26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 1 water there,
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 14
1 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
2 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 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.
3 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
4 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
5 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
6 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
4 tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”
5 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.
5 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
6 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.
7 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
9 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.