Isaac With The Philistines

According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, Isaac's life was, in many ways, a mirror image of his father Abraham's.

Think about it: Abraham had to leave his birthplace. So did Isaac. Abraham faced the risk of losing his wife. Isaac, too. The Philistines envied Abraham, and then they turned their gaze, green with envy, upon Isaac. Abraham waited long for children. So did Isaac. And even the trials mirrored each other – just as a famine struck in Abraham's time, so it did in Isaac's. It's a fascinating parallel, isn't it?

At first, Isaac considered heading to Egypt, just like his father had done. But then, God appeared to him. The message? "Thou art a perfect sacrifice, without a blemish…" God tells him, essentially saying that leaving the Holy Land would somehow defile him. A powerful image! Instead, he was commanded to stay and cultivate the land. "In this land dwells the Shekinah," God says, referring to the divine presence, "and in days to come I will give unto thy children the realms possessed by mighty rulers…"

So, Isaac obeyed and settled in Gerar. But old habits die hard. When he sensed the locals eyeing his beautiful wife Rebekah with less than honorable intentions, he pulled the same trick Abraham had – claiming she was his sister. The report of Rebekah's beauty even reached the king, Abimelech. However, Abimelech, perhaps remembering the trouble it caused him before, left them alone… at first.

But secrets rarely stay buried forever. After three months, Abimelech noticed something was amiss. Isaac's behavior toward Rebekah, living within the royal court, was definitely more husbandly than brotherly. He confronted Isaac, fearing he himself might have been tempted to take her! Isaac, it seems, was even suspected of having illicit relations with Rebekah because people didn’t initially believe she was his wife. Can you imagine the awkwardness?

Finally, Abimelech, taking no chances, sent his officials to dress Isaac and Rebekah in royal garments and parade them through the city, announcing, "These two are man and wife. He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death." Talk about making a statement! After that little misunderstanding, the king even invited Isaac to settle in his lands, giving him fields and vineyards – the best the land had to offer.

Now, here's where Isaac really shines. He wasn't selfish. He gave a tithe of everything he owned to the poor of Gerar. He was, according to the text, the first to introduce the law of tithing for the poor, just as his father Abraham had been the first to separate the priests' portion. And what was his reward? Abundant harvests. Even though the soil was poor and the year was unfruitful, his land yielded a hundred times more than expected. He became so rich, the text says, that people wanted "the dung from Isaac's she-mules rather than Abimelech's gold and silver."

But with wealth comes envy. The Philistines, true to form, grew jealous. The text reminds us that it's characteristic of the wicked to begrudge others their good fortune. Envy bred hatred, and they began stopping up the wells that Abraham's servants had dug long ago. By doing this, they broke their covenant with Abraham.

Isaac, ever the dutiful son, didn't give up. He reopened those wells, even restoring the names his father had given them. And, as a reward for his filial respect, the Lord left Isaac's name unchanged, while his father and son had to submit to new names. After four tries, he struck water – the very same well that had followed the Patriarchs. Abraham had found it after three diggings, hence the name Beer-sheba, "the well of seven diggings." This, the text claims, is the same well that will supply water to Jerusalem in the Messianic age.

Of course, Isaac's success only fueled the Philistines' envy. They couldn't believe he'd found water in such a dry place, during a drought! But, as the text reminds us, "the Lord fulfils the desire of them that fear Him."

And Abimelech? He soon realized God was on Isaac's side. As punishment for driving Isaac away, his house was plagued by robbers and he himself was stricken with leprosy. The Philistines' wells dried up, and their trees stopped bearing fruit. They knew it was a divine rebuke.

So, Abimelech, accompanied by his advisors, went to Isaac seeking to renew the covenant Abraham had made. "We have convinced ourselves that the Shekinah is with thee," they said, asking Isaac to promise not to harm them, just as they hadn't harmed him. The text then offers a rather cynical observation: the Philistines took credit for not harming Isaac, implying they would have liked to! It illustrates, the text says, that "the soul of the wicked desireth evil."

The place where they made the covenant was called Shib'ah, meaning "oath," both because an oath was sworn there and as a reminder that even the heathen are bound to observe the "seven" Noachian laws.

The text goes on to say that all the good fortune Isaac enjoyed was due to the merits of his father. His own merits, it says, will be rewarded in the future. According to this tradition, on the Day of Judgment, it will be Isaac who redeems his descendants from Gehenna (hell).

The story goes that God will tell Abraham, "Thy children have sinned," and Abraham, tragically, will say, "Then let them be wiped out, that Thy Name be sanctified." God will then turn to Jacob, but Jacob will give the same answer. Finally, God will turn to Isaac.

"Isaac," God will say, "thy children have sinned." And Isaac will reply, "O Lord of the world, sayest Thou my children, and not THINE?" He’ll then remind God how He called Israel "My first-born" at Sinai, and proceed to break down the math of a human lifespan, deducting the years of childhood, sleep, and basic needs, until only a sliver of potentially sinful time remains. He then offers to take half of that upon himself. "Verily, thou art our true father!" his descendants will cry, but Isaac will deflect praise, directing it to God.

Isn't that a powerful image?

The text also identifies Isaac with Elihu, the son of Barachel, who revealed the mysteries of nature in his arguments with Job. Later, after the famine, God tells Isaac to return to Canaan, which he does, settling in Hebron. He sends Jacob to study at the Bet ha-Midrash (house of study) of Shem and Eber for thirty-two years, while Esau refuses to learn and becomes a hunter. Esau marries Judith, a woman from the family of Ham, which distresses Rebekah. When Jacob returns home at age fifty, Rebekah encourages him to marry a woman from their own family, not a Canaanite. He reassures her that he remembers Abraham's words and intends to marry one of Laban's daughters. Rebekah, relieved, blesses Jacob, asking God to love him as she does.

So, what do we take away from this extended look at Isaac's life? It's a story of inheritance, of repeating patterns, of navigating the complexities of faith and family. It's a reminder that even in the face of envy and adversity, piety and righteousness can lead to unexpected blessings. And perhaps, most importantly, it shows us the enduring power of a parent's love and the lengths they'll go to for their children.