Introduction:
 
We begin this chapter with the knowledge that Esau has legally sold his birth-right to Yaakov, along with all that is attached to it, including the blessing of the first-born. Esau has also rejected the women of his parent’s bloodline (and faith) and married foreign women (idolaters), much to the chagrin of his parents.
 
We know that each of Esau’s poor decisions denote a rejection of the God of Avraham and Yitzchak and place him in a position where he cannot inherit the promises of God. Yitzchak’s journey from generational to personal faith and God’s establishing of the faith of Avraham for the next generation leads us to this final section of the Torah portion Toldot, which describes the passing on of the birth-right, family priesthood and blessing of the first-born to Yaakov, who himself has yet to have had an intimate personal encounter with the God of Avraham and Yitzchak.
 
Many have focused on Yaakov’s deception and presume flawed character and sinful practice from the present text. However, they fail to consider the fact that either Esau has knowingly kept the information about the sale of his birth-right to himself, or Yitzchak, knowing that the birth-right had been sold, has none the less failed to establish the sale by approving Yaakov as the rightful heir to the family inheritance and the blessing of the first-born, which is attached to the birth-right. While it’s true that Yaakov, encouraged by his mother, does act deceptively, it is also true that he should not have been placed in a position where he had to act this way in order to receive what was rightfully his.
 
Scripture is crystal clear regarding the reasons for God’s rejection of Esau. “Esau despised his birth-right” (Gen. 25:29-34; Heb. 12:16-17), He married women from outside of the faith of his fathers’ (Gen. 26:34-35) and subsequently, when compared to Yaakov (Israel) by the prophet, it is said of him, “Yaakov I have loved but Esau I have hated” (Malachi 1:3).
 
“16 Forbid any sexually immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birth-right for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, disallowed for he found no place, room, opportunity for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.”
 
–Hebrews 12:16-17 [Author’s translation]
 
We would be unwise to see Yaakov as a perfect human being, he clearly is not. However, it is equally unwise to impugn his character based on actions that, in the long run, prove that he is a seeker after righteousness, a follower at the heel of the Almighty. His name has many meanings and his new name Israel carries salvation in its blending of Hebrew terms. But for the time being, deception is his only means for perpetuating his calling. Make no mistake, he is seeking what is rightfully his.
 
Yitzchak was 60 years old when he fathered Esau and Yaakov (Gen. 25:26). The rabbis calculate his age to be 123 years in the present chapter, based on the fact that Ishmael was 137 when he died (Gen. 25:17) and Yitzchak lived to be 180 (Gen. 35:28). If this is correct, Esau and Yaakov would be 63 years old respectively and these events are taking place 23 years after Esau’s marriages to the daughters of Chet (Terror).
​
וַיְהִי֙ כִּֽי־זָקֵ֣ן יִצְחָ֔ק וַתִּכְהֶ֥יןָ עֵינָ֖יו מֵרְאֹ֑ת וַיִּקְרָ֞א אֶת־עֵשָׂ֣ו׀ בְּנ֣וֹ הַגָּדֹ֗ל וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ בְּנִ֔י וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו הִנֵּֽנִי׃
 
Gen 27:1 And it came to pass, that when Yitzchak was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder (hagadol: bigger, greater) son, and said unto him: ‘My son;’ and he (Esau) said to him: ‘Here I am’ (hineini).
 
While a number of rabbinical sources give varies explanations regarding the reason for Yitzchak’s failing sight, the plain meaning of the text infers old age as the cause of his blindness. One can’t help but see the providence of God at work here, given that the deception undertaken by Rivkah and Yaakov is entirely reliant on the blindness of Yitzchak, who otherwise would have spotted the deception strait away and left Yaakov without the blessing.
 
Yitzchak clearly favored his eldest son Esau, with whom he shared a love for hunting and eating wild game (Gen. 25:28). Yitzchak continues to favor Esau here, despite the grief that Esau has caused Rivkah and Yitzchak over his marriages to the daughters of Chet (Terror).
 
The fact that Yitzchak has called Esau to begin the process of imparting the blessing of the first-born, tells us that he was either unaware of the sale of the birth-right or was intentionally disregarding the fact. If the former is true the sin of the sale rests on Esau’s shoulders alone. This is consistent with the Biblical view of Esau’s character (Gen. 25:29-34, Gen. 26:34-35; Malachi 1:3; Heb. 12:16-17).
 
We now read Esau’s response, “Hineini, here I am,” the very words of the Akedah, binding of Yitzchak (Gen. 22:1, 7, 11). How is Esau’s, “hineini” (Here I am) different from that of Avraham’s? In the Akedah Avraham uses, “hineini” for the first time as a faithful response to God’s calling (Gen 22:1), secondly for the purpose of reassuring his son Yitzchak of God’s faithfulness (Gen 22:7), and finally in order to receive God’s deliverance (Gen. 22:11). Avraham uses this Hebrew term as a statement of absolute trust and faithful intention. Whereas by despising his birth-right and marrying outside the faith of his father, Esau has already shown that he has no respect for the things of God. Therefore, there can be little doubt that his “hineini” is one motivated by his base desire for power and material gain, and that in spite of God. Esau is saying, “I’m ready to receive wealth and power for my own benefit,” whereas Avraham had said, “I’m ready to humbly receive You YHVH!”
 
 וַיֹּ֕אמֶר הִנֵּה־נָ֖א זָקַ֑נְתִּי לֹ֥א יָדַ֖עְתִּי י֥וֹם מוֹתִֽי׃
וְעַתָּה֙ שָׂא־נָ֣א כֵלֶ֔יךָ תֶּלְיְךָ֖ וְקַשְׁתֶּ֑ךָ וְצֵא֙ הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה וְצ֥וּדָה לִּ֖י ׳צֵידָה׳ ״צָֽיִד׃״
וַעֲשֵׂה־לִ֨י מַטְעַמִּ֜ים כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר אָהַ֛בְתִּי וְהָבִ֥יאָה לִּ֖י וְאֹכֵ֑לָה בַּעֲב֛וּר תְּבָרֶכְךָ֥ נַפְשִׁ֖י בְּטֶ֥רֶם אָמֽוּת׃
 
Gen 27:2 And he (Yitzchak) said: ‘Behold now (hinei), I am old, I know not the day of my death. Gen 27:3 Now therefore I plead with you to take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and catch me some mitzaydi (game/hunted animal flesh); Gen 27:4 and make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul (nafshi) may bless you before I die.’
 
This is the point where Esau has an opportunity to fess up. A man of more noble character would have said, “Father I no longer have the right to receive the blessing of the first-born because I despised my birth-right, selling it to my brother and am bound by oath to make this known to you.” However, Esau does no such thing.
 
From Yitzchak’s request it seems that, as I have already stated, he is still favoring Esau based on his love for eating wild game. It appears that Yitzchak has decided to ignore Esau’s actions regarding his marriages to the daughters of Chet (terror). We must also presume that Rivkah has kept to herself the intimate prophecy that God had given her prior to the births of Esau and Yaakov (Gen. 25:22-23). Alternatively, Yitzchak is aware of it and is choosing to ignore it, though, given his character this is extremely unlikely.
 
“22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said: ‘If this has to happen, therefore, why to me?’ And she walked forth seeking HaShem (YHVH: Mercy). 23 And HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) said to her: ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be separated (made distinct) from your inner parts; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.’”
 
–Genesis 25:22-23 [Author’s translation]
 
What does, “that my soul נַפְשִׁי nafshi may bless you” mean? It could be as simple as, “When I’m full of good food and content in my body I will be in the best frame of mind for articulating the blessing effectively.” On the other hand, it may mean that Yitzchak intends to bless Esau from the core intention of his inner being as heir to the blessings of Avraham. The Hebrew נפש nefesh has multiple uses and can be read either way. However, in the strictest sense it denotes the complete person, mind, body, heart, emotion, core being, spirit and action.
 
וְרִבְקָ֣ה שֹׁמַ֔עַת בְּדַבֵּ֣ר יִצְחָ֔ק אֶל־עֵשָׂ֖ו בְּנ֑וֹ וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ עֵשָׂו֙ הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה לָצ֥וּד צַ֖יִד לְהָבִֽיא׃
 וְרִבְקָה֙ אָֽמְרָ֔ה אֶל־יַעֲקֹ֥ב בְּנָ֖הּ לֵאמֹ֑ר הִנֵּ֤ה שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙ אֶת־אָבִ֔יךָ מְדַבֵּ֛ר אֶל־עֵשָׂ֥ו אָחִ֖יךָ לֵאמֹֽר׃
 הָבִ֨יאָה לִּ֥י צַ֛יִד וַעֲשֵׂה־לִ֥י מַטְעַמִּ֖ים וְאֹכֵ֑לָה וַאֲבָרֶכְכָ֛ה לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָ֖ה לִפְנֵ֥י מוֹתִֽי׃
 
Gen 27:5 And Rivkah (Captivating) heard when Yitzchak spoke to Esau (Hairy) his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. Gen 27:6 And Rivkah spoke to Yaakov (follower, after the heel) her son, saying: ‘Behold (hinei), I heard your father speaking to Esau your brother, saying: Gen 27:7 “Bring me mitzaydi (game/hunted animal flesh), and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless you before HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), before my death.”
 
In a close-knit tenting community, it’s not unusual to overhear a conversation. There is no need to presume that Rivkah was intentionally ease dropping.
 
וְעַתָּ֥ה בְנִ֖י שְׁמַ֣ע בְּקֹלִ֑י לַאֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י מְצַוָּ֥ה אֹתָֽךְ׃
 לֶךְ־נָא֙ אֶל־הַצֹּ֔אן וְקַֽח־לִ֣י מִשָּׁ֗ם שְׁנֵ֛י גְּדָיֵ֥י עִזִּ֖ים טֹבִ֑ים וְאֶֽעֱשֶׂ֨ה אֹתָ֧ם מַטְעַמִּ֛ים לְאָבִ֖יךָ כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר אָהֵֽב׃
 וְהֵבֵאתָ֥ לְאָבִ֖יךָ וְאָכָ֑ל בַּעֲבֻ֛ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר יְבָרֶכְךָ֖ לִפְנֵ֥י מוֹתֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 27:8 Now therefore, my son, shema (listen, hear, perceive, understand and obey) my voice and do that which I command you. Gen 27:9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from there two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savory food for your father, such as he loves; Gen 27:10 and you will take it to your father, so that he may eat, that he may bless you before his death.’
 
Rivkah grabs Yaakov’s attention by using an important word, שְׁמַע shema. She is calling him to understand why he must go to his father to receive what God has for him and claim that which he has legally purchased. She is asking Yaakov to stop and take stock of the gravity of the situation and the importance of comprehending its spiritual implications.
 
Rivkah is said to have been given the promise of an allowance of two kid goats per day, as detailed in the bride price/ketubah Yitzchak had arranged for her prior to their union (Bereishsit Rabba, sect. 65. fol. 57. 4. Yarchi in loc.).
 
We should not presume that Rivkah’s motivation is unholy. After all, she has been told in an intimate conversation with God that her youngest son will rule over his brother. Her motivation is to see this come about, having already recognized the wicked nature of her eldest son, she is determined to see Yaakov prosper.
 
Of course, a wife knows just how to prepare her husband’s favourite dish and how to use food to get what she wants. Add to this the fact that she sends Yaakov to get two kid goats rather than lambs. She knows that the goat meat has a gamier flavor which is similar to the flavor of wild game.
 
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יַעֲקֹ֔ב אֶל־רִבְקָ֖ה אִמּ֑וֹ הֵ֣ן עֵשָׂ֤ו אָחִי֙ אִ֣ישׁ שָׂעִ֔ר וְאָנֹכִ֖י אִ֥ישׁ חָלָֽק׃
 אוּלַ֤י יְמֻשֵּׁ֙נִי֙ אָבִ֔י וְהָיִ֥יתִי בְעֵינָ֖יו כִּמְתַעְתֵּ֑עַ וְהֵבֵאתִ֥י עָלַ֛י קְלָלָ֖ה וְלֹ֥א בְרָכָֽה׃
 
Gen 27:11 And Yaakov said to Rivkah his mother: ‘Behold (hinei), Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Gen 27:12 What if my father were to touch me, and expose me as a mocker; and as a result, I was to bring a curse upon myself, and not a blessing?’
 
Yaakov shows that he is aware of the power of blessing and curse. He exhibits a tender conscience and appropriate trepidation toward the idea of outwitting his father.
 
The Hebrew, שָׂעִר sair meaning hairy, is also used as a noun to describe a male goat. The word play connects Esau, the hairy goat to the goat skin used to cover Yaakov.
 
וַתֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ אִמּ֔וֹ עָלַ֥י קִלְלָתְךָ֖ בְּנִ֑י אַ֛ךְ שְׁמַ֥ע בְּקֹלִ֖י וְלֵ֥ךְ קַֽח־לִֽי׃
וַיֵּ֙לֶךְ֙ וַיִּקַּ֔ח וַיָּבֵ֖א לְאִמּ֑וֹ וַתַּ֤עַשׂ אִמּוֹ֙ מַטְעַמִּ֔ים כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר אָהֵ֥ב אָבִֽיו׃
 
Gen 27:13 And his mother said unto him: ‘May your curse fall on me, my son; only shema (listen) to my voice, and go fetch me the goats.’ Gen 27:14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved.
 
Rivkah’s willingness to accept any curse that might come upon Yaakov is not as ominous as it might seem. She is certain, based on what God has told her, that her actions in deceiving Yitzchak serve a higher purpose. Keep in mind that the blessing of Yaakov will set in motion the creation of Israel and the revelation of God’s plan for redemption.
 
The fact is that Yaakov doesn’t come under a curse. He has already received an irrevocable blessing by the time it is discovered that he has deceived his father. Yitzchak affirms the blessing saying, “I’ve already blessed him and he will be blessed!”
 
It’s worth noting that following these events the Tanakh (OT) does not speak again of Rivkah interacting with Yaakov. It is possible that she never saw him again after he left her to go to Laban in Charan.
 
וַתִּקַּ֣ח רִ֠בְקָה אֶת־בִּגְדֵ֨י עֵשָׂ֜ו בְּנָ֤הּ הַגָּדֹל֙ הַחֲמֻדֹ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר אִתָּ֖הּ בַּבָּ֑יִת וַתַּלְבֵּ֥שׁ אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹ֖ב בְּנָ֥הּ הַקָּטָֽן׃ וְאֵ֗ת עֹרֹת֙ גְּדָיֵ֣י הָֽעִזִּ֔ים הִלְבִּ֖ישָׁה עַל־יָדָ֑יו וְעַ֖ל חֶלְקַ֥ת צַוָּארָֽיו׃
וַתִּתֵּ֧ן אֶת־הַמַּטְעַמִּ֛ים וְאֶת־הַלֶּ֖חֶם אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑תָה בְּיַ֖ד יַעֲקֹ֥ב בְּנָֽהּ׃
וַיָּבֹ֥א אֶל־אָבִ֖יו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אָבִ֑י וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הִנֶּ֔נִּי מִ֥י אַתָּ֖ה בְּנִֽי׃
 
Gen 27:15 And Rivkah took the choicest garments of Esau her elder (gadol: greater, bigger) son, which were with her in the home, and put them on Yaakov her younger son. Gen 27:16 And she attached the skins of the kids of the goats on top of his hands, and to the smooth of his neck. Gen 27:17 And she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Yaakov. Gen 27:18 And he came to his father, and said: ‘My father;’ and he said: ‘Here I am (hineini); who are you, my son?’
 
It seems that eastern goat hair is similar to human hair, given that this is not the only time in the TaNaKh (OT) where it is used to give the impression of hairy human skin (1 Samuel 19:13).
 
Why is it significant that it’s Yitzchak who says, “hineini” here? This powerful response of readiness was formerly spoken by Avraham in righteousness. It was the response Avraham gave to Yitzchak when he asked after the provision of the lamb for the offering of the Akedah. Here, Yitzchak, who is now a father himself, responds to the voice of Yaakov with the same words of faithful readiness that his father had once spoken in response to him. Unlike Esau whose motivation was selfish, seeking material blessing for himself, Yitzchak is selfless, expecting to give of himself, a blessing from God. Thus, he responds with a willing trust, “Hineini, here I am.”
 
The fact that Yitzchak has to ask, “Who are you, my son?” infers that Yaakov’s voice was similar enough to Esau’s, that it was difficult for Yitzchak to distinguish between them based on intonation alone. This may also allude to loss of hearing due to old age.
 
 וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יַעֲקֹ֜ב אֶל־אָבִ֗יו אָנֹכִי֙ עֵשָׂ֣ו בְּכֹרֶ֔ךָ עָשִׂ֕יתִי כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּ֖רְתָּ אֵלָ֑י קֽוּם־נָ֣א שְׁבָ֗ה וְאָכְלָה֙ מִצֵּידִ֔י בַּעֲב֖וּר תְּבָרֲכַ֥נִּי נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃
 
Gen 27:19 And Yaakov said to his father: ‘I am, Esau your first-born; I have prepared that which you spoke toward me. Arise, I plead with you, sit and eat of my mitzaydi (game/hunted animal flesh), that your soul may bless me.’
 
Yaakov is not Esau, but with regard to the birth-right and its wider application, including the blessing of the first-born, he is the legal possessor of the first-born status. Therefore, with the exception of the use of the name Esau, Yaakov is in fact telling the legal truth, “I am… your first-born.”
 
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יִצְחָק֙ אֶל־בְּנ֔וֹ מַה־זֶּ֛ה מִהַ֥רְתָּ לִמְצֹ֖א בְּנִ֑י וַיֹּ֕אמֶר כִּ֥י הִקְרָ֛ה יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ לְפָנָֽי׃
 
Gen 27:20 And Yitzchak said to his son: ‘How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?’ And he said: ‘Because of an encounter (hik’rah) with HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) your God’s (Elohim) face (l’panaiy).’
 
What does Yaakov’s statement, “your Elohim” infer? Why does the Hebrew text read, “Vayomeir kiy hik’rah HaShem Eloheicha l’panaiy”?
 
Yaakov first claims that it is because of an encounter with HaShem that he was able to come to Yitzchak in a prompt fashion with the prepared food. In fact, while it may be stretching to call his speedy delivery a miracle, it’s true to say that it has resulted from a face to face meeting with HaShem. That meeting was between Rivkah and HaShem prior to the birth of Esau and Yaakov (Gen. 25:22-23). Thus, it seems that Yaakov is either aware of Rivkah’s meeting with HaShem or is speaking prophetically. However, he is not yet in an intimate personal relationship with HaShem. This is why he says, “your Elohim.”
 
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יִצְחָק֙ אֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֔ב גְּשָׁה־נָּ֥א וַאֲמֻֽשְׁךָ֖ בְּנִ֑י הַֽאַתָּ֥ה זֶ֛ה בְּנִ֥י עֵשָׂ֖ו אִם־לֹֽא׃
 
Gen 27:21 And Yitzchak said to Yaakov: ‘Come near, I beg you, that I may touch you, my son, to discern whether you are my son Esau or not.’
 
Yitzchak appears to have heard something in Yaakov’s answer that causes him to doubt his identity. It’s possible that Yitzchak found the idea of Esau using God’s name unusual given Esau’s rejection of the symbols of family faith and his marriage to women who worshipped foreign deities.
 
 וַיִּגַּ֧שׁ יַעֲקֹ֛ב אֶל־יִצְחָ֥ק אָבִ֖יו וַיְמֻשֵּׁ֑הוּ וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הַקֹּל֙ ק֣וֹל יַעֲקֹ֔ב וְהַיָּדַ֖יִם יְדֵ֥י עֵשָֽׂו׃
 וְלֹ֣א הִכִּיר֔וֹ כִּֽי־הָי֣וּ יָדָ֗יו כִּידֵ֛י עֵשָׂ֥ו אָחִ֖יו שְׂעִרֹ֑ת וַֽיְבָרְכֵֽהוּ׃
 
Gen 27:22 And Yaakov went near to Yitzchak his father; and he (Isaac) felt him, and said: ‘The voice (ha-kol) is the voice (ha-kol) of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Esau.’ Gen 27:23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau's hands; so, he blessed him.
 
The Hebrew, “kol,” voice, can be understood to refer to the way a person speaks, that is, their manner, choice of words and subject matter. Therefore, when Yitzchak says, “The voice is the voice of Yaakov,” we could read, “The voice speaks using the kind of language Yaakov would use.”
 
Needless to say. If goat skins conveyed a true sense of the hairiness of Esau’s arms, he was truly worthy of his name.
 
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אַתָּ֥ה זֶ֖ה בְּנִ֣י עֵשָׂ֑ו וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אָֽנִי׃
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הַגִּ֤שָׁה לִּי֙ וְאֹֽכְלָה֙ מִצֵּ֣יד בְּנִ֔י לְמַ֥עַן תְּבָֽרֶכְךָ֖ נַפְשִׁ֑י וַיַּגֶּשׁ־לוֹ֙ וַיֹּאכַ֔ל וַיָּ֧בֵא ל֦וֹ יַ֖יִן וַיֵּֽשְׁתְּ׃
 
Gen 27:24 And he (Isaac) said: ‘Are you my son Esau?’ And he (Yaakov) said: ‘I am.’ Gen 27:25 And he (Isaac) said: ‘Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's mitzaydi (game/hunted animal flesh), that my soul (nafshi) may bless you.’ And he brought it near to him, and he did eat; and he brought him wine, and he drank.
 
The threefold false claim of Yaakov concludes here with the clear pronouncement, “I am.”
 
Yitzchak, convinced or not, has decided to go ahead with the blessing.
 
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו יִצְחָ֣ק אָבִ֑יו גְּשָׁה־נָּ֥א וּשְׁקָה־לִּ֖י בְּנִֽי׃
 וַיִּגַּשׁ֙ וַיִּשַּׁק־ל֔וֹ וַיָּ֛רַח אֶת־רֵ֥יחַ בְּגָדָ֖יו וַֽיְבָרֲכֵ֑הוּ וַיֹּ֗אמֶר רְאֵה֙ רֵ֣יחַ בְּנִ֔י כְּרֵ֣יחַ שָׂדֶ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בֵּרֲכ֖וֹ יְהוָֽה׃
 
Gen 27:26 And his father Yitzchak said to him: ‘Come near now, and kiss me, my son.’ Gen 27:27 And he came near, and kissed him. And he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him, and said: ‘See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which HaShem has blessed.’
 
