Genesis 26:6

Isaac had now laid aside all thoughts of going to Egypt, and, in obedience to the heavenly vision, sets up his staff in Gerar, the country in which he was born (Gen 26:6), yet there he enters into temptation, the same temptation that his good father had been once and again surprised and overcome by, namely, to deny his wife, and to give out that she was his sister. Observe,

I. How he sinned, Gen 26:7. Because his wife was handsome, he fancied the Philistines would find some way or other to take him off, that some of them might marry her; and therefore she must pass for his sister. It is an unaccountable thing that both these great and good men should be guilty of so strange a piece of dissimulation, by which they so much exposed both their own and their wives' reputation. But we see, 1. That very good men have sometimes been guilty of very great faults and follies. Let those therefore that stand take heed lest they fall, and those that have fallen not despair of being helped up again. 2. That there is an aptness in us to imitate even the weaknesses and infirmities of those we have a value for. We have need therefore to keep our foot, lest, while we aim to tread in the steps of good men, we sometimes tread in their by-steps.

II. How he was detected, and the cheat discovered, by the king himself. Abimelech (not the same that was in Abraham's days, ch. 20, for this was nearly 100 years after that, but this was the common name of the Philistine kings, as Caesar of the Roman emperors) saw Isaac more familiar and pleasant with Rebekah than he knew he would be with his sister (Gen 26:8): he saw him sporting with her, or laughing; it is the same word with that from which Isaac has his name. He was rejoicing with the wife of his youth, Pro 5:18. It becomes those in that relation to be pleasant with one another, as those that are pleased with one another. Nowhere may a man more allow himself to be innocently merry than with his own wife and children. Abimelech charged him with the fraud (Gen 26:9), showed him how frivolous his excuse was and what might have been the bad consequences of it (Gen 26:10), and then, to convince him how groundless and unjust his jealousy of them was, took him and his family under his particular protection, forbidding any injury to be done to him or his wife upon pain of death, Gen 26:11. Note, 1. A lying tongue is but for a moment. Truth is the daughter of time; and, in time, it will out. 2. One sin is often the inlet to many, and therefore the beginnings of sin ought to be avoided. 3. The sins of professors shame them before those that are without. 4. God can make those that are incensed against his people, though there may be some colour of cause for it, to know that it is at their peril if they do them any hurt. See Psa 105:14, Psa 105:15.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Gen_26:6-11

He said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife

Isaacs false expedient

I.

THE TEMPTATION COMES AFTER A TIME OF GREAT BLESSING. We are wise and happy if we can use the time of great blessing so as to gather strength for future trials.

II. HE DID NOT THRUST HIMSELF IN THE WAY OF TEMPTATION. He was in the way of Providence and duty.

III. HE REPEATED THE SIN OF HIS FATHER, BUT INCURRED GREATER GUILT,

IV. THE TREATMENT HE RECEIVED PLACES HEATHEN VIRTUE IN A FAVOURABLE LIGHT.

V. HIS DELIVERANCE SHOWS THAT GOD PROTECTS HIS SAINTS FROM THE EVILS WHICH THEY BRING UPON THEMSELVES. (T. H. Leale.)

Isaacs temptation and sin

Isaac had generally lived in solitude; but now he is called into company, and company becomes a snare. The men of the place asked him of his wife. These questions excited his apprehensions, and put him upon measures for self-preservation that involved him in sin. Observe--

1. He did not sin by thrusting himself into the way of temptation; for he was necessitated, and directed of God, to go to Gerar. Even the calls of necessity and duty may, if we be not on our watch, prove ensnaring; and if so, what must these situations be in which we have no call to be found?

2. The temptation of Isaac is the same as that which had overcome his father, and that in two instances. This rendered his conduct the greater sin. The falls of them that have gone before us are so many rocks on which others have split; and the recording of them is like placing buoys over them, for the security of future mariners.

3. It was a temptation that arose from the beauty of Rebekah. There is a vanity which attaches to all earthly good. Beauty has often been a snare both to those who possess it and to others. (A. Fuller.)

