Genesis 26:3

Gen 26:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

Ver. 3. Sojourn in this land.] Though it lay under the common lash; that he might see God’s power in providing for him amidst greatest straits and difficulties. Poena duplicem habet ordinationem: unam ad culpam quae praecedit, alteram, ad gloriam Dei quam praecedit. {a}

{a} Alex. Alesius [Hayles], p. 3, q. 5, m. 1.

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.

Verse 3. Sojourn in this land] In Gerar, whither he had gone, Ge 26:1, and where we find he settled, Ge 26:6, though the land of Canaan in general might be here intended. That there were serious and important reasons why Isaac should not go to Egypt, we may be fully assured, though they be not assigned here; it is probable that even Isaac himself was not informed why he should not go down to Egypt. I have already supposed that God saw trials in his way which he might not have been able to bear. While a man acknowledges God in all his ways, he will direct all his steps, though he may not choose to give him the reasons of the workings of his providence. Abraham might go safely to Egypt, Isaac might not; in firmness and decision of character there was a wide difference between the two men.

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

(3, 4) These countries.—On the archaic form of the pronoun these, see Note on Gen_19:8. The countries are enumerated in Gen_15:19-21. For the “oath,” see Gen_22:16; and for the metaphor, “as the stars,” see Gen_15:5.

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

3. sojourn … land] The temporary dwelling of one who as a stranger had none of the rights of a native inhabitant; so LXX παροίκει; Lat. peregrinare. See note on Gen_23:4, and cf. Heb_11:9.

I will be with thee] See Gen_26:24, Gen_21:20, Gen_28:15. God’s Presence is the pledge of man’s blessing.

unto thee, &c.] The promises made to Abraham are here renewed to Isaac; see note on Gen_13:14-17.

these lands] The plural is uncommon. Lat. universas regiones has.

the oath … sware] See Gen_22:16-18.

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.

Sojourn in this land,.... The land of Canaan, where he now was; either in Gerar, which though in the land of the Philistines was a part of Canaan, the place of his present residence; or in any other part of it he should be directed to: however, by this it appears it was the pleasure of God that he should not go out of that land, and which Abraham his father was careful of, that he should not while he lived; see Gen 24:6,

and I will be with thee, and I will bless thee; with his presence; with protection from all enemies; with a supply of all the necessaries of life; and with all spiritual blessings, and with eternal life and happiness:

for unto thee, and to thy seed, will I give these countries; inhabited at that time by the Philistines, Canaanites, and the several tribes of them:

and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; concerning the promise of the Messiah from him and his seed, the gift of the land of Canaan to them, and the multiplication of them, Gen 22:16.

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

Unto thee, and unto thy seed; to thee to enjoy for thy present comfort, and to them to possess as an inheritance. See Poole on "Gen 13:15", see Poole on "Gen 15:18".

I will perform the oath, i.e. the promises confirmed by oath, Gen 22:16, &c.

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

Sojourn in this land, viz., Philistia (Murphy, Alford), though otherwise regarded as Canaan (Lange, Keil, Calvin)and I will be with thee, and will bless thee. Of this comprehensive promise, the first part was enjoyed by, while the second was distinctly stated to, Abraham. (Gen_12:2) God s presence with Isaac of higher significance than his presence with Ishmael. (Gen_21:20) For unto thee, and unto thy seed, will I give all these lah an archaism for hLaeh (cf. Gen_19:8, Gen_19:25) countries (i.e. Canaan and the surrounding lands), and I will perform the oath (vide Gen_22:16) which I aware unto Abraham thy father.

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

האל is the same as האלה THESE.

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 I WILL FULFILL THE OATH WHICH I SWORE UNTO ABRAHAM THY FATHER. There is no need for the Holy One, blessed be He, to assure Isaac that He will not violate the oath which He swore to his father, for He is not a man, that He should repent. Abraham had no other seed upon whom a covenant had been established with G-d except Isaac. The oath, moreover, was not given on condition. In the case of Jacob,. it was necessary that he be given such assurance on account of his brother Esau. He was thus saying that in him [Jacob] and his seed will the covenant be fulfilled, not in Esau. [But in the case of Isaac, why was it necessary that he be given such a promise?]It would appear then that this expression, Vehakimothi eth hashevuah, is itself an oath.. This is now found in most English translations. It is for this reason that the Torah always says, The land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants, to whom Thou didst swear by Thine own self. For we find no source for an oath having been given to Isaac except this verse.Now it was the desire of the Holy One, blessed be He, to swear to each one of the patriarchs to let it be known that each one was worthy of the covenant being made with him alone, and that the merit of each one stands before Him together with their seed. Even though the previous one suffices, it is an additional merit and honor to them. It is for this reason He said, Then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land, since all of them had the distinction of G-d having made a covenant with them.It is possible that He promised something additional to Isaac through this oath, namely, that He will fulfill in him himself, the oath He had sworn to Abraham his father, i.e., that he [Isaac] will be a blessing among the nations, even as He said to Abraham his father, And all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves with thy seed. The explanation of the verse before us will thus be: “And I will fulfill in thee the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father since you will be a blessing among the nations.” Similarly, He also says in the case of Jacob, And in thee and in thy seed shall all of the families of the earth be blessed.

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.

גור...לך ולזרעך, I have already explained this in connection with the previous verse.

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.