Rebekah, it turns out, was actually the daughter of the son of Abraham's brother, so the servant praised god for making his job of finding a suitable wife for Isaac super easy. But the servant, knowing his place, only praises god with the moniker "the God of my master Abraham."
Rebekah ran home and told everyone about the nice man with the jewelry, and her brother Laban went out and brought the servant back to their place. They made dinner and put up the camels, but the servant wouldn't eat until he had told everyone what he needed to tell them.
The servant began by saying that he was Abraham's servant, and that the lord had blessed Abraham and made him wealthy. We, the readers, know exactly how Abraham became wealthy, and it was pimping, not godly blessings. But whatever. The servant went on to say that Abraham's wife Sarah had given him a child in her old age (long after she had procured wealth for him by telling rich men she wasn't married) and Abraham wanted a wife for his son from his hometown.
Then the servant told them all about his deal with god, that the first girl to answer his request would be the one god chose, and asked Rebekah's family if he could take her back with him.
Laban and Bethuel, Rebekah's brother and father, said that it was pretty obvious that god had made all this happen, probably because it sounded psychotic, and that she could go with him. The servant bestowed costly gifts upon the family, and stayed the night with them.
In the morning Rebekah's brother and mother didn't want to let her go. Give her ten days or so, they asked. But the servant would have none of it. They asked Rebekah, and Rebekah said, 'hell yeah, let's blow this popsicle stand!' or something, and they left. They took with them Rebekah's nurse and the servents 'men.' This is the first time the author mentions the servant having 'men.'
Rebekah's family blessed her, saying,
"Our sister, may you increase
to thousands upon thousands"
much like the ameoba, and
"may your offspring possess
the gates of their enemies"
so they can charge a toll and get rich.
They all rode back to Canaan, and when they got close they saw Isaac standing in a field. As he walked over to them Rebekah covered herself with her veil and they were introduced, and they got married.
The last line in this chapter is "and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death."
Monday, October 13, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Genesis Chapter 24 v.1-25
Abraham was getting old. He called for his servant that ran his household and made him put his hand under his thigh. Which would be grounds for calling a lawyer nowadays.
Abraham made his servant swear an oath to go and get Isaac a wife. But not from the dirty Hittites of Canaan, oh no. Someone from, shall we say, the old stock. Meaning: my own family.
So you had a son with your half-sister and now you want him to marry one of his cousins? Are you intending this as some kind of scientific experiment? No, that actually wasn't the argument. The servant was worried no one would want to follow him back to a strange, famine-prone land to marry some strange person they'd never met. The servant wanted to know, maybe he could take Isaac back if that were the case.
Abraham was adamant, no, don't take Isaac back there! The Lord god of blah blah blah has given this land blah blah blah. He convinced the servant that his god would send 'an angel' before him to make his task easier. You know, cause he was such a whiner. Moreover, if a woman wouldn't come back, that was okay too. It was a lax kind of oath.
Of course his servant agreed, then removed his hand and probably-hopefully-washed it.
So the servant (they don't bother ever giving this poor man a name) gathered together all the things he would need for his long journey to procure a wife, like gold and "good things" and camels. Maybe chocolate.
When he got to Abraham's home town it was evening, and he sat the camels down next to a well where all the village women were coming to get water. This is where the servant made a wager, like tossing the dice. Only with god, and in regards to people's lives.
He told god that he would ask a woman for a sip of water and if she gave him a sip and also got him water for his camels, the servant would take it as a sign that this was SUPPOSED to be the wife he sought. You know, why bother asking around and getting NAMES and things when you can just settle for the first affable female and blame it on god?
This is how we meet Rebekah. She was the daughter of Abraham's nephew, Bethuel. She fell for the 'let me have a drink of water' gag and even got water for the stranger's camels. He gave her some jewelry and asked her who she was, and if he could sleep at her house. I think the jewelry must've been nice because she told him her pad was crazy-swinging, with "plenty of straw and fodder" which I imagine was for the camels.
More on this next time. Same god-time. Same god-channel.
Abraham made his servant swear an oath to go and get Isaac a wife. But not from the dirty Hittites of Canaan, oh no. Someone from, shall we say, the old stock. Meaning: my own family.
