16. Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Move away from us. You have become too powerful for us."
17. So Isaac moved away from there. He camped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.
18. Isaac opened up the wells again. They had been dug in the time of his father Abraham. The Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham died. Isaac gave the wells the same names his father had given them.
19. Isaac's servants dug for wells in the valley. There they discovered a well of fresh water.
20. But the people of Gerar who took care of their herds argued with the people who took care of Isaac's herds. "The water is ours!" the people of Gerar said. So Isaac named the well Esek. That's because they argued with him.
21. Then Isaac's servants dug another well. They argued about that one too. So he named it Sitnah.
22. He moved on from there and dug another well. But no one argued about that one. So he named it Rehoboth. He said, "Now the Lord has given us room. Now we will do well in the land."
23. From there Isaac went up to Beersheba.
24. That night the Lord appeared to him. He said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid. I am with you. I will bless you. I will increase the number of your children because of my servant Abraham."
25. Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. There he set up his tent. And there his servants dug a well.
26. During that time, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar. Ahuzzath had come with him. So had Phicol, Abimelech's army commander. Ahuzzath was Abimelech's personal adviser.
27. Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me? You were angry with me and sent me away."
28. They answered, "We saw clearly that the Lord was with you. So we said, 'We should make an agreement by taking an oath.' The agreement should be between us and you. We want to make a peace treaty with you.
29. Promise that you won't harm us. We didn't harm you. We always treated you well. We sent you away in peace. Now the Lord has blessed you."
30. Then Isaac had a big dinner prepared for them. They ate and drank.
31. Early the next morning the men made an agreement with an oath. Then Isaac sent the men of Gerar on their way. And they left in peace.
32. That day Isaac's servants came to him. They told him about the well they had dug. They said, "We've found water!"
33. So he named it Shibah. To this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.