According to a Kabbalistic interpretation, the kiss is said to have brought about the intimacy required as a catalyst for the Shekhinah (Divine presence) to alite on Yitzchak. The Divine presence bringing the blessing and God’s manifest prophetic power.
 
The Palmist, speaking of the Messiah, says:
 
“Your throne, O Elohim, is for ever and ever: the scepter of Your kingdom is a right scepter. You love righteousness, and hate wickedness: therefore Elohim, Your Elohim, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your friends. All Your garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made You glad.”
 
–Tehillim/Psalm 45:6-8 [Author’s translation]
 
וְיִֽתֶּן־לְךָ֙ הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים מִטַּל֙ הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּמִשְׁמַנֵּ֖י הָאָ֑רֶץ וְרֹ֥ב דָּגָ֖ן וְתִירֹֽשׁ׃
 
Gen 27:28 ‘May the God/Judge (Ha-Elohim) give you of the dew of the heavens, and of the fat places of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine.
 
The Hebrew, “Ha-Elohim” the God, has the definite article and thus denotes God as Judge and Ruler, setting Him apart from and above all other elohiym (gods, judges). The blessing is an established reality decreed by the King of the universe, the Judge of all things.
 
The grain and wine, while understood to become a literal reality, are also symbolic of both necessities (grain, our daily bread) and pleasures (wine, celebration of life). A spiritual רמז Remez (hint at something deeper) also seems to be inferred. The dew of the heavens is symbolic of אמרה emrah (Word essence of God) and with regard to watering the earth and fattening the land the rain represents God’s לקח lekakh (received instruction, lesson). The end result being the proclamation and reality of the greatness of God our Judge and King, His Messiah the Rock and His perfect redemptive work.
 
“My instruction shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Because I will publish the name of HaShem (Mercy): ascribe all of you, greatness unto our Elohim. The Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are verdicts: an Elohim of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.”
 
–D’varim/Deuteronomy 32:2-4 [Author’s translation]
 
 יַֽעַבְד֣וּךָ עַמִּ֗ים ׳וְיִשְׁתַּחוּ׳ ״וְיִֽשְׁתַּחֲו֤וּ״ לְךָ֙ לְאֻמִּ֔ים הֱוֵ֤ה גְבִיר֙ לְאַחֶ֔יךָ וְיִשְׁתַּחֲוּ֥וּ לְךָ֖ בְּנֵ֣י אִמֶּ֑ךָ אֹרְרֶ֣יךָ אָר֔וּר וּֽמְבָרֲכֶ֖יךָ בָּרֽוּךְ׃
 
Gen 27:29 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord (adon) over your brothers, and let your mother's children bow down to you. Cursed be every one that curses you, and blessed be every one that blesses you.’
 
This portion of the blessing confers the blessings of Avraham upon Yaakov and makes it impossible for curse to cause him lasting harm. All the nations will one day bow before Yaakov’s greater Son, the Messiah Yeshua:
 
“Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him.”
 
–Tehillim/Psalm 72:11
 
וַיְהִ֗י כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר כִּלָּ֣ה יִצְחָק֮ לְבָרֵ֣ךְ אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹב֒ וַיְהִ֗י אַ֣ךְ יָצֹ֤א יָצָא֙ יַעֲקֹ֔ב מֵאֵ֥ת פְּנֵ֖י יִצְחָ֣ק אָבִ֑יו וְעֵשָׂ֣ו אָחִ֔יו בָּ֖א מִצֵּידֽוֹ׃ וַיַּ֤עַשׂ גַּם־הוּא֙ מַטְעַמִּ֔ים וַיָּבֵ֖א לְאָבִ֑יו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְאָבִ֗יו יָקֻ֤ם אָבִי֙ וְיֹאכַל֙ מִצֵּ֣יד בְּנ֔וֹ בַּעֲב֖וּר תְּבָרֲכַ֥נִּי נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֛וֹ יִצְחָ֥ק אָבִ֖יו מִי־אָ֑תָּה וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אֲנִ֛י בִּנְךָ֥ בְכֹֽרְךָ֖ עֵשָֽׂו׃
 
Gen 27:30 And it came to pass, as soon as Yitzchak had made an end of blessing Yaakov, and Yaakov had only just gone out (yatza, yatza) from the presence of Yitzchak his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. Gen 27:31 And he also made savory food, and brought it to his father; and he said unto his father: ‘Let my father arise, and eat of his son's game, that your soul (nafsh’icha) may bless me.’ Gen 27:32 And Yitzchak his father said to him: ‘Who are you?’ And he said: ‘I am your son, your first-born, Esau.’
 
The doubling of the Hebrew word, יָצָא yatza, translated, “just gone out” can mean, “one passed the other,” one going out, one going in. If this translation is correct, then the brothers came face to face as they passed one another, Yaakov exiting and Esau entering. This makes the context all the more intense (excuse the pun).
 
Genesis Rabbah explains that Angels of Hashem had prevented Esau from getting game (Bereishsit Rabba, sect. 67. fol. 59. 3), and the Targums say that Esau, being without game, killed a dog and made savory meat out of it. Regardless of whether these conjectures are true or not, they show that the Jewish view reflects God’s disgust at Esau’s actions and favors Yaakov’s actions in spite of the deceit involved. If nothing else, in the case of Yaakov, we learn that a righteous person, though flawed, is chosen.
 
Esau is only telling a part truth. He is the physical first-born son but he is no longer the holder of the birth-right of the first-born.
 
 וַיֶּחֱרַ֨ד יִצְחָ֣ק חֲרָדָה֮ גְּדֹלָ֣ה עַד־מְאֹד֒ וַיֹּ֡אמֶר מִֽי־אֵפ֡וֹא ה֣וּא הַצָּֽד־צַיִד֩ וַיָּ֨בֵא לִ֜י וָאֹכַ֥ל מִכֹּ֛ל בְּטֶ֥רֶם תָּב֖וֹא וָאֲבָרֲכֵ֑הוּ גַּם־בָּר֖וּךְ יִהְיֶֽה׃
 
Gen 27:33 And Yitzchak trembled (gedolah ad meod) very exceedingly, and said: ‘Who then is he that has taken game, and brought it me, and I have eaten it all before you came, and have blessed him? yes, and he shall be blessed.’
 
Why did Yitzchak tremble very greatly? The power of blessing resides within the one who blesses. All blessing comes from God and Yitzchak is aware of this. He had favored Esau for shallow reasons, but had intended the blessing for him none the less. With the dawning of the knowledge that he may have blessed Esau’s brother in his place, Yitzchak trembled because he knew that the one whom God has blessed is blessed and that God keeps His word. “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). Thus, Yitzchak says, “Yes, and he will be blessed!”
 
כִּשְׁמֹ֤עַ עֵשָׂו֙ אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֣י אָבִ֔יו וַיִּצְעַ֣ק צְעָקָ֔ה גְּדֹלָ֥ה וּמָרָ֖ה עַד־מְאֹ֑ד וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְאָבִ֔יו בָּרֲכֵ֥נִי גַם־אָ֖נִי אָבִֽי׃
 וַיֹּ֕אמֶר בָּ֥א אָחִ֖יךָ בְּמִרְמָ֑ה וַיִּקַּ֖ח בִּרְכָתֶֽךָ׃
 וַיֹּ֡אמֶר הֲכִי֩ קָרָ֨א שְׁמ֜וֹ יַעֲקֹ֗ב וַֽיַּעְקְבֵ֙נִי֙ זֶ֣ה פַעֲמַ֔יִם אֶת־בְּכֹרָתִ֣י לָקָ֔ח וְהִנֵּ֥ה עַתָּ֖ה לָקַ֣ח בִּרְכָתִ֑י וַיֹּאמַ֕ר הֲלֹא־אָצַ֥לְתָּ לִּ֖י בְּרָכָֽה׃
 
Gen 27:34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding (gadol) great and bitter cry, and said to his father: ‘Bless me, even me also, O my father.’ Gen 27:35 And he (Isaac) said: ‘Your brother came with mir’mah (subtlety), and has taken away your blessing.’ Gen 27:36 And he (Esau) said: ‘Is not he rightly named Yaakov? for he has outwitted me these two times: he took away my birth-right; and, behold, now he has taken away my blessing.’ And he said: ‘Have you not reserved a blessing for me?’
 
The Targums and Yarchi both interpret the Hebrew מִרְמָה mir’mah as, “wisdom.” Thus, they read, “Your brother came with wisdom.”
 
This may be the first time Yitzchak has heard of the sale of the birth-right?
 
The context denotes a conversational response. Esau makes a play on words here, using the Hebrew, יַּעְקְבֵנִי ya’keveiniy from the root עקב eikev which Yaakov’s name is derived from. It can mean both heel and outwit or deceive.
 
It’s important that we note the fact that Esau is lying when he says, “he took away my birth-right.” Yaakov did not take away Esau’s birth-right, to the contrary, Esau despised his birth-right and sold it for a pot of stew (Gen. 25:34). This was done under oath and thus Esau had invoked a curse upon himself by breaking the oath and seeking the birth-right in spite of his having sold it.
 
Given that the blessing of the first-born belongs to the child who holds the birth-right, Esau is also incorrect in saying that Yaakov took his blessing. In fact, Yaakov received from his father (albeit through deception) that which was rightfully his. The Hebrew, בְּכֹרָתִ֣י “bekhoratiy” my birth-right, and בִּרְכָתִי “Birkhatiy” my blessing, share the same root consonants. Thus, they are related both linguistically and spiritually. They are אחד echad, a complex unity.
 
Like all those who sell their heritage to satisfy a temporary hunger, Esau is now surprised to find that he has also had his identity taken from him.
 
 וַיַּ֨עַן יִצְחָ֜ק וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְעֵשָׂ֗ו הֵ֣ן גְּבִ֞יר שַׂמְתִּ֥יו לָךְ֙ וְאֶת־כָּל־אֶחָ֗יו נָתַ֤תִּי לוֹ֙ לַעֲבָדִ֔ים וְדָגָ֥ן וְתִירֹ֖שׁ סְמַכְתִּ֑יו וּלְכָ֣ה אֵפ֔וֹא מָ֥ה אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֖ה בְּנִֽי׃
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר עֵשָׂ֜ו אֶל־אָבִ֗יו הַֽבְרָכָ֨ה אַחַ֤ת הִֽוא־לְךָ֙ אָבִ֔י בָּרֲכֵ֥נִי גַם־אָ֖נִי אָבִ֑י וַיִּשָּׂ֥א עֵשָׂ֛ו קֹל֖וֹ וַיֵּֽבְךְּ׃
 
Gen 27:37 And Yitzchak answered and said unto Esau: ‘Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him; and what then shall I do for you, my so?’ Gen 27:38 And Esau said to his father: ‘Have you only got one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.’ And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
 
Esau clearly understands that there is power in blessing but wrongly concludes that the blessing comes from Yitzchak.
 
“16 Forbid any sexually immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birth-right for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, disallowed for he found no place, room, opportunity for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.”
 
–Hebrews 12:16-17 [Author’s translation]
 
 וַיַּ֛עַן יִצְחָ֥ק אָבִ֖יו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֑יו הִנֵּ֞ה מִשְׁמַנֵּ֤י הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה מֽוֹשָׁבֶ֔ךָ וּמִטַּ֥ל הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם מֵעָֽל׃
וְעַל־חַרְבְּךָ֣ תִֽחְיֶ֔ה וְאֶת־אָחִ֖יךָ תַּעֲבֹ֑ד וְהָיָה֙ כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר תָּרִ֔יד וּפָרַקְתָּ֥ עֻלּ֖וֹ מֵעַ֥ל צַוָּארֶֽךָ׃
 
Gen 27:39 And Yitzchak his father answered and said to him: ‘Behold, of the fat places of the earth shall be your dwelling, and of the dew of heaven from above; Gen 27:40 And by the sword shall you live, and you shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass when you shall break loose, that you will shake his yoke from off your neck.
 
Yitzchak can only bless Esau according to God’s will; thus, Esau’s blessing takes on the appearance of a curse. He will not benefit from the fat land; he will only dwell in it. He will have to fight to survive, living by the sword rather than the plough. And, he will serve his brother. The last clause is prophetic of the future when Esau’s descendants will break free of the yoke of Israel (Yaakov) [2 Kings 8:20-22, 2 Chronicles 28:17].
 
‘3 And Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a desolation and left his inheritance to the jackals of the wilderness.” 4 Though Edom (Esau’s descendants) says, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins”; this is what Adonay Tzevaot the LORD Who goes warring says: “They may build, but I will tear down; and they will be called the border of wickedness, and the people whom the Lord has cursed forever.” 5 And your eyes will see this, and you will say, “YHVH The Lord is exalted beyond the border of Israel!”’
 
–Malachi 1:3-5 [Author’s translation]
 
 וַיִּשְׂטֹ֤ם עֵשָׂו֙ אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹ֔ב עַל־הַ֨בְּרָכָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בֵּרֲכ֖וֹ אָבִ֑יו וַיֹּ֨אמֶר עֵשָׂ֜ו בְּלִבּ֗וֹ יִקְרְבוּ֙ יְמֵי֙ אֵ֣בֶל אָבִ֔י וְאַֽהַרְגָ֖ה אֶת־יַעֲקֹ֥ב אָחִֽי׃
 
Gen 27:41 And Esau hated Yaakov because of the blessing his father had blessed him with. And Esau said in his heart (lev, inner being): ‘Let the days of mourning for my father be completed; then will I slay my brother Yaakov.’
 
Esau’s hatred for Yaakov reveals his true character. Like Cain he is jealous of his brother and seeks his death. Note that rather than seeking God, Esau says these things to himself. They are the thoughts and feelings of his core being (B’lev).
 
וַיֻּגַּ֣ד לְרִבְקָ֔ה אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֥י עֵשָׂ֖ו בְּנָ֣הּ הַגָּדֹ֑ל וַתִּשְׁלַ֞ח וַתִּקְרָ֤א לְיַעֲקֹב֙ בְּנָ֣הּ הַקָּטָ֔ן וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֔יו הִנֵּה֙ עֵשָׂ֣ו אָחִ֔יךָ מִתְנַחֵ֥ם לְךָ֖ לְהָרְגֶֽךָ׃
 
Gen 27:42 And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rivkah; and she sent and called Yaakov her younger son, and said unto him: ‘Behold (hinei), your brother Esau, in thinking of you, comforts himself, with plans to kill you.
 
How were the words of Esau communicated to Rivkah if, as the text says, they were spoken in his heart/core-being/mind? The most reasonable solution is that God informed Rivkah of Esau’s plan to kill Yaakov. The Targum of Yonatan and the writings of Yarchi affirm this saying, “the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rivkah by the Ruach Ha-kodesh (Holy Spirit).”
 
וְעַתָּ֥ה בְנִ֖י שְׁמַ֣ע בְּקֹלִ֑י וְק֧וּם בְּרַח־לְךָ֛ אֶל־לָבָ֥ן אָחִ֖י חָרָֽנָה׃
 וְיָשַׁבְתָּ֥ עִמּ֖וֹ יָמִ֣ים אֲחָדִ֑ים עַ֥ד אֲשֶׁר־תָּשׁ֖וּב חֲמַ֥ת אָחִֽיךָ׃
 עַד־שׁ֨וּב אַף־אָחִ֜יךָ מִמְּךָ֗ וְשָׁכַח֙ אֵ֣ת אֲשֶׁר־עָשִׂ֣יתָ לּ֔וֹ וְשָׁלַחְתִּ֖י וּלְקַחְתִּ֣יךָ מִשָּׁ֑ם לָמָ֥ה אֶשְׁכַּ֛ל גַּם־שְׁנֵיכֶ֖ם י֥וֹם אֶחָֽד׃
 
Gen 27:43  Now therefore, my son, shema (listen to  and obey) my voice; and arise, flee to Laban (white) my brother to Charan (scorched mountain); Gen 27:44 and stay with him a number of days, until your brother's fury is turned away; Gen 27:45  until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets that which you have done to him; then I will send, and fetch you from there; why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?’
 
It seems that, “bereaved of you both” indicates that Esau would be put to death according to moral law (Gen. 9:6) if he were to kill his brother Yaakov.
 
וַתֹּ֤אמֶר רִבְקָה֙ אֶל־יִצְחָ֔ק קַ֣צְתִּי בְחַיַּ֔י מִפְּנֵ֖י בְּנ֣וֹת חֵ֑ת אִם־לֹקֵ֣חַ יַ֠עֲקֹב אִשָּׁ֨ה מִבְּנֽוֹת־חֵ֤ת כָּאֵ֙לֶּה֙ מִבְּנ֣וֹת הָאָ֔רֶץ לָ֥מָּה לִּ֖י חַיִּֽים׃
 
Gen 27:46 And Rivkah said to Yitzchak: ‘I abhor my life because of the daughters of Chet (terror). If Yaakov takes a wife of the daughters of Chet, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?’
 
Rivkah, using the dislike both she and Yitzchak share for the practices of the daughters of Chet (Who are considered by Jewish sources to be idolaters), convinces Yitzchak to send Yaakov to Laban in order to get a wife from the family bloodline. This serves to preserve both Yaakov’s life and the lineage of Avraham. Thus, the stage is set for Yaakov’s years of servitude to Laban. Yaakov will not enter directly into blessing; the blessing will come but it will come in God’s timing. Yaakov must wrestle with the One Who blesses and discover that true blessing is found in right, intimate relationship with HaShem.
 
© 2026 Yaakov Ben Yehoshua

Introduction:
 
Genesis 26 is the central chapter of the Torah portion תּוֹלְדֹת‎ “Toldot,” meaning generations. This portion is key to the extension of God’s plan for Israel and His irrevocable covenant with Avraham. This chapter plays a pivotal role in explaining the continuity of Avraham’s covenant as it is confirmed (not re-established) through Isaac and will be confirmed again through Jacob, not as a result of either Isaac or Jacob’s character but as a result of Avraham’s having accepted God’s Word (Davar[H], logos[G]) through trust (ref. Gen. 15:18-21; Ex. 6:8; Psa. 105:9-12). This is why the text reminds us that it is as a consequence of Avraham’s trust in God that God has passed the covenant promises on to Isaac, Jacob and therefore, the chosen, ethnic, religious, empirical children of Israel.
 
Chapter 25 ended with Esau despising his birth right and the priestly role as head of the family, thus rejecting the faith of his father Isaac and by extension, the faith of Avraham. The current chapter ends with Esau making more poor choices and bringing grief and bitterness to Yitzchak and Rivkah. We may ask, why is the sin of Esau emphasized here? Why is it so important to distinguish him as one who grieves his parents? The answer is found in the establishment of the covenant of Avraham. The righteous line of Avraham will benefit from the trust of Avraham. This covenant is to be generational and must pass to those who will establish it for each subsequent generation. It is for this reason also that Yitzchak must experience similar trials to those of his father.
 
This text is not the story of Avraham with Yitzchak’s name inserted (as some foolish critics conclude). This is the third account of its kind, the former two being those enacted by Avraham and Sarah, however, this is a story that is as unique to Yitzchak and Rivkah as it is similar to the accounts of Avraham and Sarah. It is a story of both continuation and personal revelation, of struggling and overcoming. It’s important to note that verse 1 intentionally distinguishes this account from the former famine of Avraham’s time. The similarities in the three accounts should not blind us to the divergent details. For example, Rivkah, unlike Sarah, is not taken from her husband. The former wells have been stopped up and the covenant reneged upon. We add to this Avimelech’s agitation in verses 10 and 11, which is clearly in response to a precedent that has previously been set and is clearly already known to him, i.e., the warning of Gen. 20:7. Thus, the present events allude to the former and presuppose the latter.
 
Therefore, Yitzchak, through circumstances similar to those experienced by Avraham, learns to trust HaShem for himself. This is an important illumination of generational trust (faith) in God. The parent must pass on the instruction of God, and the child must respond. Salvation comes to both family and the individual, everyone must choose God freely for himself. God does (contrary to the popular Christian truism) have grandchildren, however, they are not grandchildren by osmosis but by free will.
 
וַיְהִ֤י רָעָב֙ בָּאָ֔רֶץ מִלְּבַד֙ הָרָעָ֣ב הָרִאשׁ֔וֹן אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָיָ֖ה בִּימֵ֣י אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיֵּ֧לֶךְ יִצְחָ֛ק אֶל־אֲבִימֶּ֥לֶךְ מֶֽלֶךְ־פְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים גְּרָֽרָה׃
 
Gen 26:1 And there was a famine (רָעָב ra’av – hunger) in the land, separate from the famine (hunger) that had first come to pass in the days of Avraham (Father of many nations). And walking forth Yitzchak (He laughs) went to Avimelech (My father is king) king of the Pilishtiym (immigrants, invaders), he was heading toward Gerar (lodging place).
 
This chapter, like so many other accounts of its kind, gives an overview statement prior to presenting the details of the events. Verse 1 stresses the fact that this is not a repetition of a former account, so as to dispel any future revisionist attempts to discount its authenticity. The writer is Moses, who, from oral tradition (often as reliable as the written tradition and at times more reliable due to its one on one passing down of meticulously memorized details) and by the revelation of God, has recorded Israel’s history at Sinai. These words, penned at Sinai are connected generationally to factual history. There is no good reason to doubt either the writer or the information gathering process.
 
The Pilishtiym, both here and in the previous episodes, are thought to be referred to in general terms, that is, as immigrants or invaders, which is the meaning of the Hebrew Philishtiym. This is because historians place the migration of the Pilishtiym at a much later date in history (1200 BCE). Regardless, they are an ancient immigrant people that died out long before the first century C.E. and have absolutely no relationship to the modern invention of a Palestinian people. Those who call themselves Palestinians today are a collective of Arabs, Egyptians and various subgroups who, like the ancient Philishtiym, invaded the land, and act as enemies to the descendants of Jacob, and that is where the similarities end. This is essential to understanding the ongoing struggle for the land of Israel, formerly known as Canaan, to this day.
 
The fact that Avimelech is still alive either means that he had been much younger than Avraham, or that the name is in fact a Title, “My father the king,” much like the title Pharaoh which is not a proper noun.
 
Yitzchak’s journey is said by the rabbis to represent the future exile to Babylon, just as Avraham’s journey represented Israel’s descent into Egypt and captivity.
 
The Hebrew, רָעָב ra’av translated as famine, means hunger. One reads a twofold meaning here: famine affects the land; hunger impacts both individuals and communities. Spiritual famine is the result of spiritual decay within an environment and spiritual hunger, a desperate cry for redemption from those living under the weight of moral degradation.
 
