Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.
Parallel translations
- WEB There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.
- KJV And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
- NKJV There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
- NASB Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines.
- NLT A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A famine drives Isaac toward Gerar and Abimelech, king of the Philistines.
Overview
A new famine, distinct from Abraham's earlier trial, tests Isaac's faith and threatens his livelihood. Isaac moves toward Gerar, retracing his father's steps and facing similar dangers. The crisis sets the stage for God's reassurance and renewal of the covenant promises to Isaac.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Gen 12:10Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
- Gen 25:11After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.
- Gen 21:22–32At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do.
- Gen 20:1–2Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,
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From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 26:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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