CHAPTER XXVI.

1. AND there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine, which was in the days of Abraham; and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.

2. And JEHOVAH appeared to him, and said, Go not down into Egypt, reside in the land, which I say to thee.

3. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and I will bless thee, because I will give all these lands to thee and to thy seed, and I will establish the oath which I sware to thy father Abraham.

4. And I will make thy seed to be multiplied, as the stars of the heavens, and I will give to thy seed all these lands, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

5. Because that Abraham hearkened to my voice, and observed my ordinances, my precepts, my statutes, and my laws. 6. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

7. And the men of the place asked him respecting his wo man; and he said, She is my sister, because he feared to say, She is my woman, lest perhaps the men of the place may slay me for the sake of Rebecca, because she is good to look upon.

8. And it came to pass, because the days were there prolonged to him, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through a window, and saw, and behold Isaac was laughing with Rebecca, his woman.

9. And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, But behold she is thy woman, and how saidst thou, She is my sister? and Isaac aid unto him, Because I said, Perhaps I may die because of her.

10. And Abimelech said, What is this that thou hast done unto us, that one of the people might lightly have lain with thy woman, and thou wouldst have brought guilt upon us?

11. And Abimelech charged all his people saying, He that toucheth this man and his woman, dying shall die.

12. And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in that year an hundred measures, and JEHOVAH blessed him.

13. And the man increased, and went going and increasing until he became very great.

14. And he had acquisition of flock, and acquisition of herd, and much service, and the Philistines envied him.

15. And all the wells, which his father's servants digged, in the days of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped them up, and filled them with dust.

16. And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go from being with us, because thou prevailest exceedingly above us.

17. And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his camp in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

18. And Isaac returned, and digged again the wells of

waters, which they digged in the days of Abraham his father, and the Philistines stopped them after the death of Abraham; and he called their names, according to the names which his father called them.

19. And the servants of Isaac digged in the valley, and they found there a well of living waters.

20. And the shepherds of Gerar disputed with the shepherds of Isace, saying, We have the waters, and he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.

21. And they digged another well, and disputed also over it, and he called the name thereof Sitnah.

22. And he removed thence, and digged another well, and they did not dispute over it, and he called the name thereof Rehoboth, and he said, Because now JEHOVAH hath made us to be dilated, and we shall be fruitful in the earth.

23. And he went up thence to Beersheba.

24. And JEHOVAH appeared to him in that night, and said, I am the God of thy father Abraham. Fear not, because I am. with thee, and I will bless thee, and will make thy seed to be multiplied for the sake of Abraham my servant.

25. And he built there an altar, and called on the name of JEHOVAH, and stretched out his tent there, and the servants of Isaac digged a well there.

26. And Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahusath his companion, and Phicol the chief captain of his army.

27. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore are ye come to me, and ye have hated me, and have sent me away from you?

28. And they said, Seeing we have seen that JEHOVAH was with thee, and we said, Let there be I pray a sacrament between us, between us and between thee, and let us make a covenant with thee.

29. If thou shalt do evil with us, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done with thee nothing but good, and have sent thee in peace: thou art now the blessed of JEHOVAH.

30. And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. 31. And in the morning they arose early, and sware a man to his brother; and Isaac sent them away, and they went from being with him in peace.

32. And it came to pass in that day, and the servants of Isaac came, and told him concerning the reasons of the well which they digged, and they said unto him, We have found waters. 33. And he called it Shebah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba even to this day.

34. And Esau was a son of forty years, and he took a woman Jehudith, the daughter of Beeri, the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon, the Hittite.

35. And they were bitterness of spirit to Isaac and to Rebecca.

CONTENTS.

3357. THE subject treated of in this chapter, in the internal
sense, is concerning appearances of truth of a threefold degree,
how they were adjoined to Truth Divine, in order that truths
and the doctrinals thereof might be received, and a Church
might exist.

3358. The subject treated of, verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, is con-
cerning appearances of truth of a superior degree which are in
the internal sense of the Word, in which appearances the angels
are, and in which are Divine Truth and Good. And that Divine
Good and Truth cannot be comprehended, consequently cannot
be received, unless they are in appearances, verses 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13.

3359. The appearances of truth of an inferior degree are
also treated of, which are in the interior sense of the Word, in
which appearances men may be, who are of the internal Church
verses 14, 15, 16, 17.

3360. Afterwards appearances of truth of a still inferior de
gree are treated of, which are those of the literal sense of the
Word, in which appearances mer may be, who are of the exter-
nal Church, verses 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25; and by these
may still be effected conjunction with the Lord, verses 26, 27.
28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33.

3361. Concerning scientific truths adjoined to good therein,
verses 34, 35.

THE INTERNAL SENSE.

