Metaphysical meaning of Sitnah (mbd)
Sitnah, sit-nah (Heb.)--lier-in-wait; adversary; enemy; opponent; opposer; persecutor; enmity; accusation; strife; hatred.
A well that was dug by Isaac's herdsmen in Gerar of the Philistines, for which the herdsmen of Gerar strove with Isaac's herdsmen (Gen. 26:21; "that is, Enmity," margin).
Meta. Gerar signifies subjective substance and life. In the beginning of man's journey toward Spirit this substance and life are utilized and activated by the sense nature (Philistines). However, the awakening intellectual and spiritual man must draw on this substance and life for sustenance; this is signified in the digging of wells by Isaac's herdsmen.
Sitnah (adversary, opposer, strife, enmity, accusation, hatred), the name that Isaac gave to the well for the possession of which the herdsmen of Gerar strove with his herdsmen, signifies the contention or striving for supremacy that takes place between the higher and the lower natures of the individual at a certain phase of his spiritual unfoldment. Paul, in the 7th chapter of Romans, describes this inner warfare very graphically. (See ESEK, the name of another well that Isaac's herdsmen dug and the Philistine herdsmen contended for.)
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