Genesis 24 – A Wife for Isaac
Vs. 1-10 The Servant’s Oath
This section begins by observing that Abraham is “advanced in age.” The text leaves us with the impression that Abraham is on his last leg, so to speak. Genesis 25:20 will tell us that Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah to be his wife, which would put Abraham here at about 140 years old. Genesis 25:7 will tell us that Abraham was 175 when he died. Holding these numbers together, we know that Abraham at this point still has some years left in him.
Abraham selects his most senior servant for a crucial task: securing a wife for his son Isaac. Abraham gives the servant directions to “go to my country and to my relatives” (v. 4) to find a wife. The location in Abraham’s mind is the place where he departed from his brother Nahor before descending into the land of Canaan. In Genesis 11-12 the town is called Haran. In coming chapters we will find the name Paddan-Aram. Generally speaking these are all pointing to the same geographical area in what would now be Southeast Turkey or Northern Syria.
Abraham has two motives in mind. He wants to make sure that Isaac has a wife from among his own people, not from among the Canaanites. At the same time, Abraham wants to be certain that Isaac doesn’t migrate out of the land that God has promised. Abraham has great faith that these factors will play out in God’s plan. When the servant suggests the possibility of non-compliance on behalf of a prospective wife, Abraham responds by saying in so many words, “I am certain that God will go before you and make this happen, and if I’m wrong then you are free from your commitment to this oath” (vs. 7-8).
Having taken his oath to Abraham, the servant prepares for the journey. He takes “ten camels” and “a variety of good things from his master” (v. 10). Obviously this is not a one person journey. Assuming Abraham is still dwelling in the southern region of Canaan, the servant is looking at roughly a 400 mile trip. Plenty of provisions would be needed (thus the camels). Further, the servant has prepared for his task by taking along items that may help with securing the wife. It is from these “good things from his master” that the servant will offer gifts to Rebekah when they meet.
Vs. 11-27 The Servant Meets Rebekah
Arriving at their destination, the servant of Abraham strategically places himself near a source of water, knowing this is where the women would be found in the latter part of the day. He then does what so many of us are likely to do when hoping a plan will come together: he prays. It is noteworthy that his prayer is to “the God of my master Abraham” (v. 12). Apparently Abraham’s faith has become contagious, no doubt aided by the ways God had tangibly blessed Abraham. The servant’s prayer is specific, essentially asking the Lord to give him a sign so he would know which young woman was chosen.
Immediately after the servant prays, Rebekah comes in sight. In addition to meeting the criteria of being of the correct family and being available for marriage, she is beautiful! We might wonder if the servant was amazed that God could be working so quickly. The servant approaches her and asks for a drink, initiating his plan of discernment. She gives him a drink, and then unknowingly gives the servant the sign he is seeking by offering to water the camels. At this point the servant seems to be a bit stunned. Verse 21 says he was “gazing at her in silence, to know whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not.” Such tends to be our own reaction in moments when God works so quickly and decisively.
Amazing as it must have been in the moment, the servant moves forward in faith by giving Rebekah a gold (nose) ring and two gold bracelets (v. 22). Cultural norms would have enabled Rebekah to immediately understand what this stranger was doing. Both the tokens and the associated weights were normal symbols in that culture for confirming a marriage arrangement. Such gifts not only were meant to honor the bride, but also to convey to the family that she would be joining a family with the wealth to care for her. Of course, the servant must make arrangements with Rebekah’s family. He thus asks for the possibility of hospitality in the home of Rebekah’s father.
Vs. 28-60 The Family’s Response
Rebekah returns home with the news of what has happened. At this point we are introduced to Laban, Rebekah’s brother. (How many bride-to-be stories have a protective big brother involved?) Laban actually offers the servant a warm greeting, claiming to have things all prepared for the guests and seeing to the needs of the camels. Another normal part of the hospitality would be the shared meal, which was offered to the servant. Before eating, though, the servant is compelled to address the business at hand.
The servant shares the entire account of what has transpired, from the oath required of him by Abraham all the way through his encounter with Rebekah. He has explicitly framed all this as a work of God, referencing his prayer before seeing Rebekah. The servant then presses the family for an answer: will they or will they not agree to Rebekah’s marriage to Abraham’s son? If not, the servant wants to know so he can proceed in another direction (v. 49).
Verses 50-51 give us the response to the servant’s question, offered by both Rebekah’s father and her brother. When we read their response, it feels a bit unemotional. That could be, at least in part, due to cultural differences between the characters in the text and the modern Western reader. Despite the apparent lack of emotion, Rebekah’s father consents to the arrangement. In doing so he seems to concede that any opposition he would have to the marriage must be negated by the fact that God had appointed this to happen (v. 50). The Holman Christian Standard Bible translates their response as, “This is from the Lord; we have no choice in the matter.” We may have a situation where we hear our characters say one thing, but they are thinking something different. Having received a positive answer from Rebekah’s father, the servant follows customary norms by presenting Rebekah and her family with more gifts—which he had come prepared to do (v. 10). With business complete, the people finish their meal and take their rest for the night.
