Sitnah

Sitnah is the name Isaac gave to the second well dug by his servants in the valley of Gerar, where local herdsmen disputed his claim to the water. The name itself encodes the conflict.

The Disputed Well

After the herdsmen of Gerar contended with Isaac's servants over the well at Esek, his men dug again and the same pattern repeated: "And they dug another well, and they strove for that also. And he called the name of it Sitnah" (Gen 26:21). The naming marks the well as a site of strife, set within the broader sequence of Isaac re-opening his father's wells and being driven from each in turn until he reaches Rehoboth.