Genesis 26:14

Gen 26:14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

Ver. 14. And the Philistines envied him.] Envy is the constant companion of prosperity, as David felt and complained. Succoth and Pennel contemn Gideon, out of envy of his victory; Joseph’s 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. Caligula sacrificed to Neptune and Envy, ne sibi, ut ipse dicebat, invideretur. {a} He thought other men sick, like him, of his disease (as the devil accused God of envy to our first parents); for certainly there was not a more envious person living than he; witness his throwing down the statues of all famous men, and defacing their titles; forbidding any new to be set up without his leave and liking. So that tiger, Tiberius, laid hold, with his spiteful teeth, on all the excellent spirits of his time: he put a poet to death, for making an excellent tragedy; {b} and banished a certain architect, for building an elaborate porch at Rome, which he could not choose but admire and reward with money. Nero envied all men that were any whit gracious with the people. {c} Valentinian hated all that were well apparelled, or well learned, or wealthy, or noble {d} Fortibus etiam detrahere solebat, ut solus videretur bonis artibus eminere, saith Ammianus. {e} Germanicus had not any more deadly enemies than his own ornaments, {f} and his adversaries (as here Isaac’s) had - nothing to complain of him, more than his greatness. So true is that of Salust; {g} Difficillimum inter mortales est, gloria invidiam vincere. Hercules had not more ado with Hydra than a good man shall have with this beast. Envied he shall be of his neighbour, for his labour and right work. {Ecc 4:4} "This is also vanity, and vexation of spirit."

{a} Dio in Vita Caligula.

{b} Sueton., cap. 3 and 4. Lucano, quod arte poetics clarus erat vetitum fuit, ne carmen faceret.

{c} Dio in Neron.

{d} Seneca.

{e} Am. Marcell., lib. xxx. cap. 29.

{f} Tacitus.

{g} Salust in Catil.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen_26:14-16

The Philistines envied him

The prosperous are subject to envy

1.

Great estates subject the best of men to envy.

