If you follow through the story with respect to the mention of wells you get the following
pattern...first the inhabitants of Gerar stopped up wells that Isaac's father had dug. Then
three wells are described and named that Isaac un-stopped. Then either a new well or
Isaac's father's old well was dug/re-dug (the ambiguity is thick here) in parallel with an
oath that Isaac/Abraham made with Abimelech. Although their is no number of dug wells
strictly specified in the first case I see a pattern of three wells dug by Abraham and
stopped by the Philistines that were later three named wells re-dug by Isaac and an
additional well either dug or re-dug by Isaac in Beersheba. That is 3 + 3 + 1 = 7 or the
well of seven/oath.
Now for the list of triples again...
1. Three places where Isaac lived: Gerar, Valley of Gerar and Beersheba
2. Three restored wells: Esek (Dispute), Sitnah (Opposition) and Rehoboth
(Room)
3. Three types of well: Stopped up wells, Unstopped wells, New well
4. Third sister-wife story: Genesis 26:7-11 to complete the two previous
ones for Abram/Abraham
5. Three visitors: Abimelek, Ahuzzath and Phicol
6. Three agreements/promises: God & Isaac (26:1-6), God & Isaac (26:23-
25) and Isaac and Abimelek (26:26-31)
7. Three responses of Abimelek: in Gerar...protect Isaac; in Gerar
later...repulse Issac, in Beersheba...make a treaty
It just so happens that I have found seven such triples. Although I am dubious that these
are the only obvious valid triples to be found in this text, this may yet be the case.
So we have...
1. Seven triples of thematic pattern
2. Seven wells dug or stopped up
3. The well of oath/seven.
..which makes a meta-triplet. Seven triplets and a triplet of sevens.