 וַיֵּרָ֤א אֵלָיו֙ יְהוָ֔ה וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַל־תֵּרֵ֣ד מִצְרָ֑יְמָה שְׁכֹ֣ן בָּאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֹמַ֥ר אֵלֶֽיךָ׃
 
Gen 26:2 And seeing, perceiving, appearing (vayira) HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) said: “Do not descend to Mitzrayimah (Egypt, double straits/distress); settle in the land which I tell you to go toward.”
 
Rav Mizrachi explains that when Yitzchak was placed on the altar of the Akiedah (The Binding), he became the equivalent of an elevation offering that is to be entirely consumed on the altar of sacrifice. This kind of offering was not to be removed from the Temple courtyard. Thus, Rashi reads, “Do not descend to Egypt (bondage) for you are an unblemished offering, and it is not proper for you to reside outside the land (Eretz Israel).”
 
Egypt was a place of certain sustenance and provision, whereas Gerar was as famine affected as Hebron. If Yitzchak is to obey God he must choose to travel from famine to famine and trust that God will provide for his needs. There are times in our spiritual journey when we go from one desert season to another and wonder when relief will come. In these compounded seasons we are left with a choice to lean further into trusting God or to allow self-pity and fatalism to destroy us. A desert can be survived when one listens to a desert guide.
 
גּ֚וּר בָּאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את וְאֶֽהְיֶ֥ה עִמְּךָ֖ וַאֲבָרְכֶ֑ךָּ כִּֽי־לְךָ֣ וּֽלְזַרְעֲךָ֗ אֶתֵּן֙ אֶת־כָּל־הָֽאֲרָצֹ֣ת הָאֵ֔ל וַהֲקִֽמֹתִי֙ אֶת־הַשְּׁבֻעָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖עְתִּי לְאַבְרָהָ֥ם אָבִֽיךָ׃
 וְהִרְבֵּיתִ֤י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ כְּכוֹכְבֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְנָתַתִּ֣י לְזַרְעֲךָ֔ אֵ֥ת כָּל־הָאֲרָצֹ֖ת הָאֵ֑ל וְהִתְבָּרֲכ֣וּ בְזַרְעֲךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל גּוֹיֵ֥י הָאָֽרֶץ׃
 
Gen 26:3  Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you, and to your seed (zera Gen.3:15, 22:18), I will give all these lands (Ha-aratzot), and I will stand up, arise and establish (v’hakeemotiy) the oath which I swore to Avraham (Father of many nations) your father; Gen 26:4  and I will make great (multiply) your seed (zera) as the stars of the heavens, and will give to your seed (zera) all these lands (Ha-aratzot); and kneeling to be blessed (v’heet’brachoo) in your seed, will be all the nations of the earth (Ha-aretz);
 
Faced with the decision to remain in the land of Israel in spite of the famine, rather than going to Egypt where the Nile River feed the rich crops of the delta, Yitzchak, like Avraham before him, must choose to trust God for the future fulfilment of His promises (Hebrews 11:9-10).
 
This repetition of God’s former promise to Avraham is not a renewal of the promise, nor is it a new promise, rather it is the firm establishment of the generational promise and a precursor to the fulfilment of the generational covenant originally made with and through Avraham (ref. Gen. 15:18-21; Ex. 6:8; Psa. 105:9-12). This covenant is entirely reliant on God and not on the deeds or misdeeds of His servants. God is simply saying to Yitzchak, who has yet to complete his faith journey, “In case you had any doubts, I’m reminding you that I will keep my promises.” The Hebrew idiom, “I will arise, stand up” is intended to convey God’s active participation in and acknowledgement of His creation and His purposes for His servants. This same phrase is used frequently in the Genesis creation accounts, and refutes outright the heretical theological lie that says God does not continue to participate in the sin affected created order.
 
The Hebrew זרע “zera” seed, is the same term used in Genesis 3:15 & Genesis 22:18, which is singular but can be understood in Hebrew to also denote the sum of a man’s progeny in the plural sense and thus lends itself to ambiguity. Rav Shaul (Paul the Apostle) makes a d’rash (comparative teaching) on the Genesis 22:18 text saying:
 
“The promises were spoken to Avraham and to his seed (zera). Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Mashiyach (Messiah Yeshua). What I mean is this: The Torah, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by Elohim and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the Torah, then it no longer depends on the promise; but Elohim in His grace gave it to Avraham through a promise.”
 
–Galatians 3:16-18 [Author’s translation]
 
It’s worth noting that the Hebrew text says, “I will give your seed all the lands הָאֲרָצֹת (plural: Ha-atzarot),” rather than simply saying, “I will give your seed the land הארץ (Ha-Aretz).” This makes it impossible to confuse the legitimacy of Israel’s Promised Land, made up of the lands of each of her yet to be born tribes.
 
עֵ֕קֶב אֲשֶׁר־שָׁמַ֥ע אַבְרָהָ֖ם בְּקֹלִ֑י וַיִּשְׁמֹר֙ מִשְׁמַרְתִּ֔י מִצְוֺתַ֖י חֻקּוֹתַ֥י וְתוֹרֹתָֽי׃
 
Gen 26:5 As a consequence of Avraham listening, hearing, understanding and obeying (Shema) My voice, and guarding (keeping) My safeguards (mishmar’tiy), My (mitzvotay) right actions (commands), my decrees (Chookotay), and My (Torahtay) instructions.”
 
This is the explanation for the repetition of the blessing and covenant given to Avraham. It is due to Avraham’s trust and obedience that his son Yitzchak has been given the generational promises of God. However, in order to receive God’s promises Yitzchak must exhibit trust of his own.
 
The specific instructional terms used here convey detailed forms of obedience. The Safeguards מִשְׁמַרְתִּ֔י (mishmar’tiy) are intended to serve as barriers against infringement. The right actions, positive commandments, מִצְוֺתַ֖י (mitzvotay) are the laws that innate moral sense dictates. The decrees חֻקּוֹתַ֥י (Chookotay) are laws that human reason cannot always explain but are given for our good as a result of God’s greater knowledge of His creation. Thus, they are considered to be like Royal decrees, which God our King enacts on His subjects. The instructions תוֹרֹתָֽי (Torahtay) refer to the written, even engraved word of God. The rabbis conclude that the plural refers to both the written Torah and oral Torah (Mishnah). What is certain is that Avraham obeyed God in a wide range of ways and was ultimately attentive to God’s voice, קוֹל “Kol.”
 
 וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב יִצְחָ֖ק בִּגְרָֽר׃
 וַֽיִּשְׁאֲל֞וּ אַנְשֵׁ֤י הַמָּקוֹם֙ לְאִשְׁתּ֔וֹ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֲחֹ֣תִי הִ֑וא כִּ֤י יָרֵא֙ לֵאמֹ֣ר אִשְׁתִּ֔י פֶּן־יַֽהַרְגֻ֜נִי אַנְשֵׁ֤י הַמָּקוֹם֙ עַל־רִבְקָ֔ה כִּֽי־טוֹבַ֥ת מַרְאֶ֖ה הִֽיא׃
 
Gen 26:6 And Yitzchak dwelt in Gerar (lodging place). Gen 26:7 And enquiring, the men of that place asked him for his wife; and he said: “She is my sister”; for he feared to say: “My wife”; “Or the men of this place might kill me for Rivkah (Captivating), because she is beautiful to look upon.”
 
Yitzchak was well aware of the way the people of Canaan, the invading Pilishtiym, treated others. He had witnessed it as a young man dwelling in his father’s camp and had no reason to believe that Avimelech (the current ruler) and his people had changed their ways. After all, as we soon see, they have stopped up the wells of Avraham thus breaking the covenant oath which they had made with him before God. It is a mistake to presume that Yitzchak is being intentionally deceptive, or to call his actions sin. They are in fact the actions of a righteous man who is seeking to protect and defend his household.
 
Some suggest that by calling Rivkah his sister, Yitzchak places her in greater danger, however, given the cultural, historical context and the explanation Yitzchak gives to Avimelech later in the account, it is in fact the opposite that is true. By calling Rivkah his sister Yitzchak prevents Avimelech’s men killing him in order to take Rivkah (his wife). This is because cultural historical tradition required that a man seeking to bed/wed Rivkah, a single woman (sister), must approach the male relative responsible for her and make a proposal, prepare a home and pay a bride price in order to take her into his bed. According to the text Rivkah was extremely beautiful, which means the men would have been fighting among themselves for the pleasure of possessing her and would thus be compelled to pursue the traditional process of outbidding each other to pay her bride price. Yitzchak’s subterfuge was extremely effective, as can be seen from the many days he and Rivkah experienced, devoid of harassment, prior to Avimelech discovering their ruse.
 
וַיְהִ֗י כִּ֣י אָֽרְכוּ־ל֥וֹ שָׁם֙ הַיָּמִ֔ים וַיַּשְׁקֵ֗ף אֲבִימֶ֙לֶךְ֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים בְּעַ֖ד הַֽחַלּ֑וֹן וַיַּ֗רְא וְהִנֵּ֤ה יִצְחָק֙ מְצַחֵ֔ק אֵ֖ת רִבְקָ֥ה אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 26:8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Avimelech king of the Pilishtiym looked out a window, and saw, and, behold, Yitzchak was sporting with, fondling Rivkah his wife.
 
Much time has passed and Yitzchak has obviously become comfortable in his surroundings, thus he seems to be less careful with regard to how he is seen to interact with his wife. The Hebrew word play between Yitzchak’s יִצְחָק name and the term צַחֵק tzacheik (sporting, playing, fondling), is meant to convey a sense of relaxed laughter and free play. Thus, supporting the notion that Yitzchak had become settled in the land and felt much safer than he had previously.
 
The term “window” may indicate that Yitzchak and Rivkah were now living in the small village community of Gerar, perhaps even in a solid dwelling, or at very least their tent community lived very nearby.
 
וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֲבִימֶ֜לֶךְ לְיִצְחָ֗ק וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אַ֣ךְ הִנֵּ֤ה אִשְׁתְּךָ֙ הִ֔וא וְאֵ֥יךְ אָמַ֖רְתָּ אֲחֹ֣תִי הִ֑וא וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ יִצְחָ֔ק כִּ֣י אָמַ֔רְתִּי פֶּן־אָמ֖וּת עָלֶֽיהָ׃
 
Gen 26:9 And Avimelech called Yitzchak, and said: “Behold, certainly she is your wife; how could you say, “She is my sister?” And Yitzchak said to him: “Because I said: they might kill me because of her.”
 
As alluded to previously, this was a reasonable assumption on Yitzchak’s part, given the lack of moral character exhibited by Avimelech and his people in the past and the fact that they had now stopped up Avraham’s wells and reneged on the covenant they had made with him.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲבִימֶ֔לֶךְ מַה־זֹּ֖את עָשִׂ֣יתָ לָּ֑נוּ כִּ֠מְעַט שָׁכַ֞ב אַחַ֤ד הָעָם֙ אֶת־אִשְׁתֶּ֔ךָ וְהֵבֵאתָ֥ עָלֵ֖ינוּ אָשָֽׁם׃
 
Gen 26:10 And Avimelech said: “What is this you have done to us? One of the people (Ha-am) might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”
 
The Hebrew הָעָם Ha-am (the people) is interesting. It may indicate that sexual immorality like that of S’dom was being practiced by the Pilishtiym.
 
Another view suggests that Avimelech is referring to the “One over the people,” a ruling title denoting Avimelech himself. However, this is at best a dubious reading of the Hebrew.
 
וַיְצַ֣ו אֲבִימֶ֔לֶךְ אֶת־כָּל־הָעָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר הַנֹּגֵ֜עַ בָּאִ֥ישׁ הַזֶּ֛ה וּבְאִשְׁתּ֖וֹ מ֥וֹת יוּמָֽת׃
 
Gen 26:11 And Avimelech charged all the people, saying: “Anyone that touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
 
Avimelech, while a covenant breaker, is none the less familiar with the servants of HaShem and the protection and prosperity they experience in His service. Thus, his somewhat fearful warning to his people. The warning also shows that Avimelech knew his people were likely to do the very thing he warned against, thus the severe punishment that accompanied his decree. The irony of Avimelech’s powerless decree is not lost on this reader. In the end it is the decree of the King of kings that will prevail.
 
 וַיִּזְרַ֤ע יִצְחָק֙ בָּאָ֣רֶץ הַהִ֔וא וַיִּמְצָ֛א בַּשָּׁנָ֥ה הַהִ֖וא מֵאָ֣ה שְׁעָרִ֑ים וַֽיְבָרֲכֵ֖הוּ יְהוָֽה׃
 וַיִּגְדַּ֖ל הָאִ֑ישׁ וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ הָלוֹךְ֙ וְגָדֵ֔ל עַ֥ד כִּֽי־גָדַ֖ל מְאֹֽד׃
 
Gen 26:12 And Yitzchak sowed in that land, attaining in the same year a hundredfold measure; and blessing from HaShem (YHVH: Mercy). Gen 26:13 And the man (Isaac) became great, and grew more and more until he became very great.
 
God had promised to be with Yitzchak and prosper him and that is exactly what happened. The numerical value of a hundred is ten by ten, that is completion multiplied by completion, fullness multiplied by fullness. This kind of harvest was nothing short of miraculous in a drought ridden climate during a time of famine.
 
 וַֽיְהִי־ל֤וֹ מִקְנֵה־צֹאן֙ וּמִקְנֵ֣ה בָקָ֔ר וַעֲבֻדָּ֖ה רַבָּ֑ה וַיְקַנְא֥וּ אֹת֖וֹ פְּלִשְׁתִּֽים׃
 
Gen 26:14 And he had flocks, and herds of cattle, and a great many servants; and the Pilishtiym envied him.
 
The Pilishtiym clearly felt threatened by Yitzchak’s success. This resentment of the Jewish alien would become a cyclic historical reality and continues to this day. The irony here being that the ancient Pilishtiym themselves were immigrants/invaders, aliens in the land of Canaan.
 
וְכָל־הַבְּאֵרֹ֗ת אֲשֶׁ֤ר חָֽפְרוּ֙ עַבְדֵ֣י אָבִ֔יו בִּימֵ֖י אַבְרָהָ֣ם אָבִ֑יו סִתְּמ֣וּם פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים וַיְמַלְא֖וּם עָפָֽר׃
 
Gen 26:15 Now all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Avraham his father, the Pilishtiym had stopped them up, and filled them with earth.
 
The past tense shows that this had been done some time ago and probably soon after Avraham’s death. Under Avimelech’s rule the Pilishtiym had violated the covenant they had made with Avraham and had brought a curse upon themselves according to the oath. This may well have been the reason for the famine which had come upon the land.
 
In addition, this made Yitzchak’s journey into the desert of the wider Negev all the more treacherous. He had in fact sought refuge from famine in a land of famine. This shows his great faith.
 
 וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ אֶל־יִצְחָ֑ק לֵ֚ךְ מֵֽעִמָּ֔נוּ כִּֽי־עָצַֽמְתָּ־מִמֶּ֖נּוּ מְאֹֽד׃
 וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ מִשָּׁ֖ם יִצְחָ֑ק וַיִּ֥חַן בְּנַֽחַל־גְּרָ֖ר וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב שָֽׁם׃
 
Gen 26:16 And Avimelech said to Yitzchak: “Go from us; for you are much mightier than we are.” Gen 26:17 And Yitzchak walked forth, and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
 
Once again Yitzchak experiences a prelude to Israel’s history among the nations. Once Jews begin to prosper and become despised, they are often persecuted and sent away, or worse. Avimelech was sending Yitzchak into barren land where he knew that his men had stopped up the water sources. This is a harsh exile for Yitzchak and yet another testimony to Avimelech’s poor character. Yitzchak moved to the south and dwelt in the valley of Gerar, some distance from the town.
וַיָּ֨שָׁב יִצְחָ֜ק וַיַּחְפֹּ֣ר׀ אֶת־בְּאֵרֹ֣ת הַמַּ֗יִם אֲשֶׁ֤ר חָֽפְרוּ֙ בִּימֵי֙ אַבְרָהָ֣ם אָבִ֔יו וַיְסַתְּמ֣וּם פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים אַחֲרֵ֖י מ֣וֹת אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיִּקְרָ֤א לָהֶן֙ שֵׁמ֔וֹת כַּשֵּׁמֹ֕ת אֲשֶׁר־קָרָ֥א לָהֶ֖ן אָבִֽיו׃
 
Gen 26:18 And Yitzchak dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Avraham his father; for the Pilishtiym had stopped them up after the death of Avraham; and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
 
In the desert, water or the lack thereof is a poignant reminder of life’s frailty. Yiztchak, in re-digging his father’s wells is showing his connection to his father’s journey, and in renaming them with the names his father had given them he is also honoring his father’s faithful legacy. Yitzchak is identifying more and more with both the physical struggle and the spiritual journey of his father Avraham.
 
וַיַּחְפְּר֥וּ עַבְדֵֽי־יִצְחָ֖ק בַּנָּ֑חַל וַיִּ֨מְצְאוּ־שָׁ֔ם בְּאֵ֖ר מַ֥יִם חַיִּֽים׃
 
Gen 26:19 And Yitzchak’s servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of living water (Mayim Chaiyim).
 
The phrase, מַיִם חַיִּים “living water” denotes an underground stream from a pure water source that flows from outside the valley with its origin in the north. These waters of living are a significant symbol of God’s life-giving spirit and his sustaining provision.
 
וַיָּרִ֜יבוּ רֹעֵ֣י גְרָ֗ר עִם־רֹעֵ֥י יִצְחָ֛ק לֵאמֹ֖ר לָ֣נוּ הַמָּ֑יִם וַיִּקְרָ֤א שֵֽׁם־הַבְּאֵר֙ עֵ֔שֶׂק כִּ֥י הִֽתְעַשְּׂק֖וּ עִמּֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 26:20 And the herdsmen of Gerar fought with Yitzchak’s herdsmen, saying: “The water is ours.” And he called the name of the well עֵ֔שֶׂק Eisek (contention); because they contended with him.
 
Having cast Yitzchak out and into a place where they knew there was no water, the herdsmen (Pilishtiym), now envious of the success of Yitzchak’s men, attempt to steal the water for themselves. This type of contention is also a familiar refrain in Israel’s history. The irony here is that the living water’s source is to the north outside the land of the Pilishtiym. Thus, spiritually speaking, they are attempting to cut Yitzchak off from the living waters of HaShem. All be it in a vain attempt.
 
 וַֽיַּחְפְּרוּ֙ בְּאֵ֣ר אַחֶ֔רֶת וַיָּרִ֖יבוּ גַּם־עָלֶ֑יהָ וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמָ֖הּ שִׂטְנָֽה׃
 
Gen 26:21 And they dug another well, and they also had to fight for that. And he called the name of it Sitnah (strife).
 
Yitzchak’s men, acting in humility, turn their attention to looking for another water source rather than antagonizing the Pilishtiym herdsmen. However, this does not prevent the Pilishtiym from contesting the finding of the second well. Strife is an escalation of the Contention, things are becoming dire, Yitzchak’s community cannot survive without water.
 
וַיַּעְתֵּ֣ק מִשָּׁ֗ם וַיַּחְפֹּר֙ בְּאֵ֣ר אַחֶ֔רֶת וְלֹ֥א רָב֖וּ עָלֶ֑יהָ וַיִּקְרָ֤א שְׁמָהּ֙ רְחֹב֔וֹת וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כִּֽי־עַתָּ֞ה הִרְחִ֧יב יְהוָ֛ה לָ֖נוּ וּפָרִ֥ינוּ בָאָֽרֶץ׃
 
Gen 26:22 And he moved from there, and dug another well; and they didn’t have to fight for it. And he called the name of it Rehovot (wide places); and he said: “For now HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
 
In these dire circumstances, Yitzchak still chooses to act righteously and moves away from the contentious Pilishtiym to dig a third well. The Hebrew number three indicates complex unity, Godly action, firm establishment, completion, immutability and security. This third well which Yitzchak calls “Wide open places” is symbolic of the freedom found in the life-giving spiritual waters of HaShem’s salvation. Yitzchak acknowledges that it is HaShem who has made room for them, rather than their own well digging know how.
 
 וַיַּ֥עַל מִשָּׁ֖ם בְּאֵ֥ר שָֽׁבַע׃
 
Gen 26:23 And he went up from there to Beer-sheva (Well of sevenfold oath).
 
Yitzchak’s journey to Beer-Sheva denotes his desire to seek God. Beer-Sheva, the well of the sevenfold oath is a place of solace and recovery, of covenant and sustenance. Avraham had experienced the living God at work there (Gen. 21:22-34), and after Yitzchak (Genesis 26:23–33), Yaakov would have his intimate dream of the stairway to the heavens immediately following a visit to Beer-Sheva (Genesis 28:10–15 and 46:1–7).
 
Beer-Sheva was to become a place of glory and refuge for many of Israel’s prophets, judges and kings. Beer-Sheva was the territory of the tribes of Simeon and Judah (Joshua 5:28 and 19:2). The sons of the prophet Samuel were judges in Beer-Sheva (1 Samuel 8:2). Saul, Israel's first king, built a fort there for his campaign against the Amalekites (I Samuel 14:48 and 15:2–9). The prophet Elijah took refuge in Beer-Sheva when Jezebel ordered him killed (1 Kings 19:3). The prophet Amos mentions the city in regard to idolatry (Amos 5:5 and 8:14). Following the Babylonian conquest and subsequent enslavement of many Israelites, the town was abandoned. After the Israelite slaves returned from Babylon, they resettled the town. According to the Hebrew Bible, Beer-Sheva was the southernmost city of the territories settled by Israelites, hence the expression “from Dan to Beer-Sheva” to describe the whole kingdom.
 
וַיֵּרָ֨א אֵלָ֤יו יְהוָה֙ בַּלַּ֣יְלָה הַה֔וּא וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָנֹכִ֕י אֱלֹהֵ֖י אַבְרָהָ֣ם אָבִ֑יךָ אַל־תִּירָא֙ כִּֽי־אִתְּךָ֣ אָנֹ֔כִי וּבֵֽרַכְתִּ֙יךָ֙ וְהִרְבֵּיתִ֣י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֔ בַּעֲב֖וּר אַבְרָהָ֥ם עַבְדִּֽי׃
 וַיִּ֧בֶן שָׁ֣ם מִזְבֵּ֗חַ וַיִּקְרָא֙ בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהוָ֔ה וַיֶּט־שָׁ֖ם אָהֳל֑וֹ וַיִּכְרוּ־שָׁ֥ם עַבְדֵי־יִצְחָ֖ק בְּאֵֽר׃
 
Gen 26:24 And HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) appeared to him the same night, and said: “I am the God of Avraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your seed (zera) for My servant Avraham's sake.” Gen 26:25 And he built an altar (mizbeiach – blood sacrificial altar) there, and called upon the name of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), and pitched his tent there; and there Yitzchak’s servants dug a well.
 
