B'reisheet (Genesis)
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Meaning
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Day Four
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Haftara
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B'rit Hadashah
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1 Our Father, we receive Your Words and hide Your commandments with us; 2 we incline our ear unto wisdom, and apply our hearts to understanding; 3 We cry after knowledge and lift up our voices for understanding; 4 we seek it as silver; and search for it as for hidden treasures; 5 We declare that we shall understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. Declaration of Proverbs 2:1-5
Genesis 24:50-67 (NASB) 1
50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, "The matter comes from the LORD; so we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51 "Here is Rebekah before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has spoken." 52 When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before the LORD. 53 The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they arose in the morning, he said, "Send me away to my master." 55 But her brother and her mother said, "Let the girl stay with us a few days, say ten; afterward she may go." 56 He said to them, "Do not delay me, since the LORD has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master." 57 And they said, "We will call the girl and consult her wishes." 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" And she said, "I will go." 59 Thus they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse with Abraham's servant and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah and said to her, "May you, our sister, Become thousands of ten thousands, And may your descendants possess The gate of those who hate them." 61 Then Rebekah arose with her maids, and they mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed. 62 Now Isaac had come from going to Beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in the Negev. 63 Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. 64 Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from the camel. 65 She said to the servant, "Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?" And the servant said, "He is my master." Then she took her veil and covered herself. 66 The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
The weather in the past days has ranged from blah, dingy to right beastly with winds, rain and the rising damp! I'm beginning to wonder if it were to snow and it stayed, that my poor aching body would begin to settle. I'd love to complain but just before I think I want to, I put it off because I'm still thinking of the folks there in North Carolina and East Tennessee. I have nothing about which to complain! The 98th Division of the Israel Defense Forces remain using intel to strike dozens of sites used for rocket attacks, weapons storage and command and observation posts, and NOT Lebanese civilians. Hamas violently seized aid trucks sent by Israel to Gaza, thereby robbing their own people of critical supplies, but nobody seems to be outraged about that. Apparently, our Canadian government is “worried” that the election of D. Trump as president “threatens Canada's political landscape”. We could use a huge change away from liberal progression and that 'woke' in our political landscape here. That's the geezer in me talking and I make no apology.
I wasn't as productive in the sewing department yesterday, as I had anticipated. I just did enough to realize that I need to also extend my 'no-do' jobs to putting new zippers in jackets. It was just SO fiddly-diddly and I'm afraid I reached critical mass and had melt-down trying to get it installed around those snaps and extra material in the front. It's going to the dry cleaners for the expert to finish it. It's well worth it to me. I have decided I just don't need that aggravation. I can't do anything about this politically insane situation where I live, but I can control what I can handle in ferretcentral here. I did switch to finishing some aprons in production for the church sale on Saturday and that was much more calming.
The Torah department, however, is going very well. The shades of possibilities that are put forward when one peruses the Bible with the help of commentaries, it's a refreshing adventure indeed! We read that, at the supper table, after hearing the story of the servant, both Laban and his father Bethuel are heard from. They agreed to the betrothal of their daughter and sister and then everyone had a good night of feasting and fellowship.
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. 51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken. Genesis 24:50-51.
Then, after that agreement by Bethuel and Laban there is no further mention of Bethuel…ever! I don’t know how many times I ever read this story and never sparked any inquiry but I do remember the time that suddenly, reality sunk in—Hey! What happened to Bethuel after verse fifty?! Why, suddenly overnight, are all the decisions being made by Rebecca’s mother and her brother? It wasn’t until I plumbed the inside of several commentaries that I finally succeeded in realizing that it is very possible that after the feasting, sometime through the night, Bethuel died. The plea for Rebecca to stay at least ten days may well have been the mourning period for Bethuel.
55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. Genesis 24:55.
But the servant was undaunted. They called for the young woman to see what she wanted to do. It wasn’t a matter of whether she would go or not, but if she would go immediately and forego the ten days of family mourning. The event of the death of Bethuel fits with the text, and reading the plain text we can make a healthy assumption that it was likely his death that was the reason for his absence in the rest of this story. It’s an interesting sidebar and certainly one not ever visited in my B.T. years. (Before Torah). I suppose the reasoning for that would be simply that we were never encouraged to study the Old Testament as much as the New, so there were few to no Bible studies or sermons preached on this part of Genesis. So, if indeed this was the mourning period, Rebecca declined it and moved away from her family but not without a heap of blessings for her future.
60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. Genesis 24:60.
Now if we weren’t already aware of the societal push for all women to be prolific mothers in ancient days we certainly might get a clue from the blessings bestowed upon Rebecca! The blessing which her family put on her when she left home was no accident or coincidental blessing! “...be thou the mother of thousands of millions”. Sarah’s blessing from God when her name was changed was that “she shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples shall issue from her.” And so, it was decreed by God, that Sarah’s blessing would live on in the life of Rebecca. The part of that blessing that invokes that her offspring would always “seize the gates of their foes” is a common matrimonial blessing which has come down through Eastern tradition to this very day.
At the end of her journey they encounter a man walking in the fields at some distance and Rebecca inquires as to his identity.
