The Fallible Synthetic Study Bible

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Genesis 26:6–11 — Isaac Deceives Abimelech. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

And Isaac dwelt in Gerar. Continued there; in this he was obedient to the command and will of God.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

And Isaac dwelt in Gerar - as God had shown and enjoined him.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

The pressure of famine in Canaan forced Isaac with his family and flocks to migrate into the land of the Philistines, where he was exposed to personal danger, as his father had been on account of his wife's beauty; but through the seasonable interposition of Providence, he was preserved

JFB's note is anchored to v. 1 of the chapter but frames the whole Gerar sojourn that v. 6 opens.

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

There is nothing in Isaac's denial of his wife to be imitated, nor even excused. The temptation of Isaac is the same as that which overcame his father, and that in two instances. This rendered his conduct the greater sin.

Henry comments on the whole unit 26:6–11 at once; the verdict belongs over the episode as a whole.

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So Isaac settled in Gerar.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

yiṣ·ḥāq way·yê·šeḇ biḡ·rār

Word by word3 · parsed

יִצְחָ֖קyiṣ·ḥāqSo IsaacH3327

√ Yitschâq — Jitschak (or Isaac), son of AbrahamNounpropermasculine singular

Yiṣ·ḥāq, "Isaac" — "he laughs." The proper noun stands first for emphasis after the preceding promise scene; the patriarch named for laughter is about to be caught "laughing" (v. 8).

וַיֵּ֥שֶׁבway·yê·šeḇsettledH3427

√ yâshab — properly, to sit down (specifically as judgeConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

way·yê·šeḇ — a Qal consecutive imperfect of yâshab, "to sit, dwell, remain." Gill and the Pulpit Commentary both read the act as obedience: Isaac stays in Gerar rather than going down to Egypt, as God had forbidden in v. 2.

בִּגְרָֽר׃biḡ·rārin GerarH1642

√ Gᵉrâr — Gerar, a Philistine cityPreposition-bNounproperfeminine singular

biḡ·rār — "in Gerar," a Philistine city near the Egyptian trade road. The same town where Abraham had once passed Sarah off as his sister (Genesis 20); the geography itself sets the trap the chapter will spring.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-Isaac dwelt in-Gerar.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיֵּשֶׁב The BSB's settled tidies way·yê·šeḇ, from √yâshab, which is simply "sat / dwelt / remained." The verb carries no note of permanence; it is the plain word for taking up residence, and the same root that elsewhere means "to sit as judge" or "to abide."
בִּגְרָר in Gerar renders biḡ·rār, but the Hebrew preposition bə- is bare locative — "in/at Gerar." Gerar is a Philistine border town, not yet possessed land; the English flattens the irony that the heir of the promise is dwelling among aliens during famine.
יִצְחָק So Isaac supplies the connective "so"; the Hebrew opens with the bare name Yiṣ·ḥāq and the waw-consecutive on the verb. The name itself means "he laughs" (√tsâchaq) — a thread the narrator will pull on in v. 8.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

By which we see that fear and distrust is found in the most faithful.

The Geneva gloss (note d) on Isaac's fear.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

So Isaac enters into the same temptation that his father had been once and again surprised and overcome by, namely, to deny his wife, and to give out that she was his sister! It is an unaccountable thing, that both these great and good men should be guilty of so odd a piece of dissimulation, by which they so much exposed both their own and their wives’ reputation.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

The plea of the relationship of a half-sister could be made for Sarah, but not for Rebekah. The same story was repeated in slightly different versions. It commemorated ( a ) the moral weakness of the patriarch, and ( b ) the protection which was accorded by Jehovah to the ancestors of the Israelite people.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

She is my sister : - which was certainly an equivocation, since, although sometimes used to designate a female relative generally ( vide Genesis 24:60 ), the term "sister" was here designed to suggest that Rebekah was his own sister, born of the same parents.

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But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’an·šê ham·mā·qō·wm way·yiš·’ă·lū lə·’iš·tōw way·yō·mer hî ’ă·ḥō·ṯî kî yā·rê lê·mōr ’iš·tî pen- ’an·šê ham·mā·qō·wm ya·har·ḡu·nî ‘al- riḇ·qāh kî- hî ṭō·w·ḇaṯ mar·’eh

Word by word21 · parsed

אַנְשֵׁ֤י’an·šêBut when the menH582

√ ʼĕnôwsh — a man in general (singly or collectively)Nounmasculine plural construct

’an·šê ham·mā·qō·wm, "the men of the place" — a recurring tag for the Gerarites; it is the populace, not the king, who first notice Rebekah.

הַמָּקוֹם֙ham·mā·qō·wmof that placeH4725

√ mâqôwm — properly, a standing, iArticleNounmasculine singular

וַֽיִּשְׁאֲל֞וּway·yiš·’ă·lūaskedH7592

√ shâʼal — to inquireConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

לְאִשְׁתּ֔וֹlə·’iš·tōwabout his wifeH802

√ ʼishshâh — a womanPreposition-lNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular

וַיֹּ֖אמֶרway·yō·merhe saidH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

הִ֑ואhîSheH1931

√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person feminine singular

hî — the pronoun "she." Written defectively as a feminine here in a context the Masoretes pointed carefully; the bald "she — my sister" is the bare lie.

אֲחֹ֣תִי’ă·ḥō·ṯîis my sisterH269

√ ʼâchôwth — a sister (used very widely (like brother), literally and figuratively)Nounfeminine singular constructfirst person common singular

’ă·ḥō·ṯî, "my sister" (√ʼâchôwth) — the pivot word of the deception, deliberately ambiguous. Whereas Abraham could plead a half-truth (Genesis 20:12), the Cambridge editors note "the plea of the relationship of a half-sister could be made for Sarah, but not for Rebekah."

