It is important to remember that Isaac is now an extremely wealthy man. Jehovah God has blessed him as promised by giving him flocks, herds, servants and a great household. Interestingly Isaac simply leaves the city of Gerar at Abimelech’s request and moves into the valley of Gerar without any resistance. He could have argued that this right to stay in Gerar was given to his father under an earlier Abimelech (Genesis 20: 15). Perhaps he wanted to avoid the conflict since he had just experienced the envy of Abimelech’s herdsmen. They closed the wells that Abraham’s men had dug. He moved his extensive entourage to the valley. He immediately began to dig wells, as life-sustaining water must be located immediately. As he dug wells the men of Gerar filled them back in. They were still envious of him and this was how they acted out their resentment toward him. Now Isaac named each of the wells exactly as his father Abraham had. The first well, which they reopened, was a highly desirable artesian spring, which essentially means they tapped into an underground river. The Hebrew literally means “living water” Mayeem Hayeem. The net result of this find was a rekindling of Abimelech’s herdsmen’s resentment. Isaac just gave it up to avoid additional conflict. He did give it a name, which represented his characterization of the situation. He called it Esek, which is the only occurrence of this word in the Bible. There is no definition of it in the Hebrew Bible but in the Talmud it is explained as contention or a disputed title to ownership.
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