Kejadian 26:11

26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ¹  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ² 

Kejadian 26:1

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ³  in the days of Abraham. ⁴  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

1 Samuel 12:3

12:3 Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king. ⁵  Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me, ⁶  and I will return it to you!”

[26:11]  ¹ tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.

[26:11]  ² tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.

[26:1]  ³ tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

[26:1]  ⁴ sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.

[12:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “anointed [one].”

[12:3]  ⁶ tn The words “tell me” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.