כִּ֤יkîForH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

יָרֵא֙yā·rêhe was afraidH3372

√ yârêʼ — to fearVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

yā·rê, "he feared" (H3372) — a perfect, supplying the motive. This is the great verb of the Old Testament's fear of the LORD (Genesis 22:12; Deuteronomy 10:12; Proverbs 1:7) — reverent dread that is the beginning of wisdom. Here the very faculty made to fear God is bent toward men, and the result is folly: the patriarch lies to save a life that was never in his own keeping. The narrator does not excuse it; he diagnoses it. Misdirected fear is the engine of the whole sin (cf. Proverbs 29:25, "the fear of man brings a snare").

לֵאמֹ֣רlê·mōrto sayH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

אִשְׁתִּ֔י’iš·tî[She is] my wifeH802

√ ʼishshâh — a womanNounfeminine singular constructfirst person common singular

פֶּן־pen-since he thought to himselfH6435

√ pên — properly, removalConjunction

אַנְשֵׁ֤י’an·šêThe menH582

√ ʼĕnôwsh — a man in general (singly or collectively)Nounmasculine plural construct

הַמָּקוֹם֙ham·mā·qō·wmof this placeH4725

√ mâqôwm — properly, a standing, iArticleNounmasculine singular

יַֽהַרְגֻ֜נִיya·har·ḡu·nîwill kill meH2026

√ hârag — to smite with deadly intentVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine pluralfirst person common singular

ya·har·ḡu·nî, "they will kill me" (√hârag, to slay with deadly intent) — Isaac's worst-case imagining. Gill observes that the Gerarites "had not so great a sense of the sin of murder, as of adultery," which is precisely what Isaac assumes about them.

עַל־‘al-on account ofH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

רִבְקָ֔הriḇ·qāhRebekahH7259

√ Ribqâh — Ribkah, the wife of IsaacNounproperfeminine singular

riḇ·qāh, "Rebekah" — named as the object of the supposed danger; Barnes reckons her then "not less than thirty-five years married," yet "still in the prime of life."

כִּֽי־kî-becauseH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

הִֽיא׃hîsheH1931

√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person feminine singular

טוֹבַ֥תṭō·w·ḇaṯis so beautifulH2896

√ ṭôwb — good (as an adjective) in the widest senseAdjectivefeminine singular construct

ṭō·w·ḇaṯ — "good of" (√ṭôwb), in construct with mar’eh (appearance). The same beauty that endangered Sarah now endangers Rebekah; the family pattern repeats.

מַרְאֶ֖הmar·’eh. . .H4758

√ marʼeh — a view (the act of seeing)Nounmasculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-asked the-men of-the-place about-his-wife, and-he-said, “She [is] my-sister,” for he-feared to-say “my-wife,” lest the-men of-the-place kill-me on-account-of Rebekah, because good-of appearance [is] she.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיִּשְׁאֲלוּ asked about his wife smooths the abruptness. way·yiš·’ă·lū (√shâʼal) is a plain "and they inquired"; the Pulpit Commentary notes the men likely "asked, or made inquiries; probably first at each other," before the question ever reached Isaac himself.
אֲחֹתִי She is my sister hides an equivocation. ’ă·ḥō·ṯî can name any female relative, but Rebekah was Isaac's cousin's daughter, not his half-sister as Sarah genuinely was to Abraham. The single Hebrew word does the lying that the English merely reports.
יָרֵא he was afraid renders yā·rê (√yârêʼ), "to fear." The same verb is Scripture's word for the fear of the LORD; here the patriarch's fear is aimed the wrong way — at men, not God. The Geneva note: "by which we see that fear and distrust is found in the most faithful."
טוֹבַת מַרְאֶה so beautiful collapses a two-word Hebrew construct, ṭō·w·ḇaṯ mar·’eh — literally "good of appearance / fair of sight." The idiom is concrete and visual ("fair to look upon"), the same phrase used of Rebekah at the well in Genesis 24:16.

The Voices✦ 5 public domain

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

The word in the original is the same as that from which the name “Isaac” was popularly derived; cf. Genesis 17:17 ; Genesis 17:19 , Genesis 21:6 . Here the meaning seems to be that of “fondling,” the caress of husband and wife, rather than of brother and sister. LXX παίζοντα , Lat. jocantem .

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

Using more free and familiar carriage than became a brother and sister, but such as was allowable between husband and wife. See Deu 24:5 Proverbs 5:18 ,19 . But that this was not the conjugal act, may easily be gathered from the circumstances of the time and place; which was open to Abimelech’s view

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife; laughing and joking with her, which by his motions and gestures, and the airs and freedoms he took, Abimelech could perceive were such as were not usual between brothers and sisters, though honest and lawful between man and wife

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

As eighty years had elapsed since Abraham’s sojourn in Gerar, it is highly improbable that the same king was still reigning; but both king and people maintain on this occasion the good character previously deserved.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

This Abimelech was not the same that was in Abraham’s days, (chapter 20.,) for this was near a hundred years after; but that was the common name of the Philistine kings, as Cesar of the Roman emperors.

Benson's note on the dynastic title; preserves his "Cesar" spelling as printed.

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When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·hî kî ’ā·rə·ḵū- lōw šām hay·yā·mîm ’ă·ḇî·me·leḵ me·leḵ pə·liš·tîm way·yaš·qêp̄ bə·‘aḏ ha·ḥal·lō·wn way·yar wə·hin·nêh yiṣ·ḥāq mə·ṣa·ḥêq ’êṯ ’iš·tōw riḇ·qāh

Word by word19 · parsed

וַיְהִ֗יway·hîH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

כִּ֣יkîWhenH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

אָֽרְכוּ־’ā·rə·ḵū-. . .H748

√ ʼârak — to be (causative, make) long (literally or figuratively)VerbQalPerfectthird person common plural

ל֥וֹlōw[Isaac]

Prepositionthird person masculine singular

שָׁם֙šāmhad been thereH8033

√ shâm — there (transferring to time) thenAdverb

הַיָּמִ֔יםhay·yā·mîma long timeH3117

√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)ArticleNounmasculine plural

אֲבִימֶ֙לֶךְ֙’ă·ḇî·me·leḵAbimelechH40

√ ʼĂbîymelek — Abimelek, the name of two Philistine kings and of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

’ă·ḇî·me·leḵ, "Abimelech" — "my father is king." Benson and Ellicott both judge this a different man from Abraham's Abimelech, the name being a dynastic title "as Cesar of the Roman emperors." Keil & Delitzsch leave the identity open.

מֶ֣לֶךְme·leḵkingH4428

√ melek — a kingNounmasculine singular construct

פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔יםpə·liš·tîmof the PhilistinesH6430

√ Pᵉlishtîy — a Pelishtite or inhabitant of PeleshethNounpropermasculine plural

וַיַּשְׁקֵ֗ףway·yaš·qêp̄looked downH8259

√ shâqaph — properly, to lean out (of a window), iConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

way·yaš·qêp̄, "leaned down and looked" (Hiphil, shâqaph) — the verb of one who peers out of a window; cf. Sisera's mother (Judges 5:28) and David watching Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:2), the latter a deliberate Cambridge cross-reference.

בְּעַ֖דbə·‘aḏfromH1157

√ bᵉʻad — in up to or over againstPreposition

הַֽחַלּ֑וֹןha·ḥal·lō·wnthe windowH2474

√ challôwn — a window (as perforated)ArticleNouncommon singular

ha·ḥal·lō·wn, "the window" (√challôwn, a perforation) — Gill imagines the royal palace overlooking the guest apartments; the king sees what was meant to stay private.

וַיַּ֗רְאway·yarand was surprised to seeH7200

√ râʼâh — to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

וְהִנֵּ֤הwə·hin·nêh. . .H2009

√ hinnêh — lo!Conjunctive wawInterjection

יִצְחָק֙yiṣ·ḥāqIsaacH3327

√ Yitschâq — Jitschak (or Isaac), son of AbrahamNounpropermasculine singular

מְצַחֵ֔קmə·ṣa·ḥêqcaressingH6711

√ tsâchaq — to laugh outright (in merriment or scorn)VerbPielParticiplemasculine singular

mə·ṣa·ḥêq, "sporting" — the theological pivot of the verse. From tsâchaq (H6711), the very root behind the name Yiṣḥāq. The Cambridge editors note "the word in the original is the same as that from which the name 'Isaac' was popularly derived." Here it means conjugal fondling that betrays a husband, not a brother — Poole carefully argues it "was not the conjugal act," but plainly more than a sister would receive.

אֵ֖ת’êṯ. . .H854

√ ʼêth — properly, nearness (used only as a preposition or an adverb), nearDirect object marker

אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃’iš·tōwhis wifeH802

√ ʼishshâh — a womanNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular

’iš·tōw, "his wife" — the narrator's flat statement of the truth Isaac had hidden; the very thing the king now sees with his eyes.

רִבְקָ֥הriḇ·qāhRebekahH7259

√ Ribqâh — Ribkah, the wife of IsaacNounproperfeminine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-it-came-to-pass, when had-lengthened for-him there the-days, that-Abimelech king of-the-Philistines looked-down through the-window, and-saw, and-behold! Isaac sporting with Rebekah his-wife.

Where the English smooths the original

אָרְכוּ־לוֹ שָׁם הַיָּמִים had been there a long time paraphrases an idiom: ’ā·rə·ḵū lōw šām hay·yā·mîm, literally "the days were lengthened to him there" (√ʼârak, to be long). The Pulpit Commentary and Gill both flag the Hebrew literalism; "days" may even stand for years.
וַיַּשְׁקֵף looked down is right but loses the vividness of way·yaš·qêp̄ (Hiphil of shâqaph), "to lean out, to gaze down from above." It is the posture of a watcher at an upper window leaning out over a courtyard, not a casual glance.
מְצַחֵק caressing is the translators' delicate guess at mə·ṣa·ḥêq — a Piel participle of tsâchaq, "to laugh, sport, fondle, play." The same root is Isaac's own name ("he laughs"). The text says, with deliberate wordplay, that Abimelech saw Isaac Isaac-ing with his wife — an intimacy no brother shows a sister.
וְהִנֵּה The BSB folds wə·hin·nêh into "was surprised to see." The Hebrew hinnêh is the dramatic "and behold!" — the narrator hands us Abimelech's own startled point of view through the window.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

and Isaac said unto him; not alleging, as Abraham did, any relation that was between them before marriage: because I said; that is, within himself, for, he did not speak it out to others: lest I die for her; for her sake, that another might have and enjoy her; it was fear of losing his life that led him to take such a step

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

And Isaac said unto him, Because I said ( sc . in my heart, or to myself), Lest I die for her.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

the manner in which God protected Rebekah was very different from that in which Sarah was preserved in both instances. Before any one had touched Rebekah, the Philistine king discovered the untruthfulness of Isaac's statement, having seen Isaac "sporting with Rebekah," sc., in a manner to show that she was his wife; whereupon he reproved Isaac for what he had said, and forbade any of his people to touch Rebekah on pain of death.

Keil & Delitzsch comment as a block on the whole Gerar episode (26:7–11); this excerpt bears most directly on the king's discovery and rebuke in vv. 8–11.

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

This Abimelech was not the same that lived in Abraham's days, but both acted rightly. The sins of professors shame them before those that are not themselves religious.

