Genesis 4:26

4:26 And a son was also born to Seth, whom he named Enosh. At that time people ¹  began to worship ²  the Lord.

Genesis 12:8

12:8 Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel ³  and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord. ⁴ 

Genesis 26:23

26:23 From there Isaac ⁵  went up to Beer Sheba.

Genesis 26:25

26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped ⁶  the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. ⁷ 

Genesis 26:33

26:33 So he named it Shibah; ⁸  that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba ⁹  to this day.

[4:26]  ¹ tn The word “people” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation. The construction uses a passive verb without an expressed subject. “To call was begun” can be interpreted to mean that people began to call.

[4:26]  ² tn Heb “call in the name.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 12:8; 13:4; 21:33; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116.

[12:8]  ³ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[12:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “he called in the name of the Lord.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 13:4; 21:33; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.

[26:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:25]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”

[26:33]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.