When he had been there a long time: he refers to Isaac. The opening of this episode may require in some languages not only a transition but also an expression to mark the beginning of the new episode; for example, “Isaac had been living there for some time, then one day Abimelech looked….”

For king of the Philistines see the translation of Gen 26.1. Looked out translates a verb used also in 19.28, where Abraham looked down toward Sodom. The sense is to look from a high place toward something that is lower. Abimelech was probably at the window in a tower or upper part of his palace.

Saw Isaac fondling Rebekah: the Hebrew text begins with the word hinneh commonly rendered “lo” or “behold.” King James Version has “and saw, and behold, Isaac….” It probably suggests that what Abimelech saw surprised him. Revised English Bible retains something of this element by translating “… looked down from his window and there was Isaac caressing his wife.” Fondling translates the intensive participle of a verb meaning to laugh, play (as in 21.9), and in this context “to handle tenderly and lovingly.” The Hebrew word makes a wordplay on the name “Isaac.” Good News Translation “making love” is an unfortunate translation, since in many parts of the English-speaking world it will inevitably be understood to mean having sexual relations. The sense of the Hebrew is “caressing” or “embracing.” This is a context where the precise meaning of the Hebrew is not as important as using a term that refers to a display of affection between husband and wife in public that is culturally acceptable.

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 .