Henry's single comment covers 26:6–11; this clause speaks directly to the king's rebuke of Isaac.

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Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ă·ḇî·me·leḵ way·yiq·rā lə·yiṣ·ḥāq way·yō·mer hî ’aḵ hin·nêh ’iš·tə·ḵā wə·’êḵ ’ā·mar·tā hî ’ă·ḥō·ṯî yiṣ·ḥāq way·yō·mer ’ê·lāw kî ’ā·mar·tî pen- ’ā·mūṯ ‘ā·le·hā

Word by word20 · parsed

אֲבִימֶ֜לֶךְ’ă·ḇî·me·leḵAbimelechH40

√ ʼĂbîymelek — Abimelek, the name of two Philistine kings and of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

וַיִּקְרָ֨אway·yiq·rāsent forH7121

√ qârâʼ — to call out to (iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

way·yiq·rā lə·yiṣ·ḥāq, "he called for Isaac" (√qârâʼ) — the king summons the patriarch for examination; the accused stands before the pagan judge.

לְיִצְחָ֗קlə·yiṣ·ḥāqIsaacH3327

√ Yitschâq — Jitschak (or Isaac), son of AbrahamPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙way·yō·merand saidH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

הִ֔ואhîSo sheH1931

√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person feminine singular

אַ֣ךְ’aḵis reallyH389

√ ʼak — a particle of affirmation, surelyAdverb

’aḵ, "surely / indeed" — the adverb that seals the king's verdict; the deception is over the moment he speaks it.

הִנֵּ֤הhin·nêh. . .H2009

√ hinnêh — lo!Interjection

אִשְׁתְּךָ֙’iš·tə·ḵāyour wifeH802

√ ʼishshâh — a womanNounfeminine singular constructsecond person masculine singular

וְאֵ֥יךְwə·’êḵHowH349

√ ʼêyk — how? or how!Conjunctive wawInterjection

אָמַ֖רְתָּ’ā·mar·tācould you sayH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)VerbQalPerfectsecond person masculine singular

’ā·mar·tā, "did you say" (perfect, 2ms) — the king throws Isaac's own word back at him: "how said you..." The verb of speech indicts the speaker.

הִ֑ואhîSheH1931

√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person feminine singular

אֲחֹ֣תִי’ă·ḥō·ṯîis my sisterH269

√ ʼâchôwth — a sister (used very widely (like brother), literally and figuratively)Nounfeminine singular constructfirst person common singular

יִצְחָ֔קyiṣ·ḥāqIsaacH3327

√ Yitschâq — Jitschak (or Isaac), son of AbrahamNounpropermasculine singular

וַיֹּ֤אמֶרway·yō·merrepliedH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

אֵלָיו֙’ê·lāw. . .H413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPrepositionthird person masculine singular

כִּ֣יkîBecauseH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

אָמַ֔רְתִּי’ā·mar·tîI thoughtH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)VerbQalPerfectfirst person common singular

’ā·mar·tî, "I said" (perfect, 1cs) — Isaac's answer mirrors the king's verb. Gill: "that is, within himself, for he did not speak it out to others." The whole sin began as a sentence spoken to his own heart.

פֶּן־pen-I mightH6435

√ pên — properly, removalConjunction

אָמ֖וּת’ā·mūṯdieH4191

√ mûwth — to die (literally or figuratively)VerbQalImperfectfirst person common singular

’ā·mūṯ, "I should die" (√mûwth) — the confessed fear. It is the exact dread the king will now answer in v. 11 with a decree of death — but death for any who would harm Isaac.

עָלֶֽיהָ׃‘ā·le·hāon account of herH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionthird person feminine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-Abimelech called for-Isaac and-said, “Surely, behold, she [is] your-wife! And-how said-you, ‘She [is] my-sister’?” And-said Isaac to-him, “Because I-said, lest I-die on-account-of-her.”

Where the English smooths the original

אַךְ So she is really your wife! renders ’aḵ, a particle of strong affirmation — "surely, indeed, only." The king's exclamation is sharp and conclusive: the truth has been caught out, no room for denial. "Really" is the right sense but loses the abruptness of the single Hebrew adverb of certainty.
וְאֵיךְ How could you say softens wə·’êḵ ("and how!"), which here is not a request for method but an exclamation of reproach — "how on earth could you have said it!" It is rebuke disguised as a question.
כִּי אָמַרְתִּי Because I thought renders kî ’ā·mar·tî — literally "because I said." The verb is "say," not "think"; the Pulpit Commentary supplies "(sc. in my heart, or to myself)," the same idiom of internal speech. Isaac's excuse is that he "said" it inwardly — a self-talk of fear.
אָמוּת I might die renders ’ā·mūṯ, a bare imperfect of mûwth, "I shall die / lest I die." The same death-fear of v. 7 ("kill me") restated to the king's face; Isaac confesses the motive without confessing it was sin.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

The heathen considered fornication either as no sin, or a very little one; but they had a different idea of adultery, considering it as heinous.

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

In all ages men were persuaded that God's vengeance would come on adulterers.

Geneva note f on “guiltiness.”

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

guiltiness ] Heb. âshâm ; LXX ἄγνοιαν ; Lat. grande peccatum . In spite of ignorance, national guilt would be involved in such an outrage as marriage with the wile of another man.

Cambridge preserves the printer's “wile” for “wife”; quoted as printed.

