HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  50Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The thing comes from the LORD; we cannot speak to you anything bad or good. 51Look, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has spoken.”

  52When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before the LORD. 53And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. 54Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they rose in the morning, he said, “Send me back to my master.” 55Her brother and her mother said, “Let the girl remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” 56But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey successful; let me go that I may go to my master.” 57They said, “We will call the girl, and ask her.” 58And they called Rebekah, and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will.” 59So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

  “May you, our sister, become

  thousands of myriads;

  may your offspring gain possession

  of the gates of their foes.”

  61Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

  62Now Isaac had come froma Beer-lahairoi, and was settled in the Negeb. 63Isaac went out in the evening to walkb in the field; and looking up, he saw camels coming. 64And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel, 65and said to the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 66And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

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  a Syr Tg: Heb from coming to

  b Meaning of Heb word is uncertain

  24.1–67 Abraham sends his servant to his kinfolk in Haran (see 11.31) to acquire a wife for Isaac. This story emphasizes the importance of marrying within the patriarchal lineage and the taboo against marrying a Canaanite woman (see similarly for the next generation, 27.46–28.9). This story, which is probably a postexilic composition or expansion, proceeds at a leisurely pace (it is the longest chapter in Genesis) and focuses on God’s guidance of events for the benefit of Abraham and his heirs.

  24.1–9 Abraham was…advanced in years, the reason for the urgency to find a wife for Isaac. We learn retrospectively that Isaac has been deeply affected by his mother’s death (24.67), and Abraham turns to his servant for aid. The unnamed servant is Abraham’s chief steward (v. 2) and may be the same character as Eliezer of Damascus, mentioned in 15.2. Put your hand under my thigh, a ritual component of the servant’s oath that seems to signify (either literally or by proximity) Abraham’s reproductive organ, an appropriate source of authority for the patriarch (cf. 47.29). He will send his angel before you (v. 7), an assurance that indicates Abraham’s status as a prophet (20.7) and God’s predestination of a positive outcome. God of heaven (v. 7), a divine title common in postexilic writings (e.g., Jon 1.9; 2 Chr 36.23; Neh 1.4; and often in the Aramaic of Ezra and Daniel).

  24.10–14 The detail that the servant took ten…camels provides the vehicle through which the servant will know God’s choice: the girl who offers to water the camels (v. 14). This is an offer of extraordinary hospitality and labor (cf. Abraham’s hospitality in 18.1–8). City of Nahor, Haran (see 11.31; 28.2). Aram-naharaim means “Aram of the two rivers,” referring to the region from the great bend of the upper Euphrates to the Habur River, in which Haran is located. The meeting of the future wife at the well (v. 11) echoes similar scenes in the stories of Jacob (29.1–14) and Moses (Ex 2.15–22). In Middle Eastern tribal societies, the well is one of the few places where a man can meet an unmarried woman. The servant’s plan relies on God’s manipulation of events for the sake of his steadfast love (Hebrew chesed, v. 14) for Abraham (this theme word also appears in vv. 12, 27, 49).

  24.15–21 Before he had finished speaking. The servant’s prayer is immediately fulfilled in spectacular fashion. Rebekah is fit in terms of kinship (she is Isaac’s second cousin on his father’s side), physical beauty (very fair), and marriageability (a virgin, v. 16). There is suspense as she initially says Drink, my lord (v. 18) without mentioning the camels. Only after he has finished does she offer to water the camels, emphatically showing her hospitality and passing the test of recognition. Her haste in watering the camels (v. 20) is reminiscent of Abraham’s haste in tending to his visitors in 18.1–8.

  24.22 The servant’s gifts show Abraham’s wealth and, subsequently, Laban’s greed. Laban’s hospitality (in contrast to Rebekah’s) seems to be activated by seeing the gifts (v. 30). This aspect of Laban’s character will later come into play in his dealings with Jacob (29.27; 31.7, 14–15, 41).

  24.24 Rebekah modestly identifies herself not by her name, but by her father and paternal grandparents. This expresses her intuitive sense of the importance of the patriarchal lineage and her identity as the divinely chosen bride for Isaac.

  24.41 The servant strategically rephrases Abraham’s statement for Laban’s benefit, from if the woman is not willing to follow you (v. 8) to if they will not give her to you (v. 41). The deciding agent is now the family (and its male heads), not the woman. As it happens, the male heads of household (Laban and Bethuel, v. 50) and Rebekah (v. 58) give their assent.

  24.50 Bethuel, Rebekah’s father, appears only here. Elsewhere in the story Rebekah’s brother, Laban, acts as the responsible male of the family.

  24.53 The gifts bestowed here seem to be the bride-price for Rebekah; cf. Jacob’s labor as his bride-price for Rachel (29.20, 30).

  24.60 The family’s blessing on Rebekah echoes the diction of the angel’s blessing on Abraham in 22.17. This characterizes her, once again, as Abrahamic in virtue and blessing and signals the appropriateness (and providential nature) of her selection as Isaac’s wife.

  24.62–67 The scene shifts to Isaac’s perspective as he strolls aimlessly in the field. He looks up and sees camels, but Rebekah sees him. She veils herself, an enticing form of concealment, as a marriageable woman before a marriageable man. Isaac is a passive figure and needs to be instructed by the servant. Thereupon his fixation on his mother is redirected toward Rebekah, with whom he falls in love.

  GENESIS 25

  Abraham Marries Keturah

  1Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.

  The Death of Abraham

  7This is the length of Abraham’s life, one hundred seventy-five years. 8Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with his wife Sarah. 11After the death of Abraham God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.

  Ishmael’s Descendants

  12These are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave-girl, bore to Abraham. 13These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Na
phish, and Kedemah. 16These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17(This is the length of the life of Ishmael, one hundred thirty-seven years; he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria; he settled downa alongside ofb all his people.

  The Birth and Youth of Esau and Jacob

  19These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, 20and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. 21Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?”c So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23And the LORD said to her,

  “Two nations are in your womb,

  and two peoples born of you shall be divided;

  the one shall be stronger than the other,

  the elder shall serve the younger.”

  24When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. 26Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.d Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

  27When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

  Esau Sells His Birthright

  29Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.e) 31Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33Jacob said, “Swear to me first.”f So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

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  a Heb he fell

  b Or down in opposition to

  c Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain

  d That is He takes by the heel or He supplants

  e That is Red

  f Heb today

  25.1–34 This chapter ends the Abraham narrative, telling of his death and his various lines of descendants. The chapter begins retrospectively, with the previously unmentioned wife, Keturah, and their off-spring (vv. 1–6, J), followed by a brief description of Abraham’s death and burial (vv. 7–11, P). A list of the descendants of Hagar follows (vv. 12–18, J), balancing the list of the descendants of Keturah. With the non-chosen lines complete down to the next two or three generations, the text returns to its chronological place after the death of Abraham to follow the chosen line, the children of Isaac and Rebekah (vv. 19–34, predominantly J).

  25.1–6 The descendants of Abraham from his wife Keturah are names of places or tribes in Arabia. Keturah’s name means “incense,” which seems to refer to the incense trade from southern Arabia. Midian, the region in northwest Arabia where Moses flees and settles (Ex 2.15–22). Sheba, the wealthy southern Arabian kingdom whose queen visits Solomon (1 Kings 10.1–13). The genealogical split between the children of Hagar and the children of Keturah distinguishes the Arabs of the Syrian and Sinai deserts (the Ishmaelites), who were primarily pastoralists, from the peoples of the Arabian peninsula, in whose southern regions were settled nations wealthy from trade in incense, spices, and gold. This J text has an interesting genealogical variation: here Sheba is the son of Jokshan (v. 3), who is Abraham’s son, whereas in a J portion of the Table of Nations, Sheba is the son of Joktan (10.27–28), son of Eber.

  25.6 Concubines, in the plural, is puzzling. Perhaps it refers to both Keturah and Hagar, who are each also referred to as Abraham’s wife (v. 1; 16.3). Note that Abraham gives gifts to all his children, even those who are not of the chosen line. This expresses a positive view of the Arab peoples, who are fully children of Abraham.

  25.7–11 A brief and dignified notice, from the P source, of the death of Abraham and his burial in the cave of Machpelah. Isaac and Ishmael are briefly rejoined at their father’s burial, some time after the death of Sarah. At Abraham’s death, the patriarchal blessing passes to Isaac (v. 11).

  25.12–18 Like Nahor (22.20–24) and Jacob, Ishmael has twelve sons. Havilah to…Assyria (v. 18), the Sinai and Syrian deserts. Princes according to their tribes, living in villages and…encampments, a nice description of the lives and political structures of the Arab peoples on the fringes of the desert living a life similar to the later bedouin.

  25.19–28 The Jacob story extends from 25.19 to 37.1. As in the uncertainty over Abraham’s heir, there is conflict and rivalry over who will be Isaac’s heir. In the birth story of the twins, the theme of the barren wife is quickly resolved and the focus turns to the rivalry between Jacob and Esau, which begins already in the womb. An oracle from God announces that the outcome of the rivalry is foreseen, with the genealogy branching into two nations.

  25.19–20 The Jacob story begins with the formula These are the descendants (see note on 2.4). Genealogical details follow in this brief summary from the P source. Paddan-aram (perhaps “plain, or road, of Aram”), either the region of Aram-naharaim (24.10) or the city of Haran.

  25.21 In the space of one verse the theme of the barren wife is raised and resolved, presenting an analogy to the situation of Abraham and Sarah (18.9–15; and later to Jacob and Rachel, 29.31; 30.22–24), but quickly moving on. The LORD granted his prayer shows that the conception is miraculous (as with Abraham and Sarah) and marks the offspring as special.

  25.22–23 It is now Rebekah’s turn to seek God’s help, as the successful conception becomes a difficult pregnancy. The children struggled together within her announces the theme of the struggle between Jacob and Esau, which will be a major theme of the Jacob story. The goal of the struggle is not yet clear but is hinted at in God’s oracle: the elder shall serve the younger. The brothers seem already to be struggling over who will have priority, i.e., who will be the firstborn. The method of Rebekah’s inquiry is obscure, but God’s response sketches the future of the children to be born—they will be two nations—much like the angelic oracle forecasting the prenatal Ishmael’s future (16.10–12). The ascent of the younger son is a repeated theme in Genesis (Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Ephraim, even Abel) and later (David).

  25.24–27 The birth and youth of the twins show many of their defining traits. Red (Hebrew ’admoni) signals Esau’s ancestry of Edom (a wordplay made explicit in v. 30). Hairy (se‘ar) echoes the word Seir, a region in Edom, and loosely motivates the name Esau. The mention of Esau’s hairiness also sets the stage for its prominence in the deception of Isaac in ch. 27. The red and hairy body of Esau also anticipate his character as a skillful hunter, a man of the field (v. 27). All of these traits describe Esau as a man of nature who operates in the wild as a skilled predator. His animal-like instincts and lack of intelligence are treated in the following story. A quiet man, living in tents. Jacob is a man of the domestic domain, a man of culture. Gripping Esau’s heel. Jacob seems to be trying to pull Esau back so that he can be the firstborn, showing his ability to scheme and plan (cf. the birth of the twins Perez and Zerah, 38.27–30); this act foreshadows his more successful attempts to supplant his brother. Heel (‘aqev) is the motivation for the name Jacob (ya‘aqov). Jacob’s smooth skin, in contrast to Esau’s hairiness, is not mentioned until 27.11, when it becomes central to the plot.

  25.28 The opposition between the brothers is compounded by an opposition between the parents. Fond of game. Isaac’s preference for wild food motivates his love for Esau and anticipates the role of this cuisine in ch. 27. In his filial preference, Isaac is ruled by his belly (like Esau in v. 30).
Rebekah loved Jacob. No reason given for her preference—a mother’s love needs no motive. And yet she knows that Jacob will prevail (see v. 23), and she operates and wields authority in the domestic domain that Jacob inhabits (living in tents, v. 27). Note that Jacob, in this respect, is allied with the feminine: he is his mother’s boy (see 27.5–17). The alliances of the parents with the two sons provide background for the events of ch. 27.

  25.29–34 The first story of Jacob’s ascent over Esau shows their contrasting traits. In this story Jacob gains Esau’s birthright (bekorah), his rights as the firstborn son. In ch. 27 Jacob gains Esau’s blessing (berakah), which also belongs to the firstborn son. These two stories are complementary (and are both from the J source), hinging on the wordplay of bekorah and berakah (see 27.36) and binding both Esau and Isaac to Jacob’s ascent. The dubious means of Jacob’s victories are qualified by his (and his mother’s) charms as a trickster. As the underdog, he resorts to trickery and wiles to defeat his big brother, who is stronger but not wiser.

  25.29–30 The brothers are in their respective domains: domestic Jacob is preparing a stew, and Esau has returned from the wilds, having failed in his attempt to kill wild game (to the potential disappointment of his father). Esau is inarticulate, referring to the stew as that red stuff (lit. “this red red,” ha’adom ha’adom hazzeh), which also signifies his name Edom. Let me eat, lit. “feed me,” perhaps with the connotation of feeding animals.