Genesis 26:29 - Exposition

That thou wilt do us no hurt ,—literally, if thou wilt do us evil ( sc . thy curse come upon thee!); the force being to negative in the strongest way possible any intention of injury (cf. Genesis 21:23 )— as we have not touched thee, —i.e. injured thee; which was not true, as they, through their servants, had robbed Isaac of at least two wells— and as we have done unto thee nothing but good ,—Abimelech's estimate of his own behavior, if exceedingly favorable to himself, is at least natural ( vide Proverbs 16:2 )— and have sent thee away in peace (without open violence certainly, because of Isaac's yielding, but scarcely without hostility): thou art now the blessed of the Lord . Regarded by some as an instance of adroit and pious flattery, these words are perhaps better understood as explaining either why Isaac should overlook the injuries which they had done to him (Calvin, Bush), or why he should grant them the oath which they desired (Ainsworth),—he requiring no guarantee of safety from them, since Jehovah was on his side (Murphy),—or why they had been stirred up to seek his favor and alliance (Rosenmüller).