26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 1 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 2 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 3 named the well 4 Esek 5 because they argued with him about it. 6 26:21 His servants 7 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 8 Sitnah. 9
1 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
2 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
3 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”
5 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.”
6 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 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.