Genesis 26:18-25

Quarrel over the Wells

18 Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the same names which his father had given them.

19 But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water,

20 the herdsmen of Gerar ¹quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, "The water is ours!" So he named * the well Esek, because they contended with him.

21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named * it Sitnah.

22 He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named * it Rehoboth, for he said, "²At last * the LORD has made room for us, and we will be ³fruitful in the land."

23 Then he went up from there to ⁴Beersheba.

24 The LORD ⁵appeared to him the same night and said, "⁶I am the God of your father Abraham; ⁷Do not fear, for I am with you. I ⁸will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham."

25 So he built an ⁹altar there and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.

Genesis 26:18-25 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 26

This chapter treats of Isaac's removal to Gerar, occasioned by a famine, Ge 26:1; of the Lord's appearance to him there, advising him to sojourn in that place, and not go down to Egypt; renewing the covenant he had made with Abraham, concerning giving that country to him and his seed, Ge 26:2-6; of what happened unto him at Gerar on account of his wife, Ge 26:7-11; of Isaac's great prosperity and success, which drew the envy of the Philistines upon him, Ge 26:12-15; of his departure from hence to the valley of Gerar, at the instance of Abimelech; and of the contentions between his herdsmen, and those of Gerar, about wells of water, which caused him to remove to Beersheba, Ge 26:16-23; of the Lord's appearance to him there, renewing the above promise to him, where he built an altar, pitched his tent, and his servants dug a well, Ge 26:24,25; of Abimelech's coming to him thither, and making a covenant with him, Ge 26:26-31; which place had its name from the oath then made, and the well there dug, Ge 26:32,33; and lastly, of the marriage of Esau, which was a great grief to Isaac and Rebekah, Ge 26:34,35.

Cross References

• 1. Genesis 21:25
• 2. Psalms 4:1; Isaiah 54:2, 3
• 3. Genesis 17:6; Exodus 1:7
• 4. Genesis 22:19
• 5. Genesis 26:2
• 6. Genesis 17:7, 8; Genesis 24:12; Exodus 3:6; Acts 7:32
• 7. Genesis 15:1
• 8. Genesis 22:17; Genesis 26:3, 4
• 9. Genesis 12:7, 8; Genesis 13:4, 18; Psalms 116:17

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "they had dug"
• [b] Lit "called their names as the names"
• [c] Lit "called"
• [d] Lit "living"
• [e] I.e. contention
• [f] I.e. enmity
• [g] I.e. broad places
• [h] Lit "Truly now"
• [i] Or "broad"
• [j] Lit "seed"