†. Gen 24:54-55 . .Then he and the men with him ate and drank, and
they spent the night. When they arose next morning, he said: Give
me leave to go to my master. But her brother and her mother said:
Let the maiden remain with us some ten days; then you may go.
Their request was reasonable. After all, this was all so sudden. They didn't
even have a chance to announce the engagement nor organize a bridal
shower. Becky's friends would all want to come over to the house and ooo
and ahhh the jewelry and go nuts over the exotic fashions from Canaan. And
they would all want to give their girl-buddy one last hug and wish blessings
on her new life. What's so wrong with that? There's nothing wrong with that;
but Abraham's wishes have to take priority in this matter. (cf. Luke 9:61-62)
†. Gen 24:56-57a . . He said to them: Do not delay me, now that The
Lord has made my errand successful. Give me leave that I may go to
my master.
Abraham probably had a pretty good idea how long his servant should be
gone; and if the return was delayed, Abraham might begin to become
anxious and wonder what was going on up there in Haran what with no
internet email, telephones, HAM radio, telegraph, nor even any way to send
a post card back home.
Becky has now agreed to be Isaac's bride. She made that decision the
moment she accepted clothing and jewelry that were offered to her in
Isaac's name. The big question now is: how much longer does she wish to
remain a maiden before becoming a married woman with a home of her
own?
†. Gen 24:57b-58 . . And they said: Let us call the girl and ask for her
reply. They called Rebecca and said to her: Will you go with this
man? And she said: I will.
Exactly what so strongly motivated Becky to agree to leave home on such
short notice is open to speculation. Some feel it was because, unknown to
the writer of Genesis, she had been praying for The Lord's providence in this
very matter of finding the right man. The events of the previous evening
were enough to convince Becky that this was truly divine providence; and
she wasn't about to procrastinate now and louse up her chances for God
given happiness and security. That man was leaving, and the soon-to-be
Mrs. Isaac ben Abraham was not going to miss her ride; uh-uh, no way!
†. Gen 24:59a . . So they sent off their sister Rebecca
The word for "sister" is from 'achowth (aw-khoth') and isn't limited to
siblings. It applies to all manner of female kin-- sisters, daughters, aunts,
nieces; even to a lover, as in Song 4:9-12.
You can imagine the flurry that went on in that house getting Becky's bags
packed on such short notice. You can bet there was no joy around there that
morning. An air of sadness marked her departure. Everyone was no doubt
well aware they would likely never see Becky ever again. In those days,
when somebody moved 500 miles away, they might just as well have gone
to Pluto.
†. Gen 24:59b . . and her nurse along with Abraham's servant and
his men.
The word for "nurse" is from yanaq (yaw-nak') and implies wet nursing. This
may be an indication that, for reasons unspecified, Rebecca's mom was
unable to breast feed her children. In Mesopotamia, wet nurses frequently
had the additional duties of bringing up the child and acting as their
guardian; viz: a nanny. The nurse (whose name is Deborah; Gen 35:8) was
probably either Becky's first choice as personal assistant, or Deborah herself
just couldn't part with her little Becky and volunteered to go along as a
chaperon. It's not unusual for mentors, like Helen Keller's tutor Anne
Sullivan, to become permanently bonded and dedicated to their charges.
†. Gen 24:60 . . And they blessed Rebecca and said to her: O sister!
May you grow into thousands of myriads; may your offspring seize
the gates of their foes.
That prophetic bon voyage was undoubtedly an acknowledgement of the
promises God made to Abraham following the Akedah (Gen 22:15-18).
Abraham's steward spent the night in Becky's home; and while eating dinner
and chatting, no doubt shared many wonderful events from Abraham's and
Isaac's lives to which Becky's family must have listened just as spellbound
as all of us who study Genesis in our own day and age. The Akedah surely
must have been to them almost beyond belief that God would ask Abraham
to sacrifice the very son in whom all the promises would be fulfilled. No
wonder Becky was so ready to go. She just had to get on down there and
see this man in whom God had taken such a particular interest.
†. Gen 24:61a . .Then Rebecca and her maids arose, mounted the
camels, and followed the man.
The word for "maids" is from na'arah (nah-ar-aw') and means a young,
underage girl. A Bible maid is just a lass, not really a grown up adult
woman. She could be a pre teen or a late teen and any age in between. It
wasn't unusual for a woman from a family of means to have a retinue of
young girls in attendance. Becky's maids possibly were the children of her
home's adult servants.
Then too, young girls were often indentured into maid service. Sometimes it
was because of parental greed, but often it was because the family was in
poverty and desperate. In the last decade alone, many families in
Afghanistan were forced to sell their children just to survive the Taliban ruin
of their country. Sometimes young girls were fortunes of war in Becky's day
and could be bought and sold at market; for example the Jewish damsel in
2Kgs 5:1-3 who helped Naaman get his leprosy cured.
