Kejadian 26:17-20

26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. ¹  26:18 Isaac reopened ²  the wells that had been dug ³  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ⁴  after Abraham died. Isaac ⁵  gave these wells ⁶  the same names his father had given them. ⁷ 

26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ⁸  water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ⁹  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ¹⁰  named the well ¹¹  Esek ¹²  because they argued with him about it. ¹³ 

[26:17]  ¹ tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”

[26:17]  sn This valley was actually a wadi (a dry river bed where the water would flow in the rainy season, but this would have been rare in the Negev). The water table under it would have been higher than in the desert because of water soaking in during the torrents, making it easier to find water when digging wells. However, this does not minimize the blessing of the Lord, for the men of the region knew this too, but did not have the same results.

[26:18]  ² tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

[26:18]  ³ tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

[26:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

[26:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”

[26:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).

[26:20]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.

[26:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”

[26:20]  ¹² sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”

[26:20]  ¹³ tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.