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Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well.
Genesis 26:25 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB He built an altar there, and called on Yahweh’s name, and pitched his tent there. There Isaac’s servants dug a well.
  • KJV And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.
  • BSB So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there. His servants also dug a well there.
  • ESV So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
  • NKJV So he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
  • NASB So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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

Isaac builds an altar, worships Yahweh, and settles there as his servants dig a well.

Overview

In response to God's appearing, Isaac worships, calling on the Lord's name in public devotion. The altar and the pitched tent show faith expressed in worship and settled trust. Like his father Abraham, Isaac marks God's revelation with worship, modeling the proper response to divine grace.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Gen 13:18Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to Yahweh.
  • Ps 116:17I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call on Yahweh’s name.
  • Gen 12:7–8Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
  • Gen 8:20Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
  • Gen 33:20He erected an altar there, and called it El Elohe Israel.
  • Exod 17:15Moses built an altar, and called its name Yahweh our Banner.
  • Gen 35:1God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”
  • Gen 22:9They came to the place which God had told him of. Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, on the wood.
  • Gen 13:4to the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first. There Abram called on Yahweh’s name.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 26:25YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

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 26:25 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.