Wells, A Woman, A Vow

With Questions and Proposed Answers Supplied

Background and Printed Text: Genesis 26:1-33

Genesis 26:1 And there was a famine in the land beside the first famine that was in the days of Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham). And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) went unto My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) king of the Palestinians—unto Sojourning (Gerar).

²And Yehovah appeared unto him. And He said, “Do not descend to Egypt. Abide in the land that I will say unto thee— ³sojourn in this land. And I was with thee. And I blessed thee. For I will give all these lands unto thee and unto thy seed. And I will stand the oath that I swore to Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham) thy father. ⁴And I will multiply thy seed as stars of the heavens. And I will give all these lands to thy seed. And all races of the land will bless-themselves via thy seed ⁵[on the] heel that Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham) hearkened-to my voice, and he guarded my guarding, my commandments, my statutes and my teachings.” ⁶And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) dwelt in Sojourning (Gerar).

⁷And the men of the place asked to his woman. And he said, “He is my sister,” for he feared to say “my woman” lest “the men of the place shall kill me concerning Multiple-Pouring because he is of beautiful appearance.”

⁸And he was because the days lengthened to him there. And My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) king of Palestinians leaned-out in-unto the window. And he saw. And behold, He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) is laugh-making Multiple-Pouring his woman. ⁹And My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) called to He-Will-Laugh (Isaac). And he said, “But behold, he is thy woman! And how said thou, ‘He is my sister’?” And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) said unto him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I will die concerning her.” ¹⁰And My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) said, “What is this thou did to us? As a little, one of the people laid with thy woman! And thou wilt bring transgression upon us!” ¹¹And My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) commanded all the people, saying, “The toucher in this man and in his woman—dying he shall die!”

¹²And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) sowed in that land. And he found in that year a hundred of barley! And Yehovah blessed him. ¹³And the man ‘biggened.’ And he walked, walking and ‘bigging’ until he ‘biggened’ very-much. ¹⁴And an acquisition of a flock was to him, and an acquisition of a herd, and much slavery.

And Palestinians envied him. ¹⁵And all the wells that his father’s slaves dug in the days of Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham) his father—Palestinians stopped them and filled them dust. ¹⁶And My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) said unto He-Will-Laugh (Isaac), “Walk-thou from with us. For thou strengthened much more-than us! ¹⁷And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) walked from there. And he camped in Wadi of Sojourning (Gerar). And he dwelt there.

¹⁸And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) dwelt. And he dug wells of the water that they dug in the days of Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham) his father. And Palestinians stopped them after the death of Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham). And he called to them names as names that his father called to them. ¹⁹And He-Will-Laugh’s (Isaac’s) slaves dug in the wadi. And they found there a well of waters of lives. ²⁰And the shepherds of Sojourning (Gerar) fought with He-Will-Laugh’s (Isaac’s) shepherds, saying, “The water is to us!” And he called the name of the well Contention because they Contended-themselves via him. ²¹And they dug another well. And they fought also concerning her. And he called her name Adversary {fem}. ²²And he advanced from there. And he dug another well. And they didn’t fight concerning her. And he called her name Broadways. And he said, “For now Yehovah broadened to us. And we shall be fruitful in the land.”

²³And he ascended Beersheba from there. ²⁴And Yehovah appeared unto him in that night. And He said, “I am the Gods of Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham) thy father. Fear not. For I am with thee. And I will bless thee. And I will multiply thy seed for the sake of my slave Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham).” ²⁵And he built an altar there. And he called via Name Yehovah. And he inclined his tent there. And He-Will-Laugh’s (Isaac’s) slaves excavated a well there.

²⁶And My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) walked unto him from Sojourning (Gerar), and Gripper (Akhuzat) his neighbour and Mouth-Of-All (Phicol) prince of his host. ²⁷And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) said unto them, “Why have ye come unto me? And ye, ye hated me! And ye sent me from with you!” ²⁸And they said, “Seeing, we saw that Yehovah was with thee. And we said, ‘An Oath shall be, na, betweens us—between us and between thee. And we shall cut a covenant with thee ²⁹if thou wilt do bad with us just-as we didn’t touch thee and just-as we did only good with thee! And we sent thee in peace! Thou art now Yehovah’s blessed!” ³⁰And he made to them a drinking-party. And they ate and drank. ³¹And they early-rose in the morning. And they swore, a man to his brothers. And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) sent them. And they walked from with him in peace.

³²And he was in that day. And He-Will-Laugh’s (Isaac’s) servants came. And they told to him concerning firebrands of the well that they dug. And they said to him, “We found water!” ³³And he called her Oath. Therefore the name of the city is Well-of-Oath unto this day.

³⁴And Hairy is the son of 40 year. And he took a woman, Yehovah’s-Ruling daughter of My-Well the Hotty and Spices daughter of Oak the Hotty. ³⁵And they were bitternesses of spirit to He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) and to Multiple-Pouring.

I. Rerun (verse 1)

This land occasionally had famine. (This is still true today because of uncertain rainfall.) Isaac went unto Avimelech as his father had done. Avimelech was king of the Palestinians (the same group that is in the news about the Land of Israel, and is trying to set up a Palestinian state).

Questions

1. Why did Isaac go to the same place where his father had had such a strange and almost devastating experience (to Gerar and to its king)? It was the only nearby place to obtain food and grazing when famines occurred.

2. Why did famines occur? Rainfall could be uncertain. Famines (when there is not enough food for animals and humans) occur in lands where rainfall amounts are either are too low or are too high, or where some other disaster has kept crops from being good.

3. Does Yehovah cause famines to occur? He will cause them on rare occasions. He caused one to occur in Israel (much later in the Bible) when the Israelis were sinning on His land. Famines usually occur in cycles, however, meaning that they are part of normal weather patterns in many parts of the world. Yehovah is not causing these.

4. Was this the same Avimelech that Avraham had met? If this had been the same person, he would have remembered Avraham. I have concluded that this Avimelech wasn’t the same person.

