Sitnah

שטנה


Genesis 26:21 names it as a well over which Yitschak (Isaac) quarrelled with the Pelishtim (Philistines).

Satan (whence the modern Devil), or properly ha-Satan (השטן) means "to contend" or "to accuse", whence "an adversary", which could provide a convenient aetiological base for the name of the well and the Yitschak story. In fact this meaning is a late meaning (see Numbers 22:22, 1 Samuel 29:4, Psalm 109:6).

Originally Satan meant "the wanderer", an equivalent of Hermes (Roman Mercury) the messenger of the gods, or possibly of Kayin (Cain), and an explanation of the later concept of Ahasuerus, originally the king in the Purim story of Ester (Esther), but now the Wandering Jew, as a form of anti-Semitic stereotype. If so, then the well named for him is not a well of contention at all, but simply a place for "wanderers", which in this case would mean Bedou, shepherds and travelling merchants, to find some shade and water. Though of course that doesn't mean Yistchak and the people of Avi-Melech didn't also quarrel over it!




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