The servant of Abraham rises the following morning, expecting to get on with his journey home. Rebekah’s family, though, show the hesitancy regarding the arrangement they did not reveal the previous evening. Interestingly the pushback comes from Rebekah’s mother and her brother, who may not have ultimate authority in the household, but certainly have plenty of influence. Their suggestion was “let’s wait a few days, maybe ten, and then you can take her” (v. 55). The move feels like a classic stall tactic. The servant is having none of it, reminding them of the Lord’s hand a work and therefore insisting that he not be delayed. The family then tries another tactic: “Let’s ask Rebekah what she thinks of it all” (v. 57). They call Rebekah and put her on the spot, which she almost certainly was not expecting. The decision must have been difficult. Would she go against the obvious desires of her family? Or would she decline to continue in a sequence of events that appear almost certainly to be God ordained? Rebekah chooses to go, and thus along with her maids she prepares for a journey to a new land and a new life.
Vs. 61-67 Rebekah meets Isaac
Isaac was living in the southern regions of Canaan, in the Negev wilderness according to v. 62. The meeting between Isaac and Rebekah almost reads like a scene from a novel. Each from their own perspective look and behold the approach of the other. Abraham’s servant gives Isaac the account of all that has happened. We are then told that Isaac moves to make Rebekah his wife. We are also given the detail that Isaac “loved her” (v. 67). The inclusion of this detail, which we will also see regarding Jacob and Rachel (Genesis 29:18), suggests that we should not take this for granted in the marriages of all men and women at the time.
The final detail of this section is that, by receiving Rebekah as a wife, Isaac was “comforted after his mother’s death” (v. 67). The ongoing grief may have been on his mind when he was meditating in the field (v. 63). Isaac would have been around 37 years old at the time of his mother’s death, and was 40 when he married Rebekah.
Genesis 25 – Abraham to Isaac
Vs. 1-11 The Death of Abraham
After Sarah’s death, Abraham takes another wife whose name was Keturah. Her exact status is not perfectly clear, as in 1 Chronicles 1:32 Keturah is listed as a concubine of Abraham. Through her Abraham sired six more sons. What is clear is that the sons of Abraham by Keturah, and by extension Keturah herself, were not attributed the status of Isaac nor Sarah. The writer tells us that Isaac was the sole recipient of inheritance from Abraham. Others were not included in inheritance, though they did receive gifts from Abraham during his life (v. 6).
Abraham lives to a “ripe old age” of 175, “satisfied with life” (v. 8). The Bible says at his death that he was “gathered to his people.” The phrase seems more connected to the actual event of death more so than burial, and is often used through the Old Testament. To be “gathered to one’s people” is probably more of a cultural reflection, though could also be understood to fit into Christian theology as it relates to people of faith.
We are told that Abraham was buried in the cave of Machpelah, which was the place purchased by Abraham for the burial of Sarah. What is interesting is that the burial of Abraham is credited to both Isaac and Ishmael. We are given no detail regarding how Ishmael would have known about Abraham’s death, nor any indication that the brothers achieved any reconciliation. The burial of a parent was both a privilege and an expectation as a way of honoring them. However it came to pass, both Isaac and Ishmael had done the right thing for their father.
Vs. 12-18 Descendants of Ishmael
As promised to Hagar, Ishmael becomes the father of twelve sons (princes) whose descendants would become a numerous people group. The area identified as their dwelling places extends from Egypt horizontally across the Sinai peninsula and toward Arabia. While the names of the sons mostly do not appear again in scripture, Ishmael’s descendants are poised to fulfill what the text says in verse 18, that they would live “in defiance” of Abraham’s other descendants.
Vs. 19-34 Sons of Isaac
The remainder of chapter 25 moves quickly into the narrative of the next generation with the birth of Isaac’s sons, Jacob and Esau. Noteworthy is the fact that Rebekah was barren (v. 21). As such she is ranked among others whose eventual child-bearing is seen as an act of God. For Isaac and Rebekah there will be not just one child, but two. While pregnant, Rebekah can sense the struggle happening inside her womb. She inquires about it with God, and receives the word that her two sons represent two nations that will contend with each other (v. 23). Further, and in contrast to the normal hierarchy of family in that culture, it would be the second born of the twins who would rule over the first.
Both Jacob and Esau are given names associated with their birth: Esau because of the tone of his skin and hairy appearance, and Jacob because he was grasping the heel of his brother. As the boys grew we are told that the two parents had different preferences between the two; Isaac favored Esau, but Rebekah favored Jacob. This dynamic will come into play in later chapters. What we find here is that the sons have different interests. In modern terms, Esau is an outdoorsman, while Jacob is more domestically oriented.
The narrative almost immediately shows us how Jacob’s name was prophetic. One day Esau had been doing his outdoor stuff and returned home famished. Jacob had prepared some stew, which surely caught Esau’s attention quickly. Being caught in a weak moment, Esau “despises his birthright” (v. 34) by selling it for a bowl of stew. What transpired between the two was not a childish act that a parent could overturn. What Esau did was binding (v. 33). His actions became a warning to later believers, as the writer of Hebrews (12:16-17) uses Esau as one who later sought to recover the blessing but was unable. The birthright was a privileged position in the family. The inheritance was greater than for any other son. The blessing was more rich than for any other. The status was greater than for any other. In a moment of immediate gratification, Esau was willing to sacrifice it all.
Of course, there is no defense here for Jacob’s actions. We are already told that, like Abraham previously and Isaac presently, Jacob would be the central figure in the next generation of redemption history. Nevertheless, he will experience his own challenges as his conniving tendencies will not go without consequences.
The Winding Path 