The word avimelech means my father the king. It is therefore a title, not a name.

5. Who are these Palestinians? They are the same group that is present with the modern Israelis. They behave the very same way (as do the Israelis). While many centuries have passed, nothing is new regarding the behavior of the Israelis and the Palestinians. They still are fighting, and they will be fighting for many more centuries.

II. The Intervention (verses 2-6)

Yehovah appeared to Isaac. He told him to not descend to Egypt, but instead to abide where he was (in Gerar, the Palestinian kingdom). Isaac did as he was told (verse 6).

Yehovah then stated that He was with Isaac, and He blessed him.

Yehovah promised that He will give all these lands unto Isaac and unto his seed. He stated that He will ‘stand’ the oath that He swore to Avraham his father—He will cause it to be upheld and fulfilled.

He vowed more: that He will multiply Isaac’s seed as stars of the heavens. He will then give all these lands to Isaac’s seed.

Yehovah explained how all races of the land will respond: they will bless themselves via Isaac’s seed. Why? This is because Avraham:

hearkened to His voice
guarded His guarding
guarded His commandments
guarded His statutes
guarded His teachings.

Isaac did as he was told; he dwelt in Sojourning.

Questions

1. Why did Yehovah appear unto him (instead of just speaking to him)? Whenever Yehovah appears, it is for a very reasonable purpose. Yehovah had appeared to Avraham when He gave the Covenant to him. He now did the same for and with Isaac. Vows like this must be made face to face.

2. Why did Yehovah command Isaac to not descend to Egypt? Yehovah knew what would happen if Isaac did. Yehovah could have protected him in Egypt, but obedience to the commands of Yehovah are vital for life. Isaac was about to run into problems even in the land that Yehovah commanded him to remain. (I will later ask questions about Yehovah’s protection in this document.)

3. Why did Yehovah first say, “Abide in the land that I will say unto thee,” then after say, “sojourn in this land”? Texts like this are always for two periods of time: for the event occurring and for an event or events far into the future (specifically during the Tribulation, the period of seven years when Israel and the world will go through the worst trouble both have ever encountered). If Yehovah told Isaac where to abide many centuries ago, He will also tell Israelis (and others) in the future where to abide and where not to go. Those who hearken (listen and obey) to Him will live; the others will die.

4. Why is “And I was with thee” in the past tense? A command followed by a statement in the past tense in Biblical Hebrew tells the reader what had to be done, and what the results would be. The results were written in the past tense because they are certain to occur. It is like saying, “If you will ask me to do it, it is as good as done!” The first part, “If you will ask me to do it,” is in the future tense. The word “done” is in the past tense. If English were like Hebrew, one might hear something like this: “Get into the car, and we went for ice cream!” Languages have different ways of expressing things that are certain.

5. What happens if God is with someone? That person will have success. That doesn’t mean that the person won’t suffer, and it doesn’t mean that the person won’t have great difficulties. The person might suffer and have great difficulties, but the person will have success in the way that Yehovah will desire the person to succeed.

6. How can someone (who knows a little about the Bible) tell if a person has been blessed by Yehovah (in the same way that the Bible means by blessing)? A person who has been blessed by Yehovah will be equiped to benefit others. Every blessing that Yehovah gives is always given so that the person (who is given the blessing) will use it to benefit others.

Many will claim to be blessed by God. Some will look at their wealth, and they will say that they have been blessed by God. Yet, if their wealth is only used to give them a feeling of greater security, a nicer house, a better neighborhood in which to live, a higher status (rank) among their friends, their wealth isn’t benefiting others. They may be more like a cow who is now being given very tasty feed and very great care, not knowing that she is being fattened to bring more money when she is slaughtered! Only those who use what they have for the benefit of others may have the right to claim that they have been blessed by God.

(That doesn’t mean that they have to give away what they have; giving away wealth is only necessary if wealth controls the person rather than the person wisely using wealth. Those who have much wealth and who use it to give good and generous employment to others may be blessed by God.)

Being blessed always has responsibility with it. That responsibility is to benefit others. (I didn’t say, “That responsibility includes entertaining others;” entertainment is rarely a way to benefit others unless it is part of education.)

Some who can sing very well and very beautifully, who learned to sing in churches, have made careers out of singing. What some sing has a very bad effect on those who listen, teaching them to do what is wrong (since it feels good). Were their voices blessings from Yehovah? Their voices will be used to teach others to sin, thus making their damnation (their being thrust into the Lake of Fire and Sulfur, where it is always dark and painful) and the damnation of others much greater. Yehovah gave them the ability to beautifully sing. He didn’t bless them with singing, since the blessing of Yehovah always makes a person very rich in the ability to benefit others, and Yehovah never adds sorrow to the blessing. Those who will not benefit others are hardly blessed; they are just “fattened for slaughter.”

7. Yehovah said, “I will give all these lands unto thee and unto thy seed.” Identify the seed. The seed is Yeshua (Jesus):

Galatians 3:16 Now, the promises were made to Abraham and his seed. He doesn’t say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but, “And to thy seed,” as of one, who is Messiah.

8. What does “stand the oath” mean? That means to cause the oath to occur just as it was stated.

9. What is the oath that Yehovah swore to Avraham? Different pieces of the oath are found in the following locations:

Genesis 12:1-3
Genesis 13:14-17
Genesis 15:18-21
Genesis 17:1-22
Genesis 18:9-15
Genesis 22:15-18

Put them all together to see the total oath!

10. If Yehovah multiplies Avraham’s seed as stars of the heavens, what will happen? (Keep in mind that there are billions of stars in some galaxies, and there are a huge number of galaxies. The planet can only hold and support a number of humans in the billions.) This text told me the following:

Yehovah will start multiplying the stars. Right now, it is very rare to see a star born in the heavens, but it is common to see children born. In the future, stars will be born at the same rate that Israelis are born.
Because I learned that this seed is Messiah, and this seed will multiply, I concluded that every time a person is truly born of God, being saved from sin and sinning and being saved to do righteousness, the seed of Avraham increased by one. Thus, the stars will multiply at the same rate that persons are born of God, saved from sin and saved to righteousness. This will occur during the Millennium, the thousand-year period when Messiah Yeshua will be King over all the kings and lords (rulers) of the earth.
This population increase will not cause overcrowding, and the number of new stars in the sky will not cause the heavens to be overcrowded.

