Isaac Grows Wealthy

¹² Isaac received a 100-fold return on what he planted that year in the land he received,^[a] because the Lord blessed him. ¹³ He^[b] became very wealthy and lived a life of wealth,^[c] becoming more and more wealthy. ¹⁴ He owned so many sheep, cattle, and servants that the Philistines eventually became envious of him. ¹⁵ They^[d] filled in with sand all of the wells that Isaac’s^[e] father Abraham’s servants had dug during his lifetime. ¹⁶ Then Abimelech ordered Isaac, “Move away from us! You’ve become more powerful than we are.” ¹⁷ So Isaac moved from there and encamped in the Gerar Valley, where he settled.

Disputes over Water Rights

¹⁸ Isaac re-excavated some wells that his father had first dug during his lifetime, because the Philistines had filled them with sand^[f] after Abraham’s death. Isaac^[g] renamed those wells with the same names that his father had called them.

¹⁹ While Isaac’s servants were digging in the valley, they discovered a well with flowing water. ²⁰ But the herdsmen who lived in Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen. “The water is ours,” they said. As a result, Isaac named the well Esek,^[h] for they had fiercely disputed with him about it. ²¹ When his workers started digging another well, those herdsmen^[i] quarreled about that one, too, so Isaac^[j] named it Sitnah.^{[k] 22} Then he left that area and dug still another well. Because they did not quarrel over that one, Isaac^[l] named it Rehoboth,^[m] because he used to say, “The Lord has enlarged the territory^[n] for us. We will prosper in the land.”

God Renews His Promise to Isaac

²³ Later on, he left there and went to Beer-sheba, ²⁴ where one night the Lord appeared to him. “I am the God of your father Abraham,” he told him. “Don’t be afraid, because I’m with you. I’m going to bless you and multiply your descendants on account of my servant Abraham.” ²⁵ In response, Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. He also pitched his tents there and his servants dug a well.