Verse Lens · Context pointer
Genesis 26:17 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 17. 17And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
Isaac leaves the immediate Gerar settlement, camps in the valley of Gerar, and lives there. The verse is the relocation step between Abimelech's expulsion and Isaac's restoration of the wells.
Read It With
- Genesis 26:12–22
Read verses 16–18 together. Verse 16 supplies the forced departure, verse 17 records the new residence, and verse 18 explains what Isaac does there. The verse does not independently explain whether the move is permanent, voluntary, or uncontested.
Why It Needs Context
This transition depends on the expulsion before it and the redigging after it; an independent application would overstate a location notice.
Read Genesis 26:17–18 together
Why these verses belong together: Isaac's relocation into the Gerar valley immediately leads to redigging Abraham's stopped wells and restoring their names.
Verse 17. 17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
Verse 18. 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.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 26:12–22 — Conflict Follows Isaac's ProsperitySources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? very strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, thought-unit boundary, prosperity-conflict sequence, Abrahamic well continuity, names, and transition to Beersheba.
Exact location: Genesis 26:12–22 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 21:22–34 and 26:1–33
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Harvest, blessing, intensified growth, envy, well stopping, relocation, redigging, living water, dispute vocabulary, place-name wordplay, room, and fruitfulness.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 26:12–22; lemmas and morphology for zara, meah shearim, barakh, gadal, qana, satam, apar, atsum, yashav, shuv, be'er, mayim hayyim, riv, Eseq, Sitnah, Rehovot, rahav, and parah
Open source ↗