This is land my land

Genesis 26:12-35

Genesis 26:12–35 LSB

And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year one hundredfold. And Yahweh blessed him, and the man became great and continued to grow greater until he became very great; and he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and many servants, so that the Philistines were jealous of him. Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up by filling them with earth. Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are too mighty for us.” And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar and settled there. Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, but the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he called them by the same names by which his father had called them. Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water. And the herdsmen of Gerar contended with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. Then they dug another well, and they contended over it also, so he called it Sitnah. Then he moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not contend over it; so he named it Rehoboth, and he said, “At last Yahweh has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.” And he went up from there to Beersheba. And Yahweh appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your seed, For the sake of My servant Abraham.” So he built an altar there and called upon the name of Yahweh and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug out a well. Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army. And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” Then they said, “We see plainly that Yahweh has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us—between you and us—and let us cut a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of Yahweh.’” Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. In the morning they arose early, and each swore to the other; then Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. Now it happened on that day, that Isaac’s servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day. And Esau was forty years old, and he took as a wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and they brought bitterness to Isaac and Rebekah.

Water Rights

There are roughly 12 types of water rights in the United States. Each type determine how the public and private entities may use their water on their land, and what they can use their water for. Isaac would need the water as he became a farmer, planting crops. He is the only patriarch to “plant.” Water rights have continued throughout the land of Israel, and are part of the major Eschatological viewpoints within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

What’s in a name

Names are given from someone else. No one has named themselves. Isaac names each well based upon the situation at hand. Names used to me something, it is part of an identifier. What does the name Christian mean?

Emulation or Envy

Emulation is a term that was at the core of the empires of Greece and Rome. Each learned from previous cultures and societies in governance, military strategies, currency, and religion. Each based their “modernism” on these concepts. Even the United States of America has emulated much from the Greeks and Roman empires. However, most of these cultures and societies become envious. Greece became envious of the philosophy, Rome became envious of peace, and the United States of America has become envious of comfort. The men of Abimelech became envious of the produce, wells, and land that Isaac had attained.

Unfaithfulness to the Abrahamic Covenant

This chapter closes with another reminder of Esau’s unfaithfulness to the Abrahamic Covenant. The word “bitter” is described as the idea that the wives have no respect for Isaac nor Rebekah. This is the first issue of the “war with in-laws.” Brought implies that these women were able to “pit” Easu against his parents, thus dishonoring the father and the mother.