Genesis 26:19–22
Isaac leaves disputed wells and digs another until there is room
Study it word by word19Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of living water.
20The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they had contended with him.
21They dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he called its name Sitnah.
22He moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he called its name Rehoboth, and said, “For now YHWH has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”
In its context
17Isaac went away from there and camped in the valley of Gerar and lived there.
18Isaac again dug the wells of water that they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped up after the death of Abraham; and he called them by names like the names by which his father had called them.
…
23From there he went up to Beersheba.
24YHWH appeared to him that night and said, “I am the Elohim of Abraham your father. Do not be afraid, for I am with you, and I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of Abraham my servant.”
Its words in the original
- יַּחְפְּרוּyachpru· dig
Dig; also search out.
- עַבְדֵיavde· slave, servant
Slave, servant: someone who belongs to another or is in his service. It can be a slave, a worker or a high official of the king; before God, one who serves him. "Your servant" is a polite way to say "I".
- יִצְחָקyitschak· Isaac
Isaac, the son promised to Abraham and Sarah, father of Esau and Jacob. His name means "he laughs" (Genesis 17:17, 19; 21:6).
- נָּחַלnachal· valley, torrent
The bed of a stream that only carries water when it rains; the valley it runs through.
- יִּמְצְאוּyimtsu· find
Find, come upon; also obtain, reach; in the passive, be found, be present.
- בְּאֵרbeer· well
Well; also a pit.
- מַיִםmayim· water
Water. In Hebrew it is always plural ("waters").
- חַיִּיםchayim· living, animal, life
Living, alive; also fresh (of water). As a noun, "living thing" or "animal" (above all wild animals); in the plural, "life".
- יָּרִיבוּyarivu· contend, quarrel
Contend in words, quarrel, dispute; bring a case; also defend someone's cause.
- רֹעֵיroe· shepherd
Shepherd, one who tends the flock.
- גְרָרgerar· Gerar
Gerar, a city in the south of Canaan, near the land of the Philistines.
- אמֹרmor· say
Say, speak. The most common verb for bringing in what someone says; sometimes "think" (say to oneself) or "command".
- יִּקְרָאyikra· call, proclaim
Call: speak out to someone, summon, invite, give a name, proclaim; also read aloud. "Call on the name of YHWH" is to pray to him and worship him.
- שֵׁםshem· name
Name. In the Bible a name says who someone is; so it also means fame, renown or reputation.
- עֵשֶׂקesek· Esek
Esek, the name of a well. It means "quarrel".
- הִתְעַשְּׂקוּhitasku· quarrel
Quarrel, contend. It occurs only in Genesis 26:20.
- אַחֶרֶתacheret· other
Other, another; next.
- שִׂטְנָהsitna· Sitnah
Sitnah, the name of a well. It means "hostility".
- יַּעְתֵּקyatek· move on
Move on, move from one place to another; also grow old.
- רְחֹבוֹתrechovot· Rehoboth
Rehoboth, a place name that means "broad places": Rehoboth-ir, a city of Assyria, and a well and a town in the south.
- הִרְחִיבhirchiv· make room, enlarge
Make wide, give ample room; enlarge.
- יְהוָהyehva· YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
- פָרִינוּfarinu· be fruitful
Bear fruit; be fruitful, have descendants.
- אָרֶץarets· earth, land
The earth, in two senses: the whole world in contrast with the heavens, or a particular country or region ("the land of Egypt").