Genesis 26:20-22

26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ¹  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ²  named the well ³  Esek ⁴  because they argued with him about it. ⁵  26:21 His servants ⁶  dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it ⁷  Sitnah. ⁸  26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac ⁹  named it ¹⁰  Rehoboth, ¹¹  saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

Exodus 2:17-19

2:17 When some ¹²  shepherds came and drove them away, ¹³  Moses came up and defended them ¹⁴  and then watered their flock. 2:18 So when they came home ¹⁵  to their father Reuel, ¹⁶  he asked, “Why have you come home so early ¹⁷  today?” 2:19 They said, “An Egyptian man rescued us ¹⁸  from the shepherds, ¹⁹  and he actually ²⁰  drew water for us and watered the flock!”

Isaiah 12:3

12:3 Joyfully you will draw water

from the springs of deliverance. ²¹ 

[26:20]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.

[26:20]  ² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:20]  ³ tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”

[26:20]  ⁴ 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.”

[26:20]  ⁵ tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ⁸ 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.

[26:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he called its name.”

[26:22]  ¹¹ 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.

[2:17]  ¹² tn The definite article here is the generic use; it simply refers to a group of shepherds.

[2:17]  ¹³ tn The actions of the shepherds are subordinated to the main statement about what Moses did.

[2:17]  ¹⁴ sn The verb used here is וַיּוֹשִׁעָן (vayyoshi’an, “and he saved them”). The word means that he came to their rescue and delivered them. By the choice of words the narrator is portraying Moses as the deliverer – he is just not yet ready to deliver Israel from its oppressors.

[2:18]  ¹⁵ tn The verb means “to go, to come, to enter.” In this context it means that they returned to their father, or came home.

[2:18]  ¹⁶ sn The name “Reuel” is given here. In other places (e.g., chap. 18) he is called Jethro (cf. CEV, which uses “Jethro” here). Some suggest that this is simply a confusion of traditions. But it is not uncommon for ancients, like Sabean kings and priests, to have more than one name. Several of the kings of Israel, including Solomon, did. “Reuel” means “friend of God.”

[2:18]  ¹⁷ tn The sentence uses a verbal hendiadys construction: מִהַרְתֶּן בֹּא (miharten bo’, “you have made quick [to] come”). The finite verb functions as if it were an adverb modifying the infinitive, which becomes the main verb of the clause.

[2:19]  ¹⁸ sn Continuing the theme of Moses as the deliverer, the text now uses another word for salvation (נָצַל, natsal, “to deliver, rescue”) in the sense of plucking out or away, snatching out of danger.

[2:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “from the hand of the shepherds” (so NASB); NAB “saved us from the interference of the shepherds.” Most recent English versions translate simply “from the shepherds.”

[2:19]  ²⁰ tn The construction is emphatic with the use of the perfect tense and its infinitive absolute: דָלָה דָּלֹה (daloh dalah). B. Jacob says, “They showed their enthusiasm through the use of the infinitive absolute – And think of that, he even drew water for us; a man did this for us girls” (Exodus, 41).

[12:3]  ²¹ tn Or “salvation” (so many English versions, e.g., KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); CEV “victory.”