11. Identify all these lands. The text that describes them is Genesis 15:18-21. Use the following maps to see what these lands include. I have given you clues for all, including when I could not find some. Then, once you have found as many as you can, draw a border around the area promised on Map 33.

The river of Egypt (Nile: Map 18)

The Euphrates River (Map 18)

Kenites (Map 33: also known as Midianites: find near the Red Sea)

Kenizzites (I couldn’t find them)

Kadmonites (I couldn’t find them)

Hittites (Map 18: you will find HITTITES. They lived between Carchemish, which is on the map, and the Orontes River area labeled in blue on the same map).

Perizzites (Map 18a: they lived around Mt. Carmel; you will find it by The Great Sea, known today as the Mediterranean Sea)

Rephaim (Map 21)

Amorites (Map 21)

Canaanites (Map 21)

Girgashites (I couldn’t find them; find Sea of Chinnereth on Map 18a, and look to the right, which is east. They may have lived there, but there is no label.)

Jebusites (They lived in Jerusalem, also called Salem: Maps 18 and 21)

12. Why wouldn’t all locations in the Bible be present on Bible maps? Some races, civilizations and cities disappeared centuries ago, and their remains haven’t been found by anyone who can prove whose they were, or their remains just haven’t been found. There have been many civilizations that have disappeared from this planet! Those civilizations had parents and children, toys, chores and things to learn, they had childhood sicknesses, they had fun and friends, they had cruelties and mistreatment of some of their citizens, they had hopes and dreams, they had marriages and parties, they had homes and clothing. Yet, for different reasons, those civilizations were totally destroyed, and all in other civilizations who had memories of them died. Now, we can’t even find them on maps.

13. What can cause a civilization, a people and cities to be completely destroyed so that there is no trace left? The following are each reasons why a civilization might totally disappear:

Another civilization might come, attack, and take them over, destroying and abandoning the cities and taking the civilization captive. Then, after a time, marriages within the conquering civilization might erase traces of the civilization that was taken over.
Another civilization might come, attack, and totally kill everyone in the attacked civilzation.
A natural disaster might cause an entire civilization to abandon its homes, fields and wells, and the civilization might join itself to another civilization.
An ‘unnatural’ disaster, one caused by Yehovah, might destroy an entire civilization. He did this to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim. Yehovah did this because those civilizations became so bad, so uncaring, so cruel, that Yehovah destroyed them.
A civilization might move and join itself to another civilization, becoming part of it and leaving no traces of itself when it was separate.

Perhaps you can think of other reasons!

14. Verse 4 states, “All races of the land will bless themselves via thy seed…” What land is this? When Yehovah created the heavens and the land, there was only one continent. It was one land. Since all races are mentioned, this will be the entire land of the planet!

15. How will all races of the land bless themselves via Isaac’s seed? Isaac’s seed is Yeshua. Yeshua will give all races the abilities to do very well with the lands (and waters) they govern. This will occur in the Millennium, the thousand-year period when Yeshua will reign over all kings and rulers. (Yeshua’s Name will be God-Is-With-Us at that time, which will be Immanuel.) He will teach all races and peoples how to do very well on all pieces of soil and waters they govern. Thus, they will bless themselves! They will learn how to benefit others, and they will teach their children how to benefit others using those lands and waters.

16. Verses 4 and 5 tell who is responsible for all races being able to bless themselves (besides Isaac’s and Avraham’s seed). Who is responsible for this great ability to bless themselves? Avraham is responsible! He did the following:

He hearkened to Yehovah’s voice.
He guarded Yehovah’s guarding, making sure to safely keep all instructions that Yehovah said to keep and to do all that Yehovah said to do. (Yehovah didn’t tell him to do very much, and it wasn’t hard.)
He guarded Yehovah’s commandments. There are not many, and you can find them! See if you can find them!
He guarded Yehovah’s statutes, His rules. There are not many. See if you can find these rules. They will not be the same as the commandments.
He guarded Yehovah’s teachings. Again, there are not many. See if you can find these teachings. If you find these, you will know more than many trained teachers of the Bible!

17. Was Gerar a safe place for Isaac to dwell? No, it wasn’t a safe place. It was a very dangerous place. That is why he was wise to wait for Yehovah to tell him to go there. If Yehovah told him to go there, it was the right thing to do.

III. Danger! (verse 7)

Isaac’s wife was beautiful. The men in Gerar asked ‘to’ her. Isaac did what his father had successfully done: he said, “He is my sister.” He feared to say that she was his woman. He stated that the men of the place will kill him for Rebekah.

Questions

1. Yehovah appeared (verse 2) and blessed Isaac. Isaac lied regarding his wife Rebecca (verse 7). Did Yehovah ignore Isaac’s lying right after Yehovah had promised him blessing and safety? Yehovah didn’t ignore his lying; He justified it (He recognized it as a righteous act to save lives). This was the same situation in which Avraham was placed. The inhabitants were violent; they would murder for a beautiful woman. Lying to them saved the lives of Isaac, Isaac’s men, and the men of Gerar since attempting to murder Isaac would cause much bloodshed. Yehovah would destroy Gerar. Isaac saved his enemies’ lives!

2. Why did Isaac say, “He is my sister,” when his sister is a woman? Biblical Hebrew uses the masculine gender (‘he’) when referring to a human as a species. Since Rivka (Rebecca, Rebekah) was of the human species, referring to her as ‘he’ is right.

3. Was Isaac certain that the men of the place would kill him? He was. Even if he had not been certain, the risk was too high to take a chance.