Cont.
/
they spent the night. When they arose next morning, he said: Give
me leave to go to my master. But her brother and her mother said:
Let the maiden remain with us some ten days; then you may go.
Their request was reasonable. After all, this was all so sudden. They didn't
even have a chance to announce the engagement nor organize a bridal
shower. Becky's friends would all want to come over to the house and ooo
and ahhh the jewelry and go nuts over the exotic fashions from Canaan. And
they would all want to give their girl-buddy one last hug and wish blessings
on her new life. What's so wrong with that? There's nothing wrong with that;
but Abraham's wishes have to take priority in this matter. (cf. Luke 9:61-62)
†. Gen 24:56-57a . . He said to them: Do not delay me, now that The
Lord has made my errand successful. Give me leave that I may go to
my master.
Abraham probably had a pretty good idea how long his servant should be
gone; and if the return was delayed, Abraham might begin to become
anxious and wonder what was going on up there in Haran what with no
internet email, telephones, HAM radio, telegraph, nor even any way to send
a post card back home.
Becky has now agreed to be Isaac's bride. She made that decision the
moment she accepted clothing and jewelry that were offered to her in
Isaac's name. The big question now is: how much longer does she wish to
remain a maiden before becoming a married woman with a home of her
own?
†. Gen 24:57b-58 . . And they said: Let us call the girl and ask for her
reply. They called Rebecca and said to her: Will you go with this
man? And she said: I will.
Exactly what so strongly motivated Becky to agree to leave home on such
short notice is open to speculation. Some feel it was because, unknown to
the writer of Genesis, she had been praying for The Lord's providence in this
very matter of finding the right man. The events of the previous evening
were enough to convince Becky that this was truly divine providence; and
she wasn't about to procrastinate now and louse up her chances for God
given happiness and security. That man was leaving, and the soon-to-be
Mrs. Isaac ben Abraham was not going to miss her ride; uh-uh, no way!
†. Gen 24:59a . . So they sent off their sister Rebecca
The word for "sister" is from 'achowth (aw-khoth') and isn't limited to
siblings. It applies to all manner of female kin-- sisters, daughters, aunts,
nieces; even to a lover, as in Song 4:9-12.
You can imagine the flurry that went on in that house getting Becky's bags
packed on such short notice. You can bet there was no joy around there that
morning. An air of sadness marked her departure. Everyone was no doubt
well aware they would likely never see Becky ever again. In those days,
when somebody moved 500 miles away, they might just as well have gone
to Pluto.
†. Gen 24:59b . . and her nurse along with Abraham's servant and
his men.
The word for "nurse" is from yanaq (yaw-nak') and implies wet nursing. This
may be an indication that, for reasons unspecified, Rebecca's mom was
unable to breast feed her children. In Mesopotamia, wet nurses frequently
had the additional duties of bringing up the child and acting as their
guardian; viz: a nanny. The nurse (whose name is Deborah; Gen 35:8) was
probably either Becky's first choice as personal assistant, or Deborah herself
just couldn't part with her little Becky and volunteered to go along as a
chaperon. It's not unusual for mentors, like Helen Keller's tutor Anne
Sullivan, to become permanently bonded and dedicated to their charges.
†. Gen 24:60 . . And they blessed Rebecca and said to her: O sister!
May you grow into thousands of myriads; may your offspring seize
the gates of their foes.
That prophetic bon voyage was undoubtedly an acknowledgement of the
promises God made to Abraham following the Akedah (Gen 22:15-18).
Abraham's steward spent the night in Becky's home; and while eating dinner
and chatting, no doubt shared many wonderful events from Abraham's and
Isaac's lives to which Becky's family must have listened just as spellbound
as all of us who study Genesis in our own day and age. The Akedah surely
must have been to them almost beyond belief that God would ask Abraham
to sacrifice the very son in whom all the promises would be fulfilled. No
wonder Becky was so ready to go. She just had to get on down there and
see this man in whom God had taken such a particular interest.
†. Gen 24:61a . .Then Rebecca and her maids arose, mounted the
camels, and followed the man.
The word for "maids" is from na'arah (nah-ar-aw') and means a young,
underage girl. A Bible maid is just a lass, not really a grown up adult
woman. She could be a pre teen or a late teen and any age in between. It
wasn't unusual for a woman from a family of means to have a retinue of
young girls in attendance. Becky's maids possibly were the children of her
home's adult servants.
Then too, young girls were often indentured into maid service. Sometimes it
was because of parental greed, but often it was because the family was in
poverty and desperate. In the last decade alone, many families in
Afghanistan were forced to sell their children just to survive the Taliban ruin
of their country. Sometimes young girls were fortunes of war in Becky's day
and could be bought and sold at market; for example the Jewish damsel in
2Kgs 5:1-3 who helped Naaman get his leprosy cured.
Cont.
/