Isaacs deceit

Here we have--

I. A. sin COMMITTED. Cowardly fear led to it, and fear kept it up. There are three faults in Isaacs character exposed by it--

1. Cowardliness.

2. Selfishness.

3. Want of reliance on God.

II. A. sin DETECTED. Every sin will be some day found out.

III. A. sin REPROVED. Abimelech, although reproving Isaac, does so with great forbearance, and follows up his reproof with an act of great kindness. Learn:

1. Avoid deceit--be sure your sin will find you out.

2. Reprove sin with kindness; be merciful to those who err. (J. H. Smith.)

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

CRITICAL NOTES.—

Gen_26:8. Sporting.] “That is, taking freedoms—using familiarities with her, such as exceeded those that were common between brothers and sisters.” (Bush.)—

Gen_26:10. One of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife.] “Lightly” equivalent to “easily.” He intimates that the sin in that case would have been one of ignorance.—

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Gen_26:6-11

ISAAC’S FALSE EXPEDIENT

The false position in which Isaac placed himself with the men of Gerar was intended by him as an expedient to save the virtue of his wife. The purpose in itself was good, but the means he used were unworthy of a man divinely called to a life of faith and duty. He sinned against the truth. There are certain circumstances in this history which throw light both on the nature of his fault and on the character of the population around him.

I. The temptation comes after a time of great blessing. The great promises which God had given to his father had just been renewed to Isaac. It would seem as if nothing but peace and tranquillity must follow such great blessings. We find, however, that they are followed by a time of great trials. And such is the experience of the saints of God in all ages. We are wise and happy if we can use the time of great blessing so as to gather strength for future trials.

II. He did not thrust himself in the way of temptation. Isaac contributed nothing to the temptation by his own conduct. He obeyed the command of God by not going down into Egypt, and by sojourning in the land. He was in the way of Providence and of duty. His temptation arose naturally from the circumstances in which he was placed.

III. He repeated the sin of his father, but incurs greater guilt. About eighty years before this time, Abraham and Sarah had made a similar compact (Gen_20:13). It would appear that this was a common expedient with married people among strangers in those times of social insecurity. Isaac used his father’s expedient, but forgot the bitter failure by which it was followed. There was before him an example which suggested warning enough, and therefore by repeating this fault he incurred greater guilt.

IV. The treatment he received places heathen virtue in a favourable light. Abimelech assures Isaac that his fears were groundless (Gen_26:10). Though these people were idolators they still retained some salutary fear of God, and regarded the violation of the marriage covenant as a sin of the worst type. Isaac ought to have had a more generous faith in his neighbours, and therefore he merits a similar reproof to that which was administered to his father (Gen_20:9-11).

V. His deliverance shows that God protects His saints from the evils which they bring upon themselves. Isaac was delivered from the evils to which he had exposed himself. God used the virtue and integrity of Abimelech to protect him. The vain self-reliance and wicked policy of the old corrupt nature often bring God’s saints into trouble. They may be beaten back for a time, still they hold on their way.

ISAAC’S FALSEHOOD

The history of Uriah and David makes it easy to understand how such falsehoods came to be spoken; for in those unscrupulous days a stranger ran a risk of being put to death on some pretext that a royal tyrant might take his wife in marriage. We find that Abraham committed this very sin of lying twice before. Now in Isaac’s case this certainly would account for, though by no means excuse, his lie. He had before him the example of his father’s cowardly falsehood. And he copied it. We are thus ever prone to imitate the character of those we admire. Their very failings seem virtues; and hence comes a solemn consideration, that a good man’s faults are doubly dangerous; the whole weight of his authority is thrown into the scale; his very virtues fight against God. Another thing which will help to explain Isaac’s act is an idiosyncrasy of character. He was possessed of a kind of subtlety, an over-fine edge of mind; and the tendency of this is toward craft and cunning. Such characters see both sides of a question; go on refining and refining, weighing points of subtle casuistry, until at last they become bewildered, and can scarcely see the border line between right and wrong. It requires characters like Abimelech’s, rude, straightforward, to cut asunder the knot of their difficulties. Observe, again, how this tendency to falsehood through over-refinement is seen in Jacob also, Isaac’s son: thus it is that characters are handed down from father to son. Remark, too, another quality which accompanies such characters as Isaac’s—want of courage: “lest I die for her.” Contemplative men, who meditate at eventide, who are not men of action, want those practical habits which are oftentimes the basis of truthfulness. It is a want especially remarkable now. Never was there a day in which this tone of mind was more common, or more dangerous. Our day is not remarkable for devoutness; and the men who are so are not remarkable for manliness. They have somewhat of effeminacy in their characters—are tender, soft, wanting a firm, broad footing on reality. It is just to such minds as these that the Church of Rome offers peculiar attractions. She appeals to all that craves for awe, reverence, tenderness, mystery. Men get to live in mystery and shadows, and call it devoutness. Then in this borderland, between this reality and unreality,—this cloud region as it were,—truth itself melts away by degrees. Is it not an indisputable fact that, as soon as men leave our Church for Rome, their word is not to be trusted; that they get a double dealing spirit; a habit of casuistry, and of tampering with truth on plausible and subtle pretences which is a disgrace to Englishmen, not to say Christians! Therefore, let religious life strengthen itself by action. We want a more real life. A life merely prayerful, spent in dim religious lights, amidst the artistic parts of religion, architecture, chantings, litanies, fades into the unreal and merely imaginative soul passes into the false soul.—(Robertson.)

