Genesis 26:23

26:23 From there Isaac ¹  went up to Beer Sheba.

Genesis 16:14

16:14 That is why the well was called ²  Beer Lahai Roi. ³  (It is located ⁴  between Kadesh and Bered.)

Genesis 21:25

21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ⁵  against Abimelech concerning a well ⁶  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ⁷ 

Genesis 21:31

21:31 That is why he named that place ⁸  Beer Sheba, ⁹  because the two of them swore ¹⁰  an oath there.

Genesis 24:11

24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well ¹¹  outside the city. It was evening, ¹²  the time when the women would go out to draw water.

Genesis 24:62

24:62 Now ¹³  Isaac came from ¹⁴  Beer Lahai Roi, ¹⁵  for ¹⁶  he was living in the Negev. ¹⁷ 

Genesis 26:19

26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ¹⁸  water there,

Genesis 26:21

26:21 His servants ¹⁹  dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it ²⁰  Sitnah. ²¹ 

Genesis 26:33

26:33 So he named it Shibah; ²²  that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba ²³  to this day.

Genesis 21:19

21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. ²⁴  She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.

Genesis 22:19

22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together ²⁵  for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. ²⁶ 

Genesis 25:11

25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed ²⁷  his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. ²⁸ 

Genesis 26:25

26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped ²⁹  the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. ³⁰ 

Genesis 21:14

21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took ³¹  some food ³²  and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, ³³  and sent her away. So she went wandering ³⁴  aimlessly through the wilderness ³⁵  of Beer Sheba.

Genesis 26:22

26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac ³⁶  named it ³⁷  Rehoboth, ³⁸  saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

Genesis 29:2

29:2 He saw ³⁹  in the field a well with ⁴⁰  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ⁴¹  a large stone covered the mouth of the well.

[26:23]  ¹ tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:14]  ² tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.

[16:14]  ³ 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.

[16:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[21:25]  ³ 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.

[21:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”

[21:25]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.

[21:31]  ⁴ tn Heb “that is why he called that place.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive, “that is why that place was called.”

[21:31]  ⁵ sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of the oath” or “well of the seven.” Both the verb “to swear” and the number “seven” have been used throughout the account. Now they are drawn in as part of the explanation of the significance of the name.

[21:31]  ⁶ sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.

[24:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “well of water.”

[24:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “at the time of evening.”

[24:62]  ⁶ tn The disjunctive clause switches the audience’s attention to Isaac and signals a new episode in the story.

[24:62]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the way of.”

[24:62]  ⁸ 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.” See Gen 16:14.

[24:62]  ⁹ tn This disjunctive clause is explanatory.

[24:62]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the South [country].”

[26:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).

[26:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ¹⁰ 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.

[26:33]  ⁹ sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.

[26:33]  ¹⁰ sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.

[21:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” The referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”

[22:19]  ¹² tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.

[25:11]  ¹² sn God blessed Isaac. The Hebrew verb “bless” in this passage must include all the gifts that God granted to Isaac. But fertility was not one of them, at least not for twenty years, because Rebekah was barren as well (see v. 21).

[25:11]  ¹³ sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.

[26:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116.

[26:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”

[21:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”

[21:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[21:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “He put upon her shoulder, and the boy [or perhaps, “and with the boy”], and he sent her away.” It is unclear how “and the boy” relates syntactically to what precedes. Perhaps the words should be rearranged and the text read, “and he put [them] on her shoulder and he gave to Hagar the boy.”

[21:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “she went and wandered.”

[21:14]  ¹⁸ tn Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this region with its sparse vegetation.

[26:22]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he called its name.”

[26:22]  ¹⁷ 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.

[29:2]  ¹⁶ 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.

[29:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and look, there.”

[29:2]  ¹⁸ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.