IV. The Truth Comes Out (verses 8-11)

Isaac stayed there for a while. Avimelech leaned out of a window (the Hebrew wording is “in-unto” the window). And he saw Isaac making Rebekah laugh. He may have been tickling her—he was doing something that showed that he was more than a brother to her.

Avimelech called Isaac and confronted him: “He is thy woman!” The king desired to know why Isaac had said that ‘he’ was his sister. Isaac replied, “Because I said, ‘Lest I will die concerning her.” Avimelech was upset: “What is this thou did to us? As a little, one of the people laid (had sexual intercourse) with thy woman! And thou wilt bring transgression upon us!”

Avimelech then commanded all the people with a threat: “The toucher in this man and in his woman—dying he shall die!”

Questions

1. What was “because the days lengthened to him there”? The Bible introduces events this way. The text is about to explain what occurred.

2. Why did the king lean out ‘in-unto’ the window? The text doesn’t say. He may have heard them; it may have been a warm day, and he wanted to see the beauty of it; readers don’t know. He did this, and that’s when he saw them.

3. Why does the Hebrew language use such strange wording as “in-unto”? Every language, every accent and every variety of a language have expressions and ways of saying things that specifically describe what is important to those using the language forms. In this case, the king leaned into the window (opening), and he also leaned unto the window—extending himself through the opening to see out.

4. What was so unusual about a brother tickling a sister? There would have been nothing unusual had they been children. Adult brothers and sisters don’t touch each other in the places where they would tickle, since they usually learn to be reserved and modest as they grow into adults.

5. Avimelech said, “What is this thou did to us?” Had Isaac done anything to them? As far as Avimelech was concerned, Isaac had put them all into great danger by claiming that Rivka was his sister when she was his woman (wife).

6. Was Avimelech that afraid of bringing transgression upon his people? He seemed to be afraid of this. The text doesn’t explain why.

7. Why might Avimelech been afraid of transgression like this? He may have heard the details of what happened with Avraham and a former Avimelech, since the entire race had been unable to have children due to the same events. Had that Avimelech not returned Sarah to Avraham, that race would have gone extinct.

8. What does transgression mean? The first part, trans, means to cross over, go over. The second part, gress, means to go. Together, transgress means to go over, cross over a stated boundary.

Suppose a child is told to play in a fenced yard, and not to go out of the yard. If the child goes out of the yard, he or she has transgressed the commandment of the parent or guardian. If the child was told to make the bed, and the child didn’t do this, the child also transgressed.

9. How serious was Avimelech about keeping all his people from touching either Isaac or Isaac’s woman? He was so serious that he pronounced a death penalty on anyone who did this. He must have known something to make him that afraid.

V. Isaac’s Prosperity (verses 12-14)

Isaac was temporarily safe. He planted in Gerar, the land of the Palestinians. He reaped one hundred times the amount of barley he planted—a huge harvest. Yehovah blessed him. He became very great. He moved the herds and flocks that he had to various pasture lands in the area, and they only increased. He also had a large number of slaves.

Questions

1. Does Yehovah always bless His favorites as He did Isaac (verses 12-14)? The Bible describes a beggar who had open sores. Dogs licked the open sores. (Dog saliva is very good for many types of sores, and dogs are sometimes attracted to the smell of such sores.) This man finally died in terrible poverty and terrible health. The Bible records that he went to the good side of Sheol, showing that he was born of God. Avraham told the rich man who easily could have helped him, but who gave him very little, “Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime received thy good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things. But he is now comsoled, and thou art tormented.” That beggar wasn’t blessed. Yet, he was a favorite of Yehovah since Yehovah featured him in the Bible. Yehovah doesn’t always bless his favorites in this life.

2. Does Yehovah have favorites? Yes! He certainly does! Anyone who desires to be one of His favorites can volunteer to be by doing the following:

Hate bad
Love good
Love Grace
Do justice
Selflessly walk with the God of Israel

That doesn’t seem so hard, does it?

3. The text states that Yehovah blessed him. What is the purpose that Yehovah has for blessing someone? He blesses a person so that the person can use the blessing to benefit others. (That doesn’t mean that the person gives the blessing away; Yehovah’s blessings are always tools by which the person who has been blessed can benefit (do good to) others. Giving a blessing away is sometimes wise, but it is usually unwise. Others who obtain that blessing might keep it for themselves and refuse to benefit others.

Blessings from Yehovah are always responsibilities. Yehovah never gives one of His blessings with sorrow; He never gives one of His blessings in such a way that it hurts the one being blessed.

4. What does ‘bigging’ mean? I made up this word, since I didn’t know of an English word that fits. It means that he got bigger (more powerful and wealthy, as if he became more important). The same is true with the other made-up word, ‘biggened.’

5. Didn’t Isaac inherit all that his father Avraham had? Wasn’t Avraham very wealthy? Why did Isaac need to acquire more to become ‘big’? Isaac did inherit from Avraham; Isaac started out wealthy. Yet, Isaac increased even more in ownership of flocks, herds and slaves.

6. Didn’t Isaac become big ‘on the backs of’ all the slaves who worked for him without pay? How could Isaac be a humble man when he owned humble slaves who had no chance for freedom? Slaves who are chained cannot do very much work. Slaves who are not chained can run away if they desire. Isaac feared Yehovah. He did not mistreat his slaves; mistreating anyone made in the image of God is mistreating Yehovah. If Avraham’s chief slave was a good example, that man loved Avraham, and Avraham loved and trusted him to acquire a woman for Isaac. Slaves in those cultures were not necessarily poor. Some became very great and important. Joseph was a slave, and he ran the entire economy of the Middle East. Slaves sometimes did bring their masters great wealth, as Joseph did for Pharaoh. That doesn’t mean that slave owners weren’t humble. Some were very humble, and some slaves were arrogant. (Being a slave doesn’t mean that a person is humble.)

Yehovah is not against slavery. Consider the following:

Every human is a slave from birth.
Some are slaves to sin; some become slaves to righteousness.
Some become slaves to drugs and pushers.
Some become slaves to cruel religions.
All humans are always slaves all the days of their lives; they are always owned by someone or something.
Some folks are owned by two masters.
Children are born slaves to their parents and to other adults. (Who owns you?)
Marriage is a form of slavery, since both own each other.