Having experienced such hostility from the Pilishtiym and seeing God’s provision of the well at Rehovot, Yitzchak seeks God where his father had once made a covenant with the wicked people of Canaan.
 
God comes to Yitzchak strait away, “the same night.” The immediacy of this encounter illuminates the Father and His intimate care for the wellbeing of His sons and daughters. Yitzchak needed to be comforted, he was overwhelmed and longed for the deep trust centered relationship with God that he had witnessed in his father Avraham. He sought personal revelation of the tribal, generational God of Avraham. God does not disappoint, for His desire has always been to reconcile Yitzchak to Himself just as He had reconciled his father Avraham.
 
Once again, the building of the altar is a response to what God has already done (Gen.12:9, 13:17-18, 35:7). The Hebrew מִזְבֵּחַ mizbeach (altar) is from the root זבח zabach (kill, slaughter), meaning an atoning blood sacrifice. Thus, this altar, as in the case of those built before it, is an altar of animal blood sacrifice and an acknowledgement of the need for the covering atonement for sin.
 
 וַאֲבִימֶ֕לֶךְ הָלַ֥ךְ אֵלָ֖יו מִגְּרָ֑ר וַאֲחֻזַּת֙ מֵֽרֵעֵ֔הוּ וּפִיכֹ֖ל שַׂר־צְבָאֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 26:26 Then Avimelech went to him from Gerar, and Achuzzat (possession) his friend, and Peechol (strong) the captain of his army.
 
Avimelech, now old in years, as is Phicol, the captain of his guard, has become more and more afraid of Yitzchak. Perhaps he fears his own destruction due to his violation of the covenant he made with Avraham? Whatever the case, he comes, not in humility, but with a show of strength.
 
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ יִצְחָ֔ק מַדּ֖וּעַ בָּאתֶ֣ם אֵלָ֑י וְאַתֶּם֙ שְׂנֵאתֶ֣ם אֹתִ֔י וַתְּשַׁלְּח֖וּנִי מֵאִתְּכֶֽם׃
 
Gen 26:27 And Yitzchak said to them: “For what reason have you come to me, seeing you hate me, and have sent me away from you?”
 
Yitzchak has every reason to be weary of their intentions.
 
וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ רָא֣וֹ רָאִינוּ֮ כִּֽי־הָיָ֣ה יְהוָ֣ה׀ עִמָּךְ֒ וַנֹּ֗אמֶר תְּהִ֨י נָ֥א אָלָ֛ה בֵּינוֹתֵ֖ינוּ בֵּינֵ֣ינוּ וּבֵינֶ֑ךָ וְנִכְרְתָ֥ה בְרִ֖ית עִמָּֽךְ׃
 
Gen 26:28 And they said: “We saw plainly that HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) was with you; and we said: ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you;
 
Avimelech and his retinue stress that the oath be made between, “us and you” because they have already broken the former oath made with Avraham.
 
 אִם־תַּעֲשֵׂ֨ה עִמָּ֜נוּ רָעָ֗ה כַּאֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א נְגַֽעֲנ֔וּךָ וְכַאֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשִׂ֤ינוּ עִמְּךָ֙ רַק־ט֔וֹב וַנְּשַׁלֵּֽחֲךָ֖ בְּשָׁל֑וֹם אַתָּ֥ה עַתָּ֖ה בְּר֥וּךְ יְהוָֽה׃
 
Gen 26:29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you, we have only been good to you, and have sent you away in peace; you are now the blessed of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy).’”
 
The Pilishtiym have envied Yitzchak, kicked him out of town, hounded him in the desert, stopped up the wells of his father and stolen the new wells he has dug. Nothing could be further from the truth than the statement, “We have done only good to you.” This lack of humility and brazen unrepentance is consistent with the character exhibited by Avimelech and his people throughout their dealings with Avraham and Yitzchak.
 
The one thing they do right is to acknowledge that where Avraham was the blessed of HaShem, his son has now taken on the mantel of HaShem’s blessing.
 
 וַיַּ֤עַשׂ לָהֶם֙ מִשְׁתֶּ֔ה וַיֹּאכְל֖וּ וַיִּשְׁתּֽוּ׃
 וַיַּשְׁכִּ֣ימוּ בַבֹּ֔קֶר וַיִּשָּׁבְע֖וּ אִ֣ישׁ לְאָחִ֑יו וַיְשַׁלְּחֵ֣ם יִצְחָ֔ק וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ מֵאִתּ֖וֹ בְּשָׁלֽוֹם׃
 
Gen 26:30 And he (Isaac) made them a feast, and they ate and drank. Gen 26:31 And they rose up in the morning, and made an oath to one another; and Yitzchak sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
 
Yitzchak’s response to the unrepentant and arrogant request of Avimelech and his retinue is nothing short of incredibly gracious. Yitzchak is clearly a man who has met God and has been filled with the Spirit of righteousness. Rather than refute Avimelech’s lies, Yitzchak sees that Avimelech is fearful of Yitzchak’s God and that beneath his bravado he is desperate. Secure in his own identity in God and the assurances from God of the promised land and provision for generations to come, Yitzchak shows great mercy toward Avimelech and his people, Yitzchak treats them to the best in Middle Eastern hospitality, having a feast prepared for them, he sits down to eat with his enemies.
 
The reason the oath takes place the following morning is that an oath should not be taken after the parties have become intoxicated.
 
The outcome of this interaction with his enemies is that they depart in peace. We could all benefit from practicing the type of merciful religion that Yitzchak exhibits here. He is truly a man transformed by a personal encounter with the God of the Universe.
 
 וַיְהִ֣י׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ עַבְדֵ֣י יִצְחָ֔ק וַיַּגִּ֣דוּ ל֔וֹ עַל־אֹד֥וֹת הַבְּאֵ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָפָ֑רוּ וַיֹּ֥אמְרוּ ל֖וֹ מָצָ֥אנוּ מָֽיִם׃
וַיִּקְרָ֥א אֹתָ֖הּ שִׁבְעָ֑ה עַל־כֵּ֤ן שֵׁם־הָעִיר֙ בְּאֵ֣ר שֶׁ֔בַע עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃
 
Gen 26:32 And it came to pass the same day, that Yitzchak's servants came, and informed him of the well which they had dug, and said to him: “We have found water.” Gen 26:33 And he called it Sheva (Seven). Its name unto this day.
 
The provision of water following Yitzchak’s righteous actions is an affirmation of God’s pleasure.
 
There are two possibilities here: either Avimelech’s men had stopped up Avraham’s well at Beer-Sheva and subsequently Yitzchak’s men had re-dug the well, or they had dug a second well. Regardless, the name Sheva is a shortened form of Beer–Sheva and is another example of Yitzchak renaming a location with the same name his father had used. This brings attention to both covenant oaths made with Avimelech and passes the knowledge on to subsequent generations. “Unto this day” means unto the day of the writing down of the Torah at Sinai by Moses.
 
 וַיְהִ֤י עֵשָׂו֙ בֶּן־אַרְבָּעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה וַיִּקַּ֤ח אִשָּׁה֙ אֶת־יְהוּדִ֔ית בַּת־בְּאֵרִ֖י הַֽחִתִּ֑י וְאֶת־בָּ֣שְׂמַ֔ת בַּת־אֵילֹ֖ן הַֽחִתִּֽי׃
וַתִּהְיֶ֖יןָ מֹ֣רַת ר֑וּחַ לְיִצְחָ֖ק וּלְרִבְקָֽה׃ 
 
Gen 26:34 And when Esau (hairy) was forty years old, he took to wife Y’hudit (Praised) the daughter of B’eiri (My well) the Chitti (Descendent of terror - Chet), and Bas’mat (Spice) the daughter of Elon (mighty, terebinth) the Chitti. Gen 26:35 And they brought bitterness and grief to the spirit of Yitzchak (He laughs) and of Rivkah (Captivating).
 
Esau’s sinful actions in marrying women outside of his father’s faith system result in grieving the spirits of his mother and father. This same grief comes upon mothers and fathers of faith today when we see our children wandering from the faith. This is a grieving of both our own spirits and the Spirit of God in us. God’s desire is for the reconciliation of Esau, God is grieved by Esau’s rejection of Him.
 
The reason for ending this account with Esau’s continued sin practices is to show the stark contrast between his actions and those of the Patriarch Yitzchak, Esau’s father. The promises of HaShem are to be passed on to men of noble character, men who will not despise His promises, covenants and birth rights. As explained in my commentary on the previous chapters, Yaakov is a follower of HaShem and a man who struggles to acquire integrity and righteousness. He is to be the next step in the ladder of Israel’s generations. Thus, Toldot.
 
© 2026 Yaakov Ben Yehoshua

Introduction:
 
Genesis 24 continues the Torah portion חַיֵּי שָׂרָה Chayei Sarah (Life of Sarah) and shows us how the spiritual vistas created by a righteous person’s life can reach beyond the temporary existence of the present world into the lives of the generations that follow.
 
The household בית (bayit) of מִלְכָּה Milcah (22:20-23; 24:28) and the tent אוֹהֶל (ohel) of Sarah are symbolic elements of this narrative that convey the ongoing impact of the comforting presence of Israel’s matriarchs and in יצחק Yitzchak’s (Isaac) life, the poignant reminder of his mother’s comfort. Thus, we recall the well-known Hebrew phrase, לדור ודור “L’dor v’dor” (Unto generation and generation).
 
The life of Sarah was a life of comfort נחוּם that seeded comfort for the generations to come. The last line of chapter 24 reads, “Yitzchak was comforted after the loss of his mother,” meaning that the gift of רבקה Rivkah (tightly bound) as a wife and companion brought comfort to יצחק Yitzchak (He laughs), thus continuing the godly comfort given to him by his mother Sarah, who had now passed into גַן עֶדֶן Gan Eden (Paradise).
 
Genesis 24 is the longest chapter according to the division and numbering of the Torah by scholars; however, this has little relevance in understanding a book that is neither divided nor vowel marked in its original state. The books of the Torah are intended to be understood as a whole, each element revealing the sum and the sum filling the individual elements.
 
This story of the acquiring of a wife for Yitzchak (Isaac) illuminates a number of spiritual examples for the faithful follower of Messiah. The trust of Avraham is once again revealed in his certainty of God’s provision. The faithful obedience and perseverance of the chief servant of Avraham’s household (Probably אֱלִיעֶזֶר Eliezer) is a shining example to those who follow after good teachers, and the selfless love of Rivkah births comfort and brings hope into the grieving Yitzchak’s life.
 
This historical narrative functions as a hope filled farewell for Avraham, who passes away seven verses into the next chapter. God is offering physical proof of the promises yet to be fulfilled, giving Avraham a heart full of hope as he enters into Gan Eden (Paradise) to await the עולם הבא Olam Haba (World to come).
 
וְאַבְרָהָ֣ם זָקֵ֔ן בָּ֖א בַּיָּמִ֑ים וַֽיהוָ֛ה בֵּרַ֥ךְ אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֖ם בַּכֹּֽל׃
 
Gen 24:1 And אַבְרָהָ֣ם Avraham (Father of many nations) became old, entering into years; and HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) blessed Avraham in all things.
 
The Rambam notes that God had given/blessed Avraham בַּכֹּל (bakol) in all things: riches, possessions, honor, longevity, and children, and that the one thing he lacked was to see his son Yitzchak married and having children to perpetuate the promise.
 
However, it’s more important to note that, בַּכֹּל bakol (In the-everything) reveals something far greater than physical wealth and the provision of progeny. The greater reality is that God was a blessing to Avraham by being present in all areas of his life, journeying with him in all things (בַּכֹּל), through the good times and the bad. Therefore, we understand that, “HaShem blessed Avraham and is present with him in all things”.
 
 וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֗ם אֶל־עַבְדּוֹ֙ זְקַ֣ן בֵּית֔וֹ הַמֹּשֵׁ֖ל בְּכָל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֑וֹ שִֽׂים־נָ֥א יָדְךָ֖ תַּ֥חַת יְרֵכִֽי׃
 
Gen 24:2 And Avraham said to his servant, the eldest of his house, who ruled over all that he had: “Put, I plead with you, your hand under my thigh.”
 
While it’s true to say that the servant mentioned in this chapter is never named, there is no reason to doubt the rabbinical view that this servant is the same as the one who Avraham spoke of as being the inheritor of his household, prior to the birth of Yitzchak. Eliezer is the only member of Avraham’s household previously named, who fits this description (Genesis 15:2-4).
 
“Avraham said to Eliezer his servant, the senior of his house, who had rule over all his property, ‘Put now your hand upon the section of my circumcision.’”
 
–Targum Yonatan
 
“Put now your hand under the thigh of my covenant”
 
–Targum Yerushalayim
 
The phrase, “Put…your hand under my thigh” is a euphemism for the male organ and is thus inviting an oath made on the reproductive hopes of the male concerned. It is a sacred and intimate oath between the two men but is in no way a sexual act. Great trust and intimacy are invoked here, it should not be desecrated by immoral sexual innuendo.
 
The Targums and the rabbis generally agree that the positioning of the oath hand reflects the importance of the covenant of circumcision, and adds to the severity of the oath regarding the line from which the bride of Yitzchak must come.
 
The parallel passage in Genesis 47:29 may infer that the present passage is a death-bed prequel to this story, and that Avraham may have already passed away prior to Yitzchak’s marriage.
 
We should also observe the selflessness of Eliezer (My God helps), who had once been in line to inherit Avraham’s wealth and household. He is clearly a man of great integrity and humility who reflects his master’s spirituality back to him.
 
וְאַשְׁבִּ֣יעֲךָ֔ בַּֽיהוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וֵֽאלֹהֵ֖י הָאָ֑רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹֽא־תִקַּ֤ח אִשָּׁה֙ לִבְנִ֔י מִבְּנוֹת֙ הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י יוֹשֵׁ֥ב בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ׃
 כִּ֧י אֶל־אַרְצִ֛י וְאֶל־מוֹלַדְתִּ֖י תֵּלֵ֑ךְ וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ אִשָּׁ֖ה לִבְנִ֥י לְיִצְחָֽק׃
 
Gen 24:3 “And swear sevenfold by HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), the God/Judge (Elohiym) of the heavens and the God/Judge (Elohiym) of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י C’naaniy (Canaanites), among whom I dwell.” Gen 24:4 “But you will go to my country (כלדי kaldee), and to my kindred (חרן Charan), and take a wife for my son, even for יִצְחָֽק Yitzchak (Isaac: He laughs).”
 
It seems that Avraham believed he might die before seeing his son married to a suitable woman. Therefore, he wanted assurance from his most trusted servant, that every effort would be made to find Yitzchak a bride from Avraham’s family. It’s clear from the following verses that Avraham trusted that God would provide for Eliezer’s oath. Thus, Avraham places his trust in God’s provision over and above his own ability to bring about God’s promise.
 
The Hebrew, אַשְׁבִּיעֲךָ֔ “Ash’biyacha” translated “swear” comes from the root, שבע “shaba/sheva” (seven, oath etc.)
 
Avraham’s rejection of the Canaanites was not based on their idol worship because his own family in Charan were idol worshippers. Ultimately, Avraham seems to have understood election as being the guiding principle for his future family line. God chose those to whom He would give the promise so that no one could boast that they had earned the promise of their own fruition. Thus, we read elsewhere, “I loved (Chose) Jacob and I hated (rejected) Esau.” (Malachi 1:2-3)
 
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ הָעֶ֔בֶד אוּלַי֙ לֹא־תֹאבֶ֣ה הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה לָלֶ֥כֶת אַחֲרַ֖י אֶל־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את הֶֽהָשֵׁ֤ב אָשִׁיב֙ אֶת־בִּנְךָ֔ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יָצָ֥אתָ מִשָּֽׁם׃
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו אַבְרָהָ֑ם הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֔ פֶּן־תָּשִׁ֥יב אֶת־בְּנִ֖י שָֽׁמָּה׃
יְהוָ֣ה׀ אֱלֹהֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֗יִם אֲשֶׁ֨ר לְקָחַ֜נִי מִבֵּ֣ית אָבִי֮ וּמֵאֶ֣רֶץ מֽוֹלַדְתִּי֒ וַאֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּר־לִ֜י וַאֲשֶׁ֤ר נִֽשְׁבַּֽע־לִי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לְזַ֨רְעֲךָ֔ אֶתֵּ֖ן אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את ה֗וּא יִשְׁלַ֤ח מַלְאָכוֹ֙ לְפָנֶ֔יךָ וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ אִשָּׁ֛ה לִבְנִ֖י מִשָּֽׁם׃
 
Gen 24:5 And the servant said to him: “What if the woman is unwilling to walk with me to this land; should I take your son back to the land you came from?” Gen 24:6 And Avraham said to him: “Guard your way lest you turn back and return my son to there. Gen 24:7 “HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), the God (Elohim: Judge) of the heavens, who took me from my father's house (חרן Charan: to burn, mountaineer), and from the land of my birth (כלדי Kaldee), and Who spoke to me, and Who swore to me, saying: ‘Unto your seed will I give this land’; He will send His Angel/Messenger before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there.”
 
The servant’s question shows that he is taking this oath very seriously. He is concerned that circumstances may prevent him from completing this task. However, Avraham warns him not to compromise the position of his son Yitzchak over the Promised Land. Then he encourages Eliezer with a recitation of God’s promise and the assurance that the HaMalakh HaShem (Messenger of YHVH) will go before him.
 
וְאִם־לֹ֨א תֹאבֶ֤ה הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ לָלֶ֣כֶת אַחֲרֶ֔יךָ וְנִקִּ֕יתָ מִשְּׁבֻעָתִ֖י זֹ֑את רַ֣ק אֶת־בְּנִ֔י לֹ֥א תָשֵׁ֖ב שָֽׁמָּה׃
וַיָּ֤שֶׂם הָעֶ֙בֶד֙ אֶת־יָד֔וֹ תַּ֛חַת יֶ֥רֶךְ אַבְרָהָ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֑יו וַיִּשָּׁ֣בַֽע ל֔וֹ עַל־הַדָּבָ֖ר הַזֶּֽה׃
 
Gen 24:8 “And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this my oath; only you will not take my son back there.” Gen 24:9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Avraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
 
Some foolishly claim that the Torah is a book of law alone, devoid of the true freedom found in Messiah. This is of course utter nonsense, as shown by the present text. Yes, the Torah contains laws, and instruction, and illuminates consequences as an indictment against sin, but it is also full of the freedom of God’s Mashiach. Avraham releases Eliezer from impossible obligation and sets him free from anxious thought. As it is with all who would follow God through Yeshua His Son, Eliezer is simply asked to do what he is capable of doing and to trust that God has already purposed the outcome.
 
If only the spiritual fathers of the modern believing community would teach their disciples to rest in God’s provision and act according to the abilities they’ve been given rather than to continually seek to perfect that which has already been chosen for destruction.
 
So far as this sin affected world is concerned there is no such thing as perfection. Therefore, the perfectionist is an idolator. Messiah is sanctifying us unto the perfection that God has established outside of the limitations of the sin affected world.
 
Eliezer having carefully weighed the commitment he was being asked to make, now acts in accordance with Avraham’s request, affirming his heart decision with a physical act of obedience. This is yet another example of Godly discipleship.
 
וַיִּקַּ֣ח הָ֠עֶבֶד עֲשָׂרָ֨ה גְמַלִּ֜ים מִגְּמַלֵּ֤י אֲדֹנָיו֙ וַיֵּ֔לֶךְ וְכָל־ט֥וּב אֲדֹנָ֖יו בְּיָד֑וֹ וַיָּ֗קָם וַיֵּ֛לֶךְ אֶל־אֲרַ֥מ נַֽהֲרַ֖יִם אֶל־עִ֥יר נָחֽוֹר׃
 
Gen 24:10 And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and walked forth with all the goodness of his master in his hand; and he arose, and went to אֲרַמ נַֽהֲרַיִם Aram-naharaim (High land of the two rivers: Euphrates & Tigris), to the city of נָחֽוֹר Nachor (snort: the city of חרן Charan).
 
He took ten camels, a Hebrew number of completion and fulfilment. Eliezer went forth with the knowledge that his burden would be carried by the completed purpose of God.
 
The Hebrew reads, וְכָל־טוּב אֲדֹנָיו “v’kol tov adonayu” (with all good of his master). This can be understood in so many ways. Rashi suggests that it is a reference to the fact that Avraham had written over all his worldly possessions to Yitzchak and had given the deed to Eliezer to take to his family in Charan as evidence of the wealth that the bride of Yitzchak would enter into. However, it seems equally plausible that the text means to convey the fact that Eliezer was carrying the trust and hope of Avraham with him, for surely the greatest good that Avraham had to offer was the goodness of the Faithful God of all things and a response of trust. Thus, the words, “and walked forth with all the goodness of his master in his hand,” say that Eliezer carried the goodness of Avraham’s faith which he intended to act upon (hand is a symbol of strength and action).
 
 וַיַּבְרֵ֧ךְ הַגְּמַלִּ֛ים מִח֥וּץ לָעִ֖יר אֶל־בְּאֵ֣ר הַמָּ֑יִם לְעֵ֣ת עֶ֔רֶב לְעֵ֖ת צֵ֥את הַשֹּׁאֲבֹֽת׃
וַיֹּאמַ֓ר׀ יְהוָ֗ה אֱלֹהֵי֙ אֲדֹנִ֣י אַבְרָהָ֔ם הַקְרֵה־נָ֥א לְפָנַ֖י הַיּ֑וֹם וַעֲשֵׂה־חֶ֕סֶד עִ֖ם אֲדֹנִ֥י אַבְרָהָֽם׃
 
Gen 24:11 And he made the camels to kneel down outside the city (חרן Charan) by the spring of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water. Gen 24:12 And he said: “HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), the God/Judge (Elohiym) of my master Avraham, send me, I plead with You, to happen to me now, the kindness (חֶסֶד chesed) you will show to my master Avraham.”
 
