Genesis 26:18

26:18 Isaac reopened ¹  the wells that had been dug ²  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ³  after Abraham died. Isaac ⁴  gave these wells ⁵  the same names his father had given them. ⁶ 

Genesis 26:22

26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac ⁷  named it ⁸  Rehoboth, ⁹  saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

Genesis 29:10

29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ¹⁰  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ¹¹  went over ¹²  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ¹³ 

[26:18]  ¹ tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

[26:18]  ² tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

[26:18]  ³ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

[26:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”

[26:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he called its name.”

[26:22]  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.

[29:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).

[29:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “drew near, approached.”

[29:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother.” The text says nothing initially about the beauty of Rachel. But the reader is struck by the repetition of “Laban the brother of his mother.” G. J. Wenham is no doubt correct when he observes that Jacob’s primary motive at this stage is to ingratiate himself with Laban (Genesis [WBC], 2:231).