So you had a son with your half-sister and now you want him to marry one of his cousins? Are you intending this as some kind of scientific experiment? No, that actually wasn't the argument. The servant was worried no one would want to follow him back to a strange, famine-prone land to marry some strange person they'd never met. The servant wanted to know, maybe he could take Isaac back if that were the case.
Abraham was adamant, no, don't take Isaac back there! The Lord god of blah blah blah has given this land blah blah blah. He convinced the servant that his god would send 'an angel' before him to make his task easier. You know, cause he was such a whiner. Moreover, if a woman wouldn't come back, that was okay too. It was a lax kind of oath.
Of course his servant agreed, then removed his hand and probably-hopefully-washed it.
So the servant (they don't bother ever giving this poor man a name) gathered together all the things he would need for his long journey to procure a wife, like gold and "good things" and camels. Maybe chocolate.
When he got to Abraham's home town it was evening, and he sat the camels down next to a well where all the village women were coming to get water. This is where the servant made a wager, like tossing the dice. Only with god, and in regards to people's lives.
He told god that he would ask a woman for a sip of water and if she gave him a sip and also got him water for his camels, the servant would take it as a sign that this was SUPPOSED to be the wife he sought. You know, why bother asking around and getting NAMES and things when you can just settle for the first affable female and blame it on god?
This is how we meet Rebekah. She was the daughter of Abraham's nephew, Bethuel. She fell for the 'let me have a drink of water' gag and even got water for the stranger's camels. He gave her some jewelry and asked her who she was, and if he could sleep at her house. I think the jewelry must've been nice because she told him her pad was crazy-swinging, with "plenty of straw and fodder" which I imagine was for the camels.
More on this next time. Same god-time. Same god-channel.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Genesis Chapter 23 v.1-20
This chapter is only about burying Sarah.
Sarah died at a hundred and twenty-seven. I'm guessing Isaac, her son, was about twenty-seven. Abraham mourned and then asked the Hittites, in whose land he was living, (secretly promised to him by god, but don't tell them! tee hee!) to buy some land or a cave or something, so he could bury his wife.
The Hittites told him to just pick wherever, that he was "a mighty prince" to them. Just pick the best tomb you can find, no one will tell you no.
Which is nice of them. Considering.
Abraham wanted to buy the cave that belonged to Ephron the Hittite, the one at the end of his field. Full price.
Ephron told him he could have it. AND the field.
Abraham said, let me at least buy the field from you. To bury my dead.
Ephron said, well, it's worth 400 shekels, but don't worry about it.
Abraham paid him the money--in front of all the witnesses--and the land was deeded to him. And he buried his wife there, and the land was his, paid for by him, in the land of Canaan, deeded to Abraham by the Hittites.
That's how it reads. The way it sounds, it's as if the author is telling his side of a disputed story. Like the Hittites said, you just came and took some land! And buried someone in one of our caves! Without even asking! And the author makes sure, no I'm going to put it in my book the way it REALLY happened, you guys ALL know Abraham asked for the cave! And that he even paid for it! Stop lying!
Sarah died at a hundred and twenty-seven. I'm guessing Isaac, her son, was about twenty-seven. Abraham mourned and then asked the Hittites, in whose land he was living, (secretly promised to him by god, but don't tell them! tee hee!) to buy some land or a cave or something, so he could bury his wife.
The Hittites told him to just pick wherever, that he was "a mighty prince" to them. Just pick the best tomb you can find, no one will tell you no.
Which is nice of them. Considering.
Abraham wanted to buy the cave that belonged to Ephron the Hittite, the one at the end of his field. Full price.
Ephron told him he could have it. AND the field.
Abraham said, let me at least buy the field from you. To bury my dead.
Ephron said, well, it's worth 400 shekels, but don't worry about it.
Abraham paid him the money--in front of all the witnesses--and the land was deeded to him. And he buried his wife there, and the land was his, paid for by him, in the land of Canaan, deeded to Abraham by the Hittites.
That's how it reads. The way it sounds, it's as if the author is telling his side of a disputed story. Like the Hittites said, you just came and took some land! And buried someone in one of our caves! Without even asking! And the author makes sure, no I'm going to put it in my book the way it REALLY happened, you guys ALL know Abraham asked for the cave! And that he even paid for it! Stop lying!
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