2. Philistine spirits envy all increase of good to the Church of God (Gen_26:14).

3. Men fearless of God make no scruple of doing the greatest injuries to His servants.

4. All the saints right, persuades not the wicked from doing wrong.

5. A malicious spirit destroyeth that which itself needeth, only to mischief the righteous man.

6. Water-mercies are very great, therefore would the wicked take them from the just (Gen_26:15). (G. Hughes, B. D.)

Lessons

1. Powers as well as peasants join together to afflict the saints.

2. Worldly men in power would not suffer the godly to prosper by them.

3. Exilement is the best which wicked powers allow to saints.

4. Gods greatning of His saints causeth the powers of the world to diminish them (Gen_26:16). (G. Hughes, B. D.)

No worldly blessing is unalloyed

Isaacs prosperity was not unalloyed. He suffered from envy. Be sure of this, that for every blessing man pays a price. If the world has gained in medical skill, it has lost that simple life which made it unnecessary. If we heap possessions round us we lose quiet, we get anxiety. Every man pays a price for his advantages, for talents, for property, for high station; he bids adieu to rest, being public property. It was so with Isaac. He had great possessions, and the Philistines envied him. 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 this--Love your enemies. Isaac like Christ had conquered by meekness; and then it was that there was shed abroad in his heart that deep peace which is most profound in the midst of storm, the peace of God which passeth all understanding. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26:14-16 The Philistines envied Isaac’s prosperity and filled his wells with dirt. The king then ordered Isaac to leave that region because he was too powerful for them (cp. 21:22-23).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The malicious envy always the graces of God in others.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 14. He had possession of flocks] He who blessed him in the increase of his fields blessed him also in the increase of his flocks; and as he had extensive possessions, so he must have many hands to manage such concerns: therefore it is added, he had great store of servants - he had many domestics, some born in his house, and others purchased by his money.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. And the Philistines envied him. We are taught by this history that the blessings of God which pertain to the present earthly life are never pure and perfect, but are mixed with some troubles, lest quiet and indulgence should render us negligent. Wherefore, let us all learn not too ardently to desire great wealth. If the rich are harassed by any cause of disquietude, let them know that they are roused by the Lord, lest they should fall fast asleep in the midst of their pleasures; and let the poor enjoy this consolation, that their poverty is not without its advantages. For it is no light good to live free from envy, tumults, and strifes. Should any one raise the objection, that it can by no means be regarded as a favor, that God, in causing Isaac to abound in wealth, exposed him to envy, to contentions, and to many troubles; there is a ready answer, that not all the troubles with which God exercises his people, in any degree prevent the benefits which he bestows upon them from retaining the taste of his paternal love. Finally, he so attempers the favor which he manifests towards his children in this world, that he stirs them up, as with sharp goads, to the consideration of a celestial life. It was not, however, a slight trial, that the simple element of water, which is the common property of all animals, was denied to the holy patriarch; with how much greater patience ought we to bear our less grievous sufferings! If, however, at any time we are angry at being unworthily injured; let us remember that, at least, we are not so cruelly treated as holy Isaac was, when he had to contend for water. Besides, not only was he deprived of the element of water, but the wells which his father Abraham had dug for himself and his posterity were filled up. This, therefore, was the extreme of cruelty, not only to defraud a stranger of every service due to him, but even to take from him what had been obtained by the labor of his own father, and what he possessed without inconvenience to any one.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(14) Great store of servants.—Marg., husbandry. In Job_1:3 the word is rendered household in the text, and husbandry again in the margin. Literally it means making employment, and answers to our word business. But if in a man’s life there is much activity and plenty to do, there must be people to do it, and profits made whereby to maintain them. And thus the translation, “great store of servants,” gives the sense; but we see besides that Isaac kept them all actively employed,

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. and a great household] i.e. a large number of slaves and attendants.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For all the wells which his father's servants had digged, in the days of Abraham his father,.... For the watering of his flocks and herds, see Gen 21:25,

the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth; that they might be of no use; and this they did through envy to him, and is mentioned as a proof of it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Great store of servants; or rather, of husbandry, as this word is elsewhere used; of corn-fields, vineyards, &c.; for he is describing his riches, which then consisted in the two things here expressed, cattle and lands, which he diligently and successfully managed, Gen 26:12.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. Flocks… herds… servants… envied — These four words speak volumes. Prosperity and abundance excite the envy of ignoble natures.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For he had (literally, there was to him) possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: gewrgia polla (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)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

וְעֲבֻדָּה רבה means a great many things to do (i. e. great undertakings) O. F. ouvraine. The word עֲבוׂדָה denotes one thing to be done whereas עֲבֻדָּה denotes many things to be done (a collective noun)

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND HE HAD POSSESSIONS OF FLOCKS, AND POSSESSIONS OF HERDS, AND A GREAT HOUSEHOLD, meaning she-asses and camels, he-asses, and men-servants and handmaids. Now Scripture mentions these but not silver and gold, as it says concerning Abraham, 13:2. because the wealth which he amassed in the land of the Philistines consisted of flocks and a great household. And the Philistines were jealous of him in this matter. This is the meaning of that which Abimelech says to Isaac, For thou art become much mightier than we. The king said to him, “I, too, who am the king do not have in my home such flocks and domestics as you, and it is a disgrace to us that your household is greater than that of the king.”

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ויהי לו מקנה צאן ומקנה בקר, he had acquired both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. Both words מקנה have the vowel tzeyreh indicating that they are in a construct mode.

ועבודה רבה, he also engaged extensively in agriculture. Compare Proverbs 12,11, עובד אדמתו, “tilling his own land.” Compare also Genesis 4,11 כי תעבוד את האדמה, “when you till the soil.”

ויקנאו אתו, they were jealous of him on account of his astounding success. The absence of the dagesh in the letter נ indicates that this is an intransitive mode of the verb קנא.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.