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Genesis chapter 26

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the story of Isaac

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the son of Abraham, the father of Jacob

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the story tells of Isaac living in the Philistine land of Gerar

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to the west of Judah

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a foreign territory

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Isaac has a very attractive wife named Rebekah

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one day his neighbors come and ask him about Rebekah

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instead of telling them the truth that she is his wife, says she is his sister

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he lies because he fears that the Philistine men living in Gerar would kill him and take his wife

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one day Abimelek, king of the Philistines, looks out his window and sees Isaac caressing Rebekah

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the way Isaac is carrying on with Rebekah is not what one would expect from a brother

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there's a play on the words Isaac (Yitzchak) and playing/fondling (metzachek)

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the king demands an explanation

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Isaac says he thought he might die because of her

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the king suggests that if one of his men had slept with Isaac's wife, then his whole domain would have been guilty and vulnerable to some divine retribution

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so the king issues a decree: whoever touches Isaac or his wife shall be put to death

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Isaac then prospers among the Philistines

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becomes too wealthy

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the king finally asks him to move on

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everywhere Isaac goes, he has enviable good fortune

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discovers water sources

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provokes jealousy

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Isaac finally ends up in the south in the arid region of Beersheba

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King Abimelek comes to visit him

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Isaac expect hostility from him

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Abimelek actually blesses him

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Isaac invites him to a feast

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they exchange oaths of peace

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later Isaac and his men find a water source

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the name of a well is "beer" and so Isaac names the place "Beersheba" which is a play on the words referring to the treaty that he had just made with Abimelek

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significance of this story

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we can imagine the descendants of Isaac would have taken great pride in retelling this

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the mother of our nation's history was so beautiful that they would have killed someone if anyone in the kingdom touched her

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political agenda

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this region, Beersheba, belongs to us

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the history of this town goes back a long way

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even the king himself came to this town to pay tribute to our ancestor and made an oath with him

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this well that was struck on that same day

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is shows that Isaac's clan has a claim to this territory