Walk in the Bible - Genesis 24

 

Walk in the Bible - Genesis 24

     This chapter introduces Abraham in a similar way as it introduced Sara. That he lived many years and was blessed just like Sara was. The Sages disagree as to exactly what this means, some say that in addition to having a son, the he had a daughter. Some disagree that he had a daughter at all, only that he had Isaac. All of them believe that this introduction shows that Abraham lived a long healthy life and had money, a son (which was considered a blessing from GOD in that day and time ), he had prestige and honor.

     When he asks his servant to place his hand under his thigh, he's asking his servant to do something that was customary in that day and age, which is to show that he belong to Abraham and he was Abraham's to do with as he wished, this is stated in the commentary's of Ibn Ezra, Chizkuni & Radak. Now, some commentators and at least one Targum state that Abraham had his servant put his hand on the site of Abraham's circumcision and that's absolutely false. First, according to Jewish Law at that time, anyone that touched their own sex organ or another man's sex organ needed to have their hand cut off. Secondly, there is no record of such a thing actually recorded, the closest thing we have to that is a record of a Greek vow made among sacrificial pieces, which Demosthenes calls this "standing over the tomia". Since the verb form of this word,temnein CAN mean "to castrate" and castration would have  been symbolic of death, it would imply that someone's swearing on a foreskin. This is a view put forth by Paul Stengel, but it's not widely supported.

     The vow that Abraham made his senior servant swear actually became the way people were expected to swear in court per Rav Yehuda as recorded in  the Talmud, Shevuot 38b:20. Additionally, because the vow was made to GOD, the servant knew that if he tried to fetch a wife for Isaac from the Canaanites, he'd have to answer not just Abraham, but GOD as well!  Even though Abraham doesn't say why Isaac shouldn't have a wife from the Canaanites, we get to see an example of what could happen if that were to occur in 1 Kings 11:1 when Solomon did this and turned from GOD to idol worship. Some scholars also think that he was hinting that Isaac should marry Rebekah, who was mention in Genesis 22 verse 23, which would make sense since GOD had told him that his descendants would be like the stars in the sky, (Genesis 15:5) that his descendants would get the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates river (Genesis 15:18) and he wanted to make sure it would be his descendants, not anyone else's either.

     When the servant asked about the woman not following the servant back to Abraham's current land, this was valid question. In this day and time when a marriage was arranged, it was done by the head of the household, or in this case, his servant. The bride and groom weren't involved, usually, but there are exceptions to this (like Jacob and Laban, which we'll see in Genesis 29:15 - 20). Once the marriage was agreed upon, the woman would travel to her husband's house, so if the woman in question didn't want to go, there would be no marriage.

Abraham (in verse 6) lets his servant know that he shouldn't take his son back to where he was from for any reason. Remember, Abraham came from the pagan land of Ur, near Iraq and he didn't want his son to be partnered with a pagan woman who could possibly get him into pagan worship (the worshiped Marduk over there, rather than GOD), as King Solomon's wife would do in 1 Kings 11:1!  Chizkuni also points out that GOD didn't take him out of that pagan land only for him to send his son back in as well. He further tells his servant that if the woman won't come back with him, he's free from his vow, however he's not to take his son back to Ur for any reason.

Verse 10 shows his servant taking ten of his Abraham's camels. Chizkuni tells us that these were ridden by 10 men to form the necessary quorum. This was mentioned in our study on Genesis 18 when Abraham haggled GOD down to 10 righteous men in Sodom. Under the law, mentioned in the first Mishnah of the Sanhedrin, 10 men could save an accused person, convict a person or , in this case, declare a marriage valid.  Rashi tells that that Abraham also gave him a deed giving him all of his possessions, in case he died before his servant returned with Isaac's wife, he also tells us that this was also written to let the father of the intended wife that Abraham and as a result, Isaac , were men of means.

     The servant made the camels kneel down so that they would be at a good level to be given a drink of water. Camels are 6 feet tall at the shoulder, and at a standing height the would have been too tall for a woman in that day and time to have given them a drink, so the servant had them lower themselves to an easier height. He was expecting at least one group of women to come to to well for water as they typically did so during the coolest parts of the day (either in the morning or in the evening), never during the heat of the day. If they did so, it would mean the other women had kicked her out of their group (JESUS would meet such a woman in John 4:4-7). Malbim also tells us that the servant expected that a poor man would send his daughter, not a rich man. We'll see in a moment that this assumption is incorrect!

