Genesis 26:4-5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 26:1-5

Here, I. God tried Isaac by his providence. Isaac had been trained up in a believing dependence upon the divine grant of the land of Canaan to him and his heirs; yet now there is a famine in the land, Gen. 26:1. What shall he think of the promise when the promised land will not find him bread? Isa. such a grant worth accepting, upon such terms, and after so long a time? Yes, Isaac will still cleave to the covenant; and the less valuable Canaan in itself seems to be the better he is taught to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 26:4

And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven ,.... Meaning in the line of Jacob especially, if not only; from whom sprung twelve patriarchs, the heads of so many tribes, which in process of time became very numerous, even as the stars of heaven: and I will give unto thy seed all these countries ; which is repeated from Genesis 26:3 for the greater confirmation of it: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed ; meaning in the Messiah that should... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 26:5

Because that Abraham obeyed my voice ,.... In all things, and particularly in offering up his son at his command: and kept my charge ; whatever was given him in charge to observe; this, as Aben Ezra thinks, is the general, of which the particulars follow: my commandments, my statutes, and my laws ; whether moral, ceremonial, or civil and judicial; all and everyone which God enjoined him, he was careful to observe. Here seems to be something wanting, for the words are not to be joined... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 26:4

I will make thy seed - as the stars of heaven - A promise often repeated to Abraham, and which has been most amply fulfilled both in its literal and spiritual sense. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 26:5

Abraham obeyed my voice - מימרי meimeri , my Word. See Genesis 15:1 . My charge - משמרתי mishmarti , from שמר shamar , he kept, observed, etc., the ordinances or appointments of God. These were always of two kinds: Such as tended to promote moral improvement, the increase of piety, the improvement of the age, etc. And Such as were typical of the promised seed, and the salvation which was to come by him. For commandments, statutes, etc., the reader is particularly... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 26:5

Verse 5 5.Because that Abraham obeyed my voice. Moses does not mean that Abraham’s obedience was the reason why the promise of God was confirmed and ratified to him; but from what has been said before, (Genesis 22:18,) where we have a similar expression, we learn, that what God freely bestows upon the faithful is sometimes, beyond their desert, ascribed to themselves; that they, knowing their intention to be approved by the Lord, may the more ardently addict and devote themselves entirely to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 26:1-6

A good man's perplexity. I. THE CONTEMPLATED JOURNEY . 1. Its projected destinations . Egypt. Renowned for fertility, the land of the Pharaohs was yet no proper resort for the son of Abraham, the heir of Canaan, and the friend of God. It was outside the land of promise; it had been to Abraham a scene of peril, and it was not a place to which he was directed to turn. Considerations such as these should have operated to deter Isaac from even entertaining the idea of a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 26:1-35

Line upon line, in God's teaching. Isaac, like his father, has his time of sojourn among the Philistines. The events of his intercourse with the Abimelech of his day resemble those of the former patriarch, though there are differences which show that the recurrence is historical . I. GOD REPEATS HIS LESSONS that they may make the deeper impression. The intention of the record is to preserve a certain line of Divine guidance . Isaac trod in the footsteps of Abraham. We have... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 26:4

And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven ( vide Genesis 15:1-6 ), and will give unto thy seed all these countries (i.e. the territories occupied by the Canaanitish tribes); and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (cf. Genesis 12:3 ; Genesis 22:18 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 26:5

Because that Abraham obeyed (literally, hearkened to ) my voice (a general description of the patriarch's obedience, which the next clause further particularizes), and kept my charge , custodierit custodiam (Calvin); observed my observances (Kalisch); the charge being that which is intended to be kept— my commandments ,— i . e . particular injunctions, specific enactments, express or occasional orders (cf. 2 Chronicles 35:16 )— my statutes ,—or permanent ordinances,... read more

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