Discovery BoxGenesis 13:7-8 
Context13:7 So there were quarrels 1 between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. 2 (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) 3
13:8 Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no quarreling between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are close relatives. 4
Genesis 26:20
Context26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 5 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 6 named the well 7 Esek 8 because they argued with him about it. 9
1 tn The Hebrew term רִיב (riv) means “strife, conflict, quarreling.” In later texts it has the meaning of “legal controversy, dispute.” See B. Gemser, “The rîb – or Controversy – Pattern in Hebrew Mentality,” Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near East [VTSup], 120-37.
2 sn Since the quarreling was between the herdsmen, the dispute was no doubt over water and vegetation for the animals.
3 tn This parenthetical clause, introduced with the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), again provides critical information. It tells in part why the land cannot sustain these two bedouins, and it also hints of the danger of weakening the family by inner strife.
4 tn Heb “men, brothers [are] we.” Here “brothers” describes the closeness of the relationship, but could be misunderstood if taken literally, since Abram was Lot’s uncle.
5 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
6 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”
8 sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”
9 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
