Genesis 26:20

20 Isaac's shepherds argued with Gerar's shepherds, each claiming, "This is our water." So Isaac named the well Esek 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 dug out again the wells that were dug during the lifetime of his father Abraham. The Philistines had closed them up after Abraham's death. Isaac gave them the same names his father had given them.

19 Isaac's servants dug wells in the valley and found a well there with fresh water.

20 Isaac's shepherds argued with Gerar's shepherds, each claiming, "This is our water." So Isaac named the well Esek because they quarreled with him.

21 They dug another well and argued about it too, so he named it Sitnah.

22 He left there and dug another well, but they didn't argue about it, so he named it Rehoboth and said, "Now the LORD has made an open space for us and has made us fertile in the land."

Footnotes

• [a]. Or quarrel