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

adultery was heinous and formidable even among the heathens, and especially here, because it was fresh in memory how sorely God had punished Abimelech, and all his family, only for an intention of adultery, Genesis 20:1-18 . Note here, they take it for granted that their ignorance had not been a sufficient excuse for their sin.

source ↗

“What is this you have done to us?” asked Abimelech. “One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

mah- zōṯ ‘ā·śî·ṯā lā·nū way·yō·mer ’ă·ḇî·me·leḵ ’a·ḥaḏ hā·‘ām ’eṯ- kim·‘aṭ šā·ḵaḇ ’iš·te·ḵā wə·hê·ḇê·ṯā ’ā·šām ‘ā·lê·nū

Word by word15 · parsed

מַה־mah-WhatH4100

√ mâh — properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?)Interrogative

mah-zōṯ ‘ā·śî·ṯā, "what is this you have done" — the formula of covenant reproach. The Pulpit Commentary points to Genesis 20:9, where the first Abimelech rebukes Abraham in nearly identical words.

זֹּ֖אתzōṯis thisH2063

√ zôʼth — this (often used adverb)Pronounfeminine singular

עָשִׂ֣יתָ‘ā·śî·ṯāyou have doneH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalPerfectsecond person masculine singular

לָּ֑נוּlā·nūto us

Prepositionfirst person common plural

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרway·yō·meraskedH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

אֲבִימֶ֔לֶךְ’ă·ḇî·me·leḵAbimelechH40

√ ʼĂbîymelek — Abimelek, the name of two Philistine kings and of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

אַחַ֤ד’a·ḥaḏOneH259

√ ʼechâd — properly, united, iNumbermasculine singular construct

הָעָם֙hā·‘āmof the peopleH5971

√ ʻam — a people (as a congregated unit)ArticleNounmasculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Preposition

כִּ֠מְעַטkim·‘aṭcould easilyH4592

√ mᵉʻaṭ — a little or few (often adverbial or comparPreposition-kAdjectivemasculine singular

kim·‘aṭ, "as a little" (√mᵉʻaṭ) — adverb of narrow escape. Cf. Psalm 73:2; 119:87, the Pulpit Commentary's cross-references for "within a little."

שָׁכַ֞בšā·ḵaḇhave slept withH7901

√ shâkab — to lie down (for rest, sexual connection, decease or any other purpose)VerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

šā·ḵaḇ, "lain with" — the euphemism of v. 10. Jewish tradition (Jarchi, the Targum of Jonathan, cited by Gill) read this as Abimelech himself nearly taking Rebekah.

אִשְׁתֶּ֔ךָ’iš·te·ḵāyour wifeH802

√ ʼishshâh — a womanNounfeminine singular constructsecond person masculine singular

וְהֵבֵאתָ֥wə·hê·ḇê·ṯāand you would have broughtH935

√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbHifilConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

אָשָֽׁם׃’ā·šāmguiltH817

√ ʼâshâm — guiltNounmasculine singular

’ā·šām, "guilt" (H817) — the climactic word, and a weighty one: in the Torah it becomes the technical term for the guilt-offering (Leviticus 5:6; 7:1), the sacrifice that makes restitution for a trespass. On the lips of a Philistine it carries no cultic machinery, but the same conviction that sin incurs an objective liability God will requite — even where the offender pleaded ignorance. Cambridge keeps the Hebrew ("Heb. âshâm") precisely because the English "guilt" loses this freight; Benson and Poole both note the pagans' settled belief "that God's vengeance would come on adulterers," remembering how the first Abimelech's house was struck (Genesis 20). A heathen king teaches the patriarch the seriousness of a sin he himself had risked.

עָלֵ֖ינוּ‘ā·lê·nūupon usH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionfirst person common plural

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-said Abimelech, “What [is] this you-have-done to-us? As-a-little one of-the-people had-lain-with your-wife, and-you-would-have-brought guilt upon-us.”

Where the English smooths the original

כִּמְעַט could easily renders kim·‘aṭ — literally "as a little, within a little." The Pulpit Commentary and Cambridge both insist on the idiom "it might easily have happened" / "within a little." The point is nearness of disaster: one small step short of catastrophe, not mere ease.
שָׁכַב have slept with softens šā·ḵaḇ (√shâkab, "to lie down"), the standard Hebrew euphemism for sexual union. Gill renders the whole clause "within a little of accomplishing his design" — the king half-confesses how close he himself may have come.
אָשָׁם guilt renders ’ā·šām, a weighty cultic term — not mere blame but liability requiring atonement, the very word for a "guilt-offering." The Cambridge note: "Heb. âshâm... national guilt would be involved." The English "guilt" loses the sacrificial freight.
וְהֵבֵאתָ you would have brought renders wə·hê·ḇê·ṯā, a Hiphil ("cause to come"), 2ms — the grammar lays the agency squarely on Isaac: you would have brought this guilt down on us. The deceiver, not the deceived, bears the charge.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

He that hurteth or injureth. So that word is used, Genesis 26:29 Joshua 9:19 Psalm 105:15 Zechariah 2:8 ; and being applied to a woman, it is used for the defiling or humbling of her, as Genesis 20:6 Proverbs 6:29 .

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

this severe edict he published, in order to deter his subjects from using them ill, to which they might be provoked by Isaac's dissimulation, and by his evil suspicions of them.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

The similarity of this incident to that related in Genesis 20 . concerning Abraham in Gerar may be explained without resorting to the hypothesis of different authors, The stereotyped character of the manners of antiquity, especially in the East, is sufficient to account for the danger to which Sarah was exposed recurring in the case of Rebekah three quarters of a century later.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

We perceive also that God mercifully protects his chosen ones from the perils which they bring upon themselves by the vain self-reliance and wicked policy of the old corrupt nature.

source ↗

So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ă·ḇî·me·leḵ ’eṯ- way·ṣaw kāl- hā·‘ām lê·mōr han·nō·ḡê·a‘ haz·zeh bā·’îš ū·ḇə·’iš·tōw mō·wṯ yū·māṯ

Word by word12 · parsed

אֲבִימֶ֔לֶךְ’ă·ḇî·me·leḵSo AbimelechH40

√ ʼĂbîymelek — Abimelek, the name of two Philistine kings and of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

וַיְצַ֣וway·ṣawwarnedH6680

√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

way·ṣaw, "commanded" (Piel, tsâvâh) — a formal charge to "all the people." The pagan king becomes the unlikely protector of the covenant line.

