When things in the land were bad, Isaac did not trust in Yahweh. Instead, he ran to the safety of Egypt. Even when Abraham's descendants did not trust in Yahweh's faithfulness to fulfill his covenant, Yahweh remained faithful to his covenant and blessed Isaac. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tw?section=kt#trust, /WA-Catalog/en_tw?section=kt#faithful and /WA-Catalog/en_tw?section=kt#fulfill and /WA-Catalog/en_tw?section=kt#covenant)
In the ancient Near East, wells were very important strategically. Therefore, they were a sign of power and a sign of God's blessing being upon Isaac.
Isaac was afraid the Egyptians would see him as a foreigner and upon seeing his beautiful wife, they would try to kill him. This would free Rebekah to marry someone else. Apparently, it would have been easy for them to kill a foreigner without punishment. If she was Isaac's sister, they would have shown favor to him. This is the same thing his father, Abraham, did. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-explicit and /WA-Catalog/en_tw?section=kt#favor)
This word is used here to mark a new part of the story.
"there was a famine" or "there was another famine"
You can state explicitly the land to which this refers. Alternate translation: "in the land where Isaac and his family lived" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-explicit)
"that had happened during Abraham's life" or "that had happened while Abraham was alive"
Yahweh begins to speak to Isaac.
"appeared to Isaac"
It was common to speak of leaving the promised land as "going down" to another place. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-idiom)
"for I will give all these lands to you and your descendants"
"I will do what I promised Abraham your father I would do"
Yahweh continues speaking to Isaac.
"I will cause you to have very many descendants."
This speaks about the number of Isaac's descendants as if they were the same as the number of stars. See how you translated this in Genesis 22:17. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-simile)
This refers to everything we see above the earth, including the sun, moon, and stars.
This can be stated in active form. Alternate translation: "I will bless all the nations of the earth" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-activepassive)
The phrases "obeyed my voice" and "kept my instructions, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws" mean basically the same thing. Alternate translation: "Abraham obeyed me and did everything I commanded him to do" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-parallelism)
Here "voice" stands for Yahweh. Alternate translation: "obeyed me" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-synecdoche)
Only Isaac is mentioned because he is the leader of the family, but his whole family was with him. Alternate translation: "So Isaac and his family settled in Gerar" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-explicit)
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"
"in order to take Rebekah"
The word "behold" shows that what Abimelech saw surprised him. Alternate translation: "And he was surprised to see that Isaac"
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.
Abimelech probably sent someone to tell Isaac that Abimelech wanted to see him. Alternate translation: "Abimelech sent someone to bring Isaac to him" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-metonymy)
This is a quotation within a quotation. It can be stated as an indirect quotation. Alternate translation: "Why did you say that she is your sister?" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-quotesinquotes and /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-quotations)
"so he could take her"
Abimelech used this question to scold Isaac. Alternate translation: "You should not have done this to us!" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-rquestion)
The word "lain" here is a euphemism for "had sexual relations." (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-euphemism)
This speaks about causing someone to be guilty as if "guilt" were an object that is placed on someone. Alternate translation: "you would have caused us to be guilty of taking a man's wife" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-metaphor)
Here "us" refers to Abimelech and his people. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-exclusive)
Here "touches" means to touch in a harmful way. Alternate translation: "Whoever harms this man" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-idiom)
Abimelech may have intended to tell someone to kill anyone who might harm Isaac or Rebekah. This can be stated in active form. Alternate translation: "I will put him to death" or "I will order my men to kill him" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-activepassive)
This begins a new part of the story. It changes from telling about Isaac calling Rebekah his sister, and it starts to tell about how Isaac became very rich and the Philistines were jealous of him.