3362. THE subject treated of in chapter xxi. was concerning
Abimelech, in that he made a covenant with Abraham, and that
on this occasion Abraham reproved him concerning a well of
waters, which his servants had seized upon. A circumstance
nearly similar to this here again occurs between Abimelech and
Isaac, alike too in this particular, that as Abraham had said
that his wife was his sister, so also does Isaac; from which con-
siderations it is evident that some divine arcanum is contained
in these circumstances, otherwise they would never have hap-
pened a second time, and been again related, neither would
mention have been made of wells on each occasion, concerning
which wells information could be of no importance, unless some-
what divine was concealed therein. The internal sense teaches
what this divine somewhat is, showing, that the subject treated
of is concerning the Lord's conjunction with those who are in

His kingdom, in the heavens and in the earths, by truths, and indeed by appearances of truth of a superior degree with the angels, and by appearances of truth of an inferior degree with men, consequently by the Word, in the internal and external sense whereof are contained those appearances; for essential Truths Divine are such, that they cannot in any sort be comprehended by any angel, still less by any man, inasmuch as they exceed every faculty of the understanding both of men and angels; in order therefore that they may have conjunction. with the Lord, Truths Divine flow in with them in appearances, and when Truths Divine are in such appearances, they can both be received and acknowledged. This is effected in a manner adequate to the comprehension of every one, wherefore appearances of truth, that is, truths angelic and human, are of a threefold degree. These are the Divine arcana which are contained in the internal sense, in what was done and related above concerning Abimelech and Abraham, and in what is here done and related concerning Abimelech and Isaac.

3363. Verse 1. And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine which was in the days of Abraham; and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar. There was a famine in the land besides the former famine which was in the days of Abraham, signifies a deficiency of the knowledges of faith and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar, signifies the doctrinals of faith; Abimelech is the doctrine of faith respecting things rational: king of the Philistines, denotes doctrinals; Gerar is faith.

3364. "There was a famine in the land besides the former famine which was in the days of Abraham"-that hereby is signified a deficiency of the knowledges of faith, appears from the signification of famine, as denoting a deficiency of knowledges, see n. 1460; that the knowledges of faith are meant, appears from what presently follows, viz. from the representation of Abimelech, and from the signification of Gerar, as denoting the things which are of faith. The famine in the days of Abraham, which is mentioned chap. xii. 10, and treated of, n. 1460, was a deficiency of the knowledges appertaining to the natural man, but the famine here spoken of is a deficiency of the knowledges appertaining to the rational man, wherefore it is said, that there was a famine in the land besides the former famine which was in the days of Abraham. The subject here treated of, in the internal sense, is concerning the Lord, showing that from His Divine [principle] are derived all the doctrinals of faith; for there is not given a single doctrinal, nor the smallest part of one, which is not from the Lord, inasmuch as the Lord is essential doctrine itself; hence it is that the Lord, is called the Word, because the Word is doctrine; but inasmuch as whatever is from the Lord is Divine, and what is Divine can

not be comprehended by any created [subject or being], therefore the doctrinals which are from the Lord, so far as they ap pear before created [subjects or beings], are not Truths purely Divine, but are appearances of truth; nevertheless in such ap pearances are contained Truths Divine, and this being the case the appearances also have the name of truths; the subject treated of in this chapter is concerning these appearances.

3365. "And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philis. tines, to Gerar"-that hereby are signified the doctrinals of faith, appears from the representation of Isaac, as denoting the Lord as to the Divine Rational [principle], see n. 1893, 2066, 2072, 2083, 2630; that Isaac is the Lord's Divine Rationai [principle] as to Divine Good, see n. 3012, 3194, 3210, and also as to Divine Truth, which is represented by the marriage of Isaac with Rebecca, see n. 3012, 3013, 3077, thus by Isaac is here represented the Lord as to Divine Truth conjoined to Divine Good of the Rational [principle], for Rebecca was with Isaac, and was called sister; and from the representation of Abimelech, as denoting the doctrine of faith which has respect to things rational, see n. 2504, 2509, 2510, 2530; and from the signification of king of the Philistines, as denoting doctrinals; that king in the internal sense is truth appertaining to doctrinals, see n. 1672, 2015, 2069, and that the Philistines denote the science of knowledges, which also appertains to doctrinals, see n. 1197, 1198; and from the signification of Gerar, as denoting faith, see n. 1209, 2504; hence it is evident what is signified by Isaac's going to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar, viz. the doctrine of faith derived from the Lord, and having respect to things rational, or, what is the same thing, having respect to the doctrinals of faith. All those things are called doctrina's which appertain to doctrine, which so far as they can be received and acknowledged in heaven by angels, and in earth by men, are said to have respect to things rational, for it is the rational principle which receives and acknowledges them; but the rational principle is such, that it can in no wise comprehend things Divine, inasmuch as it is finite, and what is finite cannot comprehend the things which are infinite, therefore Truths Divine from the Lord are presented before the rational principle by appearances; hence it is, that doctrinals are nothing else but appearances of Truth Divine, or nothing else but celestial and spiritual vessels, for the containing of what is Divine; and inasmuch as what is Divine, that is, the Lord, is in them, therefore they affect, and hence the Lord has conjunction with angels and men.

3366. Verses 2, 3. And Jehovah appeared to him, and said, Go not down into Egypt, reside in the land which I say to thee. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee, because to thee and thy seed will I give all these lands,