Genesis 26:15 Commentary and Bible Study

The Philistines did not welcome either Abraham or Isaac in the area, especially once they began to prosper. They had stopped the wells dug in Abraham’s time, and this seems to have happened some time before, and not to be a jealous response to Isaac’s recent blessing from God. The passage refers to Abraham’s death, but this did not take place until fifteen years after the birth of the twins (Genesis 21:5; 25:26; 25:7). If Aalders is correct that Isaac and Rebekah were without children when they went to Abimelech (Genesis 26:1), then these later verses in Genesis 26 would have taken place sometime later.The cause of Isaac’s departure was his being sent away by Abimelech. There was a perception among the Philistines that Isaac had in a short time increased in wealth far in excess of them. He was therefore considered a threat to them and no doubt they pressed their king to speak to this foreigner living among them. Isaac moved but not very far. In his new location he had to reopen the wells dug by his father, essential for the husbandry of livestock. These wells had been blocked up some time before, but Isaac was aware of their location and it was easier to re-dig old wells where water had already been found before than to dig new ones from scratch. Each well had its own name. Wells were so significant that it was considered appropriate to give them names. They were a centre of life wherever they existed, providing the one ingredient necessary to support livestock and to provide water for a household. Isaac was content with the names given by his father. These names had no doubt fallen out of use among the Philistines who wanted any trace of Abraham’s dwelling in the region to be eliminated. But by using these names Isaac reasserted his family’s ownership of them and his right to use them. Isaac not only re-opened his father’s wells but dug new ones of his own. These were the cause of further trouble between him and the Philistines. They no doubt considered him and his herdsmen as foreigners having less right to the local resources than them, the local people. Never mind the fact that it was he who had dug the well; the water was theirs, they claimed. Isaac named the well, Esek, meaning ‘contention’ as a witness against their unfair hostility. But he acted as a peacemaker and withdrew leaving them to their claim. He had no need to assert his title by force since the Lord had promised his descendants the land in due time. The same happened again with a second well which he then named Sitnah, meaning ‘hostility’ or ‘strife’, and it was not till the third attempt that he was left to enjoy the results of his labour. He therefore named this well Rehoboth, meaning ‘wide places’ or ‘wide streets’. Now at last there was room for him and his household.