genesis 26:1-33 chiastic structure

Read Genesis 26:1-33 at Bible Gateway.

Hebrew paragraph division

Gen 26:1-33 {s} Life of Isaac repeats events from the life of Abraham

Gen 26:1-33 chiastic structure

1a) Gen 26:1-6 Isaac went to Abimelech/ YHVH’s blessing;

1a) Gen 26:1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, to Gerar;
central axis) Gen 26:2-5 And YHVH appeared to him, and said: “Go not down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you, and to your seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father; and I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and will give to your seed all these lands; and by your seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves; because that Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws;”
2a) Gen 26:6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar;

1b) Gen 26:7-11 The Philistines contend with him over his wife;

1c) Gen 26:12-14 Isaac received 100fold in a year of famine;

1d) Gen 26:15 Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth;

1e) Gen 26:16a And Abimelech said to Isaac: Go from us;

central axis) Gen 26:16b For you are much mightier than we;

2e) Gen 26:17 Isaac departed from there, and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there;

2d) Gen 26:18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham; and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them;

2c) Gen 26:19 Isaac found living water in the place of famine;

2b) Gen 26:20-22 The Philistines contend with him over his wells of water;

1a) Gen 26:20-21 And the herdsmen of Gerar strove with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying: “The water is ours.” And he called the name of the well Esek; because they contended with him. And they dug another well, and they strove for that also.And he called the name of it Sitnah.
central axis) Gen 26:22a And he moved from there, and dug another well;
2a) Gen 26:22b And for that they strove not. And he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said: “For now YHVH has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land;”

2a) Gen 26:23-33 {s} Isaac went up to Beersheba/ YHVH’s blessing;

1a) Gen 26:23 And he went up from there to Beer-sheba;
1b) Gen 26:24 And YHVH appeared to him the same night, and said: “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your seed for My servant Abraham’s sake;”
central axis) Gen 26:25a He built an altar there, and called on the name of YHVH, and pitched his tent there;
2b) Gen 26:25b-33a The Philistine’s recognize YHVH’s blessing;

1a) Gen 26:25c And there Isaac’s servants dug a well;
1b) Gen 26:26-27 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar/ Why have you come to me?
1c) Gen 26:28 And they said: “We saw plainly that YHVH was with you; and we said: Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you;
central axis) Gen 26:29a That you will do us no hurt, as we have not touched you, and as we have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace;
2c) Gen 26:29b-31a You are now the blessed of YHVH.” And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. And they rose up early in the morning, and swore one to another;
2b) Gen 26:31b And Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace;
2a) Gen 26:32-33a And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said to him: “We have found water.” And he called it Shibah;

2a) Gen 26:33b {s} Therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.

The chiastic structure of this chapter reveals history that prophesies, and is prophesying of the time and circumstances we are living in today. YHVH covenants to give the Promised Land to His Chosen People, and the people who live next to them (in Gen 26, it is the Philistines) contend with them over their blessings with which YHVH has blessed them. The parallel to today is so evident, and this theme is one repeated throughout Scripture and even throughout history. But eventually, when the blessing of YHVH has become so great that it is unmistakable, they come to the Chosen People to make a covenant of peace, for, they admit, (the central axis of the whole chapter) “You are much mightier than we.” There is nothing new under the sun, and over the next few years this history that Torah is prophesying, I believe we will see it repeated again.