†. Gen 25:19 . .This is the story of Isaac, son of Abraham. Abraham
begot Isaac.
The word for "son" is ben (bane) and is used like American's use a middle
name. Isaac's whole name is: Isaac ben Abraham. It's a common idiom in
the Old Testament, and found in the New Testament too.
†. John 6:42 . .They said: Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father
and mother we know? How can he now say? "I came down from heaven"
The Lord's Greek name is lesous (ee-ay-souce') which is equivalent to the
Hebrew name Yehowshuwa' (yeh-ho-shoo'-ah) which means: Joshua. His
dad's name in Greek is loseph (ee-o-safe') which is equivalent to the Hebrew
name Yowceph (yo-safe') which means Joseph. So "Jesus, the son of
Joseph" in hybridized English and Hebrew: is Joshua ben Joseph.
Note : The English spelling of Hebrew words often disagree with the spellings
used by Orthodox Jews because there is no set standard for rendering
Hebrew words in English form as yet so it's not uncommon for discrepancies
to occur.
†. Gen 25:20a . . Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife
Rebecca,
Forty years-old might seem a bit late in life to get married for the first time,
but in those days, a forty year-old man was still quite young. The life
expectancy of the average US male born in 2007 is 75.4 years. Isaac lived to
180; so at his marriage to Rebecca, he was about the equivalent of a
modern 17 year-old. Jacob himself didn't marry Leah and Rachel and until
he was over 80-- attesting to the robust health and longevity that men
enjoyed in those days.
†. Gen 25:20b . . daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram,
sister of Laban the Aramean.
The identity of Rebekah's mom remains a total mystery. By the time of
Moses, uncle Laban was a large figure in Jewish history and you can safely
bet the people of Israel were very familiar with that old rascal's ways. He
mistreated not only Jacob, but also Leah and Rachel too, so he's not too
popular with the people of Israel even today; seeing as how he was unkind
and dishonest with their sacred ancestors and all.
The holiday of Purim commemorates an Agagite named Haman, who tried to
exterminate the Jews in Esther's day. Maybe there should be a memorial for
Laban too. Although he wasn't a villain on the scale of Haman, he
nevertheless made ol' Jacob's life pretty miserable there for a while.
†. Gen 25:21a . . Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife,
because she was barren;
Oh no. Not again! It seems like all the really good-looking girls among
Terah's female grandchildren had some sort of fertility problem.
Supposing Isaac never prayed for Rebecca. Would she have children?
Absolutely! God gave his word to Abraham in Gen 17:19 that Isaac would
become a very numerous people. So Rebecca, Isaac's divinely selected wife,
was going to be a mommy; it was only a matter of time. But about one thing
I think we can be sure of: Isaac didn't want to wait until Rebecca was ninety
years old like his mom before having their first baby.
This is now the second time that the people of Israel were perpetuated by a
miracle-- proving they are no ordinary people, but a people who wouldn't
exist at all if not for Divine design.
†. Gen 25:21b . . and the Lord responded to his plea, and his wife
Rebecca conceived.
The twins Jacob and Esau were born when Isaac was 60 years old. So Isaac
and Rebecca had been trying to have children for about 19 years. There is
no record that Abraham ever prayed concerning Sarah's infertility. He dealt
with the problem in another way. Isaac, rather than follow the example of
papa Abraham and sleep with one of the maids; did the wise thing by
electing to petition God to repair his wife so they could have their own baby.
There is of course no guarantee prayer will work for everyone, but it was
just the ticket for them.
Youngsters can learn from their parents mistakes. If there was one thing you
can bet Isaac did not want in his family, it was another Ishmael. Not that
Ishmael was a bad seed, but his place in Abraham's home was a catalyst in
generating much friction and rivalry, and also caused an inheritance problem
for Isaac; not to mention Abraham's eventual heartbreak of finally
emancipating Hagar and thus sending her and Ishmael off to fend for
themselves.
