Genesis 26:20
in Genesis 26But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the herdsmen of Gerar strove with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.
KJV
And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.
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This verse in Genesis 26
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
found a well of fresh water there
on Genesis 26:19-22
Three wells carry three names that track the quarrel: Esek, where they contended with him, Sitnah, and Rehoboth, where the LORD has made room for us. Isaac moves on each time and digs again. Jerome notes that the word behind Sitnah is the word behind the name Satan.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen,....
And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen,....
In this sense, Jeremiah was a man of contention ( Jer. xv. 10 ), and Christ himself, though he is the prince of peace. [3.] What a mercy it is to have plenty of water, to have it without striving for it. The more common this mercy is the more reason we have to be thankful for it.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּרִ֜יבוּ | vaiyarivu | and they disputed | H7378 → | 67 times |
| רֹעֵ֣י | roei | [the] herdsmen of | H7462 → | 177 times |
| גְרָ֗ר | gerar | Gerar | H1642 → | 10 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| רֹעֵ֥י | roei | [the] herdsmen of | H7462 → | 177 times |
| יִצְחָ֛ק | yitzchak | Isaac | H3327 → | 108 times |
| לֵאמֹ֖ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָ֣נוּ | lanu | [belongs] to <the> us | ||
| הַמָּ֑יִם | hamayim | the water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וַיִּקְרָ֤א | vaiyikra' | and he called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| שֵֽׁם־ | shem- | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הַבְּאֵר֙ | habeer | the well | H875 → | 38 times |
| עֵ֔שֶׂק | ʾesek | Esek | H6230 → | |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִֽתְעַשְּׂק֖וּ | hitaseku | they quarreled | H6229 → | |
| עִמּֽוֹ׃ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
וַיָּרִ֜יבוּand they disputed
vaiyarivuH7378 →67 times
רֹעֵ֣י[the] herdsmen of
roeiH7462 →177 times
גְרָ֗רGerar
gerarH1642 →10 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
רֹעֵ֥י[the] herdsmen of
roeiH7462 →177 times
יִצְחָ֛קIsaac
yitzchakH3327 →108 times
לֵאמֹ֖ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
לָ֣נוּ[belongs] to <the> us
lanu
הַמָּ֑יִםthe water
hamayimH4325 →581 times
וַיִּקְרָ֤אand he called
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
שֵֽׁם־[the] name of
shem-H8034 →864 times
הַבְּאֵר֙the well
habeerH875 →38 times
עֵ֔שֶׂקEsek
ʾesekH6230 →
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הִֽתְעַשְּׂק֖וּthey quarreled
hitasekuH6229 →
עִמּֽוֹ׃with him
imoH5973 →1050 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 21:25But when Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech’s servants had seized,
it leads to
- Genesis 26:15–22
So the Philistines took dirt and stopped up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham.
- Genesis 13:7
And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land.
- Genesis 29:8
But they replied, “We cannot, until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.”
- Proverbs 27:5
Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed.
- Proverbs 25:9
Argue your case with your neighbor without betraying another’s confidence,
- Genesis 26:15–22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
