Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Genesis 26:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The Philistines stop with earth the wells Abraham's servants had dug. The action attacks inherited, life-sustaining work and prepares Isaac's later restoration of the wells.
Read It With
- Genesis 26:12–22
Read verses 14–18. Envy precedes the sabotage; Abimelech's expulsion follows it; Isaac then relocates and redigs the wells. Reading verse 15 alone misses both the stated motive and the restorative response.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Envy moves from feeling to sabotage as Abraham's life-giving work is stopped with earth.
Read Genesis 26:12–16 together
Why these verses belong together: Harvest, intensified prosperity, envy, stopped wells, and official expulsion form one movement from blessing to displacement.
Verse 12. 12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
Verse 13. 13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
Verse 14. 14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
Verse 15. 15 For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.
Verse 16. 16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
What Remains True
Hostility may try to erase useful work and memory, but restoration can preserve life without requiring retaliation.
How It Can Shape Life
- Document and lawfully restore damaged infrastructure or suppressed work while protecting people and resisting revenge.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 26:12–22 — Conflict Follows Isaac's ProsperitySources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? very strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, thought-unit boundary, prosperity-conflict sequence, Abrahamic well continuity, names, and transition to Beersheba.
Exact location: Genesis 26:12–22 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 21:22–34 and 26:1–33
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Harvest, blessing, intensified growth, envy, well stopping, relocation, redigging, living water, dispute vocabulary, place-name wordplay, room, and fruitfulness.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 26:12–22; lemmas and morphology for zara, meah shearim, barakh, gadal, qana, satam, apar, atsum, yashav, shuv, be'er, mayim hayyim, riv, Eseq, Sitnah, Rehovot, rahav, and parah
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Hundredfold yield, living/fresh flowing water, legal-conflict nuance, and Esek, Sitnah, and Rehoboth wordplay.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 26:12–22 and translator notes, especially verses 12, 19–22
Open NET Genesis 26 ↗