Genesis 26:17

26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. ¹ 

Genesis 20:2

20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

Genesis 26:20

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 

[26:17]  ¹ tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”

[26:20]  ² tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.

[26:20]  ³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”

[26:20]  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.”

[26:20]  ⁶ tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.