"in Gerar"
This means "one hundred times as much as he planted." It can be translated more generally as "a very large crop." (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#translate-numbers)
"Isaac became rich" or "He became rich"
"he gained more and more until he became very wealthy"
This may also include goats. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-explicit)
Here "household" stands for workers or servants. Alternate translation: "many servants" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-metonymy)
"The Philistines were jealous of him"
Here this word does not mean "at this moment." It is indicating where the action in the story begins. It can be translated with the connecting word "So" to show that this is a result of what happened in Genesis 26:12-14. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#writing-connectingwords)
The phrase "in the days of" stands for a person's lifetime. Alternate translation: "when Abraham, his father, was living" or "during his father Abraham's lifetime"
Possible meanings are 1) this is another action to force Isaac and his people to leave. Alternate translation: "Then Abimelech said" or "Finally Abimelech said" or 2) Abimelech made this decision because he saw that his people were jealous and acting in a hostile way towards Isaac. Alternate translation: "Therefore Abimelech said" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#writing-connectingwords)
"much stronger than we are"
Only Isaac is mentioned because he is the leader, but his family and servants went with him. Alternate translation: "So Isaac and his household left" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-explicit)
Here "Isaac" stands for Isaac and his servants. Alternate translation: "Isaac and his servants dug out" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-synecdoche)
"which Abraham's servants had dug"
"during his father Abraham's lifetime" or "when Abraham, his father, was living"
This was the reason that Isaac dug them out. Possible ways to translate this are: 1) Since this happened first, this sentence can come before the sentence about Isaac digging them out, as in the UDB. or 2) This sentence can start with "Isaac did this because the Philistines had stopped them up." (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-events)
"had filled them with earth"
This phrase refers to a natural spring they uncovered when they were digging a new well. It provided a continuous flow of fresh drinking water. Alternate translation: "fresh water" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-idiom)
men who tended livestock
Here "ours" refers to the herdsmen of Gerar. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-exclusive)
Translators may also add a footnote that says "The name Esek means 'quarrel' or 'argue.'" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#translate-names)
"Then Isaac's servants dug"
"the herdsmen of Gerar argued with Isaac's herdsmen"
"so Isaac gave it"
Translators may add a footnote that says "The name Sitnah means 'oppose' or 'accuse.'" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#translate-names)
Translators may add a footnote that says "The name Rehoboth means 'make room for' or 'empty place.'" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#translate-names)
Isaac was speaking about himself and his household.
Here "went up" is probably a reference to going north. Say that he departed in the most natural way for your language. Alternate translation: "Isaac left there and went to Beersheba"
"will cause your descendants to increase greatly" or "will cause your descendants to be very many"
"for my servant Abraham" or you can make the full meaning explicit. Alternate translation: "because I promised my servant Abraham that I would do this" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-explicit)
You can make explicit why Isaac built an altar. Alternate translation: "Isaac built an altar there to sacrifice to Yahweh" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-explicit)
To "call on" means to pray or to worship. Here "name" stands for Yahweh. Alternate translation: "prayed to Yahweh" or "worshiped Yahweh" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-metonymy)
"went to Isaac"
This is the name of a man. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#translate-names)
Possible meanings are 1) "Abimelech's friend" or 2) "Abimelech's advisor."
This is the name of a man. See how you translated his name in Genesis 21:22. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#translate-names)
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This refers to Abimelech, Ahuzzath, and Phicol. One of them spoke and the other two agreed with what he said. It does not mean they all spoke at the same time. Alternate translation: "one of them said"
"We know" or "We are certain"
"So we want to make a covenant"
This can also be translated as the beginning of a new sentence. "We have done only good to you"
This can be stated in active form. Alternate translation: "Yahweh has blessed you" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-activepassive)
Eating a meal together was a part of making a covenant with one another. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-explicit)
Here "them" refers to "Abimelech, Ahuzzath, and Phicol"
Here "they" refers to Isaac, Abimelech, Ahuzzath, and Phicol. Alternate translation: "they all ate"
"They awoke early"
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"So he called the well Shibah." Translators may add a footnote that says "The name Shibah sounds like the word that means 'oath.'" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#translate-names)
Translators may add a footnote saying "Beersheba can mean either "well of the oath" or "well of seven." (See note on Genesis 21:32)
Most of Genesis 26 was about Isaac. These verses are about his older son Esau.
"40" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#translate-numbers)
"he married." You can state explicitly that he married two women. Alternate translation: "he took two wives" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-explicit)
These are the names of Esau's wives. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#translate-names)
These are names of men. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#translate-names)
"the descendant of Heth" or "a descendant of Heth." The Hittite people were the descendants of Heth. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#translate-names)
Here "they" refers to Judith and Basemath. To make someone sorrowful or miserable is spoken of as if "sorrow" were an object that a person could bring to another person. Alternate translation: "They made Isaac and Rebekah sorrowful" or "Isaac and Rebekah were miserable because of them" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=translate#figs-metaphor)