehoboth, for, he said, now the Lord has given us a spacious place, and we will multiply in the earth. The meek Isaac yields to violence and leaves the residence of Abimelech (cf. v. 8) and settles in a valley near Gerar. But clashes over water continue, and Isaac, still yielding to the Philistines, perpetuates his right to the wells taken by them and the injustice of their claims - in the names of the wells: “Esek” (dispute, quarrel), according to LXX (who read escheq) ἀδικία, glory. "resentment", art. 20, and “Sitna” (fierce, satanic enmity), according to LXX Εχθρία, in Aquila: ἀντικειμένη, art. 21. But then God gives the meek Isaac freedom from his enemies, and he calls the well “Rehoboth” (spacious places), in LXX: Εὐρυχωρία. During these disputes, Isaac probably changed his place and camp more than once (therefore, the addition in LXX in v. 21 is significant: “Isaac moved from there”). A hint of the names of the last two wells can be seen in the Schutein and Ruhaibeh wells lying northeast of Gaza. Isaac's stay in Beersheba and alliance with Abimelech Gen. 26:23–25. From there he moved to Bathsheba. And that night the Lord appeared to him and said: I am the God of Abraham thy father; Fear not, for I am with you; and I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of [your father] Abraham my servant. And he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. And he pitched his tent there, and Isaac's servants dug a well there [in the valley of Gerar]. The new theophany to Isaac reassures him about the danger from the Philistines (cf. Gen. 15:1), confirming the promises given to Abraham, and God is called “the God of Abraham” for the first time, of course, “not in the sense that He limits His dominion to one patriarch, but to show His great favor towards him” (St. I. Zlat., p. 561). Isaac's building (v. 25) of the altar before his tent is a matter of his piety, and it is completely in vain that it is recognized as evidence of the non-authenticity of the passage (Gunkel, s. 276). Gen. 26:26–30. Abimelech and Ahuzath his friend and Phichol his captain came to him from Gerar. Isaac said to them: Why did you come to me, when you hated me and sent me away from you? They said: we have clearly seen that the Lord is with you, and therefore we said: let us put an oath between you and us and make an alliance with you, so that you do not harm us, just as we did not touch you, but do only good to you and let you go in peace; now you are blessed by the Lord. He gave them a feast, and they ate and drank. Heb. Achusath merehu LXX convey: Οχοζαθ ὁ νυμφαγωγὸς αὐτοῦ, understanding the first word as a proper. name of the person (so Russian, slav.; Vulg: Ochosath amicus). Targ. Onkelos, Arabic translators and Blessed Jerome understand the first word in Narits. sense: collegium amicorum. But the first understanding, in addition to its greater logical naturalness, should be preferred due to the analogy of the name Ahuzath with Goliath (1 Kings 17:4), Genivath (1 Kings 11:20). Phichol is also mentioned in the story of Abraham (Genesis 21:22–32), perhaps the same person. Given the similarity of the story of Gen. 26:26–31 about the union of Isaac with Abimelech and Gen. 21:22–32, the more pronounced is the greater compliance and meekness of Isaac compared to Abraham, and the less nobility of Abimelech, whose words (v. 29) represent a clear distortion of the truth. Gen.26:31. And getting up early in the morning, they swore to each other; and Isaac sent them away, and they left him in peace. Isaac generously forgives his former enemies, forms an alliance with them and arranges a feast. Gen. 26:32–33. That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they were digging, and they said to him, “We have found water.” And he named him: Shiva. Therefore the name of that city was Beersheba [Bersheba] to this day. After the removal of Abimelech, Isaac finds a manifestation of God's mercy in the finding of his water by the shepherds. The reading of LXX: οὐχ εὕρομεν (glory: “I did not find water”) is due to an erroneous reading of Heb. lo (to him) as l’o (not); some codices LXX (in Golmes) omit οὐχ. The context refutes the authenticity of this particle: in the next. In the verse we read that Isaac gives the name to this well “Shiva” - what is a well without water? “Shiva” (v. 33) proper. “septenary”, then “oath”, in LXX ὅρκος (slav.: “oath”); Aquila and Symmachus read Hebrews. sabeah, saturation, and conveyed: πλησμονη; similarly in Vulg. – abundantia, and in Blessed Jerome – saturitas. But reading and understanding the LXX deserves preference, since here (v. 33) the name of the city Beersheba (Birsheba) is given from the Hebrew. schibea or schebuah, an oath, as expressly explained in Gen. 21:31; the mention of an oath for Isaac is quite natural, both in imitation of his father (see indicative m. and cf. Art. 18 of this chapter), and in concluding an alliance with Abimelech - Gen. 26:26–31. Gen. 26:34–35. And Esau was forty years old, and he took to wife Jehudith the daughter of Beer the Hittite, and Basematha the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and they were a burden to Isaac and Rebekah. Speaking about the marriage of Esau (following the example of Isaac, 40 years old, Gen. 25:20), at the same time to 2 wives, one can see his unbridled sensuality and carelessness about the purity of his blood - both wives were Canaanite (their names vary a lot according to this m., and according to Gen. 36:2-3, after them he took another 3rd, the daughter of Ishmael (Gen. 28:9) The remark about their disobedience to Isaac and Rebekah, according to the thought of St. John Chrysostom (p. 566), shows the reason why Rebekah and Isaac, according to Chapter 27, deprive Esau of the blessing of the birthright. You might be interested in: