Comments on Genesis 26 This chapter is something of a curiosity to me. It interjects some of Isaac's history right into the middle of the Jacob and Esau story. Overall, we have here a seeming repeat of incidents from Abraham's life, with Isaac acting similarly in some instances and different in others. For example, both Abraham and Isaac end up in the situation of being in fear for their lives as a result of having beautiful wives and being in the company of Abimilech king of the Philistines. And both resort to similar tactics, with Isaac being the less honest of the two. We also have a repeat of the obtaining of wells among the Philistines. Abraham's obtaining wells in 21:22-34 is significantly less contentious than is Isaacs here. The text is bracketed by two revelations of the Lord (v. 2-5 and v. 24) to Isaac wherein the Lord appears to him unsolicited. In both instances the promises made to him are presented as dependant upon his father's merits and not upon his own. I would assume this is the main point of this chapter, namely that even though Abraham's son(s) may not be as zealous as Abraham under similar circumstances, the Lord will still respect the Abrahamic Covenant and protect them. Naturally, this protection is not unqualified (cf. v. 5, v. 25), but there does seem to be some additional leeway granted. v35 We are told that Esau's wives were a real pain to Isaac and Rebekah. Unfortunately, no details are given so we are left to speculate. We know that Rebekah, despite being from a wealthy family, was perfectly willing and eager to work hard and participate in the daily chores of the day. I think we can safely surmise that at the very least they did not share this in common with her, as if they did then it doesn't seem likely that Rebekah would be unfavorably disposed towards them. The other assumption we can take simply from their Hittite/Canaanite background is that they brought with them some of their cultural baggage of idolatry and lasciviousness. Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.