Genesis Chayei Sarah

Chayei Sarah
Genesis 23:1−25:18

I. Summary

A. Chayei Sarah = “Sarah lived” (to be 127 years old)

B. Sarah dies in Canaan at 127 (interpretation of “one hundred years and twenty years and twenty years old” = at age of 100, Sarah was as beautiful as she was at 20 and at the age of 20 she was as sinless as she was at 7). In seeking burial ground for Sarah, Abraham rejects offer of free land from Ephron, a Hittite, and rather purchases land (cave of Machpelah) from him “at the market price”. Abraham buries Sarah there. (Gen 23:1-20)

C. Abraham sends his eldest servant (unnamed but possibly Eliezer from Gen 15:2 … “heir to my household is Damascus Eliezer”) to find a bride for Isaac. Abraham directs servant to find bride from his birthplace of Haran (home of Abraham’s brother, Nahor) but not from Canaan where Abraham now lived [intermarriage with Canaanite = threat to Abraham’s destiny and specifically prohibited in Deut 7:1-3 … “you shall not intermarry with them (Canaanites)”]. Abraham also orders servant not to bring Isaac back to Canaan (wanting his son to be a stranger to Canaan … seeds of Judaism’s objection to mixed marriages). Servant prepares for trip, prays for luck (first prayer for divine guidance in Torah, albeit by a nameless individual). Prayer contains test created by servant for identifying Isaac’s bride, i.e. whoever offers water to his camels. (Gen 24:1-14)

D. Rebekah (Nahor’s granddaughter and Abraham’s grand-niece) shows her kindness by offering to draw water for servant and the servant's camels at the well. After giving Rebekah jewelry and money, servant asks if he could stay in her family’s house. (Gen 24:15-28)

E. The servant meets Rebekah's family (Bethuel, her mother and Laban, her brother) and recounts his encounter with Rebekah at the well. After obtaining Rebekah’s agreement, servant takes Rebekah to Isaac. Upon seeing Isaac approach her, Rebekah covers her face with a veil. Isaac brings Rebekah into the tent of his late mother, Sarah. Isaac marries Rebekah and gets “comfort from her after the death of his mother”. (Gen 24:29-67)

F. Abraham takes another wife, Keturah (was she Hagar?), and has six sons with her (listed) but Abraham gives all he owned to Isaac. At the age of 175, Abraham dies. Isaac and Ishmael bury him (significance of brothers who were never close coming together to bury their father … see II.G. below) in the cave of Machpelah with Sarah. (Gen 25:1-11)

G. Line of Ishmael is set out. Ishmael has 12 sons (parallels 12 sons of Isaac’s father, Nahor, and 12 tribes of Israel?). Ishmael dies at age of 137. (Gen 25:12-18)

II. Commentary (Plaut, various websites and prior Hevreh discussions)

A. Why Rebecca and Isaac were good for each other – As a water drawer, Rebekah is a life giver embracing all of God’s creatures. Isaac needs that energy since he is damaged … almost physically destroyed by his father and certainly emotionally destroyed by him. Isaac’s mother is gone, and he is alone (“Isaac loved her [Rebekah] and thus found comfort after his mother’s death”). With Isaac, Rebekah finds the freedom (commentary says Rebekah was living in a “house of scoundrels” and saw an opportunity to escape to a life that involved contact with more righteous people) to allow her to establish herself as a strong, independent woman. With Rebekah, Isaac finds the healing (from Akedah and his mother’s death) he so desperately needs and which allows him to grow and become the man he is meant to become … a transmitter of the covenant.

B. Rebekah’s consent – Rebekah’s family doesn’t immediately give Rebekah over to Abraham’s servant. They say she must first agree to marry Abraham ("Let us call the girl and ask for her reply" … 24:57). Rebekah gives permission (“I will go” … 24:58). Suggests (per Rashi) that a woman cannot be married against her will in Jewish law.

C. Significance of purchased caves at Machpelah – Purchase reflects Abraham’s desire to achieve a legitimate and irreversible hold over the land. Machpelah represents a visible sign of the future, i.e. a token title to the Promised Land.

D. Servant prayer – Fact that stipulation created by servant met precisely by Rebekah suggests God guided destiny of Isaac and Rebekah as well as answering servant’s prayer. Reinforced by Isaac’s bride being a crucial link in continuation of Abrahamic line and so defining test of prospective bride is surprisingly large responsibility for unnamed individual, i.e. suggests that God is really calling the shots.

E. Passivity of Isaac – Isaac has little impact on selection of his bride (consistent with times). Isaac’s virtual silence reinforces passivity as defining characteristic of Isaac (seen in Isaac’s apparent willingness to be sacrificed … contra, Isaac’s willingness to be sacrificed through his father’s act of faith reflects strength of Isaac). Least active of all patriarchs, Isaac doesn’t engage in any independent action to advance story.

F. Abraham’s priority re: finding bride for Isaac - Abraham’s only concern is that his daughter-in-law comes from the land of his birth. Once an appropriate bride has been found for Isaac, Abraham seems to feel that his job is finished and he is free to take on a new wife, Keturah, after Sarah’s death. The text never tells us if Abraham even met Rebekah: His only desire was to ensure the status of his progeny as Hebrews. Isaac's marriage to Rebecca marks the beginning of the Jewish people (?). Entire narrative viewed as Abraham’s deathbed legacy.

G. Isaac’s and Ishmael’s feelings towards Abraham – They had good reasons to hate their father. Isaac had the frightening experience of nearly being sacrificed. Abraham and Isaac never speak again. Ishmael was Abraham's firstborn son yet was denied the birthright and the inheritance. Furthermore, he saw his father play favorites with Isaac. Isaac had a circumcision and a weaning party, but Ishmael had only the circumcision. Sarah treated his mother, Hagar, harshly and Abraham allowed it. Worst of all, Abraham sent Ishmael away at Sarah’s command. Despite all of this, Isaac and Ishmael came together to bury their father. Part of brother conflict motif throughout Torah (Cain & Abel, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers … Moses and Aaron seem to be exception).

H. Veils - Torah uses the veil as a device to separate holy moments from everyday experience, e.g. 1) when Rebekah has her first look at Isaac (Gen 24:65) and 2) when Moses came down from Mount Sinai his skin was glowing so radiantly (accurately translated from karan … v. related word keren translated as horns = basis of erroneous image of Moses being horned) that Israelites were unable to look at him so he wore a veil unless he was speaking to God, or of God to the Israelites (Ex 34:33-35). Contra, veil used as device of deception, e.g. as explanation for 1) how Laban deceived Jacob into believing that Laban brought Rachael (who Jacob loved) to “marriage chamber” for Jacob rather than her older sister Leah (Gen 29:23) and 2) Judah not being able to recognize his daughter-in-law, Tamar, who exchanges her widow’s garb for a veil to deceive Judah into believing she is a prostitute and impregnating her (Gen 38:15).

(Revised 11/10/09)