Genesis 26:17-22
New English Translation
17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley.[a] 18 Isaac reopened[b] the wells that had been dug[c] back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up[d] after Abraham died. Isaac[e] gave these wells[f] the same names his father had given them.[g]
19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing[h] water there, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled[i] with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac[j] named the well Esek[k] because they argued with him about it.[l] 21 His servants[m] dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it[n] Sitnah.[o] 22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac[p] named it[q] Rehoboth,[r] saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
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- 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.
- Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
- Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
- Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
- Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
- Genesis 26:19 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
- Genesis 26:20 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
- Genesis 26:20 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 26:20 sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”
- Genesis 26:20 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 26:21 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 26:21 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 26:21 sn The name Sitnah (שִׂטְנָה, sitnah) is derived from a Hebrew verbal root meaning “to oppose; to be an adversary” (cf. Job 1:6). The name was a reminder that the digging of this well caused “opposition” from the Philistines.
- Genesis 26:22 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 26:22 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
- Genesis 26:22 sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.
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