Genesis 26:18

26:18 Isaac reopened ¹  the wells that had been dug ²  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ³  after Abraham died. Isaac ⁴  gave these wells ⁵  the same names his father had given them. ⁶ 

Genesis 21:30

21:30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof ⁷  that I dug this well.” ⁸ 

Genesis 26:15

26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up ⁹  all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.

Genesis 26:32

26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

² tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

³ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”

⁷ tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”

⁸ sn This well. Since the king wanted a treaty to share in Abraham’s good fortune, Abraham used the treaty to secure ownership of and protection for the well he dug. It would be useless to make a treaty to live in this territory if he had no rights to the water. Abraham consented to the treaty, but added his rider to it.

¹³ tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.