כָּל־kāl-allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

הָעָ֖םhā·‘āmthe peopleH5971

√ ʻam — a people (as a congregated unit)ArticleNounmasculine singular

לֵאמֹ֑רlê·mōrsayingH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

הַנֹּגֵ֜עַhan·nō·ḡê·a‘Whoever harmsH5060

√ nâgaʻ — properly, to touch, iArticleVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

han·nō·ḡê·a‘, "the one who touches" (√nâgaʻ) — the key word of the decree. Poole gathers its range: it can mean to hurt or injure (Genesis 26:29; Joshua 9:19; Psalm 105:15; Zechariah 2:8), and of a woman, to defile (Genesis 20:6; Proverbs 6:29). The same root God uses in Psalm 105:15, "touch not mine anointed."

הַזֶּ֛הhaz·zehthisH2088

√ zeh — the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or thatArticlePronounmasculine singular

בָּאִ֥ישׁbā·’îšmanH376

√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personPreposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular

bā·’îš, "the man" — Isaac is shielded by name; the very death he feared (vv. 7, 9) is now decreed against any who would bring it on him.

וּבְאִשְׁתּ֖וֹū·ḇə·’iš·tōwor his wifeH802

√ ʼishshâh — a womanConjunctive waw, Preposition-bNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular

מ֥וֹתmō·wṯwill surely be put to deathH4191

√ mûwth — to die (literally or figuratively)VerbQalInfinitive absolute

mō·wṯ yū·māṯ, "dying he shall be put to death" — infinitive absolute + Hophal imperfect, the gravest legal formula in the Torah (Exodus 21:12, etc.). A heathen ruler pronounces capital protection over the heir of the promise.

יוּמָֽת׃yū·māṯ. . .H4191

√ mûwth — to die (literally or figuratively)VerbHofalImperfectthird person masculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-Abimelech commanded all the-people, saying, “The-one-touching this man or his-wife dying he-shall-be-put-to-death.”

Where the English smooths the original

וַיְצַו warned understates way·ṣaw (Piel of tsâvâh), "to command, charge, enjoin with authority." This is a royal edict laid on the whole populace, not a mere caution; Gill calls it a "severe edict he published."
הַנֹּגֵעַ Whoever harms renders han·nō·ḡê·a‘, the participle of nâgaʻ, whose root sense is simply "to touch." Poole and the Pulpit Commentary both note that "touch" here means "injureth" (cf. Joshua 9:19; Psalm 105:15) — and, applied to a woman, can mean to defile (cf. Genesis 20:6). The euphemism guards both Isaac and Rebekah.
מוֹת יוּמָת will surely be put to death renders the emphatic Hebrew infinitive-absolute construction mō·wṯ yū·māṯ — literally "dying he shall be put to death." The doubled root mûwth intensifies: a certain, sentence-of-death decree. English "surely" is the standard equivalent but cannot show the repeated verb.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The inherited sin — 6–7

The unit opens quietly — “And Isaac dwelt (way·yê·šeḇ) in Gerar” — and Gill reads even the staying as obedience: “in this he was obedient to the command and will of God,” for God had forbidden the descent into Egypt (v. 2). But obedience in geography becomes failure in faith. The moment “the men of the place asked” about Rebekah, Isaac repeats his father's lie almost word for word. Benson names the strangeness of it: “Isaac enters into the same temptation that his father had been once and again surprised and overcome by… It is an unaccountable thing, that both these great and good men should be guilty of so odd a piece of dissimulation.” Henry's verdict over the whole episode is unsparing — “There is nothing in Isaac's denial of his wife to be imitated, nor even excused” — and he sees the repetition as aggravating the guilt: “The temptation of Isaac is the same as that which overcame his father… This rendered his conduct the greater sin.” The Cambridge editors press the moral edge sharper still: where Abraham could plead a half-truth, “the plea of the relationship of a half-sister could be made for Sarah, but not for Rebekah.” Isaac's lie is barer than his father's. The root of it all is one mispointed word — yā·rê, “he feared” — fear aimed at men instead of God; the Geneva Bible draws the honest lesson: “by which we see that fear and distrust is found in the most faithful.”

ii. The window and the wordplay — 8

Time passes — the Hebrew idiom is “the days were lengthened to him there” — until the deception undoes itself in a single glance. Abimelech “leaned out” (way·yaš·qêp̄) of his window and saw Isaac mə·ṣa·ḥêq with Rebekah. Here the narrator springs a trap of his own. The participle is from tsâchaq — the very root of the name Yiṣḥāq, “he laughs.” The Cambridge Bible catches it: “the word in the original is the same as that from which the name 'Isaac' was popularly derived… the meaning seems to be that of 'fondling,' the caress of husband and wife, rather than of brother and sister.” The man named Laughter is caught laughing — the unguarded tenderness of a husband betraying the lie of his mouth. Poole guards the propriety of the scene (“that this was not the conjugal act, may easily be gathered from the circumstances… which was open to Abimelech’s view”) while Gill describes the “motions and gestures… such as were not usual between brothers and sisters, though honest and lawful between man and wife.” The body would not keep the secret the tongue had told.

