Genesis 26:18-21

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 

26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ⁷  water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ⁸  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ⁹  named the well ¹⁰  Esek ¹¹  because they argued with him about it. ¹²  26:21 His servants ¹³  dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it ¹⁴  Sitnah. ¹⁵ 

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 “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).

⁸ tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.

⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”

¹¹ 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.”

¹² tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ 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.