63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. 64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. 65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. Genesis 24:63-65.
The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown commentary alludes to this:
“she lighted off the camel—If Isaac were walking, it would have been most unmannerly for her to have continued seated; an inferior, if riding, always alights in presence of a person of rank, no exception being made for women.”
Rebecca also complied with the custom in her time and region to cover her face in humility and subjection.
And so we have a story today with a very happy ending. I like those the best. Rebecca is brought to Sarah’s tent. I suspect that perhaps it had not been touched or changed in all the possible two years or so since her death (commentators guess it was about that time since her death). She was installed as the woman of the household now, the wife of the master’s son and it is said in Hebrew circles that once again the smell of bread emanated from the cooking fires of the ‘mistress’ of the household. And finally, the deep grief that Isaac held for his mother was assuaged and mitigated. He could now move to a different stage of bereavement that didn’t take such heavy toll on his emotions. He could perhaps give in to full acceptance of her loss and move into a new time of his own life and I might add to that, move ever closer to his destiny!
I wasn't as productive in the sewing department yesterday, as I had anticipated. I just did enough to realize that I need to also extend my 'no-do' jobs to putting new zippers in jackets. It was just SO fiddly-diddly and I'm afraid I reached critical mass and had melt-down trying to get it installed around those snaps and extra material in the front. It's going to the dry cleaners for the expert to finish it. It's well worth it to me. I have decided I just don't need that aggravation. I can't do anything about this politically insane situation where I live, but I can control what I can handle in ferretcentral here. I did switch to finishing some aprons in production for the church sale on Saturday and that was much more calming.
The Torah department, however, is going very well. The shades of possibilities that are put forward when one peruses the Bible with the help of commentaries, it's a refreshing adventure indeed! We read that, at the supper table, after hearing the story of the servant, both Laban and his father Bethuel are heard from. They agreed to the betrothal of their daughter and sister and then everyone had a good night of feasting and fellowship.
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. 51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken. Genesis 24:50-51.
Then, after that agreement by Bethuel and Laban there is no further mention of Bethuel…ever! I don’t know how many times I ever read this story and never sparked any inquiry but I do remember the time that suddenly, reality sunk in—Hey! What happened to Bethuel after verse fifty?! Why, suddenly overnight, are all the decisions being made by Rebecca’s mother and her brother? It wasn’t until I plumbed the inside of several commentaries that I finally succeeded in realizing that it is very possible that after the feasting, sometime through the night, Bethuel died. The plea for Rebecca to stay at least ten days may well have been the mourning period for Bethuel.
55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. Genesis 24:55.
But the servant was undaunted. They called for the young woman to see what she wanted to do. It wasn’t a matter of whether she would go or not, but if she would go immediately and forego the ten days of family mourning. The event of the death of Bethuel fits with the text, and reading the plain text we can make a healthy assumption that it was likely his death that was the reason for his absence in the rest of this story. It’s an interesting sidebar and certainly one not ever visited in my B.T. years. (Before Torah). I suppose the reasoning for that would be simply that we were never encouraged to study the Old Testament as much as the New, so there were few to no Bible studies or sermons preached on this part of Genesis. So, if indeed this was the mourning period, Rebecca declined it and moved away from her family but not without a heap of blessings for her future.
60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. Genesis 24:60.
Now if we weren’t already aware of the societal push for all women to be prolific mothers in ancient days we certainly might get a clue from the blessings bestowed upon Rebecca! The blessing which her family put on her when she left home was no accident or coincidental blessing! “...be thou the mother of thousands of millions”. Sarah’s blessing from God when her name was changed was that “she shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples shall issue from her.” And so, it was decreed by God, that Sarah’s blessing would live on in the life of Rebecca. The part of that blessing that invokes that her offspring would always “seize the gates of their foes” is a common matrimonial blessing which has come down through Eastern tradition to this very day.
At the end of her journey they encounter a man walking in the fields at some distance and Rebecca inquires as to his identity.
63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. 64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. 65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. Genesis 24:63-65.
The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown commentary alludes to this:
“she lighted off the camel—If Isaac were walking, it would have been most unmannerly for her to have continued seated; an inferior, if riding, always alights in presence of a person of rank, no exception being made for women.”
Rebecca also complied with the custom in her time and region to cover her face in humility and subjection.
And so we have a story today with a very happy ending. I like those the best. Rebecca is brought to Sarah’s tent. I suspect that perhaps it had not been touched or changed in all the possible two years or so since her death (commentators guess it was about that time since her death). She was installed as the woman of the household now, the wife of the master’s son and it is said in Hebrew circles that once again the smell of bread emanated from the cooking fires of the ‘mistress’ of the household. And finally, the deep grief that Isaac held for his mother was assuaged and mitigated. He could now move to a different stage of bereavement that didn’t take such heavy toll on his emotions. He could perhaps give in to full acceptance of her loss and move into a new time of his own life and I might add to that, move ever closer to his destiny!
67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. Genesis 24:67.
1 NASB www.lockman.org for daily reading and KJV in commentary unless otherwise specified
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