Isaac was humble. Those who became his slaves were treated well; he risked his life to save his slaves from bloodshed. He came to Gerar because the herds and flocks needed a place to graze. The slaves were benefited by this decision since they also lived from those flocks and herds.

If Isaac had mistreated slaves, there were far more slaves than there were ‘Isaacs’! They could have killed him and taken his possessions. If instead they loved him, and he loved them, they were very loyal to each other. There were other slavemasters who were very cruel to their slaves. Being owned by a very caring slavemaster who would give his life for one of his slaves was better than being ‘free’ and alone in a very dangerous part of the world.

VI. Envy (verses 14-17)

The Palestinians envied him. They tried to make life impossible for Isaac by stopping and filling in the wells that Avraham’s slaves had dug. Pressure finally reached Avimelech. He personally told Isaac to leave them. Isaac was now stronger than Avimelech’s people. Isaac was wise; he left.

There was a wadi (a valley formed by streams during the rainy season) in Gerar. He made camp there.

Questions

1. Did Isaac cause the envy of the Palestinians? Should he have been kinder to them, and show them the love of God? Should he have witnessed to them about Yehovah? Envy isn’t caused. It is voluntary.

There are two kinds of envy. One kind occurs when a person thinks he or she deserves what another person has, and doesn’t feel the other person should have it. Another kind occurs when a person sees the good situation or property of another person, and wishes to have something like that (without feeling that the other person shouldn’t have it). The first kind of envy is very bad, and can even lead to murder. The second kind can help a person achieve a good goal.

The Palestinians had the bad kind of envy. Isaac didn’t do them any wrong. He didn’t owe them anything since he wasn’t involved in their lives. Isaac was the sojourner, not the Palestinians. The sojourner is always at some disadvantage.

Isaac had no business ‘witnessing’ to them. Yehovah didn’t assign him to do that. They were quite satisfied with their gods; their idols were all they desired. Had he become religious with them, they would have probably killed him for that reason alone.

2. Why did the Palestinians plug up the wells (when water was so valuable, and they also could have used it)? They were mean. Even if stopping the wells hurt them, they would do whatever meanness they could to harm Isaac.

The very same people (the Palestinians) hold the very same view today. They will fire missiles at the Israelis knowing that these will harm them as much as or more than the Israelis, but they would rather be harmed while doing the Israelis harm than make peace with the Israelis so that they both could gain. That is hatred and bitterness.

3. Why did Avimelech tell Isaac to leave the area (“Walk-thou from with us”)? He must have feared what his own people would do if he didn’t get Isaac to leave. He was a king, but a king doesn’t want to lose the loyalty of his people. Avimelech figured that he could reason with Isaac. He knew he couldn’t reason with his own people.

4. Should Isaac have stayed in the area (instead of leaving) because he had as much right to the land as the Palestinians (and even more because of Yehovah’s promise)? When folks begin insisting on their own rights, they often remove the rights of others. Those who are wise stand upon responsibilities rather than rights. (Folks sometimes have responsibilities to stand against wrongdoing. While some call this “standing for one’s rights,” it is really “standing against wrongdoing against others.”) Standing for one’s own rights is often selfish and damaging; determining to act responsibly on behalf of others who are oppressed can be heroic.

Of all the ‘rights’ that we are told we have, we only have one ‘right’ in this life: the ‘right’ to live righteously. That is a God-given right.

Isaac had responsibilities for his cowboys and shepherds. He therefore wisely left. Staying wasn’t worth bloodshed.

5. Could Isaac have used passive resistance (refusing to obey commands from good authorities or from bad authorities) to protest the wrongs that the Palestinians were doing? He could have used this, but it would have led to violence. The Palestinians determined to get rid of Isaac. Passive resistance on his part would have led to bloodshed.

Non-violent resistance may work if popular support increases enough. Saints in the Bible could not afford to use passive resistance. They had to use active responsibility. They were willing to fight with swords, if necessary, but they were not about to start a fight. They belonged to Yehovah; He alone could command them to take action (unless they were attacked).

Saints are determined to save lives, not attack enemies. Enemies are mean. Yehovah is far stronger than enemies, and He will take vengeance on them. He also will give Wisdom to anyone who desires His Wisdom.

See how Yehovah stopped the meanness of the Palestinians toward Isaac; read on.

6. Were the Palestinians racists? Those who were stopping the wells were racists. All racists have one thing in common: they are afraid of the races against whom they fight, mistreat, insult, and make laws. Racism is an admission of superiority of the other race. It is also an insult to Yehovah for making that race. No racist is born of God.

7. Should the modern Israelis leave and go settle somewhere else in order to seek peace with the Palestinians? Consider the following:

Isaac was innocent before Yehovah. The text doesn’t indicate that his cowboys/shepherds were doing anything wrong. Modern Israelis are a mixture. Some are innocent, and others are quite guilty before Yehovah. Since Yehovah sees the entire group as if it is one person, that means that the group isn’t innocent. The group is mistreating Yehovah’s land by sinning on it.
Isaac had places he could go. The modern Israelis have no place to go. Their enemies desire that they will be destroyed.
Yehovah often used the Palestinians to give the Israelis a terrible time whenever the Israelis were sinning on the land. He still is.

The modern Israelis should not leave and go settle somewhere else; they should determine to treat the Land of Israel according to the Torah (first six books of the Bible). Yehovah would then give the Israelis victory over the Palestinians (and over all enemies).

VII. Did They Dig! (verses 18-22)

Isaac began ‘redigging’ the wells of water that the slaves had dug for Avraham. He called the wells by the same names they previously had.

While digging in the wadi, Isaac’s servants found a well of the waters of lives.

The fighting now began. Palestinian herdsmen fought with Isaac’s herdsmen, claiming that the water was theirs. Isaac called the well Contention because they contended ‘via him,’ over the well.

