And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.
Famine took Isaac into the land of the Philistines where he was abundantly blessed, and after giving up the well called Esek his servants dug another well which his neighbors disputed too, and he named it Sitnah. The name Sitnah means hatred or spite, from the same root as Satan, meaning an adversary or hater. The verse belongs to the account of God's special providence over Isaac as a progenitor of the promised Seed.
The verse presents part of Isaac's experience in Philistia as an example of living out God's instruction through practical work and faithfulness. Though the well was rightfully his, Isaac yielded more than justice required rather than contend, preserving his peacemaking course even at apparent loss and moving away to dig another well, giving up material gain rather than resist or repay hostility. By refusing to contend for his rights and committing his cause to God rather than fighting for himself, God worked for him, and blessing followed his yielding in consequence.
His peaceable disposition belongs to Isaac and the covenant of promise, in contrast with the contentious response associated with Ishmael and the other covenant.
Famine took Isaac into the land of the Philistines where he was abundantly blessed, and after giving up the well called Esek his servants dug another well which his neighbors disputed too, and he named it Sitnah. The name Sitnah means hatred or spite, from the same root as Satan, meaning an adversary or hater. The verse belongs to the account of God's special providence over Isaac as a progenitor of the promised Seed.
The verse presents part of Isaac's experience in Philistia as an example of living out God's instruction through practical work and faithfulness. Though the well was rightfully his, Isaac yielded more than justice required rather than contend, preserving his peacemaking course even at apparent loss and moving away to dig another well, giving up material gain rather than resist or repay hostility. By refusing to contend for his rights and committing his cause to God rather than fighting for himself, God worked for him, and blessing followed his yielding in consequence.
His peaceable disposition belongs to Isaac and the covenant of promise, in contrast with the contentious response associated with Ishmael and the other covenant.