(Genesis 26:1)
And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

(Genesis 12:10)
And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

(Genesis 26:2)
And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: (Genesis 26:3)
Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

(Acts 17:26)
And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

(Deuteronomy 32:8)
When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

(Genesis 26:5)
Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

(Genesis 26:6-7)
And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

(Exodus 20:5)
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

(Numbers 14:18)
The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

(Deuteronomy 5:9)
Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

(Genesis 26:8)
And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

(Mark 4:22)
For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.

(Luke 8:17)
For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

(Genesis 26:9)
And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.

PHARAOH

(Genesis 12:18-19)
And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What isthis that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she wasthy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

ABIMELECH

(Genesis 20:11)
And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.

(Genesis 26:10)
And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

ABIMELECH TO ABRAHAM

(Genesis 20:9)
Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.

(Genesis 26:11)
And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

TWO GREAT PATRIARCHS

Both Abraham and his son are the start of the nation of Israel with all of her promises, etc. yet both of them fell for and loved deeply beautiful women, both of them fell protecting themselves from the world, fearing death, because of having these same beautiful women, in exactly the same way. Both had great and precious promises, both heard from God, both were guaranteed offspring and nations, blessings, but fell anyways. God still used them greatly despite all of this. Two lessons

(Genesis 26:12)
Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

(Genesis 26:13-14)
And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. (Genesis 26:15)
For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

(John 4:10-15)
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

(Matthew 18:6)
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. (Genesis 26:16)
And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. (Genesis 26:17)
And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

(Genesis 26:18)
And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

(Genesis 26:19)
And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

(Genesis 26:20)
And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.

(Genesis 26:21)
And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

(Genesis 26:22)
And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

GOD, BLESSING ISRAEL

FOOD, DURING A FAMINE

(Genesis 26:1)
And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

(Genesis 26:12)
Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

WATER, EVERYWHERE HE DIGS

(Genesis 26:18-19)
And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

(Genesis 26:21-22)
And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. (Genesis 26:25)
And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well. Genesis 26:32)
And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. (Isaiah 65:13)
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: (Genesis 26:23)
And he went up from thence to Beersheba. (Genesis 21:25-32)
And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away. And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day. And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant. And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What meanthese seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them. Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

(Genesis 26:24)
And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

(Genesis 17:1)
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I amthe Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

(Genesis 26:25)
And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well. (Genesis 26:26)
Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

(Genesis 26:27)
And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?

(Genesis 24:60)
And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

(Genesis 26:28)
And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

(Genesis 21:22-24)
And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. And Abraham said, I will swear.

(Genesis 26:28-29)
And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.

(Genesis 26:30)
And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

(Genesis 26:31)
And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

(Genesis 21:25)
And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.

(Genesis 26:32)
And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. (Genesis 26:33)
And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day. (Genesis 26:34-35)
And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

(Hebrews 12:16)
Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

BEERSHEBA

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vie/Beersheba.html

Beersheba

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/Negev/beersheba2.jpg

In 1947 and 1948, when the boundaries of the Jewish and Arab states were being debated by diplomats, David Ben-Gurion made it clear the Negev must be part of the Jewish state.
Though it was virtually uninhabited and thought by many to be uncultivable, Ben-Gurion knew this region was needed if the state was to grow. He also had faith that the desert could be tamed and turned into a place where Jews could settle and prosper. Many decades later, his vision has been realized. Still, the desert remains untamed.
This is the wilderness where man met God. Here Abrahamcommuned with God, and, centuries later, the prophet Elijah came to the Mountain of God for a momentous encounter with the Creator. This, in fact, is the region that gave birth to civilization on the banks of the great rivers that surround the desert, and in the oases on the fringes of the wilderness. The desert trails of the Negev were the conduits for knowledge, culture and development.
Beersheba was first settled during the Chalcolithic period. The inhabitants lived in caves and worked in raising cattle and the manufacturing of metal tools. At the beginning of 2000 BCE, Abraham and Isaac arrived in Beersheba. There they dug wells and also formed alliances with Abimelech, the King of the Philistines. During King David's reign, the Israelites conquered Beersheba, which became a city of the tribe of Simeon and was later incorporated into the tribe of Judah (Josh. 15:28; 19:2)
. The city became the capital of the “Negev Yehuda." Following the Israelites defeat from the conquering Babylonians, the city was deserted for many years. However, after the Jews return from Babylon it was resettled (Neh. 11:27, 30)
. During the Roman-Byzantine period, after 70 CE, Beersheba became apart of the frontier -line defenses against attacks by the Nabateans.