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES

Gen_26:6-7. Gerar was probably a commercial town trading with Egypt, and therefore Isaac’s wants during the famine are here supplied. “The men of the place” were struck with the appearance of Rebekah, “because she was fair.” Isaac, in answer to their inquiries, pretends that she is his sister, feeling that his life was in peril, if she was known to be his wife. Rebekah was at this time not less than thirty-five years married, and had two sons upwards of fifteen years old. She was still however in the prime of life, and her sons were probably engaged in pastoral and other field pursuits.—(Murphy.)

The beauty of Rebekah exposed Isaac to great risk and brought him into this trouble. Thus every earthly good has some vanity attached to it.

This incident teaches us, that in swerving at all from the strict path of duty, we may be furnishing a precedent to others of whom we little dream. No man knows, in doing wrong, what use will be made of his example.—(Bush.)

Gen_26:8. There is here no Divine interference: all is human detection and human foresight. There is no further meaning in this verse than appears in the words. What passed was no more than is related, but was enough to justify the king’s inference,—(Alford.)

Gen_26:9. But why was this a necessary inference? Might not Isaac justly have subjected himself to evil imputations? Might he not have been guilty of great crimes under the covert of his alleged relationship to Rebekah? The answer to this is highly creditable to the patriarch. It is clear that his general deportment at Gerar had been so uniformly upright and exemplary, that Abimelech knew not how to entertain an ill opinion of his conduct; and though his words were inconsistent with his conduct in the present instance, yet, judging from his whole deportment, he comes to the conclusion rather that his words had been somehow false, than that his actions had been wrong. Such is usually the paramount influence of a good life.—(Bush.)

Jacob feared for his own safety. Such quiet, calculating men often lack courage.

Gen_26:10. A just reproof for those who by their lack of manly and straight-forward conduct expose others to sin.

The sin which the king of Gerar intimates might have been brought upon his people would have been strictly one of inadvertence or ignorance on his part. His words show, however, that it was a deeply fixed persuasion in the minds of heathen nations that the violation of the marriage covenant was a sin of deep die, and one which merited, and was likely to draw after it, the Divine indignation.—(Bush.)

Gen_26:11. The righteous indignation of Abimelech was worthy of a good king. On the other hand, the timid policy of Isaac was unworthy of a servant of God.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

26:6-11 While staying in Gerar, Isaac, like his father, deceived people into believing that his wife was his sister. Some suppose that this story duplicates the stories of Abraham’s deception (12:10-20; 20:1-18), but the differences are greater than the similarities, and the son’s repetition of his father’s lie is natural. Through numerous parallels with Abraham, ch 26 shows how God’s plan continued with Isaac. Even when Isaac jeopardized the covenant as his father had, God prevented disaster and preserved the marriage. Abraham’s descendants would be blessed because of Abraham, but they had to exercise their own faith to enjoy the blessings. Genuine faith in God’s promises engenders a fearless walk with him; cowering in fear endangers the blessing and mocks the faith.

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

And Isaac dwelt in Gerar. Continued there; in this he was obedient to the command and will of God.

And Isaac dwelt in Gerar. Continued there; in this he was obedient to the command and will of God.

Genesis 26:7

gen 26:7

gen 26:7

gen 26:7And the men of the place asked him of his wife,.... The inhabitants of Gerar inquired of Isaac who she was, whether she was his wife or not, or in what relation she stood in to him; this was not a mere civil inquiry, but what arose from the prevalence of lust in them towards her; and yet it was under some restraint, they being not so abandoned to their lusts as to exercise them upon any; not upon a man's wife, the sin of adultery being detestable to them, though that of fornication was made no account of by them:

and he said, she is my sister; herein imitating his father Abraham in his infirmity and unbelief, who in the same place had made such an answer to a like question concerning Sarah, Gen 20:1; and which if Isaac knew of, as probably he did, one would wonder that he should fall into the same evil, and especially when he had not so much to say to support his assertion as Abraham had; for Rebekah was not so near akin to him as Sarah was to Abraham; and though cousins might be called sisters, yet this was mere dissimulation to call his wife sister, and was done with an intention to deceive, and therefore not justifiable:

for he feared to say, she is my wife; which was the real truth; but the fear of men, which brings a snare, led him to this, and from which good men are not always free:

lest, said he, that is, within himself, in his own mind; and so the Targum of Jonathan, he thought in his heart:

the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; that they might marry her, one or other of them; for, it seems, they had not so great a sense of the sin of murder, as of adultery:

because she was fair to look upon; which he feared would be a temptation to them, and stir up their impure desires after her, in order to gratify which he was afraid they would kill him; Rebekah retaining her beauty still, though she had been married in all probability forty years or more, see Gen 24:16.

