In verses 12-16 Isaac becomes wealthy, and the local people become envious. Abimelech then removes Isaac.
And Isaac sowed in that land: as this is the introduction to a subtheme in the story, many languages will require some kind of transition such as “While he was living in Gerar,” “When he lived in that country,” “During his time there….” Sowed refers to planting, and here to the planting of grain (probably wheat or barley), which was by broadcasting or scattering seeds over the surface of the field. The field may be plowed before or after the seed is sown. Some languages have special terms to designate different kinds of planting. In languages in which scattering seed is unknown, a general term for planting may be used. In some languages the closest equivalent to sowed in that land is “Isaac planted a large garden in that country.”
Reaped … a hundredfold: reaped translates the common Hebrew verb meaning “find.” However, in connection with a crop it means to reap or harvest. In some languages this will be translated as “collected, gathered, brought out of his garden.” In others it will be more natural to talk about the plants producing food; for example, “the seeds that he planted all produced food; each seed gave a hundred….” Hundredfold means one hundred times more than he planted; that is, the weight of the crop was a hundred times more than the weight of the sown seeds. Driver says this need not be taken literally but may also be a way of saying that it was an exceptionally good harvest, which Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates “Isaac harvested a very good crop.”
In the same year: the reference is not to a calendar year but to an agricultural year or growing season; that is, from planting time to harvest time. Grain crops in this area are sown in about October and remain in the earth to receive the winter rains, and then are harvested at the end of the rains in April or May. Some translations, like Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, take in the same year to refer to the same year as the warning given by Abimelech in verse 11, and so begin verse 12 “That year Isaac sowed….” Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation do not associate in the same year with the previous events but rather understand that Isaac reaped a great harvest in the same year that he sowed. This is the view taken by most translations. However, both understandings are possible.
The LORD blessed him: for blessed see Gen 26.3. Note that Good News Translation and others make this statement the cause of Isaac’s successful harvest. Revised English Bible does the same by using a verb tense that refers back to the previous statements: “The LORD had blessed him.” Him is Isaac.
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .