Barashyt(Genesis) — 26

1 A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Yachaq moved to Garar, where Abimalach, king of the Philistines, lived.

2 For YAHUAH appeared to Yachaq and said, “Do not go down to Mitzraym, but do as I tell you. 

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

4 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 Arath (earth) will be barak. 

5 I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.” 

6 So Yachaq stayed in Garar.

7 When the men who lived there asked Yachaq about his wife, Rabakah, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.” 

8 But some time later, Abimalach, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Yachaq caressing Rabakah.

9 Immediately, Abimalach called for Yachaq and exclaimed, “She is obviously your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Yachaq replied, “Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me.

10 “How could you do this to us?” Abimalach exclaimed. “One of my people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin.”

11 Then Abimalach issued a public proclamation: “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death!”

12 When Yachaq planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH barak him. 

13 He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow. 

14 He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him. 

15 So the Philistines filled up all of Yachaq’s wells with dirt. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham.

16 Finally, Abimalach ordered Yachaq to leave the country. “Go somewhere else,” he said, “for you have become too powerful for us.”

17 So Yachaq moved away to the Garar Valley, where he set up their tents and settled down.

18 He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham’s death. Yachaq also restored the names Abraham had given them.

19 Yachaq’s servants also dug in the Garar Valley and discovered a well of fresh water.

20 But then the shepherds from Garar came and claimed the spring. “This is our water,” they said, and they argued over it with Yachaq’s herdsmen. So Yachaq named the well Asak (which means “argument”). 

21 Yachaq’s men then dug another well, but again there was a dispute over it. So Yachaq named it Sitnah (which means “hostility”). 

22 Abandoning that one, Yachaq moved on and dug another well. This time there was no dispute over it, so Yachaq named the place Rahubuth (which means “open space”), for he said, “At last 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH has created enough space for us to prosper in this land.”

23 From there Yachaq moved to Baarshaba, 

24 where 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH appeared to him on the night of his arrival. “I am the 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH of your father, Abraham, Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will barak you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.” 

25 Then Yachaq built an altar there and worshiped 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well.

26 One day King Abimalach came from Gerar with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicul, his army commander. 

27 “Why have you come here?” Yachaq asked. “You obviously hate me, since you kicked me off your land.”

28 They replied, “We can plainly see that 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you. Let’s make a covenant. 

29 Swear that you will not harm us, just as we have never troubled you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in Shalum. And now look how 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH has Barak you!”

30 So Yachaq prepared a covenant feast to celebrate the treaty, and they ate and drank together. 

31 Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath not to interfere with each other. Then Yachaq sent them home again, and they left him in Shalum.

32 That very day Yachaq’s servants came and told him about a new well they had dug. “We have found water!” they exclaimed. 

33 So Yachaq named the well Shibah (which means “oath”). And to this day the town that grew up there is called Baarshaba (which means “well of the oath”).

34 At the age of forty, Asau married two Hittite wives: Yudith, the daughter of Baari, and Basamath, the daughter of Alun. 

35 But Asau’s wives made life miserable for Yachaq and Rabakah.