Genesis 26:17-19

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 26:17 tn Heb “and he camped in the Valley of Gerar and he lived there.”sn This valley was actually a wadi (a dry river bed where the water would flow in the rainy season, but this would have been rare in the Negev). The water table under it would have been higher than in the desert because of water soaking in during the torrents, making it easier to find water when digging wells. However, this does not minimize the blessing of the Lord, for the men of the region knew this too, but did not have the same results.
2. Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
3. Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
4. Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
5. Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6. Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7. Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
8. Genesis 26:19 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).