The Torah portion of Toldot devotes significant attention to the wells dug by our forefather Isaac. More than a mere physical endeavor, Isaac’s excavation projects are laden with significance. Read on for 12 facts about our second patriarch’s intriguing preoccupation.
1. The Story Begins with Abraham
Isaac’s connection to well-digging starts with his father, Abraham, whose servants dug several wells while Abraham lived among the Philistines.1 In ancient times, wells were crucial water sources, and Abraham marked their importance by giving each one a name.2
Read: 18 Facts About Abraham
2. The Philistines Covered Them Up
Years later, during a famine, Isaac relocated to the land of the Philistines.3 Envious of Isaac's wealth and success, the Philistines filled in Abraham’s wells, claiming that they obstructed their defenses.4 In truth, they hoped the lack of water would drive Isaac away from their land.5 Some say they initially covered the wells with stones after Abraham’s death, but their jealousy of Isaac pushed them to then fill the wells completely with earth.6
3. Isaac Restored The Wells and Their Names
Unfazed, Isaac instructed his servants to reopen the wells the Philistines had blocked.7 To assert his rightful inheritance, he restored the original names his father gave to these wells.8
Read: Why Isaac’s Wells Lasted
4. The Third Well Brought Peace
After being asked to leave the Philistine capital of Gerar, Isaac relocated to Nachal Gerar (“River of Gerar”) and dug a well of underground spring water. Local shepherds mistakenly thought it diverted water from their river,9 leading them to claim the water as theirs. Isaac named the well Esek, Hebrew for “confrontation.” A second well also stirred up quarrels, and he called it Sitnah, or “disturbance.” But when he moved farther out and dug a third well, there was finally peace, so he named it Rechovot, meaning “expansiveness,” and said, “G‑d has now given us ample space, and we can be fruitful in the land.”10
Read: 17 Facts About Isaac
5. They Represent the Three Holy Temples
Far from mere historical narratives, the actions of our patriarchs foreshadowed and even stimulated later events in Jewish history. By digging three wells, Isaac laid the spiritual groundwork for the building of the three Holy Temples. Just as the first two wells were subject to conflict, the first two Temple eras were marked by internal strife and were subsequently destroyed. But the third Temple, like Rechovot, will be an everlasting place of peace and harmony.11
6. Isaac Had One More Digging Venture
Later, in Beer Sheba, Isaac’s servants began digging yet another well. At this time, the Philistine king Abimelech, along with his general and close friends, visited Isaac and they formed a treaty. The next morning, Isaac received word that his servants had found water. To honor the oath made with Abimelech, Isaac named the well Shivah, which means “oath.” The nearby city became known as Beer Sheba, meaning “Well of the Oath.”12
7. Some Say There Were Seven
“Beer Sheba” can also mean “the seventh well.” Commentators note that this well was indeed Isaac’s seventh: three were originally dug by Abraham and later redug by Isaac, followed by the wells of Esek, Sitnah, Rechovot, and finally the well in Beer Sheba.13
Read: Isaac’s Wells
8. Beer Sheba Had a History of Well Digging
Isaac wasn’t the first to dig in Beer Sheba. Previously, one of Abraham’s wells was seized by servants of an earlier Philistine king, also named Abimelech.14 After Abraham confronted the king, he offered seven sheep as a testimony to his ownership of the well.15 The site became known as Beer Sheba—both “Well of the Oath” and “Well of the Seven,” referring to Abraham’s sheep and the treaty he made with Abimelech.16
Watch: Beer Sheba
9. Some Say It Was a Different Beer Sheba
So, was Beer Sheba named for Abraham’s oath or Isaac’s? Some say it’s a nod to both events.17 This may even have been the original one dug by Abraham that Isaac reopened.18 Others suggest there could have been two locations known as Beer Sheba.19
10. You Can Still See an Ancient Well in Beer Sheba
Today, Beer Sheba is the largest city in Israel’s southern region. Within the city lies an ancient well known as “Abraham’s Well,” identified by some as the very one mentioned in the Torah. However, many scholars identify the Biblical Beer Sheba with the archaeological site known as Tel Beer Sheba, east of the modern city.
Read: The Archeology of Tel Beer Sheba and the Stories It Tells
11. There’s Another City Named After Them
The name of Isaac’s third well, Rechovot, lives on in the Israeli city of Rechovot. Although the city is nowhere near the Biblical site, its name reflects Isaac’s grateful expression of finding peace and tranquility.
12. You Can Be a Well-Digger Too
Each of us has hidden “wells” of innate love for our Creator, often buried beneath life’s stresses, social pressures, and personal struggles. We can be like Isaac, working to clear away these layers until the pure waters within us flow freely, bringing our unique spiritual potential to the surface.20
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