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

And Isaac dwelt in Gerar as God had shown and enjoined him.

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

Protection of Rebekah at Gerar. - As Abraham had declared his wife to be his sister both in Egypt and at Gerar, so did Isaac also in the latter place. But the manner in which God protected Rebekah was very different from that in which Sarah was preserved in both instances. Before any one had touched Rebekah, the Philistine king discovered the untruthfulness of Isaac's statement, having seen Isaac "sporting with Rebekah," sc., in a manner to show that she was his wife; whereupon he reproved Isaac for what he had said, and forbade any of his people to touch Rebekah on pain of death. Whether this was the same Abimelech as the one mentioned in Gen 20 cannot be decided with certainty. The name proves nothing, for it was the standing official name of the kings of Gerar (cf. Sa1 21:11 and Ps 34), as Pharaoh was of the kings of Egypt. The identity is favoured by the pious conduct of Abimelech in both instances; and no difficulty is caused either by the circumstance that 80 years had elapsed between the two events (for Abraham had only been dead five years, and the age of 150 was no rarity then), or by the fact, that whereas the first Abimelech had Sarah taken into his harem, the second not only had no intention of doing this, but was anxious to protect her from his people, inasmuch as it would be all the easier to conceive of this in the case of the same king, on the ground of his advanced age.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Rebekah’s Danger

v. 6. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar, remaining there after the Lord had appeared unto him.

v. 7. And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister; for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. Rebekah had been a beautiful woman at the time of her marriage, Gen 24:16, and she had retained her beauty. Isaac was so well aware of this that he, knowingly or unknowingly, followed the example of his father, Gen 12:11-12; Genesis 20, replying to the questions concerning the woman living with him that she was his sister. This was a foolish and dangerous perversion of the truth, as events showed.

v. 8. And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah, his wife. By chance Abimelech, looking out of a window of his palace, became witness of the fact that Isaac, who probably occupied a house with its open court nearby, was treating his wife Rebekah with such familiar endearments as are altogether in order between husband and wife, but would hardly be considered permissible between brother and sister.

v. 9. And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.

v. 10. And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? One of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. The reproof which Abimelech administered was well merited on Isaac’s part, and his excuse that he feared to be put to death on her account was very lame. The Lord’s promise is that He will keep those that trust in Him in all their ways, that is, as long as they conduct themselves in conformity with His Word. The weakness of Isaac is related as a warning to us.

v. 11. And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. The bad experience of the people in the king’s house upon the occasion of Abraham’s sojourn in Gerar, although three fourths of a century ago, had not been forgotten, hence the strictness of the in junction on Abimelech’s part, which obtained for both Isaac and Rebekah the greatest security, the Lord thus holding His protecting hand over them in spite of their weakness.

v. 12. Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. That was an extraordinary blessing of the Lord that Isaac literally found a hundred measures for every measure of grain sowed by him.

v. 13. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great. There was no stop, no interruption in his progress in accumulating wealth.

v. 14. For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants; and the Philistines envied him, jealous of the blessing which the Lord poured out upon him.

v. 15. For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham, his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. The hostilities which grew out of the envy in the hearts of the Philistines began with their filling up the wells at Gerar, to which Isaac held title, with earth.

v. 16. And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. To the act of spite was added the direct expulsion by the Philistine king, the reason being that Isaac had become mightier in wealth and power than the Philistines cared to see. Thus the believers of all times are obliged to endure acts of jealousy and open enmity on account of the blessing which the Lord lays upon them; and they must learn to suffer cheerfully for His sake.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So Isaac settled in Gerar

Only Isaac is mentioned because he is the leader of the family, but his whole family was with him. AT: "So Isaac and his family settled in Gerar" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

He feared to say

Here "fear" refers to the unpleasant feeling a person has when there is a threat of harm to himself or others. "He was afraid to say"

to get Rebekah

"in order to take Rebekah"

He saw, behold, Isaac

The word "behold" shows that what Abimelech saw surprised him. AT: "And he was surprised to see that Isaac"

was caressing Rebekah

Possible meanings are 1) he was touching her the way a husband touches his wife or 2) he was laughing and talking with her the way a husband talks with his wife.

translationWords

Isaac

Gerar

fear

Rebekah

Abimelech

king

Philistines

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

וישב, he accepted G’d’s instruction to remain within the boundaries of the land promised to his father Avraham.

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.