Isaac’s men dug another well. The Palestinians also claimed that one. Isaac called her name Sitnah (Adversary), the feminine word for Satan.

Isaac and his men moved on to another location. They dug another well. The Palestinians didn’t pursue a fight. Isaac called the well Broadways. Isaac stated, “For now Yehovah broadened to us. And we shall be fruitful in the land.”

Questions

1. Why did they name wells? Names in the Bible describe important events and characteristics. They are like memorials, but before someone or something dies. We have an example of a well being named in another text and in another event:

Genesis 16:13 And she called Name Yehovah the Speaker unto her, “Thou art El my Seer!” For she said, “Also to-this-point I saw after my Seer!” ¹⁴Therefore he called to the well, “Well to my lives, my Seer.”

Intentionally stopping up a well is therefore a way to destroy a memorial, like kicking down a tombstone.

2. What is a wadi? It is a valley through which water rushes during rains. It is not a safe place to set up camp if rain might occur.

3. Why did they dig in a wadi? Because water does flow over that ground during rainy times, it will be more likely to have water stored underground. It also is a place where the Palestinians will be less likely to look for or contend over a well, or to claim the land.

4. What are waters of lives? This expression is used in a number of places in the Bible. It is sometimes translated living water or flowing water, and sometimes translated water of life. I propose that they are waters that save lives (of humans, cattle and sheep), and therefore must be in sufficient quantity to give drink to all.

The Waters of Lives mentioned in some texts are what a person must drink in order to obtain everlasting life. The following text is an example:

Jeremiah 2:13 “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the Fountain of the Waters of Lives, and hewed them out cisterns—broken cisterns—that can hold no water!”

(This is why some folks looked for ‘the fountain of youth’—a mythical fountain that would keep a person young. They didn’t understand this Fountain of the Waters of Lives. They didn’t know that this Fountain is Yeshua Himself.)

These Biblical Waters of Lives that give everlasting life are really made of water; anyone born of God will really drink from them!

Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And he who hears will say, “Come!” And he who is thirsty will come. And whosoever will, he will take the Water of Lives freely!

Therefore, the same wording, ‘waters of lives,’ can refer to what gives everlasting life and what gives a really good drink of water from the ground.

Yeshua showed Himself as a Rock in Moshe’s day. That Rock gave much water day and night for forty years. Many persons and animals drank from that water. That water was truly the Waters of Lives. It didn’t give the Israelis everlasting life, however, because they didn’t believe in Yehovah and His Word. Had they believed, they would have been drinking from the very waters that the Bible has promised!

5. Why did the Gerar shepherds fight with Isaac’s shepherds? They claimed the water! They didn’t claim the land or the wells, but the water!

6. Did Isaac’s shepherds fight back? They didn’t kill each other, but they did fight.

7. Was fighting with the Gerar shepherds right? Yes; this was in self-defense. Isaac’s shepherds needed to fight hard enough and long enough to be able to go to the next location. (Sometimes, refusing to fight will lead to bloodshed!)

8. Why would they name a well Adversary? That was what they experienced; they left a memorial reminding of this. (The name Adversary in the feminine form is Sitnah; the masculine form is Satan.)

9. Why did the Gerar shepherds stop fighting? The text gives the answer by telling the name of the next well: Broadways. Isaac’s shepherds now could spread out; the Palestinian shepherds had too many different groups to pursue to find which one would dig a well, so they quit.

10. Who was naming these wells? The text implies that Isaac named them. He prophesies in verse 22: “For now Yehovah broadened to us. And we shall be fruitful in the land.” (This also shows that Isaac was a prophet.)

11. What does “Yehovah broadened to us” mean? When one group is chasing another group to capture it, the chase continues if the way is narrow and escape routes are few. If those being chased come to a broad location where they can spread out, however, those chasing them will usually become disheartened with the chase and will quit. If Yehovah broadens to (for) any group, He is providing an escape, and He is disheartening those who are chasing.

12. What does “we shall be fruitful in the land” mean? This means that they will be able to have calves, lambs and babies in the land without being chased by enemies. (Being chased tends to make such fruitfulness unlikely.)

VIII. Another Appearance (verses 23-25)

Then Isaac ascended (went up) to Beersheva from there. Beersheva is located in a hot and dry part of the desert, but it has good wells of water.

Yehovah appeared to him that very night. He identified Himself as “the Gods of Avraham thy father.” He told him not to fear, again confirming that He is with Isaac. “I will bless thee. And I will multiply thy seed for the sake of my slave Avraham.” Isaac’s response was like that of Avraham: he built an altar there. He called via Name Yehovah.

Isaac inclined (put up) his tent there. His servants excavated a well in that location.

Questions

1. What did Yehovah look like when He appeared to Isaac? The Bible doesn’t describe what He looked like in this text. He appeared to another man named Gideon, and He apparently looked like other Israelis when He appeared then. If He had appeared looking very strange, He would have caused fear. He did not desire to do that.

2. What important five things did Yehovah tell or command Isaac?

He identified Himself as the Gods of Avraham his father.
He commanded him to not fear.
He told him that He, Yehovah, is with him.
He said that He will bless him.
He said that He will multiply his seed.

3. Why did Yehovah start by identifying Himself? Isaac needed to know who was speaking. There are many voices in this world, and there are many who claim to be voices of God! Readers of the Bible must learn how to tell the real from the fakes so that folks who claim to speak for God, for the Spirit of God, or for Jesus won’t fool them later. Can you tell, now, how Yehovah would speak if He were to speak to you in this way?

4. Why did He next command him to not fear? Yehovah had important information to tell him. If Isaac became full of fear, he might not hear what Yehovah told him. Yehovah didn’t appear to do him harm, but to benefit him. Yet, the sudden appearance of any man could easily cause fear, especially since the Palestinians had been so hostile!

