Tafsiran Kejadian 26:15: Rashi, Chizkuni, Rashbam & Sforno

סתמום פלשתים THE PHILISTINES STOPPED THEM, saying, “They may become a source of danger to us because of marauding troops that may invade us” (i.e.,they may invade our country to obtain possession of the wells, or if they invade us for any other reason they will be able to find a supply of water). (Tosafot Sotah 10.) The rendering of the Targum טמונין means “stopping up” and we find it in the language of the Talmud (Pesachim 42a) “Chokes up (מטמטם) the heart”.

סתמום פלשתים, “the Philistines had stopped up.” They had argued that their land had not been blessed on account of the famine they had experienced. Therefore they were jealous of Yitzchok’s success, and tried to limit it as much as was in their power. [Avraham had not been a farmer, so that he had dug wells from altruistic motives. If the land of the Philistines either in Avraham’s time or in Yitzchoks’ time had sufferedfrom a famine, why would either Avraham or Yitzchok have gone there, seeing they needed grazing for their sheep and herds? Ed.]

סתמום פלשתים, the Philistines had stopped up these wells to ensure that Avraham’s descendants would not be able to use them and to claim the land around them. as their grazing land. The Torah had to record this for us since Avraham’s shepherds had in the meantime pitched their tents a distance from there. We have a parallel to this when the Torah writes in 9,18 חם אבי כנען, Cham, the son of Canaan, although at the time, Canaan had not been born yet. Here too, the verse serves as background to the facts in verse 18, explaining that the servants of Yitzchok were not annexing land for their use which had not already belonged to Avraham with the full consent of Avimelech the king at time.