Genesis 26:2 - Exposition

And the Lord (Jehovah, i . e . the God of the covenant and of the promise) appeared unto him,—only two Divine manifestations are mentioned as having been granted to the patriarch. Either the peaceful tenor of Isaac's life rendered more theophanies in his case unnecessary; or, if others were enjoyed by him, the brief space allotted by the historian to the record of his life may account for their omission from the narrative. Though commonly understood as having occurred in Gerar (Keil, Lange, Murphy), this appearance, is perhaps better regarded as having taken place at Lahai-roi, and as having been the cause of Isaac's turning aside into the land of the Philistines (Calvin)— and said, Go not down into Egypt —whither manifestly he had been purposing to migrate, as his father had done on the occasion of the earlier dearth ( Genesis 12:10 ). Jacob in the later famine was instructed to go down to Egypt ( Genesis 46:3 , Genesis 46:4 ); Abraham in the first scarcity was left at liberty to think and act for himself. Dwell in the land which I will tell thee of ( i . e . Philistia, as appears from the preceding verse).