And there was a mighty famine in the land of Kenaan, besides the former famine which had been in the days of Abraham; and Izhak went to Abimelek king of the Philistaee at Gerar.

It had been in Izhak's heart to go down to Mizraim; but the Lord appeared to him, and said, Go not down to Mizraim; dwell in the land as I have told thee;

sojourn in the land, and My Word shall be for thy help, and I will bless thee; for to the end to thy sons will I give all these lands, and I will establish the covenant which I have covenanted with Abraham thy father.

And I will multiply thy sons as the stars of the heavens, and will give to thy sons all these lands, and through thy sons shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

on account that Abraham obeyed My Word, and kept the keeping of My word, My statutes, My covenants, and My laws.

And Izhak dwelt in Gerar.

And the man of the place inquired concerning his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he reasoned in his heart, Lest the men of the place should kill me for Rivekah, because she was of beautiful appearance.

And it was when days had increased to him in abiding there, that Abimelek the king of the Philistaee looked from a window, and beheld, and Izhak was disporting with Rivekah his wife.

And Abimelek called Izhak, and said, Nevertheless she is thy wife; and why hast thou said, She is my sister? And Izhak answered him, Because I said in my heart, Lest they kill me on her account.

And Abimelek said, Why hast thou done this to us? It might have been that the king, who is the principal of the people, had lain with thy wife, and thou wouldst have brought guilt upon us.

And Abimelek instructed all the people, Whoever shall go near to injure this man or his wife, shall verily be put to death.

And Izhak sowed unto righteousness in that land, and found in that year a hundred for one, according to his measure. And the Lord blessed him,

and the man increased, and went forward increasing until he was very great.

And he had flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle, and great cultivation; and the Philistaee envied him.

And all the wells which the servants of his father had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistaee stopped up and filled with earth.

And Abimelek said to Izhak, Go from us; for thou art stronger than we in riches very much.

And Izhak went thence, and sojourned in the vale of Gerar, and dwelt there.

And Izhak digged again the wells of water which the servants of his father had digged in the days of Abraham his father, and which the Philistaee had stopped after Abraham was dead; and he called them by the names his father had called them.

And the servants of Izhak digged in the border of the vale, and found there a well of flowing water.

And the shepherds of Gerar contended with Izhak's shepherds, saying, The water is ours. And it was the will of Heaven, and it dried. But when they returned to Izhak, it flowed. And he called the name of the well (Esek) Contention, because (etheseku) they had quarrelled with him on account of it.

And they digged another well; and they contended for it also; and it dried, and did not flow again. And he called the name of it (Sitnah) Accusation.

And he removed from thence and digged another well, and for that they did not contend as formerly, and he called the name of it (Ravchatha) Spaciousness; for he said, Now hath the Lord given us space to spread us abroad in the land.

And he went up from thence unto Beersheba.

And the Lord appeared to him that night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not; for My Word is for thy help, and I will bless thee, and multiply thy sons for the righteousness' sake of Abraham My servant.

And he builded there an altar, and prayed in the name of the Lord. And he spread his tabernacle there, and the servants of Izhak digged there a well.

And when Izhak went forth from Gerar the wells dried up, and the trees made no fruit; and they felt that it was because they had driven him away, all these things had befallen them. And Abimelek went to him from Gerar, and took his friends to go with him, and Phikol the chief of his host.

And Izhak said to them, Why come you to me that I should pray for you, when you have hated me, and driven me from you?

And they answered, Seeing, we have seen, that the Word of the Lord is for thy help, and for thy righteousness' sake all good hath been to us; but when thou wentest forth from our land the wells dried up, and our trees made no fruit; then we said, We will cause him to return to us. And now let there be an oath established between us, and kindness between us and thee, and we will enter into a covenant with thee,

lest thou do us evil. Forasmuch as we have not come nigh thee for evil, and as we have acted with thee only for good, and have indeed sent thee away in peace; thou art now blessed of the Lord.

And they arose in the morning, each man with his brother; and he broke off from the bridle of his ass, and gave one part to them for a testimony. And Izhak prayed for them, and they were enlarged. And Izhak accompanied them, and they went from him in peace.

And on that day the servants of Izhak came and told him concerning the well they had digged, and said to him, We have found water;

and he called it Sheba (the Swearing); therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.

And Esau was the son of forty years; and he took to wife Yehudith daughter of Beari the Hittah, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittah.

And they bowed in strange worship, and set themselves to rebel in their evil conduct against Izhak and against Rivekah.