| 13. And the man became great, and he grew constantly greater until he had grown very great. |
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יג. וַיִּגְדַּל הָאִישׁ וַיֵּלֶךְ הָלוֹךְ וְגָדֵל עַד כִּי גָדַל מְאֹד: |
| he had grown very great: For they would say,“Rather the manure of Isaac’s mules than Abimelech’s silver and gold” (Gen. Rabbah 64:7). |
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כי גדל מאד: שהיו אומרים זבל פרדותיו של יצחק ולא כספו וזהבו של אבימלך: |
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| 14. And he had possessions of sheep and possessions of cattle and much production, and the Philistines envied him. |
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יד. וַיְהִי לוֹ מִקְנֵה צֹאן וּמִקְנֵה בָקָר וַעֲבֻדָּה רַבָּה וַיְקַנְאוּ אֹתוֹ פְּלִשְׁתִּים: |
| and much production: Heb. וַעִבֻדָּה רַבָּה, much activity, in Old French ouvrene (enterprises). עִבוֹדָה means one job, whereas עִבֻדָּה means much production. |
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ועבדה רבה: פעולה רבה, בלשון לע"ז אובריינ"א [מכלול העבודות] עבודה משמע עבודה אחת, עבודה משמע פעולה רבה: |
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| 15. And all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with earth. |
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טו. וְכָל הַבְּאֵרֹת אֲשֶׁר חָפְרוּ עַבְדֵי אָבִיו בִּימֵי אַבְרָהָם אָבִיו סִתְּמוּם פְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיְמַלְאוּם עָפָר: |
| the Philistines stopped them up: Because they said,“They are a danger to us due to the armies that will come upon us.” [Onkelos renders:] טְמוּנוּן פְּלִשְׁתָּאֵי an expression of stopping up, and in the language of the Talmud,“stops up (מְטַמְטֵם) the heart.” |
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סתמום פלשתים: מפני שאמרו תקלה הם לנו מפני הגייסות הבאות עלינו. טמונין פלשתאי לשון סתימה, ובלשון משנה (פסחים מב א) מטמטם את הלב: |
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| 16. And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you have become much stronger than we." |
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טז. וַיֹּאמֶר אֲבִימֶלֶךְ אֶל יִצְחָק לֵךְ מֵעִמָּנוּ כִּי עָצַמְתָּ מִמֶּנּוּ מְאֹד: |
| 17. And Isaac went away from there, and he encamped in the valley of Gerar and dwelt there. |
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יז. וַיֵּלֶךְ מִשָּׁם יִצְחָק וַיִּחַן בְּנַחַל גְּרָר וַיֵּשֶׁב שָׁם: |
| in the valley of Gerar: far from the city. |
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בנחל גרר: רחוק מן העיר: |
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| 18. And Isaac again dug the wells of water which they had dug in the days of his father, Abraham, and the Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham's death; and he gave them names like the names that his father had given them. |
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יח. וַיָּשָׁב יִצְחָק וַיַּחְפֹּר אֶת בְּאֵרֹת הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר חָפְרוּ בִּימֵי אַבְרָהָם אָבִיו וַיְסַתְּמוּם פְּלִשְׁתִּים אַחֲרֵי מוֹת אַבְרָהָם וַיִּקְרָא לָהֶן שֵׁמוֹת כַּשֵּׁמֹת אֲשֶׁר קָרָא לָהֶן אָבִיו: |
| And Isaac again dug: [Meaning] the wells that they had dug in the days of his father Abraham and that the Philistines had stopped up-before Isaac traveled from Gerar, he went back and dug them. |
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וישב ויחפר: הבארות אשר חפרו בימי אברהם אביו. ופלשתים סתמום, מקודם שנסע יצחק מגרר חזר וחפרן: |
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| 19. And Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and they found there a well of living waters. |
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יט. וַיַּחְפְּרוּ עַבְדֵי יִצְחָק בַּנָּחַל וַיִּמְצְאוּ שָׁם בְּאֵר מַיִם חַיִּים: |
| 20. And the shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's shepherds, saying, "The water is ours"; so he named the well Esek, because they had contended with him. |
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כ. וַיָּרִיבוּ רֹעֵי גְרָר עִם רֹעֵי יִצְחָק לֵאמֹר לָנוּ הַמָּיִם וַיִּקְרָא שֵׁם הַבְּאֵר עֵשֶׂק כִּי הִתְעַשְּׂקוּ עִמּוֹ: |
| Esek: Contention. |
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עשק: ערער: |
| because they had contended with him: They engaged with him about it with strife and contention. |
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כי התעשקו עמו: נתעשקו עמו עליה במריבה וערעור: |
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| 21. And they dug another well, and they quarreled about it also; so he named it Sitnah. |
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כא. וַיַּחְפְּרוּ בְּאֵר אַחֶרֶת וַיָּרִיבוּ גַּם עָלֶיהָ וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמָהּ שִׂטְנָה: |
| Sitnah: nuysemant in Old French (harm, wrong, injury). |
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שטנה: נוישימונ"ט [נזק]: |
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| 22. And he moved away from there, and he dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, and he said, "For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land." |
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כב. וַיַּעְתֵּק מִשָּׁם וַיַּחְפֹּר בְּאֵר אַחֶרֶת וְלֹא רָבוּ עָלֶיהָ וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמָהּ רְחֹבוֹת וַיֹּאמֶר כִּי עַתָּה הִרְחִיב יְ־הֹוָ־ה לָנוּ וּפָרִינוּ בָאָרֶץ: |
| and we will be fruitful in the land: Heb. וּפָרִינוּ בָאָרֶץ, as the Targum translates it: וְנִיפוּשׁ בְּאַרְעָא,“and we will be fruitful in the land.” |
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ופרינו בארץ: כתרגומו ונפוש בארעא: |
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