67 And Isaac took Rebekah into his tent and she became his wife; and in his love for her, Isaac was comforted after his father's death.
And all his sons and all his daughters came to give him comfort, but he would not be comforted, saying with weeping, I will go down to the underworld to my son. So great was his father's sorrow for him.
And after a time, Bath-shua, Judah's wife, came to her end; and after Judah was comforted for her loss, he went to Timnah, where they were cutting the wool of his sheep, and his friend Hirah of Adullam went with him.
And the bone which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman, and took her to the man. And the man said, This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh: let her name be Woman because she was taken out of Man. For this cause will a man go away from his father and his mother and be joined to his wife; and they will be one flesh.
Then Abraham went quickly into the tent, and said to Sarah, Get three measures of meal straight away and make cakes.
And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, She is in the tent. And he said, I will certainly come back to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife will have a son. And his words came to the ears of Sarah who was at the back of the tent-door.
Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramaean of Paddan-aram, and the sister of Laban the Aramaean, to be his wife.
And Jacob was in love with Rachel; and he said, I will be your servant seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter.
Let your voice be loud in song, O woman without children; make melody and sounds of joy, you who did not give birth: for the children of her who had no husband are more than those of the married wife, says the Lord. Make wide the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your house be stretched out without limit: make your cords long, and your tent-pins strong. For I will make wide your limits on the right hand and on the left; and your seed will take the nations for a heritage, and make the waste towns full of people. Have no fear; for you will not be shamed or without hope: you will not be put to shame, for the shame of your earlier days will go out of your memory, and you will no longer keep in mind the sorrows of your widowed years. For your Maker is your husband; the Lord of armies is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is he who takes up your cause; he will be named the God of all the earth.
Put up with me if I am a little foolish: but, truly, you do put up with me. For I have a very great care for you: because you have been married by me to one husband, and it is my desire to give you completely holy to Christ.
Wives, be under the authority of your husbands, as of the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body. And as the church is under Christ's authority, so let wives be under the rule of their husbands in all things. Husbands, have love for your wives, even as Christ had love for the church, and gave himself for it; So that he might make it holy, having made it clean with the washing of water by the word, And might take it for himself, a church full of glory, not having one mark or fold or any such thing; but that it might be holy and complete. Even so it is right for husbands to have love for their wives as for their bodies. He who has love for his wife has love for himself: For no man ever had hate for his flesh; but he gives it food and takes care of it, even as Christ does for the church; Because we are parts of his body. For this cause will a man go away from his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a great secret: but my words are about Christ and the church. But do you, everyone, have love for his wife, even as for himself; and let the wife see that she has respect for her husband.
But it is our desire, brothers, that you may be certain about those who are sleeping; so that you may have no need for sorrow, as others have who are without hope.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 24
Commentary on Genesis 24 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 24
Ge 24:1-9. A Marriage Commission.
1. And Abraham was old … take a wife—His anxiety to see his son married was natural to his position as a pastoral chief interested in preserving the honor of his tribe, and still more as a patriarch who had regard to the divine promise of a numerous posterity.
2. said unto his eldest servant—Abraham being too old, and as the heir of the promise not being at liberty to make even a temporary visit to his native land, was obliged to intrust this delicate mission to Eliezer, whom, although putting entire confidence in him, he on this occasion bound by a solemn oath. A pastoral chief in the present day would follow the same course if he could not go himself.
3. thou shalt not take a wife, &c.—Among pastoral tribes the matrimonial arrangements are made by the parents, and a youth must marry, not among strangers, but in his own tribe—custom giving him a claim, which is seldom or never resisted, to the hand of his first cousin. But Abraham had a far higher motive—a fear lest, if his son married into a Canaanitish family, he might be gradually led away from the true God.
Ge 24:10-67. The Journey.
10. the servant took ten camels, &c.—So great an equipage was to give the embassy an appearance worthy of the rank and wealth of Abraham; to carry provisions; to bear the marriage presents, which as usual would be distributed over several beasts; besides one or two spare camels in case of emergency.
went to Mesopotamia, &c.—A stranger in those regions, who wishes to obtain information, stations himself at one of the wells in the neighborhood of a town, and he is sure to learn all the news of the place from the women who frequent them every morning and evening. Eliezer followed this course, and letting his camels rest, he waited till the evening time of water drawing.
12. And he said, O Lord God of my master—The servant appears worthy of the master he served. He resolves to follow the leading of Providence; and while he shows good sense in the tokens he fixes upon of ascertaining the temper and character of the future bride, he never doubts but that in such a case God will direct him.
15-21. before he had done speaking … behold, Rebekah came out—As he anticipated, a young woman unveiled, as in pastoral regions, appeared with her pitcher on her shoulder. Her comely appearance, her affable manners, her obliging courtesy in going down the steps to fetch water not only to him but to pour it into the trough for his camels, afforded him the most agreeable surprise. She was the very person his imagination had pictured, and he proceeded to reward her civility.
22. the man took a golden earring, &c.—The ring was not for the ear, but the nose; the armlets, such as young women in Syria and Arabia still appear daily at wells decked in. They are worn from the elbow to the wrist, commonly made of silver, copper, brass, or horn.
23-27. And said, Whose daughter art thou?—After telling her name and family, the kind-hearted damsel hastened home to give notice of a stranger's arrival.
28. and told them of her mother's house these things—the female apartments. This family was in an advanced stage of pastoral life, dwelling in a settled place and a fixed habitation.
29-31. Rebekah had a brother … Laban ran out—From what we know of his character, there is reason to believe that the sight of the dazzling presents increased both his haste and his invitation.
32-49. the man came into the house, &c.—What a beautiful picture of piety, fidelity, and disinterestedness in a servant! He declined all attention to his own comforts till he had told his name and his errand.
50. Then Laban and Bethuel answered—The brothers conduct all the marriage negotiations, their father being probably dead, and without consulting their sister. Their language seems to indicate they were worshippers of the true God.
53. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and … gold—These are the usual articles, with money, that form a woman's dowry among the pastoral tribes. Rebekah was betrothed and accompanied the servant to Canaan.
64. 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.
65. she took a veil, and covered herself—The veil is an essential part of female dress. In country places it is often thrown aside, but on the appearance of a stranger, it is drawn over the face, as to conceal all but the eyes. In a bride it was a token of her reverence and subjection to her husband.
67. And Isaac brought her into his mother's … tent—thus establishing her at once in the rights and honors of a wife before he had seen her features. Disappointments often take place, but when Isaac saw his wife, "he loved her."