Genesis 26:20

20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Quarrel^[a] because they quarreled with him.

Genesis 26:20 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 26:20

And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen
About the well which was dug in the valley; and this shows it was near Gerar or at least was upon the border of the country, and so it was a disputable point to whom it belonged: saying, the water [is] ours;
though the well was dug by Isaac's servants, yet they laid claim to the water, pretending it was their ground, being on their borders: and he called the name of the well Esek:
which signifies "contention": the reason of the name follows, because they strove with him;
wrangled, contended, and disputed with him about whose right it was.

Genesis 26:20 In-Context

18 Isaac reopened the water wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and that the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. He gave them the same names his father had given them.

19 Moreover, Isaac's slaves dug in the valley and found a well of spring water there.

20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Quarrel because they quarreled with him.

21 Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also, so he named it Hostility.

22 He moved from there and dug another, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Open Spaces and said, "For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land."

Footnotes

• [a]. Hb Esek