The town was abandoned in the Arab period. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/climber2.jpg

The city was redeveloped by the Turks in 1900. Jewish settlement also began to return to the city during this time. On October 31, 1917, Beersheba was the first place in Israel captured by the British in World War I. During the British mandatory period, the city continued to develop and grow in size. During the1936-39 Arab riots, most of the Jews left the city, but strong efforts were made in the 1940s to purchase land for Jewish settlement in the Negev. Following the declaration of independence of the State of Israel, the invading Egyptian army made Beersheba its headquarters. On October 21, 1948, the Israeli forces took the city in "Operation Moshe"; upon the Israeli conquest, the city was totally abandoned by its citizens. Following the war, Jewish settlers, mostly new immigrants, began to establish themselves there.
The Negev is still virtually unknown to most travelers. Its hidden canyons, vast expanses, clear blue skies, and stark promontories are still off the beaten track and provide a worthy challenge to those seeking adventure and thrills. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/israel/bghouse.jpgWhen Ben-Gurion spoke of the future of the Negev, he was not doing so for mere rhetorical flourish. He believed what he said and made his home there, joining Kibbutz Sde Boker in 1953. Today, the hut where he lived is a small museum devoted to Ben-Gurion's legacy.
The gateway to the Negev is a place that once was little more than a watering hole for Abraham'ssheep. Today, Beersheba is a modern city of 130,000 and home to the Ben-Gurion University. It is also a place where you can still buy sheep and camels at the Bedouin market (open Thursdays 6 a.m.-1 p.m.)
. Roughly 27,000 Bedouinstill live their nomadic lifestyle in the Negev.
A Bedouin woman making pita (Ministry of Tourism)

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/bedouinf.jpg

The name Beersheba comes from "The Well of the Oath" that Abraham made to Abimelech (Gen. 21:27 and 31)
. A stone-enclosed well said to be the one used by Abraham is at the corner of Derekh Hebron and Rehov Keren. Isaac and Jacob also lived in this area, which later was given to the Tribe of Simeon.
Though the city has remnants from the Roman and Byzantine periods, it was really little more than a collection of wells where Bedouin watered their flocks until the early 20th century when the Turks built a small town. The city was held by the Egyptians at the time of Israel's War of Independence, and was conquered in "Operation Ten Plagues" on October 21, 1948.
Just outside Beersheba is Hatzerim, the first air base built by Israel. Today, it serves the Israeli Air Force and hosts the pilot school. Next door is the Air Force Museum, one of the coolest museums for anyone interested in airplanes, helicopters and Israeli history. In addition to a Scriptures with displays of missiles and rockets and information on Israel's elite rescue squad and survival tactics, there is hall showing films and a huge outdoor exhibition area with examples of aircraft from the Israeli Air Force as well as some of its enemies. Some of the highlights include U.S.-made phantom jets, Soviet MiGs, the Israeli Lavie and the “Bar Mitzvah Twins,” two aircraft whose pilots each shot down 13 enemy aircraft in combat. While visiting you’ll likely hear the roar of engines from the base next door and may even catch a glimpse in the sky of one of the Air Force’s state-of-the-art fighter planes. Oh, and the museum is also known for having some of the most beautiful tour guides, all women performing their compulsory military service in the Air Force.