Genesis 26:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

NIV: Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.

NASB: Live for a time in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.

CSB: stay in this land as an alien, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.

NLT: Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.

KJV: 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;

NKJV: Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.

A famine has forced Isaac and his family to migrate in search of more fertile territory. The Lord has commanded them not to travel to Egypt, as many people did in this time. There the Nile kept the land well-watered even during some seasons of drought. This command from God might have been due to lingering resentment over what Abraham, Isaac's father, had done to the Pharaoh many decades earlier (Genesis 12:18–20). It might also be a simple issue of God proving His ability to provide in His own way, and His own time.

Instead, the Lord insists that Isaac keep his family in the land of Gerar, ruled by the king of the Philistines. The Lord delivers to Isaac a powerful message: I will be with you. I will bless you. I will give all these lands to you and to your offspring. That sounds familiar, since these are the same promises the Lord had given to Isaac's father Abraham (Genesis 12:1–3). In fact, the Lord makes that point: I will establish the same oath with you that I did with your father.

This is a huge moment in Isaac's life. During Abraham's lifetime, God's relationship with His people had been defined by God's relationship with Abraham. Now that Abraham was dead, Isaac had to wonder at times if God would deal in the same way with Him. God makes clear in this moment that all of the same promises still hold true. He will be with Isaac.

Genesis 26:1–5 contains God's assurances to Isaac that He remains faithful to His covenant promises even after the death of Abraham. In a time of famine, the Lord commands Isaac not to travel to Egypt for relief but to settle in Gerar, the land of the Philistines. Isaac obeys, just as his father had done. This passage emphasizes that Abraham's trust in God was demonstrated through his actions.

Genesis 26 focuses on God's assurances to Isaac to be with him and to bless him, mostly while Isaac and his household are settled in the land of the Philistines. Just as Abraham did, Isaac fearfully lies about his wife being his sister, nearly bringing disaster on Abimelech and his kingdom. Still, God blesses Isaac with greater and greater abundance to the point that Abimelech sends Isaac away because he has become too powerful. After continued disputes over water rights, Abimelech and Isaac eventually make a covenant of peace.

Genesis 26 seems to jump back in time to the season before Jacob and Esau were born, as described in the previous chapter. This is common in ancient literature. The Lord establishes and renews His covenant promises to Isaac, blessing him abundantly in the land of Philistines during a time of famine. Eventually, Abimelech sends Isaac away due to his growing power and disputes over water rights, but they end up forming a peace treaty. Esau's marriage to foreign women creates strife, adding more fuel to the controversy which is soon to occur. In the next chapter, Jacob will steal his older brother's rightful blessing.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.