Genesis 29:2

29:2 He saw ¹  in the field a well with ²  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ³  a large stone covered the mouth of the well.

Genesis 16:14

16:14 That is why the well was called ⁴  Beer Lahai Roi. ⁵  (It is located ⁶  between Kadesh and Bered.)

Genesis 21:25

21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ⁷  against Abimelech concerning a well ⁸  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ⁹ 

Genesis 24:11

24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well ¹⁰  outside the city. It was evening, ¹¹  the time when the women would go out to draw water.

Genesis 26:19

26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ¹²  water there,

Genesis 26:21

26:21 His servants ¹³  dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it ¹⁴  Sitnah. ¹⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “and he saw, and look.” As in Gen 28:12-15, the narrator uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here and in the next clause to draw the reader into the story.

² tn Heb “and look, there.”

³ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

⁴ tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.

⁵ sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” The text suggests that God takes up the cause of those who are oppressed.

⁶ tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁷ tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to argue; to dispute”; it can focus on the beginning of the dispute (as here), the dispute itself, or the resolution of a dispute (Isa 1:18). Apparently the complaint was lodged before the actual oath was taken.

⁸ tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”

⁹ tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.

¹⁰ tn Heb “well of water.”

¹¹ tn Heb “at the time of evening.”

¹³ tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).

¹⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁸ 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.