     Once the servant got to the well, he asked GOD to send a maiden that would not only offer him a drink, but also offer his camels a drink. According to the Torah scholars, such a woman would be seen as one that shows modesty and this would be a reflection of her mother as well. Also, according to the Halakhah (the Jewish Law) (Kirzur Shulcan Aruch 42:1, a simplified version of the law written by Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried) your animals ate first, then you did however, when it came to drinking, man came first, then his animals were allowed to drink (per Genesis 24:14 and Numbers 20:8). Such a woman would be considered a woman of virtue and as such, would be suitable for Abraham and his son Isaac.

    The Bible tells us he just finished speaking when Rebekah came to the well. Rebekah was first mentioned in Genesis 22:23. If you remember, Abraham's servant asked GOD to show him a sign by having the woman not only give him a drink, but give his camels a drink too. The word he used for drink in verse 14 is the word "shata" which means "drink", it's root word means "to flow as water", so by implication, this isn't necessarily a small amount of water.

    However, when his servant actually asked Rebekah for water, the word he uses is "Gama" which also means "drink" but this version of the word implies that that you can grasp in your hand. Also when he asked that she give his camels a drink, he used the word "shaqah" which mean to give them water to drink. In essence, he's doing what Abraham did when he offered his guests some bread, but he wound up giving them more. 

    Rebekah, for her part, doesn't just give him a swallow of water, she bids him to drink, and she uses the word "shata". Where he asks for a swallow of water, she gives him a lot more than he asks for, and then she goes does and fills up the trough for his camels to drink until they're full, and that's no small task. One camel can drink up to 30 gallons of water in less than 15 minutes. Remember that the servant had 10 camels, at most she would have been filling up that trough with 300 gallons of water, and the camels would have been drinking for two and a half hours!

    She did more than what he asked of her in person and more than what he's asked GOD to have the woman do that GOD had chosen for Isaac's wife. Remember, this is no slave woman, this is a rich man's daughter. She could have done just as he asked, but she didn't, she did more. Not only did she do more, but she didn't take her time about it, verse 20 tells us that she was emptying the water into the trough quickly and running back to get more quickly. The Hebrew words for this, "mahar" and "ruts" both have no meaning that indicates anything other than she was moving quickly to carry this out. This could very well be the basis of JESUS's words in Matthew 5:41.

    In verse 22 we see the servant taking gifts out for her, a gold nose ring and two gold bands for her arms. Now, the nose ring was and still is considered a betrothal gift in Arabia, Ellicott's Commentary for English readers reminds us of this, however the Keil and Delizsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament states these weren't betrothal gifts, but rather, just gifts, and we're reminded that even though he pulls out these gifts, we never actually see him give her these gifts, in fact, some Torah scholars believe that the servant only gave her these gifts after she told him who's daughter she was. Genesis 47 , where the servant is telling the tale of this meeting, seems to bear this out. Still, some Torah scholars believe he gave her these gifts right away and that when he told his tale, he told it out of order for some reason.

     When he DOES actually ask her who's daughter she is, and he asks if there's room for them in her father's house to spend the night, her response, once again matches up with what she did earlier. She not only tells him who's daughter she is, but she makes sure that the servant knows that she's the daughter of her father's wife, not his concubine AND that not only does she have plenty of room, but she has plenty of food for his camels too! At this point, we meet Laban, and this IS the same Laban that we see in Genesis 29 that tricks Isaac into marrying both of his daughters. We see Laban running out to meet Abraham's servant, Eliezer. The word "run" is the same word that was used earlier to describe Rebekah's watering of the camels, "rut", and it has no other meaning other than "run".

    Now, the Torah scholars believe that Laban is running to this man possibly because he saw his sister sporting new,  and expensive jewelry. and possibly believes something carnal has happened between them (we see something like this in Genesis 38: 15 - 19. Other Torah scholars believe that he saw the gold that his sister had on and was jealous. Either way, we can see that Laban's a manipulator, we see as much in Genesis 29. It's likely that his invitation was an attempt to curry favor with Eliezer which is why he addresses him in such a fancy way.

    Eliezer, on his part, didn't follow Rebekah home nor even act in anyway that would suggest he thought he could stay at Laban's house until Laban invited him. In fact, we don't even see him enter the house until after Laban does invite him in Genesis 24:32. Speaking of Laban, Chizkuni reminds us that Laban is actually a pagan, but that he respects and knows Abraham's customs and has already removed all the idols from his home, he states that Laban is suggesting this over in verse 31 when he states that his home has been made ready for them. Most Torah Scholars believe Laban also unmuzzled the camels, gave them food and provided water to bathe the feet of Eliezer and his men.

    Notice that Eliezer won't eat the food before him until he finished getting a wife for Isaac?  A lot of Torah scholars believe that the food was poisoned with hopes that Eliezer would eat it and this family would help themselves to the riches of Abraham. The Torah doesn't hint at it, however, it's hinted in the Targum of Johnathan's reading of Genesis 24:33 & 24:47. The Torah scholars believe that as Eliezer was speaking an angel of the Lord switched the plates so that Rebekah's father got the poison instead of Eliezer.

    Eliezer insisted that he wouldn't speak until he's told them everything. Radak quotes the sage Baba Kama, who is first quoted in the Talmud saying that you should mention any personal defect or deficiency before you do whatever it was you came to do. Remember that Eliezer has 10 camels, jewels and a writ that says he owns what Abraham owns. He could have easily said he was a rich man, or someone other than what he was. Instead, he said what he was, a servant.

     This is a foreshadowing of just what Christ would do. HE came to earth, far away (but not out of sight ) from his father. HE had every ability and power that GOD had, HE came to a society that was expecting a king. HE could have easily made HIMSELF a king, instead, like Eliezer, he presented HIMSELF as a servant. 

    In Verse 35, instead of talking about himself, he talked about his master and how he was blessed and rich and had not only riches, but respect and admiration of many. Sforno reminds us that pretty much any family, notable or not would want to be part of such a family. This foreshadows GOD inviting the Jewish nation to be part of his family. In verse 36 Eliezer explains that Isaac, Abraham's son was given everything Abraham owns, so Isaac was very well off as well. This would be a foreshadowing of JESUS, Isaac was born to a woman too old to have a child, JESUS would be born to a woman that had never had intercourse and HE would have everything HIS father, GOD, had too.

    Eliezer question about the wife not following him is not only a practical question but a foreshadowing of Israel not following GOD, this would be repeated again in Hosea chapters 1 and 3. Abraham's request that Eliezer seek wife from his family was pretty typical for ancient Israelite marriage customs. Typically, the aim in marriage was to marry within the larger family circle to keep the blood line pure from outsiders.  That said, it couldn't be too close in the family line (Leviticus 18 prohibits this outright!).

    That said, verse 37 still foreshadows GOD reaching out to the nation of Israel first, just as Abraham ordered his servant to reach out to his family first. Verse 40 foreshadows the Exodus, specifically, Exodus 23:23 where GOD says that he was send HIS angel before Moses and the ancient Israelite's. Interestingly, Genesis 24:41 seems to be foreshadowing Israel refusing JESUS and thus allowing him to be free to go outside of Israel and to the Gentiles. Verse 42 through 46 show him recounting his story to select Rebecca, however, most scholars note that in verse 46 he says Rebecca said "Drink, and I will also water your camels". The Bible reports her saying "Drink, My Lord".  Most scholars believe that Eliezer deliberately left that part out because he was a slave and knew that he should not be addressed as such.

    Additionally, the order of events Eliezer gives where he mentions asking her who's daughter she was, THEN placing rings on her nose and bands on her arms was deliberate. Or HaChaim tells us that this sequence of events was said in that order deliberately to keep Laban and his father from claiming these trinkets were for watering his camels and giving him a drink. If they were, Laban and Bethuel (his father) could claim them as their own, however, because he gave them to her after she said who's daughter she was, it was clear that this was to select her as Isaac's wife, so those trinkets belonged to her only.

    Eliezer finishes his tale in verse 49 and then outright asks Bethuel if he can take his daughter, Rebecca, home to Abraham to marry Isaac or if he should keep looking. Remember, marriages were, more or less, a business deal, so this had to be agreed upon and a price must be reached for this. According to verse 50 and 51, the marriage was agreed upon, gifts were given to the family and only then did the servants eat with the family. You might wonder why Eliezer wouldn't eat until he'd conducted this bit of business, well in the article "Three Covenants in Genesis" Professor Dennis J. McCarthy, S.J reminds us that eating a meal with someone was seen as inviting them into your family. With that in mind, it seems that Eliezer didn't want to act like he was part of their family until that bethrothal had taken formerly taken place (by the way, the betrothal was seen as the first part of a marriage).

    Notice here, that instead of Bethuel speaking on his own, both Laban, his son, and Bethuel basically tell him that GOD already made his choice, and that because GOD had already spoken on the matter, who were they to give or deny permission. Most scholars believe this was done because Bethuel was pretty old and Laban was handling a lot of the business decisions for the family at this time. Also notice that after the servant states why he's there and and agreement was reached, he then gives Rebekah silver, gold and garments. These were most certainly gifts for her upcoming marriage. She would be taking those into her marriage with Isaac, they wouldn't be going to her family as they were hers according to the customs of that time. Only after he did that and gave things of value (although not silver and gold) to her mother and brother did the servant finally eat with the family.

    When the servant got up the next morning and wanted to leave to head back to Abraham with Isaac's new wife, Bethuel's wife and son instead asked Eliezer to allow Rebekah to remain for a whole year before leaving instead. While it was customary to allow a bride to prepare for a year before being married, some Torah scholars believe that they were trying to pressure the servant to give them more valuables in exchange for permission to leave with their daughter, even though this was already agreed to. Rashi says as much and he also points to the Ketubot, 57b. The Ketubot was, essential, a pre-nuptial agreement made prior to a marriage!

