Genesis 26:19-21

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 

[26:19]  ¹ tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).

[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.

[26:21]  ³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  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.