5. What does Yehovah being with him mean? What will happen or won’t happen to him? If Yehovah is with someone, that person won’t die or be stopped until the assigned task has been completed. That doesn’t mean that the person won’t be mistreated; Yehovah was with Joseph, and he was kidnapped and forced to work among other slaves. Yehovah gave Joseph success as a slave, and even his slavemaster knew that the gods were with Joseph!

6. What will occur if He blesses him? He will do well in life and in his business, and he will be able to benefit others with whom he works, lives, and does business.

7. What will occur if He multiplies his seed? Since his Seed is Yeshua, several things will occur:

The number of Israelis who believe in Yeshua will greatly multiply. (This will not happen for a long time, but it will happen. Later, many centuries from now, all Israelis living will believe in Yeshua, being born of God and living only righteously.) Thus, the number of Israelis will greatly multiply. All who are born of God have the seed of Yeshua in them:

1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doesn’t do sin (for His seed remains in him, and He cannot sin) because he is born of God.
The number of non-Israelis who believe in Yeshua will also multiply; they will always be true friends of the Israelis, being willing even to die for them, if necessary.

8. If Yehovah was with Isaac (verse 24), why did Isaac have so much trouble with the Palestinians? Yeshua later told His students,

John 16:33 “I have spoken these things unto you sothat ye will have peace in me. Ye will have tribulation in the world, but be courageous! I have overcome the world.”

Trouble doesn’t mean that God is absent or hiding. Sometimes, folks get into trouble by doing right.

9. Why will Yehovah do these things “for the sake of my slave Avraham” instead of for Isaac’s sake? This looks like Yehovah favours Avraham far more than Isaac, at first. If Yehovah will do this for the sake of Avraham, however, this is far more certain. It doesn’t depend on what Isaac does, or what Isaac’s offspring will do; the promises are certain because it is for the sake of Avraham. Nothing will stop these promises from occurring!

10. Why did Isaac call via (by means of) Name Yehovah after all the trouble, and not during the trouble? Isaac knew how to be a man. He wasn’t afraid of life or of trouble. He dealt with it. Real Godliness doesn’t make wimps and cowards; it makes folks who are bold and brave to do right and to consider others. Had Isaac been in a position where he and his cowhands were about to be slaughtered, he would have called for Yehovah’s help. He knew what to do, however, in the case of the Palestinians. When he finally did call via Name Yehovah, it was in response to Yehovah’s appearing and His words; he feared Yehovah far more than the Palestinians.

11. What does “excavated a well” mean? This means that they dug a hole that was like a cave to find water. The Middle East isn’t like much of the United States where water is abundant. Water is so abundant in the United States, that folks have treated the water with contempt, throwing their waste and garbage into it. Water is far more scarce in the Middle East, and sometimes folks have to dig deep into the ground to find it. (There are places where wells are 2,000 feet deep just to find water!)

IX. The Guests (verses 26-31)

Avimelech walked unto Isaac with two companions: Akhuzat and Phicol. Phicol was the prince of Avimelech’s army!

Isaac was startled— “Why have ye come unto me?” “Ye hated me!” and “Ye sent me from [being] with you!”

They answered, “Seeing, we saw that Yehovah was with thee.” They continued, “An Oath shall be, na, ‘betweens’ us—between us and between thee.” (That really is the way they spoke.) “And we shall cut a covenant with thee if thou wilt do bad with us just-as we didn’t touch thee and just-as we did only good with thee! And we sent thee in peace! Thou art now Yehovah’s blessed!”

Consider the wisdom of Isaac: He made them a drinking-party! They ate and drank, and finally went to sleep. Then they rose early in the morning. That is when they vowed, a man to his brothers.

Isaac then sent them. They walked away from being with him in peace.

Questions

1. Why did Avimelech, Akhuzat and Phicol come? Why did Phicol accompany Avimelech? The rest of the text explains why they came. They wanted Isaac to vow to them that he wouldn’t harm them!

Phicol accompanied the king for several reasons:

The king didn’t need to be journeying alone; he could be harmed or kidnapped. (The king is one of the most important assets, valuable properties, of a kingdom!)
Phicol would normally be a threatening figure; he was the king’s enforcer. If anyone crossed the king, that person would have to deal with Phicol.

2. Isaac said, “And ye, ye hated me!” Did Avimelech and his people really hate Isaac? I don’t know if Avimelech hated him, but a number of the Palestinians did! Stopping up wells is an act of hatred.

3. Isaac seemed hurt when he said, “And ye sent me from with you!” Did he have hurt feelings? He didn’t have hurt feelings. He was expressing what had occurred. Why come as friends when Avimelech had sent them away as enemies?

4. If the Palestinians saw that Yehovah was with Isaac, why did they send him away? That is how some forms of jealousy and envy work! Some folks don’t like being around others who are favored. It is part of the meanness of folks. If they don’t get attention, they hate those who do. Yet, they could also get favor by being kind and doing right, but instead they angrily seek attention by ‘being the baddest and meanest.’ These folks think that being kind and doing right means that they are soft, weak, patsies, suckers, gutless. The greatest heroes and heroines in the Bible were kind and did right, and were among the toughest, bravest, most gutsy folks found on earth. They didn’t envy doers of bad, however.

5. What does “We shall cut a covenant with thee if thou wilt do bad with us” mean? The word if in Hebrew can be used in two ways. It can describe something that might be (“I will bring it if I come”) or it can be a very strong expression of the reverse of something. The English language has something like this in some expressions: “See if I will bring it to you!” That means, “I certainly won’t bring it to you!” Another expression is, “See if I care!” That means, “I certainly don’t care!” “We shall cut a covenant with thee if thou wilt do bad with us” means, “We shall cut a covenant with thee so that thou wilt not do bad with us!”

6. Avimelech and his men continued by saying, “just-as we didn’t touch thee and just-as we did only good with thee!” Was that true? It wasn’t true!

7. If the above answer is that it wasn’t true, why didn’t Isaac argue with them and correct them? Isaac was a valiant person. Valiant folks don’t have to use words to defend themselves or to correct others if they know that it won’t do any good, and will even do harm. They instead look for peace if peace can occur. (Folks who always defend themselves and correct others show great weakness. There are times for defending oneself, and there are times for correcting others who are mistaken, but there are also times when leaving it alone and letting it go are much wiser and require greater strength.)