    Some scholars believe that the servant wanted to get quickly under way because Abraham was a very old man. The first verse of this chapter tells us as much, and he wanted Abraham to be able to give his son his blessing. The blessing in this case is pretty much the same thing as his will, which would no doubt, give him charge over everything he owned.  Additionally, the servant may have been aware of the story of Hidud, who was a merchant who accepted a stranger's offer to spend the night in his home in Sodom and Gomorrah only to be told that it was too late to leave, so why not spend the next night. Which he did, only to have his host rob him and then have the judges in that city back him up!

    Notice that in this section, Laban and his mother are the one's speaking with Eliezer, and they ask the servant to allow them to ask the daughter if she really wants to go with him. Bethuel's already said yes to this in verses 50 and 51 so the deal's done, right?  Yes and no. According to Genesis Rabbah 60:12 ( a Rabbah is an interpretation, in this case of Genesis) a woman absolutely couldn't be given in marriage without her consent. Here, in verse 58, we see her agreeing to go with the servant to her new husband. 

    We see Laban and his mother blessing Rebecca, but one interesting thing occurs here, their blessing calls for Rebecca's offspring, not Isaac's offspring, to seize the gates of their foes. Possibly a parting shot to Isaac. After this, the servant and Rebecca and her nurse were allowed to go on their way to Issac. In verse 63 we're told that Isaac had come back from near where his mother was now living. Rashi tells us this is because he went to get his mother and bring her back to Abraham. However, the Bible never mentions her after her vision with the angel a few chapters back, so this isn't very likely at all.

    In verse 63, Isaac is shown, in some translations, as "walking in the fields". The Hebrew word used here is the word "suach" (pronounced as "soo-akh"). Most Torah scholars believe that Isaac was praying, and indeed, there is an evening prayer called the Maariv which would have been said in the evening, however, the word used for this, "suach" is only used this one time and there were other words that are used throughout the Bible for "prayer" or "Meditation"  so I believe he wasn't praying, but rather clearing his mind at that time!   

  In verse 65, Rebekah saw Issac walking toward her, though he couldn't see her face just yet, but he WAS aware that  camels were coming in his direction, so she veiled herself. Women wearing a veil goes back to goes back to a Assyrian law code that stated that wives, or  women of higher class were to wear a veil to distinguish themselves from slaves or prostitutes, who were forbidden to wear a veil, on penalty of 50 blows from rods, having their clothing seized and having hot pitch being poured on their head. She wanted Isaac to know that she was neither a slave nor a prostitute. 

     In verses 66 and 67 the servant let Isaac know everything that had had happened, including how he's found his future wife and Isaac responded by bringing her into his mother's tent. Radak tells us that in that time, men and women had seperate living quarters. This is mentioned in the bible in Genesis 30:16 as well.  This tells us that Sara's tent was left standing after she died. It ends up with telling us that Isaac loved her and found comfort with her after  his mother's death.  This is somewhat important as it's stated in the Midrash HaGadol (written by Rabbi David Adani of Yemen, in the 14th century , that Isaac would tear his hair any time he entered his mother's tent.

    This was a sign of the deep grief he felt with her no longer there with him. The Bible shows many instances of clothing, beard or head hair being torn in grief - usually this was a sign of severe grief, verse 67 shows that Isaac was finally comforted by Rebekah

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   In this chapter, Abraham sends his servant out to a foreign land for a specific purpose. This can be looked at at least two different ways.  It can be read to mean that GOD is in control irregardless of the land you or I happen to be in. That HE doesn't just operate through one person only, that any one can reach out to him, regardless of their standing in the community, free or slave, rich or poor, it doesn't matter at all to GOD.

   This could ALSO be read as a foreshadowing event, when GOD would send his son to Israel, and despite the fact JESUS owned everything GOD did, HE didn't act like HE was a great person or anything, HE acted as a servant. Just as in Bethuel's house, the family was divided in their response. Bethuel and his wife were fine with Eliezer taking their daughter back to Abraham, but on their own time, Rebekah was willing to go right away with no delay. Laban and his mother seemed to want to put Abraham off, because "other things" were more important, just as in JESUS's parable of the sower and the seed (Luke 8:4 - 15 & Matthew 13: 1 - 23 ).

   In either case, it shows us that if we're given a task, we're to not become proud or pompous because of it, we're to act with humility, just as Eliezer  (Abraham's sevant) did and just like JESUS did, which ever  interpretation we lean to. If you're having a problem doing that, reach out, I'll be happy to speak with you!