1 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
And there was a famine. Moses relates that Isaac was tried by nearly the same kind of temptation as that through which his father Abraham had twice passed. I have before explained how severe and violent was this assault. The condition in which it was the will of God to place his servants, as strangers and pilgrims in the land which he had promised to give them, seemed sufficiently troublesome and hard; but it appears still more intolerable, that he scarcely suffered them to exist (if we may so speak) in this wandering, uncertain, and changeable kind of life, but almost consumed them with hunger. Who would not say that God had forgotten himself, when he did not even supply his own children, -- whom he had received into his especial care and trust, -- however sparingly and scantily, with food? But God thus tried the holy fathers, that we might be taught, by their example, not to be effeminate and cowardly under temptations. Respecting the terms here used, we may observe, that though there were two seasons of dearth in the time of Abraham, Moses alludes only to the one, of which the remembrance was most recent. [1]
1 - Abimelech, king of the Philistines, mentioned in this verse, was not he who is spoken of in Genesis xxi., but perhaps his descendant. "It is probable the name was common to the kings of Gerar, as Pharaoh was to the kings of Egypt. The meaning of the word 'vymlk is, My father the king. Kings ought to be the fathers of their country." -- Menochius in Poli Syn.
The Events of Isaac's Life
5. משׁמרת mı̂shmeret, "charge, ordinance." מציה mı̂tsvâh, "command," special order. חק choq, "decree, statute," engraven on stone or metal. תירה tôrâh, "law," doctrine, system of moral truth.
10. עשׂק ‛êśeq, 'Eseq, "strife."
21. שׂטנה śı̂ṭnâh, Sitnah, "opposition."
22. רחבית rechobôt, Rechoboth, "room."
26. אחזת 'ǎchuzat, Achuzzath, "possession."
33. שׁבעה shı̂b‛âh, Shib'ah, "seven; oath."
34. יהוּדית yehûdı̂yt, Jehudith, "praised." בארי be'ērı̂y, Beeri, "of a well." בשׂמת bāśemat, Basemath, "sweet smell." אילן 'êylon, Elon, "oak."
This chapter presents the leading events in the quiet life of Isaac. It is probable that Abraham was now dead. In that case, Esau and Jacob would be at least fifteen years of age when the following event occurred.
There was a famine - When this happened we cannot tell; it appears to have been after the death of Abraham. Concerning the first famine, see Genesis 12:10.
Abimelech - As we know not the time when the famine happened, so we cannot tell whether this was the same Abimelech, Phichol, etc., which are mentioned Genesis 20:1, Genesis 20:2, etc., or the sons or other descendants of these persons.
And there was a famine in the (a) land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
(a) In the land of Canaan.
And there was a famine in the land,.... In the land of Canaan, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it:
besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham; of which see Genesis 12:10; which was an hundred years before this:
and Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, unto Gerar; where his father Abraham had sojourned before he was born; and therefore the present king of this place can scarce be thought to be the same Abimelech that was king of it in Abraham's time; but it is highly probable that this Abimelech was the son of the former king, and that this was a common name to the kings of Gerar or the Philistines, as Pharaoh was to the kings of Egypt. Isaac came to this place from Lahairoi, where he had dwelt many years, see Genesis 24:62; which was at or near Beersheba, and was about eight miles from Gerar (a).
(a) Bunting's Travels, p. 70.
Isaac had been trained up in a believing dependence upon the Divine grant of the land of Canaan to him and his heirs; and now that there is a famine in the land, Isaac still cleaves to the covenant. The real worth of God's promises cannot be lessened to a believer by any cross providences that may befall him. If God engage to be with us, and we are where he would have us to be, nothing but our own unbelief and distrust can prevent our comfort. The obedience of Abraham to the Divine command, was evidence of that faith, whereby, as a sinner, he was justified before God, and the effect of that love whereby true faith works. God testifies that he approved this obedience, to encourage others, especially Isaac.
SOJOURN IN GERAR. (Genesis. 26:1-35)
And there was a famine in the land . . . And Isaac went unto . . . Gerar--The pressure of famine in Canaan forced Isaac with his family and flocks to migrate into the land of the Philistines, where he was exposed to personal danger, as his father had been on account of his wife's beauty; but through the seasonable interposition of Providence, he was preserved (Psalm 105:14-15).
Renewal of the Promise. - A famine "in the land" (i.e., Canaan, to which he had therefore returned from Hagar's well; Genesis 25:11), compelled Isaac to leave Canaan, as it had done Abraham before. Abraham went to Egypt, where his wife was exposed to danger, from which she could only be rescued by the direct interposition of God. Isaac also intended to go there, but on the way, viz., in Gerar, he received instruction through a divine manifestation that he was to remain there. As he was the seed to whom the land of Canaan was promised, he was directed not to leave it. To this end Jehovah assured him of the fulfilment of all the promises made to Abraham on oath, with express reference to His oath (Genesis 22:16) to him and to his posterity, and on account of Abraham's obedience of faith. The only peculiarity in the words is the plural, "all these lands." This plural refers to all the lands or territories of the different Canaanitish tribes, mentioned in Genesis 15:19-21, like the different divisions of the kingdom of Israel or Judah in 1-Chronicles 13:2; 2-Chronicles 11:23. האל; an antique form of האלּה occurring only in the Pentateuch. The piety of Abraham is described in words that indicate a perfect obedience to all the commands of God, and therefore frequently recur among the legal expressions of a later date. יהוה משׁמרת שׁמר "to take care of Jehovah's care," i.e., to observe Jehovah, His persons, and His will, Mishmereth, reverence, observance, care, is more closely defined by "commandments, statutes, laws," to denote constant obedience to all the revelations and instructions of God.
*More commentary available at chapter level.