iii. The pagan as conscience — 9–11

The reproach that follows is the unit's great reversal. It is the heathen king who speaks for righteousness. Abimelech's “What is this you have done to us?” (mah-zōṯ ‘ā·śî·ṯā) is, the Pulpit Commentary notes, the same rebuke the first Abimelech once laid on Abraham (Genesis 20:9). And the king's moral reasoning runs deeper than the patriarch's: he knows that “within a little” (kim·‘aṭ) one of the people might have lain with Rebekah and so “brought guilt (’ā·šām) upon us.” Benson observes the staggering theology in a pagan's mouth: “the heathen considered fornication either as no sin, or a very little one; but they had a different idea of adultery, considering it as heinous,” and Abimelech “takes it for granted, that their ignorance… would not have been a sufficient excuse for their sin.” The Geneva note generalizes it: “in all ages men were persuaded that God's vengeance would come on adulterers.” Then the king does what Isaac's God-given protection had quietly been doing all along: he decrees death (mō·wṯ yū·māṯ) against any who would “touch” (han·nō·ḡê·a‘) the man or his wife. Henry's summary lands: “This Abimelech was not the same that lived in Abraham's days, but both acted rightly. The sins of professors shame them before those that are not themselves religious.” And Barnes lifts the eye higher: “God mercifully protects his chosen ones from the perils which they bring upon themselves by the vain self-reliance and wicked policy of the old corrupt nature.”

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Tested against Scripture alone, three things stand out from this episode — offered as a reading to be weighed, not a verdict to be trusted. First, the covenant runs on grace, not on the patriarch's merit. Isaac contributes only a lie; the promise advances anyway. The very thing he feared — “lest I die” (’ā·mūṯ, vv. 7, 9) — is answered not by his cunning but by God turning a pagan king into the guardian of his house, with a death-decree (v. 11) protecting the line through which Christ would come. Second, the wordplay preaches. The man named “Laughter” is exposed by laughter (mə·ṣa·ḥêq, v. 8); the name God gave at his miraculous birth becomes the very evidence that undoes his deceit. Grace has a long memory, and even a buried sin surfaces in the light of a window. Third, common grace shames covenant failure. A Philistine teaches the heir of Abraham that ignorance is no excuse for sin and that “guilt” (’ā·šām) is a real and dreadful thing — a rebuke that anticipates Paul's word that the conscience of the nations bears witness (Romans 2:14–15). The chosen man fails; the unchosen king is upright; and over both, the LORD keeps his oath. Weigh it against the text; keep what the Word supports.

The man named Laughter was unmasked by laughter — and the God who named him kept the promise his lie could not break.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The thrice-told sister-deception — Abraham to Isaac structural / thematic — confirmed

This is the third telling of the wife-sister motif in Genesis: Abraham in Egypt (12:13), Abraham at Gerar (20:2), and now Isaac at the very same Gerar (26:7). The shared vocabulary is the deception itself — ’ā·ḥō·ṯî (“my sister,” H269) over ’iššâh (“wife,” H802) — confirmed by the Verifier as a shared-lexeme structural link. Benson, the Cambridge Bible, and the Pulpit Commentary all name the repetition; Henry judges that imitating his father's known sin “rendered his conduct the greater sin.” Not a quotation but a deliberate narrative pattern — hence structural, not verbal.

Genesis 26:7 · Genesis 12:13 · Genesis 20:2

basis: shared lexemes H269 ʼâchôwth (104 vv) + H802 ʼishshâh (686 vv), the wife/sister pair common to all three episodes; verified against Genesis 20:2 (adds H1642 Gᵉrâr, H40 ʼĂbîymelek) and Genesis 12:13 (H269). A repeated motif, not a citation.

Isaac — the name that means laughter verbal / quotation — confirmed

The narrator's choice of mə·ṣa·ḥêḳ (“sporting,” H6711 tsâchaq) in v. 8 is a pointed pun on Isaac's own name, Yiṣḥāq (“he laughs”). The Verifier flags tsâchaq as a rare lexeme — only twelve verses — and the other occurrences cluster precisely around Isaac's birth and naming: Abraham laughs (17:17), Sarah laughs and says “God has made laughter for me” (21:6). The same root recurs at his weaning feast where Ishmael is “mocking” (21:9). Because the shared lexeme is genuinely rare and the wordplay is verbal rather than merely thematic, this earns the verbal tier. The Cambridge Bible names the connection explicitly.

Genesis 26:8 · Genesis 17:17 · Genesis 21:6 · Genesis 21:9

basis: shared rare lexeme H6711 tsâchaq (only 12 vv) verified across Genesis 26:8 / 17:17 / 21:6 / 21:9 — the verbal root of the name Yiṣḥāq; a deliberate Hebrew→Hebrew pun, low-frequency.

“Touch not” — the protected anointed ones structural / thematic — confirmed

Abimelech's decree, “The one who touches (han·nō·ḡê·a‘, H5060) this man or his wife shall surely die” (v. 11), uses the very verb the Psalmist later puts in God's own mouth over the patriarchs: “Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm” (Psalm 105:15), in a passage that explicitly recalls Abraham and Isaac in foreign lands. Poole and the Pulpit Commentary both gather nâgaʻ's sense of “injure” and cite Psalm 105:15 by name. JFB ties the whole sojourn to that same Psalm. A real shared lexeme and a real motif of divine protection — but nâgaʻ is common (142 vv), so the link is structural, not a quotation.

Genesis 26:11 · Psalm 105:14 · Psalm 105:15

basis: shared lexeme H5060 nâgaʻ (142 vv) verified across Genesis 26:11 / Psalm 105:15; the “touch not” motif of divine protection over the patriarchs. Common lexeme — structural, not verbal.