8. Did the Palestinians send them away in peace? No!

9. Why did they say, “Thou art now Yehovah’s blessed!”? Either they knew this was true, or they were trying to ‘butter up’ Isaac. In either case, this was true.

10. Did Avimelech and his people fear Isaac? They did now! Something changed. They were quite afraid of Isaac.

11. What might have changed to cause the Palestinians to fear Isaac? Others who remembered what happened because of Isaac’s father Avraham might have spoken to the king. I don’t think they knew who Isaac was, at first. It seems that they later realized. This would have brought great terror, since they sent Isaac away as an outcast from them.

12. What might have happened if Isaac had refused to make this vow of peace? Phicol may have been ordered to kill Isaac in order to stop Isaac’s Gods from hurting the Palestinians.

13. How can the reader tell who the he is in “And he made them a drinking-party”? Avimelech and his companions didn’t come with the equipment to make a drinking party! That required food and drink, including animals to cook.

14. Is a drinking party wrong before Yehovah? No. Being a drunkard (one who is hooked on alcohol, and whose life is dedicated to it) is sin before Yehovah.

Many of today’s drinking parties are designed to lower inhibitions (things that keep folks from doing what they think is wrong), and are therefore setups for sin (drugs, sexual intercourse with those who are not spouses, etc.). The drinking party described in this text was for the sake of peace, not for the sake of immorality (doing what is wrong according to a god or God). Yehovah never commanded against drinking parties. He even commanded the Israelis to participate in one every year or every three years! It is the tithe! (Read Deuteronomy 14:22 to the end of the chapter.) A party is the only legitimate way that the Israelis were commanded to tithe.

15. Why did they wait until the morning to make vows to each other? They needed to remember their vows. They all became drunk the night before, and probably would not have remembered the vows.

16. Did Isaac’s ways please Yehovah? Prove it.

Proverbs 16:7 When a man‘s ways please Yehovah, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

X. A New Well (verses 32-33)

Isaac’s servants came on the very same day with good news. They told to him about firebrands of the well that they dug. And they said to him, “We found water!”

Isaac called the well by the name Oath. The name Beersheva means Well-of-Oath, and that is its name to this very day!

Questions

1. What does “firebrands of the well” mean? A firebrand is a torch (made of wood or of other burnable substances) that is not in full flame, but has hot coals that can be used to start a full flame. Firebrands can transport fire over long distances without using up the wood (like a full flame would do). Firebrands can also easily go out. Keeping a firebrand in the coals stage requires alertness and some work.

Firebrands of the well indicates that they have found a very small amount of fresh water, but not enough to use yet, until the well is dug much deeper and the source uncovered. If they were to leave the well at this stage, the water might stop (‘go out’). Finding this is very good news, but they have more work to do.

2. The city had already been named Well-of-the-Oath in Avraham’s day. Why does the text record this as if it were the first time that it had been named this? Giving the previously abandoned and newly rediscovered well the same name as it had before is part of keeping the memorial name of the well. He should call the well by the same name unless a new reason for renaming the well occurred.

3. What day is “this day” in “Therefore the name of the city is Well-of-Oath unto this day”? (I always wondered about this. I knew that it referred to the time of the writing of this text, but I also saw how it could be prophetic, looking far into the future.) The city is presently called Well-of-Oath (Beersheva) today! It is a thriving city. Thus, this text is describing something that is even true in our day, and will continue to be true through the Millennium thousands of years from now!

XI. A New Set of Wives (verses 34-35)

Esau was now 40 years old. He took a woman: ‘Yehovah’s-Ruling’. She is the daughter of a man named ‘My-Well’. They were Hittites (from the word for hot, and therefore they were Hotties). He took another woman (a second wife) whose name was ‘Spices’. She was the daughter of a man named Oak; again, they were Hittites.

These women were bitternesses of spirit to Isaac and to Rivka (Rebecca, Rebekah, Multiple-Pouring).

Questions

1. Was there a problem with Esau having a Hittite wife? Yes! Avraham and Isaac knew never to take women from the locals in the land where they were living. Avraham had said to his slave, “Put, na, thine hand under my thigh. And I will make-thee-swear via Yehovah Gods of the heavens and Gods of the land that thou wilt not take a woman to my son from the daughters of the Canaanites that I am dwelling in their midst!” Now, the race of Canaanites isn’t the same as the race of Hittites. Avraham remembered another promise, however: “Yehovah made a covenant with Avram, saying, ‘I gave this land unto thy seed from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenites and the Kenizzites and the Kadmonites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Rephaims and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Girgashites and the Jebusites.’” Now, there were only a few ways that Yehovah could give this land to Avram’s seed.

Avram’s seed could purchase the land, and those races could agree to move. (This is unreasonable, and it won’t happen.)
All the races could be taken over by other races and taken as slaves. (This won’t happen, because those races would soon return to the land once their time of slavery ended.)
All the races could kill each other. (This won’t happen; some group would be left.)
All the races could be annihilated. This is what Yehovah later commanded the Israelis to do!

Since Avraham knew this, he knew that taking women for wives from them would be exactly what Yehovah didn’t desire; that would keep the practices of these vile races alive. Thus, Avraham insisted that Isaac’s woman must come from some race or group that had not become vile. The Syrians had not become vile.

Esau didn’t care about these things. Hittite women were cute, good-looking, foxy women. Esau therefore took My-Well and Spices, two Hittite women, two ‘Hotties’. This was a great problem.

2. What does “they were bitternesses of spirit to Isaac and Rivka” mean? This means that these women and their son did and said wrong things to Isaac, Rivka, and others. They both watched their son become like the races that Yehovah would later seek to destroy.

Bitternesses are caused by anger and terrible disappointments with life and with others. Isaac and Rivka would have loved their daughters-in-law had they been gracious, kind and sensible women.