מדרש אויף בראשית 26:33

R. Yossi berebbi Chanina says: It is written "in the desert, in the plain": This alludes to the ten trials wherewith our fathers tried the Holy One Blessed be He in the desert: two at the (Red) sea, (in the descent [Shemoth 14:11] and in the ascent [Psalms 106:7]), two, with water, (at Marah [Shemoth 15:23] and at Refidim [Shemoth 17]), two with manna, ("Let no man go out of his place" [Shemoth 17:29] and "Let no man leave of it" [Shemoth 16:19]), two with the quail, (the first [16:3] and the second [Bamidbar 11:4]), one with the golden calf (Shemoth 32), and one with the spies (Bamidbar 13). R. Yossi b. Dormaskith said to him: Yehudah berebbi, why do you distort the verses for us (by assigning allegorical interpretations to what are really place names)? I testify by heaven and earth that we have reviewed all of the sources and (we have found that) they are all place names. It is just that they were thus named (as aforementioned) because of an event (that transpired there). Similarly, (Bereshith 26:20) "And he called the name of the well 'Esek' because they strove ('hitasku') with him." And it is written (Ibid. 33) "And he called it 'shivah,' etc."

Rabbi ' Aḳiba said: Every place where our forefathers went, the well went in front of them, and they dug three times and found it before them. Abraham dug three times and found it before him, as it is said, "And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham" (Gen. 26:18). And Isaac dug in the land (of Canaan) four times, and found it before him, as it is said, "And Isaac's servants digged in the valley" (Gen. 26:19). And it is written about Jerusalem, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem" (Zech. 14:8). This refers to the well which will arise in Jerusalem in the future, and will water all its surroundings. Because they found (the well) seven times, he called it Shib'ah (seven).

“Isaac again dug the wells of water that they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, but the Philistines had sealed them after the death of Abraham. He called them names like the names that his father called them” (Genesis 26:18).
“Isaac again dug…” – how many wells did our patriarch Isaac dig in Beersheba? Rabbi Yehuda said: Four. Corresponding to that, his descendants were arrayed into four banners in the wilderness.²²The tribes of Israel were divided into four camps, or banners, in the wilderness (Numbers 2:1–32). The Rabbis say: Five, corresponding to the five books of the Torah.
“The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying: The water is ours. He called the name of the well Esek, because they involved themselves with him” (Genesis 26:20).
“He called the name of the well Esek [because they involved themselves [hitaseku] with him]” – corresponding to the book of Genesis, in which the Holy One blessed be He became involved and created the world.
“Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and they found there a well of fresh water” (Genesis 26:19).
“They dug another well, and they quarreled over it as well. He called it Sitna” (Genesis 26:21).
“He called it Sitna”²³Enmity. – corresponding to the book of Exodus, after, “they embittered their lives with hard work” (Exodus 1:14).
“They found there a well of fresh water” – corresponding to the book of Leviticus, which is filled with many halakhot.
“He called it Shiva; therefore, the name of the city is Beersheba to this day” (Genesis 26:33).
“He called it Shiva” – corresponding to the book of Numbers,²⁴The book of Numbers is divided into three books, which is why there are seven books. which completes the seven [shiva] books of the Torah. But are they not five? Ben Kappara made Numbers into three books: From: “And He spoke” (Numbers 1:1) until: “It was when the Ark traveled” (Numbers 10:35) – a book in and of itself; from “it was when the Ark traveled” and the verse after it – a book in and of itself; and from the end of that passage until the end of the book – a book in and of itself.
“He moved from there and dug another well and they did not quarrel over it. He called its name Reḥovot and he said: As now the Lord has expanded [hirḥiv] for us, and we will be fruitful in the land” (Genesis 26:22).
“He called its name Reḥovot” – corresponding to the book of Deuteronomy, due to, “when the Lord your God will expand [yarḥiv]” (Deuteronomy 12:20) – “as now the Lord has expanded [hirḥiv] for us and we shall be fruitful in the land.”