Genesis 26:12

_THEN ISAAC SOWED IN THAT LAND, AND RECEIVED IN THE SAME YEAR AN HUNDREDFOLD: AND THE LORD BLESSED HIM._ Then Isaac sowed. During his sojourn in that district he farmed a piece of land which, by the blessing of God on his skill and industry, was very productive (Isaiah 65:13; Psalms 37:19), and by its plentiful returns he increased so rapidly in wealth and influence that the Philistines, afraid or envious of his prosperity, obliged him to leave the place (Proverbs 27:4; Ecclesiastes 4:4). This may receive illustration from the fact that many Syrian shepherds at this day settle for a year or two in a place, rent s

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. (Psalms 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

12-17 God blessed Isaac. Be it observed, for the encouragement of poor tenants who occupy other people's lands, and are honest and industrious, that God blessed him with a great increase. The Philistines envied Isaac. It is an instance of the vanity of the world; for the more men have of it, the more they are envied, and exposed to censure and injury. Also of the corruption of nature; for that is an ill principle indeed, which makes men grieve at the good of others. They made Isaac go out of their country. That wisdom which is from above, will teach us to give up our right, and to draw back from contentions. If we are wrongfully driven from one place, the Lord will make room for us in another....

Verse Genesis 26:12. _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_] מאה שערים, _meah shearim_, literally, "A hundred-fold of barley;" and so the Septuagint, εκατοστευουσαν κριθην. 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....

- The Events of Isaac’s Life 5. משׁמרת _mı̂shmeret_, “charge, ordinance.” מציה _mı̂tsvâh_, “command,” special order. חק _choq_, “decree, statute,” engraven on stone or metal. תירה _tôrâh_, “law,” doctrine, system of moral truth. 10. עשׂק _‛__êśeq_, ‘Eseq, “strife.” 21. שׂטנה _śı̂ṭnâh_, Sitnah, “opposition.” 22. רחבית _r__e__chobôt_, Rechoboth, “room.” 26. אחזת...

EXPOSITION GENESIS 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-FOLD—litera

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", Genesis 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 bu

CHAPTER 26 ISAAC IN GERAR _ 1. The famine (Genesis 26:1)_ 2. Jehovah appears unto Isaac (Genesis 26:2) 3. Isaac in Gerar where he denies Rebekah (Genesis 26:6) 4. Isaac's prosperity and the digging of wells (Genesis 26:12) 5. Jehovah appears at Beersheba (Genesis 26:23) 6. Isaac and Abimelech (Genesis 26:26) 7. The wives of Esau ...

GENESIS 26. ISAAC AND THE PHILISTINES. Apart from Genesis 26:34 f. this chapter belongs to J. The original has been expanded in Genesis 26:1, and Genesis 26:15; Genesis 26:18 are harmonistic insertions. Apart from Genesis 26:12 the incidents are parallel to incidents recorded of Abraham. On the relation to the earlier adventures of Sarah in Egypt and Gerar, see Genesis 26:20 *. The incident is misplaced; obviously it is earlier than the birth of Esau and Jacob.

RECEIVED. Hebrew found. Figure of speech _Synecdoche_ (of the Species). Compare Genesis 6:8; Romans 4:1....