Genesis 26:20 But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him.

◄ Genesis 26:20 ►

Parallel Verses

New International Version
But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him.

English Standard Version
the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.

New American Standard Bible
the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him.

King James Bible
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.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Quarrel because they quarreled with him.

International Standard Version
But the herdsmen who lived in Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen. "The water is ours," they said. As a result, Isaac named the well Esek, for they had fiercely disputed with him about it.

American Standard Version
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.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But there also the herdsmen of Gerara strove against the herdsmen of Isaac, saying: It is our water. Wherefore he called the name of the well, on occasion of that which had happened, Calumny.

Darby Bible Translation
But the shepherds of Gerar strove with Isaac's shepherds, saying, The water is ours. And he called the name of the well Esek, because they had quarrelled with him.

Young's Literal Translation
and shepherds of Gerar strive with shepherds of Isaac, saying, 'The water is ours;' and he calleth the name of the well 'Strife,' because they have striven habitually with him;

Cross References

Genesis 13:7
And there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

Genesis 21:25
And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.

Genesis 26:19
And Isaac's servants dig in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

Genesis 26:21
And they dig another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

Genesis 46:34
That you shall say, Your servants' trade has been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.

Jump to Previous

Argued Contended Disputed Fight Gerar Habitually Herdmen Herdsmen Isaac Isaac's Ours Quarreled Shepherds Spring Strife Strive Striven Strove Water

Jump to Next

Argued Contended Disputed Fight Gerar Habitually Herdmen Herdsmen Isaac Isaac's Ours Quarreled Shepherds Spring Strife Strive Striven Strove Water

Commentaries

Matthew Henry's Commentary

26:18-25 Isaac met with much opposition in digging wells. Two were called Contention and Hatred. See the nature of worldly things; they make quarrels, and are occasions of strife; and what is often the lot of the most quiet and peaceable; those who avoid striving, yet cannot avoid being striven with. And 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 to be thankful for it. At length Isaac digged a well, for which they strove not. Those that study to be quiet, seldom fail of being so. When men are false and unkind, still God is faithful and gracious; and his time to show himself so is, when we are most disappointed by men. The same night that Isaac came weary and uneasy to Beer-sheba, God brought comforts to his soul. Those may remove with comfort who are sure of God's presence.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

18-22. Isaac digged again the wells of water—The naming of wells by Abraham, and the hereditary right of his family to the property, the change of the names by the Philistines to obliterate the traces of their origin, the restoration of the names by Isaac, and the contests between the respective shepherds to the exclusive possession of the water, are circumstances that occur among the natives in those regions as frequently in the present day as in the time of Isaac.