It's possible that Eliezer called on the God of his master because he was yet to have a personal encounter with YHVH. However, I believe that what is intended here is a statement of covenant promise rather than a blind call to an unknown God. Eliezer is acknowledging the fact that God has placed His name on Avraham and his descendants and that Eliezer has trusted in the God of Avraham. Thus, what follows is a relational interaction between God and a faithful disciple of God’s chosen one. A servant of the servant, who is in fact a brother of Avraham in faith.
 
הִנֵּ֛ה אָנֹכִ֥י נִצָּ֖ב עַל־עֵ֣ין הַמָּ֑יִם וּבְנוֹת֙ אַנְשֵׁ֣י הָעִ֔יר יֹצְאֹ֖ת לִשְׁאֹ֥ב מָֽיִם׃
 
Gen 24:13 “Behold, I stand at the eye of the waters; and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.”
 
It may be that Eliezer wanted to observe the true character of the women outside of the home environment. He seems to have been seeking a woman of humility, after all, drawing water was the job of the servants and younger, less prestigious members of the household.
 
וְהָיָ֣ה הַֽנַּעֲרָ֗ אֲשֶׁ֨ר אֹמַ֤ר אֵלֶ֙יהָ֙ הַטִּי־נָ֤א כַדֵּךְ֙ וְאֶשְׁתֶּ֔ה וְאָמְרָ֣ה שְׁתֵ֔ה וְגַם־גְּמַלֶּ֖יךָ אַשְׁקֶ֑ה אֹתָ֤הּ הֹכַ֙חְתָּ֙ לְעַבְדְּךָ֣ לְיִצְחָ֔ק וּבָ֣הּ אֵדַ֔ע כִּי־עָשִׂ֥יתָ חֶ֖סֶד עִם־אֲדֹנִֽי׃
 
Gen 24:14 “So let it come to pass, that the young woman (הַֽנַּעֲרָ hana’ar) to whom I shall say: ‘Let down your water pitcher, I ask you, that I may drink’; and if she says: ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also’; let the same be she that You have appointed for Your servant, even for Yitzchak (Isaac); and by this shall I know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
 
Some may misunderstand this as reliance on circumstance or the interpreting of omens, however, Eliezer first affirms his belief that God has already chosen the woman Yitzchak is to marry and then proposes a test of character that will prove the young woman’s true nature and inner beauty. Thus, it is a sign that reveals kindness and charity that he is looking for rather than a circumstantial sign or an omen. The primary difference between signs and omens is that the former are affirmations of relational conversation whereas the latter are presumptuous interpretations of circumstantial events. A faith based on circumstance is a vain faith.
 
וַֽיְהִי־ה֗וּא טֶרֶם֮ כִּלָּ֣ה לְדַבֵּר֒ וְהִנֵּ֧ה רִבְקָ֣ה יֹצֵ֗את אֲשֶׁ֤ר יֻלְּדָה֙ לִבְתוּאֵ֣ל בֶּן־מִלְכָּ֔ה אֵ֥שֶׁת נָח֖וֹר אֲחִ֣י אַבְרָהָ֑ם וְכַדָּ֖הּ עַל־שִׁכְמָֽהּ׃
 
Gen 24:15 And it came to pass, before he had finished speaking, that, behold, Rivkah (tightly bound) came out, the daughter of Bet’uel (House/destruction of God) the son of Milcah (Queen), the wife of Nachor (Snorting), Avraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
 
“And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
 
–Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 65:24
 
Yitzchak, who had been bound, would receive a wife who would bind herself to him in love and comfort.
 
Bet’uel’s father was Avraham’s brother and his mother was both a niece to Avraham and a sister to Sarah.
 
 וְהַֽנַּעֲרָ֗ טֹבַ֤ת מַרְאֶה֙ מְאֹ֔ד בְּתוּלָ֕ה וְאִ֖ישׁ לֹ֣א יְדָעָ֑הּ וַתֵּ֣רֶד הָעַ֔יְנָה וַתְּמַלֵּ֥א כַדָּ֖הּ וַתָּֽעַל׃
 
Gen 24:16 And the young woman (הַֽנַּעֲרָ֗ hana’ar) was exceedingly good to look upon, a בְּתוּלָ֕ה be’tulah (virgin), no man had known (had sexual intercourse with) her; and she went down to the עַיְנָה eye/well (from a spring), and filled her pitcher, and came up.
 
Because Rivkah is to be the mother of Yaakov (Israel), her virginity must be firmly established. Thus, the Hebrew בְּתוּלָ֕ה be’tulah, which can in itself be translated as virgin, is affirmed by the phrase, “no man had known her,” a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
 
The fact that Rivkah herself had come to the well to collect water infers that she was either reasonably young or that she had a humble disposition, or both.
 
 וַיָּ֥רָץ הָעֶ֖בֶד לִקְרָאתָ֑הּ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר הַגְמִיאִ֥ינִי נָ֛א מְעַט־מַ֖יִם מִכַּדֵּֽךְ׃
וַתֹּ֖אמֶר שְׁתֵ֣ה אֲדֹנִ֑י וַתְּמַהֵ֗ר וַתֹּ֧רֶד כַּדָּ֛הּ עַל־יָדָ֖הּ וַתַּשְׁקֵֽהוּ׃
 
Gen 24:17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said: “Give me to drink, I ask you, a little water from your pitcher.” Gen 24:18 And she said: “Drink, אֲדֹנִי adoni (my lord)”; and she hastened, and let down her pitcher from her hand, and gave him drink.
 
It seems that Eliezer had already decided that Rivkah was the woman who stood out from the others as being chosen of God, or else why did he run to her? Rivkah did more than draw the water and set the pitcher down for Eliezer to drink from, she took from the water and gave it to him to drink.
 
 וַתְּכַ֖ל לְהַשְׁקֹת֑וֹ וַתֹּ֗אמֶר גַּ֤ם לִגְמַלֶּ֙יךָ֙ אֶשְׁאָ֔ב עַ֥ד אִם־כִּלּ֖וּ לִשְׁתֹּֽת׃
וַתְּמַהֵ֗ר וַתְּעַ֤ר כַּדָּהּ֙ אֶל־הַשֹּׁ֔קֶת וַתָּ֥רָץ ע֛וֹד אֶֽל־הַבְּאֵ֖ר לִשְׁאֹ֑ב וַתִּשְׁאַ֖ב לְכָל־גְּמַלָּֽיו׃
 
Gen 24:19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said: “I will draw for your camels also, until they have done drinking.” Gen 24:20 And she hastened, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.
 
Camels are said to drink approximately 530 litres of water in their first drink. The fact that Rivkah, knowing the strenuous work that would be involved, none the less undertook this task for a perfect stranger, is evidence of her noble character. If the אשת חיל Ashet Chayil (Woman of honour) text had been written at this time, perhaps Eliezer would have begun to chant it under his breath in joyous anticipation.
 
וְהָאִ֥ישׁ מִשְׁתָּאֵ֖ה לָ֑הּ מַחֲרִ֕ישׁ לָדַ֗עַת הַֽהִצְלִ֧יחַ יְהוָ֛ה דַּרְכּ֖וֹ אִם־לֹֽא׃
 
Gen 24:21 And the man watched her intently; holding his peace, to know whether HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) had made his journey prosperous or not.
 
Eliezer was awaiting the confirmation of the family and the agreement of the bride to be. This is why the text says, “to know whether HaShem had made his journey prosperous or not.”
 
Courtesy dictated that Eliezer should intervene and help Rivkah with the task, however, Eliezer waited and watched, seeking the approval of God rather than men. Had Eliezer intervened he would have robbed Rivkah of the opportunity to bless the servant of Avraham. Thus, robbing her of the blessing of being married into Avraham’s faith through Isaac.
 
There is a lesson here for every believer: when we seek to help someone bless us, or refuse their offering of blessing toward us, we sin against them and ourselves. Maturity of faith affords us the ability to humbly accept the blessing of another without seeking to put the sticker fingers of our work driven pride into the mix.
 
וַיְהִ֗י כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר כִּלּ֤וּ הַגְּמַלִּים֙ לִשְׁתּ֔וֹת וַיִּקַּ֤ח הָאִישׁ֙ נֶ֣זֶם זָהָ֔ב בֶּ֖קַע מִשְׁקָל֑וֹ וּשְׁנֵ֤י צְמִידִים֙ עַל־יָדֶ֔יהָ עֲשָׂרָ֥ה זָהָ֖ב מִשְׁקָלָֽם׃
 
Gen 24:22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;
 
It seems clear that Eliezer had already decided that Rivkah was the woman God had chosen for Yitzchak. These gifts were a token which inferred a coming offer of betrothal.
 
Rashi sees the gifts as representing: the half shekel offering that every Jew would one day give annually for the Sanctuary of God, the two bracelets for the two tablets of the instruction of God and the ten shekels as the Ten Words (Commandments).
 
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ בַּת־מִ֣י אַ֔תְּ הַגִּ֥ידִי נָ֖א לִ֑י הֲיֵ֧שׁ בֵּית־אָבִ֛יךְ מָק֥וֹם לָ֖נוּ לָלִֽין׃
 
Gen 24:23 and said: “Whose daughter, are you? Tell me, I ask you. Is there room in your father's house for us to lodge in?”
 
It’s interesting to note that before Rivkah can answer his first question, he had already asked a second. He has obviously already concluded her election of God. Eliezer had travelled with a retinue as was the custom of the time. Thus, lodging would be needed for the entire company traveling with him.
 
 וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֔יו בַּת־בְּתוּאֵ֖ל אָנֹ֑כִי בֶּן־מִלְכָּ֕ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָלְדָ֖ה לְנָחֽוֹר׃
וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֔יו גַּם־תֶּ֥בֶן גַּם־מִסְפּ֖וֹא רַ֣ב עִמָּ֑נוּ גַּם־מָק֖וֹם לָלֽוּן׃
 
Gen 24:24 And she said unto him: “I am the daughter of Bet’uel (House of God) the son of Milcah (queen), whom she bore to Nachor (snorting, fierce one).” Gen 24:25 She also said to him: “We have both straw and provision enough, and room to lodge in.”
 
Given the meaning of the Hebrew names we can read:
 
“I am the daughter of the house of God, the son of the queen, whom she bore to a fierce one”
 
Rivkah continues to give both that which is asked for and more.
 
 וַיִּקֹּ֣ד הָאִ֔ישׁ וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ לַֽיהוָֽה׃
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר בָּר֤וּךְ יְהוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵי֙ אֲדֹנִ֣י אַבְרָהָ֔ם אֲ֠שֶׁר לֹֽא־עָזַ֥ב חַסְדּ֛וֹ וַאֲמִתּ֖וֹ מֵעִ֣ם אֲדֹנִ֑י אָנֹכִ֗י בַּדֶּ֙רֶךְ֙ נָחַ֣נִי יְהוָ֔ה בֵּ֖ית אֲחֵ֥י אֲדֹנִֽי׃
 
Gen 24:26 And the man bowed his head, and prostrated himself before HaShem (YHVH: Mercy). Gen 24:27 And he said: “Blessed be HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), the God/Judge (Ha-Elohiym) of my master Avraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master; as for me, HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) has led me in the way to the house of my master's brothers (relatives).”
 
We see here that Eliezer was intimately acquainted with YHVH, and called upon the holy personal name of Mercy, worshipping HaShem. He names God “Mercy” and “The Judge”, and attaches His Name once more to the chosen line of Avraham.
 
Eliezer acknowledges God’s faithfulness to Avraham and to his own journey of faith. The phrasing, “has led me in the way to the house of my master's brothers (relatives).” Can be understood both as an allusion to the physical direction and destination and to the idea that Avraham’s family share a lineage of Godly discipleship.
 
 וַתָּ֙רָץ֙ הַֽנַּעֲרָ֔ וַתַּגֵּ֖ד לְבֵ֣ית אִמָּ֑הּ כַּדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃
וּלְרִבְקָ֥ה אָ֖ח וּשְׁמ֣וֹ לָבָ֑ן וַיָּ֨רָץ לָבָ֧ן אֶל־הָאִ֛ישׁ הַח֖וּצָה אֶל־הָעָֽיִן׃
וַיְהִ֣י׀ כִּרְאֹ֣ת אֶת־הַנֶּ֗זֶם וְֽאֶת־הַצְּמִדִים֮ עַל־יְדֵ֣י אֲחֹתוֹ֒ וּכְשָׁמְע֗וֹ אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֞י רִבְקָ֤ה אֲחֹתוֹ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּֽה־דִבֶּ֥ר אֵלַ֖י הָאִ֑ישׁ וַיָּבֹא֙ אֶל־הָאִ֔ישׁ וְהִנֵּ֛ה עֹמֵ֥ד עַל־הַגְּמַלִּ֖ים עַל־הָעָֽיִן׃
 וַיֹּ֕אמֶר בּ֖וֹא בְּר֣וּךְ יְהוָ֑ה לָ֤מָּה תַעֲמֹד֙ בַּח֔וּץ וְאָנֹכִי֙ פִּנִּ֣יתִי הַבַּ֔יִת וּמָק֖וֹם לַגְּמַלִּֽים׃
 
Gen 24:28 And the young woman ran, and announced to the house (bayit) of her mother these words. Gen 24:29 And Rivkah (tightly bound) had a brother, and his name was Laban (White); and Laban ran out to the man, to the eye/well/spring. Gen 24:30 And it came to pass, when he saw the ring, and the bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rivkah his sister, saying: “This is what the man said to me,” that he came to the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the eye/well/spring. Gen 24:31 And he said: “Come in, you blessed of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy); why are you standing outside? For I have cleared the house, and made room for the camels.”
 
Rivkah runs to her mother’s house (bayit) meaning her mother’s side of the family. Later in the text Yitzchak takes Rivkah into his mother’s tent (ohel) which indicates her personal lodging.
 
Like Eliezer, Rivkah runs when she senses God at work.
 
On hearing about Rivkah’s encounter Laban also runs to meet Eliezer at the well. However, it remains to be seen whether he runs in order to show favor or with a darker motivation for wealth (Rashi) based on the gifts Rivkah has already received. His dealings with Jacob later in Genesis would seem to suggest the latter.
 
It’s interesting to note that it is Laban the brother of Rivkah who goes out to meet Eliezer rather than Be’tuel, Rivkah’s father.
 
וַיָּבֹ֤א הָאִישׁ֙ הַבַּ֔יְתָה וַיְפַתַּ֖ח הַגְּמַלִּ֑ים וַיִּתֵּ֨ן תֶּ֤בֶן וּמִסְפּוֹא֙ לַגְּמַלִּ֔ים וּמַ֙יִם֙ לִרְחֹ֣ץ רַגְלָ֔יו וְרַגְלֵ֥י הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר אִתּֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 24:32 And the man came into the house, and he ungirded the camels; and he gave straw and provision for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men that were with him.
 
Rashi, quoting the Midrash, records that Avraham’s camels were always muzzled when away from home so as not to eat the provender of another man’s animals.
 
 ׳וַיִּישֶׂם׳ ״וַיּוּשַׂ֤ם״ לְפָנָיו֙ לֶאֱכֹ֔ל וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לֹ֣א אֹכַ֔ל עַ֥ד אִם־דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי דְּבָרָ֑י וַיֹּ֖אמֶר דַּבֵּֽר׃
 
Gen 24:33 And there was set food before him to eat; but he said: “I will not eat, until I have explained my errand.” And he said: “Speak on.”
 
Like so many other righteous men Eliezer will not receive comfort for himself until he has found comfort for his master and his master’s son. He will not rest until his oath is fulfilled.
 
וַיֹּאמַ֑ר עֶ֥בֶד אַבְרָהָ֖ם אָנֹֽכִי׃
וַיהוָ֞ה בֵּרַ֧ךְ אֶת־אֲדֹנִ֛י מְאֹ֖ד וַיִּגְדָּ֑ל וַיִּתֶּן־ל֞וֹ צֹ֤אן וּבָקָר֙ וְכֶ֣סֶף וְזָהָ֔ב וַעֲבָדִם֙ וּשְׁפָחֹ֔ת וּגְמַלִּ֖ים וַחֲמֹרִֽים׃
וַתֵּ֡לֶד שָׂרָה֩ אֵ֨שֶׁת אֲדֹנִ֥י בֵן֙ לַֽאדֹנִ֔י אַחֲרֵ֖י זִקְנָתָ֑הּ וַיִּתֶּן־לּ֖וֹ אֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר־לֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 24:34 And he said: “I am Avraham's servant. Gen 24:35 And HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) has blessed my master greatly; and he is become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and men-servants and maid-servants, and camels and donkeys.” Gen 24:36 “And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and to him has he given all that he has.”
 
Eliezer first identifies himself as the servant of Avraham, who is both known to be a man whom God has blessed and a blood relative of Laban. In order to be secure in our purpose as children of God we must accept our identity in Him.
 
Beginning with Avraham’s experiences of God’s provision, Eliezer recounts the events leading up to this moment in order to show how God has orchestrated this meeting and chosen Rivkah as a wife for Yitzchak.
 
וַיַּשְׁבִּעֵ֥נִי אֲדֹנִ֖י לֵאמֹ֑ר לֹא־תִקַּ֤ח אִשָּׁה֙ לִבְנִ֔י מִבְּנוֹת֙ הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י יֹשֵׁ֥ב בְּאַרְצֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 24:37 “And my master made me swear, saying: ‘You shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the כְּנַעֲנִ֔י C’naaniy (Canaanites), in whose land I dwell.’
 
Eliezer refers to the oath so as to make clear that in spite of the many women in the land where Avraham and Yitzchak dwell, it is a woman from Avraham’s own blood that the LORD has established for Yitzchak.
 
 אִם־לֹ֧א אֶל־בֵּית־אָבִ֛י תֵּלֵ֖ךְ וְאֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתִּ֑י וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ אִשָּׁ֖ה לִבְנִֽי׃
וָאֹמַ֖ר אֶל־אֲדֹנִ֑י אֻלַ֛י לֹא־תֵלֵ֥ךְ הָאִשָּׁ֖ה אַחֲרָֽי׃
 
Gen 24:38 ‘But you shall go to my father's house (bayit), and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son.’” Gen 24:39 “And I said to my master: ‘What if the woman will not walk with me?’”
 
As in the case of Yitzchak’s walking in agreement with Avraham, the woman who is to marry Yitzchak must be in agreement with the betrothal and accept her role of her own fruition.
 
וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֵלָ֑י יְהוָ֞ה אֲשֶׁר־הִתְהַלַּ֣כְתִּי לְפָנָ֗יו יִשְׁלַ֨ח מַלְאָכ֤וֹ אִתָּךְ֙ וְהִצְלִ֣יחַ דַּרְכֶּ֔ךָ וְלָקַחְתָּ֤ אִשָּׁה֙ לִבְנִ֔י מִמִּשְׁפַּחְתִּ֖י וּמִבֵּ֥ית אָבִֽי׃
אָ֤ז תִּנָּקֶה֙ מֵאָ֣לָתִ֔י כִּ֥י תָב֖וֹא אֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתִּ֑י וְאִם־לֹ֤א יִתְּנוּ֙ לָ֔ךְ וְהָיִ֥יתָ נָקִ֖י מֵאָלָתִֽי׃
וָאָבֹ֥א הַיּ֖וֹם אֶל־הָעָ֑יִן וָאֹמַ֗ר יְהוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵי֙ אֲדֹנִ֣י אַבְרָהָ֔ם אִם־יֶשְׁךָ־נָּא֙ מַצְלִ֣יחַ דַּרְכִּ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י הֹלֵ֥ךְ עָלֶֽיהָ׃
הִנֵּ֛ה אָנֹכִ֥י נִצָּ֖ב עַל־עֵ֣ין הַמָּ֑יִם וְהָיָ֤ה הָֽעַלְמָה֙ הַיֹּצֵ֣את לִשְׁאֹ֔ב וְאָמַרְתִּ֣י אֵלֶ֔יהָ הַשְׁקִֽינִי־נָ֥א מְעַט־מַ֖יִם מִכַּדֵּֽךְ׃
 
Gen 24:40 “And he said to me: ‘HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), before Whom I walk, will send His Angel/Messenger with you, and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house; Gen 24:41 then shall you be free from my oath, when you come to my kindred; and if they give her not to you, you will be free from my oath.’” Gen 24:42 “And I came this day to the eye/well/spring, and said: ‘HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), the God/Judge (Ha-Elohiym) of my master Avraham, if now You do prosper my way which I go: Gen 24:43 behold, as I stand by the eye/well/spring of water; let it come to pass, that the עַלְמָה֙ almah (virgin) that comes forth to draw, to whom I shall say: “Give me, I ask you, a little water from your pitcher to drink”;
 
In verse 16 Eliezer used the word, הַֽנַּעֲרָ֗ hana’ar meaning, “the Maiden,” whereas here he uses the more specific word, עַלְמָה “almah” which denotes a young woman in the prime of her youth and can infer virginity, making it a testimony to the young lady’s pure character.
 
וְאָמְרָ֤ה אֵלַי֙ גַּם־אַתָּ֣ה שְׁתֵ֔ה וְגַ֥ם לִגְמַלֶּ֖יךָ אֶשְׁאָ֑ב הִ֣וא הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־הֹכִ֥יחַ יְהוָ֖ה לְבֶן־אֲדֹנִֽי׃
 אֲנִי֩ טֶ֨רֶם אֲכַלֶּ֜ה לְדַבֵּ֣ר אֶל־לִבִּ֗י וְהִנֵּ֨ה רִבְקָ֤ה יֹצֵאת֙ וְכַדָּ֣הּ עַל־שִׁכְמָ֔הּ וַתֵּ֥רֶד הָעַ֖יְנָה וַתִּשְׁאָ֑ב וָאֹמַ֥ר אֵלֶ֖יהָ הַשְׁקִ֥ינִי נָֽא׃
 וַתְּמַהֵ֗ר וַתּ֤וֹרֶד כַּדָּהּ֙ מֵֽעָלֶ֔יהָ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר שְׁתֵ֔ה וְגַם־גְּמַלֶּ֖יךָ אַשְׁקֶ֑ה וָאֵ֕שְׁתְּ וְגַ֥ם הַגְּמַלִּ֖ים הִשְׁקָֽתָה׃
 וָאֶשְׁאַ֣ל אֹתָ֗הּ וָאֹמַר֮ בַּת־מִ֣י אַתְּ֒ וַתֹּ֗אמֶר בַּת־בְּתוּאֵל֙ בֶּן־נָח֔וֹר אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָֽלְדָה־לּ֖וֹ מִלְכָּ֑ה וָאָשִׂ֤ם הַנֶּ֙זֶם֙ עַל־אַפָּ֔הּ וְהַצְּמִידִ֖ים עַל־יָדֶֽיהָ׃
 וָאֶקֹּ֥ד וָֽאֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֖ה לַיהוָ֑ה וָאֲבָרֵ֗ךְ אֶת־יְהוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵי֙ אֲדֹנִ֣י אַבְרָהָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֤ר הִנְחַ֙נִי֙ בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ אֱמֶ֔ת לָקַ֛חַת אֶת־בַּת־אֲחִ֥י אֲדֹנִ֖י לִבְנֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 24:44 and she shall say to me: “Both drink, you, and I will also draw for your camels”; let the same be the woman whom HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) has appointed for my master's son.’” Gen 24:45 And before I had done speaking in לִבִּי my lev (core being, heart, inner person) behold, Rivkah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the eye/well/spring, and drew. And I said to her: “Let me drink, I ask you.” Gen 24:46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said: ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.’ So, I drank, and she made the camels drink also.” Gen 24:47 “And I asked her, and said: ‘Whose daughter, are you?’ And she said: ‘The daughter of Bet’uel, Nachor's son, whom Milcah bore to him. And I put the ring in her nose, and the bracelets on her hands. Gen 24:48 And I bowed my head, and prostrated myself before HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), and blessed HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), the God/Judge (Ha-Elohiym) of my master Avraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son.”
 
