Genesis 26:18

_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._ Issac digged again. The naming of wells by Abraham, and the hereditary right of his family to the property-the change of the names by the Philistines to obliterate the traces of their origin-the restoration of the names by Isaac, and the contests between the respective shepherds to the exclusive possession of the water, are circumstances that occur among the natives in those regions as frequently in the present day as in the time of Isaac. Trench ('Notes on Par.') quotes Origen on this verse, to which that father gives a deeper and allegorical interpretation in addition to that lying on the surface-namely, that those stopped wells are the founta...

18._And Isaac digged again the wells of water_. First, we see that the holy man was so hated by his neighbors, as to be under the necessity of seeking a retreat for himself which was destitute of water; and no habitation is so troublesome and inconvenient for the ordinary purposes of life as that which suffers from scarcity of water. Besides, the abundance of his cattle and the multitude of his servants — who were like a little army — rendered a supply of water very necessary; whence we learn that he was brought into severe straits. But that this last necessity did not instigate him to seek revenge, is a proof of singular forbearance; for we know that lighter injuries will often rack the patience even of humane and moderate men. If any one should object to this view, that he was deficient in strength; I grant, indeed, that he was not able to undertake a regular war; but as his father Abr...

18-25 Isaac met with much opposition in digging wells. Two were called Contention and Hatred. See the nature of worldly things; they make quarrels, and are occasions of strife; and what is often the lot of the most quiet and peaceable; those who avoid striving, yet cannot avoid being striven with. And 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 to be thankful for it. At length Isaac digged a well, for which they strove not. Those that study to be quiet, seldom fail of being so. When men are false and unkind, still God is faithful and gracious; and his time to show himself so is, when we are most disappointed by men. The same night that Isaac came weary and uneasy to Beer-sheba, God brought comforts to his soul. Those may remove with comfort who are sure of God's presence....

Verse Genesis 26:18. _IN THE DAYS OF ABRAHAM_] Instead of בימי _bimey_, in the days, Houbigant contends we should read עבדי _abdey_, servants. Isaac digged again the wells which the _servants_ of Abraham his father had digged. This reading is supported by the _Samaritan,_ _Septuagint, Syriac_, and _Vulgate_; and it is probably the true one....

- 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

AND ISAAC DIGGED AGAIN THE WELLS OF WATER, WHICH THEY HAD DIGGED IN THE DAYS OF ABRAHAM HIS FATHER,.... This seems to refer to the same wells made mention of in Genesis 26:15, since it follows, FOR THE PHILISTINES HAD STOPPED THEM AFTER THE DEATH OF ABRAHAM; these were what Abraham's servants had dug, when he lived at Gerar, and which the Philistines durst not stop during his life; but when he was dead and particularly out of envy to Isaac his son, whom they observed to prosper much, they stopped them up, that he might have no benefit by them; for otherwise they would scarcely have stopped them, if he had not been upon the spot, but would have made use of them themselves. The opening of them again by Isaac seems to be done, as Jarchi observes, before he removed from Gerar to the valley, though it is here related; unless it can be thought that Abraham dwelt in the valley

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.

IN THE DAYS OF ABRAHAM HIS FATHER. Isaac. placid character; shown by his obedience (Genesis 22:6; Genesis 22:8), his meekness in betrothal (24), his mourning for his mother (Genesis 24:63. compare note on Gen 26:63), his following in his father's steps to Gerar (Genesis 20:1) in denying his wife there (20), his finding an Abimelech and Phichol there, and digging wells there, renewing the oath and renaming the well. THEIR NAMES. Compare the four names below and their special meaning....