Genesis 26:7-11

Genesis 26:7-11

[7] of the place  asked  him of his wife;  and he said,  She is my sister:  for he feared  to say,  She is my wife;  of the place  should kill  me for Rebekah;  because she was fair  to look upon.  [8] And it came to pass, when he had been there a long  time,  that Abimelech  king  of the Philistines  looked out  at  a window,  and saw,  and, behold, Isaac  was sporting  with Rebekah  his wife.  [9] And Abimelech  called  Isaac,  and said,  Behold, of a surety  she is thy wife:  and how saidst  thou, She is my sister?  And Isaac  said  Lest I die  [10] And Abimelech  said,  What is this thou hast done  unto us? one  of the people  might lightly  have lien  with thy wife,  and thou shouldest have brought  guiltiness  upon us. [11] And Abimelech  charged  all his people,  saying,  He that toucheth  this man  or his wife  shall surely 

What does Genesis 26:7-11 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

For an explanation of this strange incident, see the notes on chapter20. When endangered, Isaac, like Abraham, resorted to an ethic in which the end justified the means. "Like father, like son." Isaac and Rebekah must have been childless at this time.
A period of between70,97 years had elapsed between Abraham"s sojourn in Gerar and Isaac"s. Abimelech could have been the same man in both cases since lifespans of150 years were not uncommon at that time. Abimelech demonstrated pious conduct in both cases. In the first, however, Abimelech took Sarah into his harem, but in the second he wanted to protect Rebekah from his people. Abimelech is a title rather than a personal name and means "royal father." Thus this may have been another ruler than the one Abraham dealt with.