Eliezer concludes his account the way he began it, acknowledging the divine guidance and selection of HaShem as the primary reason for the proposed union. His hearers could be left in no doubt as to Whom both Avraham and Eliezer relied on for the fulfilment of the oath.
 
וְ֠עַתָּה אִם־יֶשְׁכֶ֨ם עֹשִׂ֜ים חֶ֧סֶד וֶֽאֱמֶ֛ת אֶת־אֲדֹנִ֖י הַגִּ֣ידוּ לִ֑י וְאִם־לֹ֕א הַגִּ֣ידוּ לִ֔י וְאֶפְנֶ֥ה עַל־יָמִ֖ין א֥וֹ עַל־שְׂמֹֽאל׃
 
Gen 24:49 “And now if you will deal kindly (חֶ֧סֶד chesed) and truly (אֱמֶת emet) with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.”
 
Rav Iben Ezra says that חֶ֧סֶד chesed (kindness) denotes the intention to do what is good and אֱמֶת emet (truth) gives permanence to the right action it accompanies.
 
 וַיַּ֨עַן לָבָ֤ן וּבְתוּאֵל֙ וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ מֵיְהוָ֖ה יָצָ֣א הַדָּבָ֑ר לֹ֥א נוּכַ֛ל דַּבֵּ֥ר אֵלֶ֖יךָ רַ֥ע אוֹ־טֽוֹב׃
 
Gen 24:50 Then Laban (White) and Bet’uel answered and said: “What you’re saying proceeds from HaShem (YHVH: Mercy); we cannot speak to you bad or good.”
 
We now hear from both Laban and his father Be’tuel (Who may have been present from the beginning). The listing of Laban’s name before his father’s is an indication of his seeking to usurp his father’s authority. This is supported by the commentary of Rashi and becomes indicative of Laban’s character. Given the fact that Laban continues to worship false gods (as attested to in the narrative concerning Jacob), this proclamation concerning the will of HaShem has more in common with fearful concession than it does with true faith.
 
הִנֵּֽה־רִבְקָ֥ה לְפָנֶ֖יךָ קַ֣ח וָלֵ֑ךְ וּתְהִ֤י אִשָּׁה֙ לְבֶן־אֲדֹנֶ֔יךָ כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר דִּבֶּ֥ר יְהוָֽה׃
 
Gen 24:51 “Behold, Rivkah is before you, take her, and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) has spoken.”
 
Nowhere in the chapter has HaShem spoken explicitly. Thus, we understand that God speaks both to and through His servants.
 
וַיְהִ֕י כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׁמַ֛ע עֶ֥בֶד אַבְרָהָ֖ם אֶת־דִּבְרֵיהֶ֑ם וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּ אַ֖רְצָה לַֽיהוָֽה׃
 וַיּוֹצֵ֨א הָעֶ֜בֶד כְּלֵי־כֶ֨סֶף וּכְלֵ֤י זָהָב֙ וּבְגָדִ֔ים וַיִּתֵּ֖ן לְרִבְקָ֑ה וּמִ֨גְדָּנֹ֔ת נָתַ֥ן לְאָחִ֖יהָ וּלְאִמָּֽהּ׃
 וַיֹּאכְל֣וּ וַיִּשְׁתּ֗וּ ה֛וּא וְהָאֲנָשִׁ֥ים אֲשֶׁר־עִמּ֖וֹ וַיָּלִ֑ינוּ וַיָּק֣וּמוּ בַבֹּ֔קֶר וַיֹּ֖אמֶר שַׁלְּחֻ֥נִי לַֽאדֹנִֽי׃
 
Gen 24:52 And it came to pass, that, when Avraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth unto HaShem (YHVH: Mercy). Gen 24:53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rivkah; he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious gifts. Gen 24:54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and stayed all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said: “Send me away to my master אדֹנִי (adoni).”
 
These additional gifts were part of the bride price for betrothal. However, Eliezer’s request to leave the next morning was not customary. This shows his urgency in wanting to return before Avraham’s death.
 
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אָחִ֙יהָ֙ וְאִמָּ֔הּ תֵּשֵׁ֨ב הַנַּעֲרָ֥ אִתָּ֛נוּ יָמִ֖ים א֣וֹ עָשׂ֑וֹר אַחַ֖ר תֵּלֵֽךְ׃
 
Gen 24:55 And her brother and her mother said: “Let the young woman stay with us a few months, at the least ten; after that she shall go.”
 
The tradition for betrothal was such that a bride groom would prepare a new residence for his bride over the period of 12 months and then return to marry her and take her into his household. Thus, Rivkah’s family requested that she remain for at least ten months in order to maintain the traditional custom.
 
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ אַל־תְּאַחֲר֣וּ אֹתִ֔י וַֽיהוָ֖ה הִצְלִ֣יחַ דַּרְכִּ֑י שַׁלְּח֕וּנִי וְאֵלְכָ֖ה לַֽאדֹנִֽי׃
 
Gen 24:56 And he said to them: “Delay me not, seeing HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) has prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.”
 
Eliezer’s motivation is clearly to return to Avraham before his passing so that Avraham can share in the joy of his son’s marriage to a member of his wider family.
 
וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ נִקְרָ֣א לַֽנַּעֲרָ֑ וְנִשְׁאֲלָ֖ה אֶת־פִּֽיהָ׃
 וַיִּקְרְא֤וּ לְרִבְקָה֙ וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵלֶ֔יהָ הֲתֵלְכִ֖י עִם־הָאִ֣ישׁ הַזֶּ֑ה וַתֹּ֖אמֶר אֵלֵֽךְ׃
 וַֽיְשַׁלְּח֛וּ אֶת־רִבְקָ֥ה אֲחֹתָ֖ם וְאֶת־מֵנִקְתָּ֑הּ וְאֶת־עֶ֥בֶד אַבְרָהָ֖ם וְאֶת־אֲנָשָֽׁיו׃
 
Gen 24:57 And they said: “We will call the young woman, and inquire of her mouth.”
Gen 24:58 And they called Rivkah, and said to her: “Will you go with this man?” And she said: “I will go.” Gen 24:59 And they sent away Rivkah their sister, and her nurse, and Avraham's servant, and his men.
 
Rivkah, like Avraham, is willing and obedient to the call of God to leave Charan and journey into the land of promise. “I will go” remains the ultimate sacrificial response of believers today.
 
No woman is to be married without her consent, even in the tradition of arranged marriages within ancient Jewish culture, no one was allowed to force a woman to marry.
 
וַיְבָרֲכ֤וּ אֶת־רִבְקָה֙ וַיֹּ֣אמְרוּ לָ֔הּ אֲחֹתֵ֕נוּ אַ֥תְּ הֲיִ֖י לְאַלְפֵ֣י רְבָבָ֑ה וְיִירַ֣שׁ זַרְעֵ֔ךְ אֵ֖ת שַׁ֥עַר שֹׂנְאָֽיו׃
 
Gen 24:60 And they blessed Rivkah, and said unto her: “Our sister, be you the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let your seed possess the gate of those that hate them.”
 
Rivkah, the matriarchal version of Avraham, receives a blessing like that which was given to him (22:17).
 
The blessing to possess the gates of your enemies means both to capture their cities and to rule over them. The gate is the place of judgement, where the elders and rulers of the city decide matters of business and law.
 
וַתָּ֨קָם רִבְקָ֜ה וְנַעֲרֹתֶ֗יהָ וַתִּרְכַּ֙בְנָה֙ עַל־הַגְּמַלִּ֔ים וַתֵּלַ֖כְנָה אַחֲרֵ֣י הָאִ֑ישׁ וַיִּקַּ֥ח הָעֶ֛בֶד אֶת־רִבְקָ֖ה וַיֵּלַֽךְ׃
 וְיִצְחָק֙ בָּ֣א מִבּ֔וֹא בְּאֵ֥ר לַחַ֖י רֹאִ֑י וְה֥וּא יוֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּאֶ֥רֶץ הַנֶּֽגֶב׃
 וַיֵּצֵ֥א יִצְחָ֛ק לָשׂ֥וּחַ בַּשָּׂדֶ֖ה לִפְנ֣וֹת עָ֑רֶב וַיִּשָּׂ֤א עֵינָיו֙ וַיַּ֔רְא וְהִנֵּ֥ה גְמַלִּ֖ים בָּאִֽים׃
 
Gen 24:61 And Rivkah arose, and her young woman (nurse maid), and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man. And the servant took Rivkah, and went his way. Gen 24:62 And Yitzchak (Isaac) came from the way of Beer-lahay-roiy (Well of the living Seer); for he dwelt in the land of the Negev (South). Gen 24:63 And Yitzchak (Isaac) went out to meditate (l’suach: contemplate) in the field in the evening; and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, there were camels coming.
 
Yitzchak was coming from the waters of the living Seer, returning to the Negev and the tents of his father he walked in the evening contemplating and meditating on God’s goodness. Or perhaps he was contemplating the loss of his mother, meditating in grief, having sought solace at the waters of the living Seer.
 
It is from this scripture that the Talmud and Midrash derive the tradition that Yitzchak instituted the Minchah (the afternoon prayer service). Avraham is said to have instituted the Sacharit (morning) service (Genesis 19:27), and Jacob the Maariv (evening) service (Genesis 28:11).
 
וַתִּשָּׂ֤א רִבְקָה֙ אֶת־עֵינֶ֔יהָ וַתֵּ֖רֶא אֶת־יִצְחָ֑ק וַתִּפֹּ֖ל מֵעַ֥ל הַגָּמָֽל׃
 וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אֶל־הָעֶ֗בֶד מִֽי־הָאִ֤ישׁ הַלָּזֶה֙ הַהֹלֵ֤ךְ בַּשָּׂדֶה֙ לִקְרָאתֵ֔נוּ וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הָעֶ֖בֶד ה֣וּא אֲדֹנִ֑י וַתִּקַּ֥ח הַצָּעִ֖יף וַתִּתְכָּֽס׃
 
Gen 24:64 And Rivkah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Yitzchak (Isaac), she fell from the camel. Gen 24:65 And she said to the servant: “What man is this that walks in the field to meet us?” And the servant said: “It is my master (adoni).” And she took her veil, and covered herself.
 
Rivkah was so excited by the thought that the one approaching was Yitzchak that she fell from her camel. She veiled her face out of piety and by way of covering before her bridegroom. The unveiling of her face in the tent of Yitzchak’s mother is a foretaste of the wedding of the Lamb and the Olam Haba (World to come) where all who are in Messiah will gaze upon him with unveiled face, having been transformed from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).
 
Modern Jewish wedding traditions vary, however, in some branches of Orthodox Judaism it is traditional for the bride to be veiled prior to the wedding ceremony (badeken) and unveiled by her husband following the ceremony in private (yichud).
 
In other traditions the bride is veiled by her father before she walks toward her groom, who comes out to meet her, circling him three or seven times. The groom then unveils his bride and the two walk to the chuppah for the remainder of the ceremony.
 
וַיְסַפֵּ֥ר הָעֶ֖בֶד לְיִצְחָ֑ק אֵ֥ת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃
 וַיְבִאֶ֣הָ יִצְחָ֗ק הָאֹ֙הֱלָה֙ שָׂרָ֣ה אִמּ֔וֹ וַיִּקַּ֧ח אֶת־רִבְקָ֛ה וַתְּהִי־ל֥וֹ לְאִשָּׁ֖ה וַיֶּאֱהָבֶ֑הָ וַיִּנָּחֵ֥ם יִצְחָ֖ק אַחֲרֵ֥י אִמּֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 24:66 And the servant told Yitzchak (Isaac) all the things that he had done.
Gen 24:67 And Yitzchak (Isaac) brought her into his mother Sarah's tent (ohel), and took Rivkah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. And Yitzchak (Isaac) was comforted after the loss of his mother.
 
The Midrash reads, “He brought her to his tent, she was Sarah his mother.” (Rashi) This means that Rivkah became a comforter to Yitzchak just as His mother had been. He was privileged to experience the comforting love of a righteous mother and a righteous wife. I know how that feels, Baruch HaShem.
 
© 2026 Yaakov Ben Yehoshua

Introduction:
 
The events of the Akeidah now concluded, Avraham returns to find that his beloved wife Sarah has passed away. Imagine the turmoil and anguish he must have suffered. The joy of receiving his son back from the dead, figuratively speaking, is now met with the continuing reality, albeit temporary, of the wages of sin. The death of Sarah illuminates the truth that the promised resurrection is prefigured in Yitzchak and yet to come in Yeshua.
 
The Targum Yonatan explains that Satan had told Sarah that Avraham had slaughtered Isaac and upon hearing this she cried out in grief and died. This would explain why Avraham and Isaac were not present at her death:
 
“Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and bewail her” (Genesis 23:2.)
 
The Rabbis suggest that this is the reason that the account of Sarah’s death follows directly after Ha-Akeidah (The Binding of Isaac). The sages remind us however, that Sarah’s appointed time had come regardless of Satan’s role in her demise, and that her last breathe came with the knowledge that she had raised a son who was willing to give up even his life in the service of Hashem.
 
We should also note that this Torah portion is titled, “Chayei Sarah” which translates to, “The Life of Sarah” as opposed to, “The Death of Sarah.” God is the God of the living.
 
Yeshua the King Messiah says:
 
“But concerning the dead being raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moshe about the burning bush? How Elohim said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He’s not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
 
–Mark 12:26-27 
 
וַיִּהְיוּ֙ חַיֵּ֣י שָׂרָ֔ה מֵאָ֥ה שָׁנָ֛ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה וְשֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֑ים שְׁנֵ֖י חַיֵּ֥י שָׂרָֽה׃
 
Gen 23:1 And the life of Sarah (Princess/Queen/Matriarch) was a hundred years and twenty years and seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.
 
The years of Sarah’s life are intentionally divided by the author of the Torah and His scribe. In Hebrew the text reads, “וַיִּהְיוּ֙ חַיֵּ֣י שָׂרָ֔ה מֵאָ֥ה שָׁנָ֛ה Vayi-h’yu chayeiy Sarah meiah (100) shanah (years) וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה v’esriym (20) shanah (years) וְשֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֑ים v’sheva (seven) shaniym (years)...”
 
Rashi suggests that the division of years reflects the progression of Sarah’s spiritual innocence and natural beauty.
 
In Biblical Hebrew thought the number 100 reflects the tenfold completion of the number 10, signifying a fulfilled promise or purpose. The number 20, being twice the completion of 10, may convey the birth and resurrection of Yitzchak, or the first and second fulfilments of the ram’s sacrifice, and the number 7, known by even the Torah novice as a number reflecting creation and the present and perfect manifest kavod (glory) of God (a.k.a Shekhinah), conveys a sense of the perfected purpose of God and His constant presence in Sarah’s life to this point in her story, with the promise of eternal life in the presence of HaShem in the Olam Haba (World to come).
 
By all accounts, this is the passing on of Israel’s first Queen, and prior to this we have already received news of Israel’s second Queen, Rivkah (Rebecca), the one in whom the purposes of God are tightly bound.
 
וַתָּ֣מָת שָׂרָ֗ה בְּקִרְיַ֥ת אַרְבַּ֛ע הִ֥וא חֶבְר֖וֹן בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן וַיָּבֹא֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם לִסְפֹּ֥ד לְשָׂרָ֖ה וְלִבְכֹּתָֽהּ׃
 
Gen 23:2 And Sarah died in קִרְיַ֥ת אַרְבַּ֛ע Kiriat-arba (City of four) - the same is חֶבְר֖וֹן Chevron (Company, Shared, Magician) - in the land of כְּנָ֑עַן C’naan (lowland); and Avraham (Father of many nations) came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
 
"And Avraham came from the mount of worship (Moriah), and found that she (Sarah) was dead, and he sat down to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.''
 
–Targum Yonatan
 
Hebron is situated in the hill country of Judah approximately 32 km south of Jerusalem. The Torah records it as the burial place of each of the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel (Genesis 23:19; 35:27; 49:29-32; 50:13).
 
In laying their bones to rest at Hebron, the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel left a testimony of their faith in what God had promised would come. So too Joseph had instructed the sons of Israel with the prophetic words:
 
“And Yosef (YHVH: Mercy adds) said to his brothers, “I die: and Elohiym (Judge) God will attend, number, appoint, care for and visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which He swore to Avraham (Father of many people), to Yitzchaak (He laughs), and to Yaakov (Follower). And Yosef required an oath of the children of Yisrael (Overcome in God) saying, “Elohiym (Judge) God will attend, number, appoint, care for and visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.””
 
–Bereishit (Genesis) 50:24-25 [Author’s translation]
 
“And Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him; for he had required an oath from b’nai Yisrael (the children of Israel), saying: 'God will surely remember you; and you will carry up my bones away from here with you.'”
 
–Shemot (Exodus) 13:19 [Author’s translation]
 
Hebron was also the first seat of David’s kingdom (2 Samuel 2:1-4; 5:1-5).
 
Sarah died in a city named for a hero (Arba) of the Anakim (Long necked, giants) much later in Israel’s history (Joshua 14:15). It is also considered by Rashi to be a prophetic name in honour of the four (arba) great couples who were buried there: Adam and Eve (Pirke Eliezer, c. 20. & 36), Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah.
 
וַיָּ֙קָם֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם מֵעַ֖ל פְּנֵ֣י מֵת֑וֹ וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֶל־בְּנֵי־חֵ֖ת לֵאמֹֽר׃
 
Gen 23:3 And Avraham rose up from before his dead, and spoke unto the children of חֵ֖ת Chet (Terror), saying:
 
We know from the latter verses that this was taking place at the city gate where business and legal matters were determined in the ancient eastern culture of Avraham’s time.
 
Sadly, today, Avraham’s children continue to rise up from before our dead in order to speak to the children of terror. Though the Historical Biblical record clearly testifies to Israel’s legal ownership of Sarah’s tomb and the surrounding land, Hebron remains under the tacit control of Israel’s enemies (Palestinian Authority).
 
Chet was the son of C’naan, meaning lowland (Genesis 10:15). Thus we read, “The children of Terror from the lowland.”
 
 גֵּר־וְתוֹשָׁ֥ב אָנֹכִ֖י עִמָּכֶ֑ם תְּנ֨וּ לִ֤י אֲחֻזַּת־קֶ֙בֶר֙ עִמָּכֶ֔ם וְאֶקְבְּרָ֥ה מֵתִ֖י מִלְּפָנָֽי׃
 
Gen 23:4 “I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may inter my dead from before my face.”
 
In modern terms we would equate Avraham’s words with a resident immigrant, one who has come from another land but has made his new home among us.
 
Avraham shows tremendous humility in pleading for a tomb for his wife. After all, the land he is asking for has already been promised to him by God.
 
The Midrash illuminates further both the promise of God and the humility of His servant Avraham:
 
“You humiliated yourself before them; by your life, I shall make you a lord and prince over them”
 
-Midrash HaGadol
 
Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik notes that Avraham expresses the two roles a Jew must play. On one hand, a resident and advocate for his country, who prays for the wellbeing of the nation where he lives (Jeremiah 29:7). While on the other hand, a Jew in this world is always an alien, his allegiance is to God and his goal is set out in the Torah [The goal of the Torah being Messiah (Romans 10:4)]. Rav Yosef concludes that a Jew must always be ready to be a lonely alien, resisting the culture that surrounds him and maintaining his unique identity and responsibility.
 
The book of Leviticus describes the people of Israel as resident aliens living on land owned by God (Leviticus 25:23). These same words are also used to convey the transience of human life and the unworthiness of humanity in the face of God’s holiness and provision (2 Chronicles 29:15).
 
וַיַּעֲנ֧וּ בְנֵי־חֵ֛ת אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֥ר לֽוֹ׃
שְׁמָעֵ֣נוּ׀ אֲדֹנִ֗י נְשִׂ֨יא אֱלֹהִ֤ים אַתָּה֙ בְּתוֹכֵ֔נוּ בְּמִבְחַ֣ר קְבָרֵ֔ינוּ קְבֹ֖ר אֶת־מֵתֶ֑ךָ אִ֣ישׁ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ אֶת־קִבְר֛וֹ לֹֽא־יִכְלֶ֥ה מִמְּךָ֖ מִקְּבֹ֥ר מֵתֶֽךָ׃
 
Gen 23:5 And the children of Chet answered Avraham, saying to him: Gen 23:6 “Hear us, my lord (Adoniy): you are a mighty prince among us; choose from our tombs, inter your dead; none of us shall withhold from you his tomb, so that you may inter your dead.”
 
The answer given by the children of Chet is blatant flattery. In fact, the subsequent bartering and the exorbitant asking price shows how little respect they had for Avraham, whom they saw as an immigrant usurper rather than an assimilated member of their society. The social and legal structure of the time saw this first verbal interaction as the initiation of a bargaining protocol. The niceties are simply that, cultural etiquette rather than genuine sentiment.
 
