Read Genesis 24:42-67 at Bible Gateway.
the teaching tools of scripture
Hebrew paragraph divisions:
Gen 24:1-67 {p} The servant finds a bride for Isaac, the promised seed
Strong themes of the parashah:
Gen 23:1-20 {s} Abraham gains a possession in Canaan for a burial place
Gen 24:1-67 {p} The servant finds a bride for Isaac, the promised seed
Gen 23:1-24:67 {s+p} YHVH has not forsaken His lovingkindness or truth toward Abraham: land + descendants
genesis 23:1-24:67 chiastic structure
Gen 24:42-67 chiastic structure:
1a.1) Gen 24:42-47, The servant told Rebekah’s family how the Lord answered his prayer;
1a) Gen 24:42, Eliezer’s prayer: O Lord God of my master Abraham, now prosper the way in which I go;
1b) Gen 24:43-44a, When the virgin, whom I ask, gives me a drink + offers to draw for my camels also;
central axis) Gen 24:44b, Let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son;
2b) Gen 24:45-46, Rebekah came to the well + gave me a drink + offered to draw for the camels;
2a) Gen 24:47, She being the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him;
1a.2) Gen 24:48-52, Rebekah’s family: Let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken;
1a) Gen 24:48, I bowed my head + worshiped the Lord + blessed the Lord God who had led me;
1b) Gen 24:49, Now tell me if you will deal kindly with my master, or not, that I may turn to the right or left;
1c) Gen 24:50, Laban + Bethuel answered: It is from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good;
1d) Gen 24:51a, Here is Rebekah before you;
central axis) Gen 24:51b, Take her and go;
2d) Gen 24:51c, And let her be your master’s son’s wife;
2c) Gen 24:51d, As the Lord has spoken;
2b) Gen 24:52a, It came to pass, when Abraham’s servant heard their words;
2a) Gen 24:52b, That he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth;
1b) Gen 24:53, The servant gave jewelry of silver + gold + clothing to Rebekah/ precious things to her family;
1c) Gen 24:54-56, The servant: Let me take her + depart, that I may go to my master;
1a) Gen 24:54, They ate + drank/ he arose in the morning saying: Send me away to my master;
1b) Gen 24:55a, But her brother + mother: Let her stay with us ten days;
central axis) Gen 24:55b, After that she may go;
2b) Gen 24:56a, But he answered: Do not hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way;
2a) Gen 24:56b, Send me away so that I may go to my master;
1d) Gen 24:57-59, They asked her: Will you go with this man?/ she answered: I will go/ they sent her, her nurse, Abraham’s servant, his men away;
central axis) Gen 24:60, And they blessed Rebekah and said to her: “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands; and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them;”
2d) Gen 24:61a, Rebekah + her maids arose/ they rode on the camels + followed the man;
2c) Gen 24:61b, The servant took Rebekah and departed;
2b) Gen 24:62-65, The servant brought Rebekah to Isaac (the servant gave Isaac his bride);
1a) Gen 24:62-63a, Isaac came from the South/ went to meditate in the field in the evening;
1b) Gen 24:63b, And he lifted his eyes and looked;
central axis) Gen 24:63c, And there, the camels were coming;
2b) Gen 24:64a, Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac;
2a) Gen 24:64b-65, Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?/ It is my master;
1a) Gen 24:64b, She dismounted from her camel;
1b) Gen 24:65a, For she had said to the servant: Who is this man;
central axis) Gen 24:65b, Walking in the field to meet us?
2b) Gen 24:65c, The servant said: It is my master;
2a) Gen 24:65d, So she took a veil and covered herself;
2a.1) Gen 24:66, The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done;
2a.2) Gen 24:67, Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife;
1a) Gen 24:67a, Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent;
1b) Gen 24:67b, And he took Rebekah;
2b) Gen 24:67c, And she became his wife, and he loved her;
2a) Gen 24:67d, So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
The B pair: In 1B, the servant gave gifts to the bride. When we realize that the servant is a prophetic picture of the Holy Spirit, we understand that the gifts He has given to the Bride of Messiah, are her engagement gifts! When she accepts them and wears them, she is declaring she has accepted her Master’s Son as her Betrothed Husband, until the day she becomes His wife in deed as well as in name!
In 2B, the servant gave the gift of his bride to Isaac. That is how the pair relates. The Torah is teaching us, in other words, that the Promised Seed really does consider His Bride a precious gift from His Father’s hand! When we disparage ourselves or the assembly of believers, whether they are the church or the synagogue, we really are disparaging the honor of Almighty Elohiym, who only gives good gifts. *mind blown*
genesis 24:64-65 and the return of the king
Theme of the parashah:
The servant fulfills his oath to his master, and brings the Lord’s appointed bride for his master’s son
Finding Messiah in Torah:
We have already seen that Isaac, as the son of the promise, is an Old Testament type for Messiah, the Promised Seed. In Gen 24, Abraham (the Father) sends his servant (a.k.a. the Holy Spirit) to search for the bride (the Church) of Isaac (the Promised Seed, the Son). This event occurs AFTER the “death and resurrection” of the Promised Seed in Gen 22. In the end, the Holy Spirit, I mean, the servant, brings the Bride to the Son, as the Son goes out to meet them.
Additional readings for this parashah:
Psa 20 (my notes) | Isa 12-13 (my notes) | Joh 14 (my notes)
For further study off site:
The Camels and the Well (Brad Scott)
Eliezer and Ruach HaKodesh (Hebrew 4 Christians)
The Wealth and Power of Biblical Patriarchs (Assoc. for Biblical Research)
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