14. Because he had many herds of sheep and cattle and many servants, the Philistines were jealous of him.
15. So they filled in all the wells which the servants of his father Abraham had dug while Abraham was alive.
16. Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave our country. You have become more powerful than we are.”
17. So Isaac left and set up his camp in the Valley of Gerar, where he stayed for some time.
18. He dug once again the wells which had been dug during the time of Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham's death. Isaac gave the wells the same names that his father had given them.
19. Isaac's servants dug a well in the valley and found water.
20. The shepherds of Gerar quarrelled with Isaac's shepherds and said, “This water belongs to us.” So Isaac named the well “Quarrel”.
21. Isaac's servants dug another well, and there was a quarrel about that one also, so he named it “Enmity”.
22. He moved away from there and dug another well. There was no dispute about this one, so he named it “Freedom”. He said, “Now the Lord has given us freedom to live in the land, and we will be prosperous here.”
23. Isaac left and went to Beersheba.
24. That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid; I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants because of my promise to my servant Abraham.”
25. Isaac built an altar there and worshipped the Lord. Then he set up his camp there, and his servants dug another well.
26. Abimelech came from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army to see Isaac.
27. So Isaac asked, “Why have you now come to see me, when you were so unfriendly to me before and made me leave your country?”
28. They answered, “Now we know that the Lord is with you, and we think that there should be a solemn agreement between us. We want you to promise
29. that you will not harm us, just as we did not harm you. We were kind to you and let you leave peacefully. Now it is clear that the Lord has blessed you.”
30. Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank.
31. Early next morning each man made his promise and sealed it with a vow. Isaac said goodbye to them, and they parted as friends.
32. On that day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well which they had dug. They said, “We have found water.”
33. He named the well “Vow”. That is how the city of Beersheba got its name.
34. When Esau was forty years old, he married two Hittite women, Judith the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath the daughter of Elon.