“What is this you have done?” — the king's rebuke echoed structural / thematic — confirmed

Abimelech's confrontation — “What is this you have done to us?” (mah-zōṯ ‘ā·śî·ṯā) — reprises almost exactly the rebuke the earlier Abimelech laid on Abraham (Genesis 20:9), and even his fear of ’ā·šām / “guilt” recalls that scene (where the cognate ḥṭāʼâh is used). The Pulpit Commentary draws the comparison directly. Verified by the shared name H40 ʼĂbîymelek and the interrogative H4100 mâh. Both are common, and the parallel is one of pattern and idiom rather than citation — so structural.

Genesis 26:10 · Genesis 20:9

basis: shared lexemes H40 ʼĂbîymelek (62 vv) + H4100 mâh (657 vv) verified across Genesis 26:10 / 20:9; a recurring rebuke-formula, both lexemes common — structural.

The Gerar / Abimelech narrative frame structural / thematic — confirmed

The unit is bracketed by the geography and dynasty that define it: the famine-flight to Gerar (26:1), the wells and covenant that follow (26:17, 20, 26). The Verifier surfaces the shared proper nouns H1642 Gᵉrâr (rare — only 10 verses) and H3327 Yiṣḥāq binding 26:6 to 26:1. Because these are recurring proper names within a single continuous narrative rather than a quotation, the honest tier is structural — the Verifier's “verbal” label here reflects only the low frequency of the place-name, not an actual citation, so it is deliberately downgraded.

Genesis 26:6 · Genesis 26:1 · Genesis 26:17 · Genesis 26:26

basis: shared lexemes H1642 Gᵉrâr (10 vv) + H3327 Yiṣḥāq (101 vv) verified across Genesis 26:6 / 26:1; same-narrative proper nouns. Downgraded from the Verifier's 'verbal' label — recurring names in one story, not a quotation.

The fear of man that brings a snare flagged — verify source

Twice Isaac names his motive: he "feared" (yā·rê, v. 7) and "lest I die" (’ā·mūṯ, vv. 7, 9). The whole sin is dread of men displacing trust in God — the exact pathology Proverbs later distills: "The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe" (Proverbs 29:25). The Geneva Bible draws the same lesson on this very verse: "fear and distrust is found in the most faithful." This is a genuine biblical theme, but it is an honest reader's pairing, not a verbal link: the Verifier finds no shared original-language lexeme between Genesis 26 and Proverbs 29:25 (Hebrew yârêʼ/mûwth here vs. a different construction there), so the connection must be argued from sense, not asserted from words — hence flagged.

Genesis 26:7 · Genesis 26:9 · Proverbs 29:25

basis: Verifier reports NO shared original-language lexeme between Genesis 26:7/26:9 and Proverbs 29:25; the 'fear of man' link is thematic only and must be argued, not asserted. Offered as a reader's resonance, not a verbal citation.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The promised seed shielded in a foreign land widely-held

The entire episode turns on the preservation of Rebekah's purity and Isaac's life — and through them, the unbroken line of promise. The covenant seed through whom “all nations shall be blessed” (Genesis 22:18) is endangered by the patriarch's own cowardice, yet kept by God through the unlikeliest instrument: a Philistine king's decree of death against any who would harm them. Barnes saw the principle: “God mercifully protects his chosen ones from the perils which they bring upon themselves.” The protection of this marriage is the protection of the messianic genealogy itself — the same providence that runs straight to Bethlehem (Matthew 1:2; Luke 3:34). Christ's coming did not depend on Isaac's faithfulness, but on God's.

Genesis 26:11 · Genesis 22:18 · Matthew 1:2 · Luke 3:34

Laughter promised, laughter kept — the joy of the true Seed widely-held

The name Yiṣḥāq, “he laughs,” carries a whole theology of promised joy: Sarah's “God has made laughter for me” (Genesis 21:6) at the birth of the child of promise. Isaac is himself a type of the long-awaited son miraculously given, in whom the promise is renewed (Genesis 26:3–4). The New Testament reads Isaac — the only-beloved son laid on the altar and received back “in a figure” — as a pattern of the Father giving the true Son (Hebrews 11:17–19; cf. John 3:16). The laughter that names him anticipates the joy set before Christ (Hebrews 12:2) and the rejoicing of all who are, like Isaac, “children of promise” (Galatians 4:28). The wordplay of v. 8 is a small, glad reminder that the line of laughter would not be cut off.

Genesis 26:8 · Genesis 21:6 · Galatians 4:28 · Hebrews 11:17

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). The named voices are quoted verbatim from public-domain commentaries on Genesis 26:6–11 hosted at Biblehub — Matthew Henry, Albert Barnes, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Matthew Poole, John Gill, the Geneva Study Bible, the Pulpit Commentary, Keil & Delitzsch, Charles Ellicott, Joseph Benson, and the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Several voices (Henry on 26:6–11; Barnes, JFB, and Keil & Delitzsch as block notes) comment on the unit as a whole rather than a single verse; their attributions note this — Keil & Delitzsch's note is quoted verbatim on v. 9 but governs the whole episode (vv. 7–11). The Hebrew is the Masoretic tradition; transliterations, literal renderings, divergence notes, and the ⚙ synthesis are this tool's own work — careful but fallible, to be checked against a lexicon (BDB, HALOT) and the parses already supplied (Berean/Strong's). On the threads: the Verifier labeled Genesis 26:6→26:1 “verbal” on the strength of the rare place-name Gᵉrâr, but since that is a recurring proper noun inside one continuous narrative and not a citation, it has been honestly downgraded to structural. The tsâchaq (“laugh / sport”) link in v. 8 is retained as verbal because the shared root is genuinely rare (12 verses) and functions as a deliberate pun on Isaac's name. The “fear of man” thread to Proverbs 29:25 is flagged, not confirmed: the Verifier finds no shared original-language lexeme, so it is offered as a thematic reader's resonance and must be argued from sense, not asserted from words. No NT quotation of this unit is claimed; the Christ readings are typological and widely held, not asserted as direct fulfillment. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)