וַיָּ֧קָם אַבְרָהָ֛ם וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּ לְעַם־הָאָ֖רֶץ לִבְנֵי־חֵֽת׃
 וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אִתָּ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר אִם־יֵ֣שׁ אֶֽת־נַפְשְׁכֶ֗ם לִקְבֹּ֤ר אֶת־מֵתִי֙ מִלְּפָנַ֔י שְׁמָע֕וּנִי וּפִגְעוּ־לִ֖י בְּעֶפְר֥וֹן בֶּן־צֹֽחַר׃
 
Gen 23:7 And Avraham rose up, and bowed down to the people of the land, even to the children of Chet. Gen 23:8 And he spoke with them, saying: “If it be your mind that I should inter my dead from before my face, hear me, and petition Ephron (Calf-like, dust man, stag diving) the son of Zochar (Tawny, reddish grey, whiteness, sheen) on my behalf,
 
Avraham bows down out of respect and in humility. Though Ephron was present (v.10), Avraham follows the local custom and seeks out the approval of the elders of the city gate in order to broker a negotiation with Ephron.
 
The phrase, “inter my dead from before my face” infers that Avraham is aware that his wife Sarah, while no longer before his face, is none the less in the presence of HaShem and before His face. That Avraham and Sarah believed in the Olam Haba (World to come) is affirmed by the Jewish writer of the book to the Hebrews:
 
“8 In faith, trust, assurance, belief Avraham (Father of a great people), when he was called, to go to the land which he was to receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he left, not knowing where he was going. 9 In faith, trust, assurance, belief he sojourned, lived as a foreigner in the land of the promise, message, as if in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Yitzchak [Isaac] and Yaakov [Jacob], fellow heirs of the same promise, message; 10 for he was looking, expecting, waiting for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is the God. 11 In faith, trust, assurance, belief even Sarah herself received strength, ability, miraculous power to conceive, make the foundation of a child being seeded brought forth when she was past age, because she considered Him faithful Who had promised, messaged. 12 Therefore even from one man, and one who was as good as dead, there were birthed descendants who were as the stars of heavens in multitudes, and as the sand by the seashore, uncountable. 13 All these died in faith, trust, assurance, belief, without receiving the promises, but having seen, known, understood from a distance, and were persuaded, had confidence, trusted, and embraced, welcomed, greeted them, having professed that they were strangers and exiles, resident foreigners in the land. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a native land. 15 And certainly if they had been remembering the land which they left, they would have had a season, opportunity, an affinity for returning. 16 But now, they desire a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore the God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. ”
 
–Hebrews 11:8-16 [Author’s translation]
 
וְיִתֶּן־לִ֗י אֶת־מְעָרַ֤ת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה֙ אֲשֶׁר־ל֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בִּקְצֵ֣ה שָׂדֵ֑הוּ בְּכֶ֨סֶף מָלֵ֜א יִתְּנֶ֥נָּה לִ֛י בְּתוֹכְכֶ֖ם לַאֲחֻזַּת־קָֽבֶר׃
 
Gen 23:9 that he may give me the cave of Machpeilah (Double, folding), which he has, which is within the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in the midst of you for a possession of a burying-place.”
 
The name Machpeilah (Double) infers that either there may have been two caves in the location or that the place would one day be home to the bodies of both Sarah and Avraham.
 
The petition for gifting the cave is qualified by the offer to pay a fair price, thus, “give” should be understood as the literal act of giving something over, rather than as a present, or gift that is given entirely at the expense of the giver.
 
The phrase, “let him give it to me in the midst of you as a possession” seeks to establish a rhythm of testimony that sees this transaction firmly attested to by witnesses as a form of security for the future generations of Avraham’s family line.
 
 וְעֶפְר֥וֹן יֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּת֣וֹךְ בְּנֵי־חֵ֑ת וַיַּעַן֩ עֶפְר֨וֹן הַחִתִּ֤י אֶת־אַבְרָהָם֙ בְּאָזְנֵ֣י בְנֵי־חֵ֔ת לְכֹ֛ל בָּאֵ֥י שַֽׁעַר־עִיר֖וֹ לֵאמֹֽר׃
 לֹֽא־אֲדֹנִ֣י שְׁמָעֵ֔נִי הַשָּׂדֶה֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לָ֔ךְ וְהַמְּעָרָ֥ה אֲשֶׁר־בּ֖וֹ לְךָ֣ נְתַתִּ֑יהָ לְעֵינֵ֧י בְנֵי־עַמִּ֛י נְתַתִּ֥יהָ לָּ֖ךְ קְבֹ֥ר מֵתֶֽךָ׃
 
Gen 23:10  Now Ephron (Calf-like, dust man, stag diving) was sitting in the midst of the children of Chet (Terror); and Ephron the Cheeti (Descendant of terror) answered Avraham (Father of many nations) in the hearing of the children of Chet (Terror), even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying: Gen 23:11 “No, my lord (Adoniy), hear me: I give you the field, and the cave that is within it, I give it to you; in the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; inter your dead.”
 
Ephron’s use of the honorific, “My lord” is equally as disingenuous as the general response of his clansmen. Again, he is either offering to give over the field with a price in mind, or he intends to gift it without a legal transaction taking place so that Avraham would become his tenant and the land would remain in Ephron’s family following Avraham’s death. This is not a genuine offer.
 
Ephron, realizing Avraham is intent on purchasing the cave and fields, calls on the witness of his clansmen in order to seek compensation for the cave and adds the field in order to glean a greater price. Anyone who has experienced the Jerusalem, Carmel or the Old Yafo shukim  (markets) will have come across similar types of bartering protocol, a culture of wheeling and dealing. Ironically, the proclaiming of this deal before the witnesses at the city gate strengthens Avraham’s descendants’ perpetual legal claim to the cave and its surrounding land.
 
We should keep in mind that Avraham is negotiating for his wife’s burial place, he is recently bereaved and is surely in great turmoil and under weighty emotional stress due to the loss of his life-long partner and friend.
 
Anyone who would take advantage of a man during a time of grief is the very personification of unrighteousness.
​
וַיִּשְׁתַּ֙חוּ֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י עַ֥ם הָאָֽרֶץ׃
 וַיְדַבֵּ֨ר אֶל־עֶפְר֜וֹן בְּאָזְנֵ֤י עַם־הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אַ֛ךְ אִם־אַתָּ֥ה ל֖וּ שְׁמָעֵ֑נִי נָתַ֜תִּי כֶּ֤סֶף הַשָּׂדֶה֙ קַ֣ח מִמֶּ֔נִּי וְאֶקְבְּרָ֥ה אֶת־מֵתִ֖י שָֽׁמָּה׃
 
Gen 23:12 And Avraham bowed down before the people of the land. Gen 23:13 And he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying: “But if you will, I plead with you, hear me: I will give the price of the field; take it from me, and I will bury my dead there.”
 
Yet again the phrase, “in the hearing of the people of the land” reinforces the legal status of the land and those who possess it. Avraham continues as he has intended from the beginning, offering a fair price for the field, which also contains the caves.
 
 וַיַּ֧עַן עֶפְר֛וֹן אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֥ר לֽוֹ׃
 אֲדֹנִ֣י שְׁמָעֵ֔נִי אֶרֶץ֩ אַרְבַּ֨ע מֵאֹ֧ת שֶֽׁקֶל־כֶּ֛סֶף בֵּינִ֥י וּבֵֽינְךָ֖ מַה־הִ֑וא וְאֶת־מֵתְךָ֖ קְבֹֽר׃
 
Gen 23:14 And Ephron answered Avraham, saying unto him: Gen 23:15 “My lord (Adoniy), listen unto me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? Therefore, inter your dead.”
 
This is where the true character of Ephron is exposed. He offers a price that is at least 20 times the value of the land according to the standard shekel. Rashi notes that it was a price great enough to purchase a huge estate. There is no question that Ephron is using the urgency of Avraham’s situation against him, and that he is taking advantage of a grieving man and his retinue. By way of qualification, Jeremiah the prophet redeems an entire ancestral land plot several times greater than this one for 17 shekels (Jeremiah 32:9), and on Mt Moriah, David purchases the threshing floor and oxen for 50 shekels (2 Samuel 24:24).
 
Those who wish to contest this conclusion site the 600 shekels David paid for the entire Temple mount (1 Chronicles 21:25). However, the Temple mount is not comparable to the plot at Hebron, either in area or in significance. They also note that Omri paid 6000 shekels for the virgin hill of Samaria (1 Kings 16:24) but fail to take into account the context of this act and the evil intent and money flaunting of the wicked king Omri. Even if one were to concede the point of these two higher costings, it becomes redundant when the identification of the common trade currency (referred to in the next verse as, “current money”) is made.
 
וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע אַבְרָהָם֮ אֶל־עֶפְרוֹן֒ וַיִּשְׁקֹ֤ל אַבְרָהָם֙ לְעֶפְרֹ֔ן אֶת־הַכֶּ֕סֶף אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֶּ֖ר בְּאָזְנֵ֣י בְנֵי־חֵ֑ת אַרְבַּ֤ע מֵאוֹת֙ שֶׁ֣קֶל כֶּ֔סֶף עֹבֵ֖ר לַסֹּחֵֽר׃
 
Gen 23:16 And Avraham listened to Ephron; and Avraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the hearing of the children of Chet, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.
 
Avraham agreed to the amount, not out of desperation but with the knowledge that he was setting a legal precedent for his progeny. Though the price was exorbitant, Avraham considered this a physical representation of the greater future benefits that God had promised to his offspring.
 
The Hebrew, “עֹבֵ֖ר לַסֹּחֵֽר oveir lasocheir” translated as, “current money” is a description of a larger trading silver shekel that became known later in history as a centenaries. The Talmud (Bava Metzia 87a) explains, each shekel used to pay for the plot was worth 2,500 standard shekels (Rashi). Thus, in the end, Avraham paid a total of one million standard shekels for the plot and caves.
 
Further to my notes on the previous verse, this means that in reality the full price paid for Hebron is a least 166 times the amount of the highest price paid for land by a Jewish leader (of a different size and for different reasons) in the Torah (Omri). To put it into today’s terms, “Ephron ripped Avraham off in a big way!”
 
This transaction serves to illuminate the character of the Father of Trust Avraham, while bringing into the light the true character of the Dust Man Ephron, a Child of Terror (Chet). The former is a son of the heavens (God, life eternal), while the latter remains a son of the dust (death).
 
 וַיָּ֣קָם׀ שְׂדֵ֣ה עֶפְר֗וֹן אֲשֶׁר֙ בַּמַּכְפֵּלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר לִפְנֵ֣י מַמְרֵ֑א הַשָּׂדֶה֙ וְהַמְּעָרָ֣ה אֲשֶׁר־בּ֔וֹ וְכָל־הָעֵץ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּכָל־גְּבֻל֖וֹ סָבִֽיב׃
 לְאַבְרָהָ֥ם לְמִקְנָ֖ה לְעֵינֵ֣י בְנֵי־חֵ֑ת בְּכֹ֖ל בָּאֵ֥י שַֽׁעַר־עִירֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 23:17 So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpeilah, which was before Mamre (Strength), the field, and the cave which was within it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the border thereof round about, were secured (yakam: rose, elevated) Gen 23:18 unto Avraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Chet, before all that went in at the gate of his city.
 
Finally the land and its caves are secured legally before Ephron, the people of Chet and the elders of the gate and are recognized as belonging to Avraham and his offspring for a possession. No longer is it land upon which Avraham sojourns, it is now his lawful homeland. This historical record which is over 4000 years old is irrefutable proof of Israel’s ancestral claim to the caves and surrounding land in the city of Hebron.
 
This location is one of modern Judaism’s four holiest sites and is currently part of the Palestinian authority controlled land of southern Judea and Samaria. The 400 Jewish settlers who live there have need of the constant protection of up to 3,000 IDF (Israeli Defence Force) soldiers and this holy place has two separate worship areas, one for Jews and one for Muslims, kept separated by a bullet proof glass wall. Access for the average Jew is difficult at best and at worst, life threatening. The irony of calling the Jews who live in Hebron “settlers” is not lost on this Jew.
 
The Midrash states that the caves and surrounding land in Hebron are one of the three places that Scripture identifies as being testimony of the Jews’ irrefutable right to the possession of the land of Israel. The Midrash goes on to say that the cave of Machpeilah, the site of the Temple and the tomb of Joseph were all purchased without counter offers being made and with legal currency.
 
The phrase, “were confirmed/secured” uses the Hebrew, “yakam” literally, “rose”. Thus the Midrash interprets it to mean that through Avraham’s purchasing of the land it became elevated because it passed from the hands of the commoner Ephron into the hands of the king Avraham.
 
 וְאַחֲרֵי־כֵן֩ קָבַ֨ר אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶת־שָׂרָ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ אֶל־מְעָרַ֞ת שְׂדֵ֧ה הַמַּכְפֵּלָ֛ה עַל־פְּנֵ֥י מַמְרֵ֖א הִ֣וא חֶבְר֑וֹן בְּאֶ֖רֶץ כְּנָֽעַן׃
 וַיָּ֨קָם הַשָּׂדֶ֜ה וְהַמְּעָרָ֧ה אֲשֶׁר־בּ֛וֹ לְאַבְרָהָ֖ם לַאֲחֻזַּת־קָ֑בֶר מֵאֵ֖ת בְּנֵי־חֵֽת׃
 
Gen 23:19 And after this, Avraham interred Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpeilah before Mamre - the same is Chevron - in the land of C’naan. Gen 23:20 And the field, and the cave that is within, were made secure (yakam: rose, elevated) unto Avraham for a possession as a burying-place by the children of Chet.
 
© 2025 Yaakov Ben Yehoshua

​Introduction:
 
Following the birth and weaning of the promised son Isaac and the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael, Avraham had acquired the well of באר שבע Beer-sheva (Sevenfold Covenant), planted a grove of shady trees as a memorial of what ה" HaShem had done and remained in the land of the פְּלִשְׁתִּים P’lishtim (Greek immigrants to Canaan from the Aegean. This people group ceased to exist long before the second century C.E. renaming of the land of Israel by her Roman oppressors)  [Canaan]. There Avraham worships and gives glory to HaShem יהוה (YHVH) אל El (God) of מלך העולם (King of the Universe).
 
Now Avraham will face his final (Tenth) trial. All his former trials have been completed and the promise of their fulfilment has come to fruition. This trial is different, the ultimate fulfilment of it will not come to fruition at this time in history, and certainly not through the death of Isaac, although it will come to fruition as a result of Isaac’s bloodline. In fact, rather than lose his son, Avraham receives him back and a substitute (the Ram of God) takes his place.
 
This trial also differs from the former trials in its perceived morality. Avraham, who exhibits great concern for justice elsewhere, is now faced with the enigma of a just God’s request for the death of an innocent (Isaac).
 
It’s interesting to note that while Rashi and the Rambam differ on the order and specifics of a number of Avraham’s trials, they both list הָעֲקֵידָה‎ the Akeidah (The Binding of Isaac) as the final and most important of the trials of Avraham.
 
The chronology of the Biblical text shows us that Isaac was thirty seven years of age at the time of הָעֲקֵידָה‎ the Akeidah. Sarah was ninety (Gen. 17:17) at his birth and 127 at her death (Gen. 23:1). The Targum Yonatan explains that Satan told Sarah that Avraham had slaughtered Isaac and she cried out in grief and died. This would explain why Avraham and Isaac were not present at her death: “Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and bewail her” (Genesis 23:2). The Rabbis suggest that this is the reason that the account of Sarah’s death follows directly after הָעֲקֵידָה‎ the Akeidah (The Binding of Isaac).
 
The Pesikta Rabbati teaches that הָעֲקֵידָה‎ the Akeidah took place on Rosh Hashanah. Hence it has become the Torah reading for the second day of Rosh Hashanah in modern Rabbinic Judaism.
 
Before we begin to study the text we should take time to reflect on the nature of trial as understood in the ancient Hebrew text (נסה - nasah). In the context of this passage the English translation, “tempt” is entirely inappropriate. Likewise the English, “test.” God does not tempt, nor does He have any need of testing in order to find out something, to the contrary, He knows all, past, present and future because time and space are subject to Him, existing in Him. The trial or proving of Avraham is intended to reveal to Avraham the fruit of the faith he has received from God, and establish that faith in the substitutionary atonement of God.
 
“Let no one say when tempted, ‘I am tempted of God’: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither does He tempt any one: But every person is tempted, when they are drawn away of their own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is fully realized, brings forth death.”
 
– Yaakov (James) 1:13-15
 
Given that God already knows the outcome of this trial, we cannot conclude that God is advocating human sacrifice as a common practice. To the contrary, He is foreshadowing the future manifestation of His own sacrificial love through Messiah Yeshua HaMelekh. Not a human sacrifice but the self-sacrificial act of the fully God and fully human Messiah Who gives Himself up for the sake of the repentant, having the authority and power to lay down His life and raise Himself from death (John 10:18).
 
The fact that this portion of the Torah is as central to Jewish theology as the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9, 11:13-21; Num. 15:37-41), shows that it is understood as the ultimate example of God’s relationship to Israel and her devotion to Him. Add to this that הָעֲקֵידָה‎ the Akeidah is a clear and irrefutable picture of the substitutionary sacrifice of עמנו - אל Imanu – El (God with us) as Messiah, and we have a connection that binds (pun intended) together both the ethnic Jewish people and the believing nations of the world.
 
This may well be one of the most important studies you ever engage in. Read carefully, listen well, qualify your conclusions, and above all else, trust God.
 
 וַיְהִ֗י אַחַר֙ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה וְהָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים נִסָּ֖ה אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֔יו אַבְרָהָ֖ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃
 
Gen 22:1 And it came to pass after הַדְּבָרִים ha-d’varim (the words) these things, that הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים Ha-Elohim (the God, Judge) did נִסָּה nesah prove Avraham (Father of many nations), and said to him, “Avraham”: and he said, “הִנֵּנִי Hineiniy (I’m here, ready, prepared, willing), here I am.”
 
These events take place following the words (הַדְּבָרִים ha-d’varim), “And Avraham planted a grove in באר שבע Beer-sheva, and called there on the name of HaShem, the everlasting God. And Avraham sojourned in the land of Philistines' many days.” (Gen 21:33:34)
 
The text says, “Ha-Elohim” (The God) for good reason. There must be no misunderstanding regarding the use of Elohim here. This generic name for God, also used to name gods and judges, is pretexted here by the definite article, “the.”
 
The Midrash renders the word נִסָּה nesah as, “elevated” like a banner/miracle (נס - neis). Thus we could read, “The God elevated Avraham.” Following the events of הָעֲקֵידָה‎ the Akeidah God doesn’t speak directly to Avraham again except in the Angel/Messenger. This fact further illuminates the importance of these events. There is something in the story of the binding that acts as a catalyst for the perfecting of faith. We are reminded that, “the life is in the blood” which is given on the מִזבֵּחַ mizbeach (altar) for the remission of sin (Lev. 17:11). It makes sense therefore, that the substitutionary sacrifice in this account is symbolic of something much greater than the simple death of a ram.
 
Avraham’s response to God affirms the true character of the father of trust. The Hebrew הִנֵּנִי Hineiniy has no English equivalent. It denotes humility, readiness, willingness, obedience, receipt, openness etc.
 
 וַיֹּ֡אמֶר קַח־נָ֠א אֶת־בִּנְךָ֨ אֶת־יְחִֽידְךָ֤ אֲשֶׁר־אָהַ֙בְתָּ֙ אֶת־יִצְחָ֔ק וְלֶךְ־לְךָ֔ אֶל־אֶ֖רֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּ֑ה וְהַעֲלֵ֤הוּ שָׁם֙ לְעֹלָ֔ה עַ֚ל אַחַ֣ד הֶֽהָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֹמַ֥ר אֵלֶֽיךָ׃
 
Gen 22:2 And He (God) said, “fetch now your son, your only son Yitzchak (He laughs), whom you love, and וְלֶךְ־לְךָ lech lecha (walk, go forth) into the land of הַמֹּרִיָּה the Moriyah (seen by YHVH: ראה ra’ah & יה Yah); and ascend there, offering him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you of.
 
We should keep in mind that Avraham is 137 years old and Isaac 37, meaning that none of this could be forced upon Isaac. He must choose to accept every instruction of his father willingly. This is both an echo and prophetic ripple that reveals the Mashiach and Only Son of HaShem, Who is slain before the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8).
 
The words, “your son, your only son Yitzchak (He laughs), whom you love” are a glimpse into the future, when God would speak over His Son Yeshua saying, “This is my Son whom I love, in Him I am delighted!” (Matt. 3:17).
 
The unique identity of the Son Yeshua is further clarified in Yochanan (John) 1:14:
 
“And הדבר Ha-Davar the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We looked upon His כָּבוֹד kavod (glory), the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of חֶסֶד chesed (grace, loving kindness) and אֶמֶת emet (truth).”
 
- Yochanan (John) 1:14
 
The phrase, “lech lecha” (walk and go forth) occurs only here and in 12:1, the initial instruction of God to Avraham, thus tying the two narratives together to show the completeness of Avraham’s call and purpose in God. This instruction to go up to sacrifice requires courage equal to the instruction to give up everything and follow God. We should pause a moment to consider the fact that התלמידים the Talmidim (Disciples) of Yeshua responded to the call to follow God’s Messiah, but with the exception of Yochanan (John) and the women closest to Yeshua, they were not able to muster the courage to go up to the sacrifice with Him.
 
Mt Moriyah (seen by YHVH: ראה ra’ah & יה Yah), is the Temple Mount (2 Chronicles 3:1). Onkelos renders, “go forth into the land of Divine service.” It’s thought that he takes Moriyah to be derived from מוֹר mor (myrrh), which is one of the spices of the Temple service (Rashi). This connects the Akeidah to the Temple Mount and the foundation stone האבן, which tradition identifies as the stone on which Isaac was laid.
 
 וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם אַבְרָהָ֜ם בַּבֹּ֗קֶר וַֽיַּחֲבֹשׁ֙ אֶת־חֲמֹר֔וֹ וַיִּקַּ֞ח אֶת־שְׁנֵ֤י נְעָרָיו֙ אִתּ֔וֹ וְאֵ֖ת יִצְחָ֣ק בְּנ֑וֹ וַיְבַקַּע֙ עֲצֵ֣י עֹלָ֔ה וַיָּ֣קָם וַיֵּ֔לֶךְ אֶל־הַמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁר־אָֽמַר־ל֥וֹ הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃
 
Gen 22:3 And Avraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his male donkey, and took two of נְעָרָיו֙ nearayv his young men with him, and Yitzchak his son, and chopped the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went toward the place of which God had spoken.
 
The phrase, “rose up early,” indicates Avraham’s immediate obedience to God’s instruction.
 