Cont.
/
begot Isaac.
The word for "son" is ben (bane) and is used like American's use a middle
name. Isaac's whole name is: Isaac ben Abraham. It's a common idiom in
the Old Testament, and found in the New Testament too.
†. John 6:42 . .They said: Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father
and mother we know? How can he now say? "I came down from heaven"
The Lord's Greek name is lesous (ee-ay-souce') which is equivalent to the
Hebrew name Yehowshuwa' (yeh-ho-shoo'-ah) which means: Joshua. His
dad's name in Greek is loseph (ee-o-safe') which is equivalent to the Hebrew
name Yowceph (yo-safe') which means Joseph. So "Jesus, the son of
Joseph" in hybridized English and Hebrew: is Joshua ben Joseph.
Note : The English spelling of Hebrew words often disagree with the spellings
used by Orthodox Jews because there is no set standard for rendering
Hebrew words in English form as yet so it's not uncommon for discrepancies
to occur.
†. Gen 25:20a . . Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife
Rebecca,
Forty years-old might seem a bit late in life to get married for the first time,
but in those days, a forty year-old man was still quite young. The life
expectancy of the average US male born in 2007 is 75.4 years. Isaac lived to
180; so at his marriage to Rebecca, he was about the equivalent of a
modern 17 year-old. Jacob himself didn't marry Leah and Rachel and until
he was over 80-- attesting to the robust health and longevity that men
enjoyed in those days.
†. Gen 25:20b . . daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram,
sister of Laban the Aramean.
The identity of Rebekah's mom remains a total mystery. By the time of
Moses, uncle Laban was a large figure in Jewish history and you can safely
bet the people of Israel were very familiar with that old rascal's ways. He
mistreated not only Jacob, but also Leah and Rachel too, so he's not too
popular with the people of Israel even today; seeing as how he was unkind
and dishonest with their sacred ancestors and all.
The holiday of Purim commemorates an Agagite named Haman, who tried to
exterminate the Jews in Esther's day. Maybe there should be a memorial for
Laban too. Although he wasn't a villain on the scale of Haman, he
nevertheless made ol' Jacob's life pretty miserable there for a while.
†. Gen 25:21a . . Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife,
because she was barren;
Oh no. Not again! It seems like all the really good-looking girls among
Terah's female grandchildren had some sort of fertility problem.
Supposing Isaac never prayed for Rebecca. Would she have children?
Absolutely! God gave his word to Abraham in Gen 17:19 that Isaac would
become a very numerous people. So Rebecca, Isaac's divinely selected wife,
was going to be a mommy; it was only a matter of time. But about one thing
I think we can be sure of: Isaac didn't want to wait until Rebecca was ninety
years old like his mom before having their first baby.
This is now the second time that the people of Israel were perpetuated by a
miracle-- proving they are no ordinary people, but a people who wouldn't
exist at all if not for Divine design.
†. Gen 25:21b . . and the Lord responded to his plea, and his wife
Rebecca conceived.
The twins Jacob and Esau were born when Isaac was 60 years old. So Isaac
and Rebecca had been trying to have children for about 19 years. There is
no record that Abraham ever prayed concerning Sarah's infertility. He dealt
with the problem in another way. Isaac, rather than follow the example of
papa Abraham and sleep with one of the maids; did the wise thing by
electing to petition God to repair his wife so they could have their own baby.
There is of course no guarantee prayer will work for everyone, but it was
just the ticket for them.
Youngsters can learn from their parents mistakes. If there was one thing you
can bet Isaac did not want in his family, it was another Ishmael. Not that
Ishmael was a bad seed, but his place in Abraham's home was a catalyst in
generating much friction and rivalry, and also caused an inheritance problem
for Isaac; not to mention Abraham's eventual heartbreak of finally
emancipating Hagar and thus sending her and Ishmael off to fend for
themselves.
Cont.
/
