Genesis 26:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,

NIV: I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,

NASB: I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,

CSB: I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring,

NLT: I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

KJV: And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

NKJV: And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;

In the previous verse, God appeared to Isaac with a powerful message: I am establishing the oath I swore to Abraham with you, as well. I will be with you. I will bless you. The Lord wanted Isaac to understand that all of the promises his father relied on were for him, as well (Genesis 12:1–3).

Now the Lord goes further in repeating those promises: Isaac's offspring would be as the stars of heaven. His offspring would possess all the land of Canaan. Through Isaac's offspring, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. We understand that global blessing to come through the life, death, and resurrection of Isaac's descendant Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1–16; Luke 3:23–28).

Of course, it's only logical that all those things must happen through Isaac for God's promises to Abraham to hold true. But the Lord is intent that Isaac understand these promises are for him, as well. God wants Isaac to take them personally and not to merely see himself as an extension of Abraham. The Lord would 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.