The fact that Avraham saddled his own donkey is noteworthy. This was the job of a servant. Avraham was so intent on obedience to God that he ignored his personal dignity. The text also infers that it was Avraham who chopped the wood.
 
It is important to understand that the Hebrew נְעָרָיו֙ nearayv refers to a young man between the ages of 12 and 40 years. The same word used here to refer to Avraham’s servants is also used to refer to Isaac later in the text.
 
The Midrash says that the two young men Avraham took with him were Eliezer and Ishmael, who was visiting his father, having now lived in Paran for some time. It is an endearing thought, an illumination of reconciliation and the help of God. The names of these two, “God helps” and “Heard by God” are both beautiful representations of the character of God as it unfolds in the remainder of this historical account.
 
There are those who see contradiction and even hypocrisy in the actions of Avraham. They say that he pleaded for the innocent when God was about to destroy Sodom but here he is blindly obedient to God’s command to kill his innocent son Isaac. However, there is an important distinction between these two events. First, there were in the end, no innocent ones in Sodom. In fact, it is true to say that even those God spared were not innocent. Second, the destruction of Sodom was a judgement against sin, whereas the present instruction is related to sacrifice. God is not commanding a judgement, He is initiating a sacrifice. In order for sacrifice to be understood within the framework of redemptive substitution, that which is offered must be blameless and without blemish. Therefore, Isaac’s comparative innocence is essential to this sacrificial instruction and helps to explain Avraham’s willing obedience.
 
 בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֗י וַיִּשָּׂ֨א אַבְרָהָ֧ם אֶת־עֵינָ֛יו וַיַּ֥רְא אֶת־הַמָּק֖וֹם מֵרָחֹֽק׃
 
Gen 22:4 Then on the third day Avraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place far off.
 
The third day is an obvious foreshadowing to the death and resurrection of both Yonah (Jonah) and Yeshua (Jesus). It is not, as some erroneously suggest, an idiom. Third day in Hebrew means three days have passed, just as it does in English. There is not one example so far as I’m aware, of and idiomatic use of the phrases, “third day” or “three days,” within the meta narrative of Scripture. Those who say that the historical story of Jonah is simply a myth must also call Yeshua a deluded liar (Matt. 12:39-40). In short, they are blasphemers.
 
The phrase, “lifted up his eyes,” is connected to Avraham’s receiving God’s previous promise of land, and to the provision of God through sight. The mountain which is already seen by God is now being seen by Avraham. The Hebrew ראה ra’ah (see) is the same root being used in verse 8 where it is usually translated as, “provide.” Provision and sight are synonymous terms in this context.
 
Avraham saw the cloud of God’s presence over the mountain, thus recognizing that it was the destination he was seeking (Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer).
 
 וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶל־נְעָרָ֗יו שְׁבוּ־לָכֶ֥ם פֹּה֙ עִֽם־הַחֲמ֔וֹר וַאֲנִ֣י וְהַנַּ֔עַר נֵלְכָ֖ה עַד־כֹּ֑ה וְנִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֖ה וְנָשׁ֥וּבָה אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃
 
Gen 22:5 And Avraham said to his נְעָרָ֗יו nearayv young men, “Stay here with the donkey; and I and וְהַנַּ֔עַר ha-na’ar the young man will go yonder and bow down, and then we will return to you.
 
We should take special note of the term, נַּעַר “Na’ar” which is used here of both Avraham’s young men (servants) and the young man Isaac. This noun can refer to a young man between the ages of 12 and 40, and should not be presumed to refer to a young child as is inferred by numerous English translations which use, “lad” or “boy” to translate this complex Hebrew noun. In some cases this translation seems intentionally misleading, as in the KJV translation, which translates the same term, “young men” when referring to Avraham’s servants but, “lad” when referring to Isaac. This is at best inconsistent.
 
“And then we will return,” is plural. Avraham did not say, “and then I will return.” This shows the trust that Avraham had in the promise of God (Gen. 21:12). Avraham believed he would return with Isaac in tow. The Jewish writer of the book of Hebrews affirms Avraham’s core belief:
 
“In trust Avraham, when he was being proved, offered up Yitzchak. Yes, he who had received the promises was offering up his one and only son— the one about whom it was said, “Through Yitzchak your offspring shall be named.” He reasoned that God was able to raise Yitzchak up even from the dead—and in a sense, he did receive him back from there.”
 
 – Hebrews 11:17-19 [Author’s translation]
 
 וַיִּקַּ֨ח אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶת־עֲצֵ֣י הָעֹלָ֗ה וַיָּ֙שֶׂם֙ עַל־יִצְחָ֣ק בְּנ֔וֹ וַיִּקַּ֣ח בְּיָד֔וֹ אֶת־הָאֵ֖שׁ וְאֶת־הַֽמַּאֲכֶ֑לֶת וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם יַחְדָּֽו׃
 
Gen 22:6 And Avraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Yitzchak his son; and he took הָאֵשׁ haeish the fire (holy fire, altar fire) in his hand, and a knife; and they walked on together.
 
The Midrash compares Isaac’s burden of wood to the Roman practice of crucifixion:
 
“It is like a person who carries his cross on his own shoulder”
 
–Bereishit Rabbah 56:3
 
There is an undeniable link to the Messiah Yeshua:
 
“They (Roman soldiers) took Yeshua, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Skull, which is called in a language of the Hebrews, Golgotha (Skull).”
 
–Yochanan (John) 19:17 [Author’s translation]
 
The phrase, “And they walked on together,” denotes harmony of purpose. The same phrase is repeated in verse 8, by which time Isaac knew that he was to be the sacrifice.
 
Father and son going together is a figurative allusion to the cross of Messiah, Who says, “I and the Father are One!” Yeshua, and the Father are equally present on the cross. The pseudo-Christian nonsense “the Father turned His face away” is an indictment on the poor theology of so many, so called worship songs.
 
The following portion of Yeshayahu (Isaiah) is conveniently left out of the Haf-Tarah (filling/completing/illumination of the Torah) readings in the modern rabbinical Torah reading cycle. However, it was part of the triannual Torah cycle of the first century. It conveys a sense of the intimate agreement between Father and Son, and the willingness of the sacrificial appointee.
 
“He was oppressed (tormented), and he was afflicted, and did not open his mouth; kaseh like a lamb latevach led to the slaughter, ucheracheil and like a ewe lifneiy before the face of its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Yet HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) chafeitz 
desired to bruise (crush) him; hecheliy He has put him to grief; im-tasiym with his appointment as an offering for guilt nafsho by his soul (life, being), yireh he will see his zera offspring; ya’ariych he will prolong his yamiym days; ve’cheifetz and the desire of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) beyado in his hand yitzlach will advance, rush, succeed, progress, prosper.”
 
–Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 53:7, 10 [Author’s translation]
 
 וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יִצְחָ֜ק אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֤ם אָבִיו֙ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אָבִ֔י וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֶּ֣נִּֽי בְנִ֑י וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנֵּ֤ה הָאֵשׁ֙ וְהָ֣עֵצִ֔ים וְאַיֵּ֥ה הַשֶּׂ֖ה לְעֹלָֽה׃
 
Gen 22:7 And Yitzchak said, “Avraham my father,” and continued saying, “My father”: and he (Avraham) responded, “הִנֶּנִּי Hineniy Here I am, my son.” And he (Yitzchak) said, “Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
 
Up to this point Isaac believed that they were going to make a sacrifice to God and would thus find a lamb for this purpose while on their journey.
 
 וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם אֱלֹהִ֞ים יִרְאֶה־לּ֥וֹ הַשֶּׂ֛ה לְעֹלָ֖ה בְּנִ֑י וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם יַחְדָּֽו׃
 
Gen 22:8 And Avraham said, “אֱלֹהִים Elohim (God) יִרְאֶה־לּוֹ (yireh lo root: ראה ra’ah) will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:” so they walked on together.
 
Avraham’s trust, as illuminated in Hebrews 11:17, remains. He firmly believes that God will bring about a miracle. Once again, the phrase, “so they walked on together,” conveys a unity of purpose.
 
The phrase, “אֱלֹהִים יִרְאֶה Elohim yireh” (God provides) links the seeing (ra’ah) of God to His provision (יִרְאֶה yireh). Thus we can also read, “Elohim sees the lamb for the burnt offering.”
 
Additionally, one could read, “Elohim will provide himself, a lamb for a burnt offering.”
 
True love and sacrifice are intrinsically linked. If your love for another doesn’t include a willingness to sacrifice your own needs, even yourself for their good, then it’s not love.
 
 וַיָּבֹ֗אוּ אֶֽל־הַמָּקוֹם֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אָֽמַר־ל֣וֹ הָאֱלֹהִים֒ וַיִּ֨בֶן שָׁ֤ם אַבְרָהָם֙ אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ וַֽיַּעֲרֹ֖ךְ אֶת־הָעֵצִ֑ים וַֽיַּעֲקֹד֙ אֶת־יִצְחָ֣ק בְּנ֔וֹ וַיָּ֤שֶׂם אֹתוֹ֙ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ מִמַּ֖עַל לָעֵצִֽים׃
 
Gen 22:9 And they came to the place which הָאֱלֹהִים Ha-Elohim (the God) had told him of; and Avraham built אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ the specific altar (et ha-mizbeach: Root, זבח zabach – slaughter, kill) there, and laid the wood in order, וַֽיַּעֲקֹד֙ vaya’akod and bound Yitzchak his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
 
It’s from this verse that the Hebrew title for this passage, “הָעֲקֵידָה‎ Ha-Akeidah” (The Binding) is derived.
 
The altar, הַמִּזְבֵּחַ ha-mizbeach, is intended for the shedding of blood. On every occasion that this term is used in the Torah without qualifying terms, it refers to an altar of slaughter. It is fitting that on the Mountain that would later become the site of the daily Temple offerings, this pivotal sacrifice is about to take place.
 
At the age of 137, Avraham could not have bound Isaac (37) without his consent.
 
“Father, I am a strong young man and you are old. I’m afraid that when I see the slaughtering knife in your hand I might flinch and possibly do you harm. I may also injure myself and become unfit for sacrifice. Or an involuntary movement by me might prevent you from performing the ritual slaughter properly. Therefore, bind me well, so that at the final moment I will not fail in my filial honour and respect, thereby not fulfilling the commandment properly.”
 
–Midrash
 
The prophet Yeshayahu (Isaiah) speaks of Yeshua in the following way:
 
“He was oppressed, though he humbled himself and opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; yea, he opened not his mouth.”
 
– Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 53:7
 
 וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח אַבְרָהָם֙ אֶת־יָד֔וֹ וַיִּקַּ֖ח אֶת־הַֽמַּאֲכֶ֑לֶת לִשְׁחֹ֖ט אֶת־בְּנֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 22:10 And Avraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
 
The Midrash says that as Avraham reached for the knife, tears feel from his eyes into Isaac’s eyes.
 
The Targum Yonatan records that Isaac looked up to see the Angels on high, while Avraham was yet unable to see them.
 
Rashi notes that the Angels also wept and their tears fell into Isaac’s eyes.
 
In this moving account there is an intimate, intrinsic grief which is shared by The Father God, the Angel/Messenger of Hashem, Avraham and Isaac.
 
 וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֵלָ֜יו מַלְאַ֤ךְ יְהוָה֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֣ם׀ אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃
 
Gen 22:11 And Malakh (Messenger) HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) called to him (Avraham) from the heavens, and said, “Avraham, Avraham:” and he responded, “Hineiniy (I’m here, ready, prepared, willing), here I am.”
 
The Hebrew text can be read literally as, “And calling toward (Avraham), Messenger HaShem.” This should be understood to mean that the Messenger (Angel) is a manifest representation of HaShem Himself.
 
The Angel of Hashem is the manifestation of the post resurrection, transcendent (unbound by time and space,) trans-locational Messiah Yeshua, Who is witnessing here the living symbolism of His own sacrificial death.
 
 וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אַל־תִּשְׁלַ֤ח יָֽדְךָ֙ אֶל־הַנַּ֔עַר וְאַל־תַּ֥עַשׂ ל֖וֹ מְא֑וּמָּה כִּ֣י׀ עַתָּ֣ה יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּֽי־יְרֵ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ אַ֔תָּה וְלֹ֥א חָשַׂ֛כְתָּ אֶת־בִּנְךָ֥ אֶת־יְחִידְךָ֖ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃
 
Gen 22:12 And He (HaMalakh HaShem) said, “Don’t lay your hand upon ha-na’ar the young man, neither do anything to him: for atah until this time yada’tiy I have known, that you are in awe of Elohim (God), seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from Me.
 
Not even a hair of Isaac’s head was harmed. God speaks in a timely fashion and Avraham responds in the same manner with which he began this journey of obedience, thus answering the question of faith.
 
The Angel of Hashem, Who is speaking to Avraham repeats the phrase, “your son, your only one.”
 
I believe the traditional English translation, “for now I know that you fear me” is misleading. The phrase, “now I know” infers that at one time He did not know. This contradicts the essence of God’s character, His omniscience (Isaiah 46:9-10, 40:13-14; Psalm 33:13-15, 139:1-3, 139:4, 139:15-16, 147:4-5; Job 21:22, 37:16; 1 Chronicles 28:9; Romans 11:33; Hebrews 4:13; Luke 12:7;  1 John 3:20; Matthew 10:29-30). In fact, God need learn nothing from these events. He has already seen them concluded. If we read, “For until this time I have known” we are more inclined to interpret the statement as an assurance to Avraham rather than a declaration of discovery on the part of HaShem and His Angel.
 
 וַיִּשָּׂ֨א אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶת־עֵינָ֗יו וַיַּרְא֙ וְהִנֵּה־אַ֔יִל אַחַ֕ר נֶאֱחַ֥ז בַּסְּבַ֖ךְ בְּקַרְנָ֑יו וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ אַבְרָהָם֙ וַיִּקַּ֣ח אֶת־הָאַ֔יִל וַיַּעֲלֵ֥הוּ לְעֹלָ֖ה תַּ֥חַת בְּנֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 22:13 And Avraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Avraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering tachat instead, for the sake, as a substitute of his son.
 
Once again, the phrase, “lifted up his eyes” is connected to Avraham’s receiving God’s previous promise of land and to the provision of God through sight. The mountain which is already seen by God is now being seen by Avraham. The Hebrew ראה ra’ah (see) is the same root being used in verse 8 where it is usually translated as, “provide.” Provision and sight are synonymous terms in this context.
 
A ram caught in a thicket may be without obvious signs of blemish, such as discoloured wool or bodily deformity, and thus qualifies for the sacrifice as ritually clean. However, it is unlikely that the ram was without scratches and bleeding from the time spent in the thicket. Nor does cutting from without disqualify the sacrificial animal as being without blemish. This is a picture of the crown of thorns which was pressed down onto the head of our Messiah Yeshua.
 
The importance of a ram over a lamb here, is to make clear that the future substitutionary sacrifice would be made by a male.
 
 וַיִּקְרָ֧א אַבְרָהָ֛ם שֵֽׁם־הַמָּק֥וֹם הַה֖וּא יְהוָ֣ה׀ יִרְאֶ֑ה אֲשֶׁר֙ יֵאָמֵ֣ר הַיּ֔וֹם בְּהַ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה יֵרָאֶֽה׃
 
Gen 22:14 And Avraham called the name of that place YHVH Yir’eh: as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the HaShem (Mercy) it shall be provided/seen (yeiraeh).
 
The original name of this place was Shalem, the name given to it by Shem, son of Noach (whom the sages identify as Melkiy-tzedek [King of Righteousness], the king of Shalem). The Midrash says that following the Akeidah, when Avraham named the place Adonay Yireh, HaShem in deference to both Shem and Avraham, named the place Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).
 
 וַיִּקְרָ֛א מַלְאַ֥ךְ יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֑ם שֵׁנִ֖ית מִן־הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
 וַיֹּ֕אמֶר בִּ֥י נִשְׁבַּ֖עְתִּי נְאֻם־יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֗י יַ֚עַן אֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשִׂ֙יתָ֙ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה וְלֹ֥א חָשַׂ֖כְתָּ אֶת־בִּנְךָ֥ אֶת־יְחִידֶֽךָ
 
Gen 22:15 And the Malakh (Messenger, Angel) HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) called to Avraham out of the heavens the second time, Gen 22:16 And said, “By myself have I sworn, says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), because you have done ha-davar this thing, according to the word, and have not withheld your son, your only son:”
 
The Angel of Hashem speaks a second time after the sacrifice of the ram has been performed. The familiar reprise, “your son, your only son,” rings out again in affirmation of the faith that Avraham has exhibited and as a prophetic foreshadowing of the Messiah.
 
“16 For indeed people swear an oath by one greater, and taking an oath serves as confirmation to them, an end of all strife, dispute, contradiction between them. 17 In the same way God, desiring more abundantly to demonstrate to the heirs of the promise the fact that His purpose is immutable, unchangeable, confirmed it with an oath, 18 so that by two immutable, unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong comfort who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us.”
 
–Hebrews 6:16-18 [Author’s translation]
 
 כִּֽי־בָרֵ֣ךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ֗ וְהַרְבָּ֨ה אַרְבֶּ֤ה אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ כְּכוֹכְבֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְכַח֕וֹל אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־שְׂפַ֣ת הַיָּ֑ם וְיִרַ֣שׁ זַרְעֲךָ֔ אֵ֖ת שַׁ֥עַר אֹיְבָֽיו׃
 
Gen 22:17 “In blessing I will bless you, and in making great (multiplying) I will make great (multiply) your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemy;
 
The language of this blessing mirrors that of several previous addresses (Gen. 12:3, 13:16, 15:5). Here it is said in confirmation of the promise which God saw completed in Avraham, before Avraham had come to the place of completing his trust through the action of bringing his son and heir as a sacrifice before HaShem.
 
Notice that the seed is singular, he will possess the gate (singular) of his enemy.
 
What is different about this blessing is that it adds the clause, “and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemy.” It seems that this clause has not been added until now because the symbolism of the sacrificial act of the Akeidah had to take place in order to reveal the nature of the future seed (Messiah), Who would possess the gate of humanity’s greatest enemy, death.
 
 וְהִתְבָּרֲכ֣וּ בְזַרְעֲךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל גּוֹיֵ֣י הָאָ֑רֶץ עֵ֕קֶב אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׁמַ֖עְתָּ בְּקֹלִֽי׃
 
Gen 22:18 And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have heard שָׁמַ֖עְתָּ Shamata in My voice בְּקֹלִֽי bekoliy.
 
It is through Yeshua, the greater son of Avraham and of David, the Messiah and sacrificial lamb of God, that all the nations will be blessed.
 
Avraham, Shamata (listened, received, understood, comprehended) and welcomed the kol (voice) of HaShem. Thus, he became the father of all who would trust God and the first Hebrew, the one who received the promise of Israel’s coming redemption.
 
 וַיָּ֤שָׁב אַבְרָהָם֙ אֶל־נְעָרָ֔יו וַיָּקֻ֛מוּ וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ יַחְדָּ֖ו אֶל־בְּאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב אַבְרָהָ֖ם בִּבְאֵ֥ר שָֽׁבַע׃
 
Gen 22:19 So Avraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheva (Well of Seven, Well of Rest, Covenant of Seven); and Avraham dwelt at Beer-sheva.
 
All four men, “rose up” in immediate obedience and “went together” with harmony of purpose, to the well of sevenfold blessing, the mayim chayim (living waters) of covenant promise.
 
 וַיְהִ֗י אַחֲרֵי֙ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה וַיֻּגַּ֥ד לְאַבְרָהָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר הִ֠נֵּה יָלְדָ֨ה מִלְכָּ֥ה גַם־הִ֛וא בָּנִ֖ים לְנָח֥וֹר אָחִֽיךָ׃
 
Gen 22:20 And it came to pass after ha-d’avriym (these words, these things), that it was told Avraham, saying, “Behold, Milcah (Queen), she has also born children to your brother (uncle, male relative etc.) Nachor (Snorting);
 
The promise of multiplying and the prospering of Avraham’s progeny is immediately supported by the news of a bride for Isaac.
 
The genealogy of Nachor’s family has been kept till now in order to coincide with the events of the Akeidah. Thus showing God’s providence in the birth of Isaac’s future wife and the maintaining of the godly bloodline.
 
It is fitting that Rivkah (captivating, knotted cord, tied up, secured, bound), Isaac’s future bride is born to Milcah (Queen). Just as Sarah (Princess, Queen) had become the Queen of the promise, Rivkah, who has been born to a queen, will become the binding (Akeidah) of the promise, securing it through the birth of Yaakov/Israel.
 
 אֶת־ע֥וּץ בְּכֹר֖וֹ וְאֶת־בּ֣וּז אָחִ֑יו וְאֶת־קְמוּאֵ֖ל אֲבִ֥י אֲרָֽם׃
 וְאֶת־כֶּ֣שֶׂד וְאֶת־חֲז֔וֹ וְאֶת־פִּלְדָּ֖שׁ וְאֶת־יִדְלָ֑ף וְאֵ֖ת בְּתוּאֵֽל׃
 וּבְתוּאֵ֖ל יָלַ֣ד אֶת־רִבְקָ֑ה שְׁמֹנָ֥ה אֵ֙לֶּה֙ יָלְדָ֣ה מִלְכָּ֔ה לְנָח֖וֹר אֲחִ֥י אַבְרָהָֽם׃
וּפִֽילַגְשׁ֖וֹ וּשְׁמָ֣הּ רְאוּמָ֑ה וַתֵּ֤לֶד גַּם־הִוא֙ אֶת־טֶ֣בַח וְאֶת־גַּ֔חַם וְאֶת־תַּ֖חַשׁ וְאֶֽת־מַעֲכָֽה׃ 
 
Gen 22:21 Uz (Wooded, counsel) his firstborn, and Buz (contempt) his brother, and Kemuel (Kum – El: Risen in God, Raised by God) the father of Aram (exalted), Gen 22:22 And Kesed (increase), and Chazo (vision), and Pildash (flame of fire), and Yidlaf (weeping), and Betuel (Bet-El: Dwells in God). Gen 22:23 And Betuel (Dwells in God) produced Rivkah (captivating, knotted cord, tied up, secured): these eight Milcah (Queen) did bear to Nachor (snorting), Avraham's brother (uncle, male relative etc.). Gen 22:24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah (elevated, arise), she bore also Tevah (slaughter), and Gacham (burning), and Tachash (animal hide), and Maachah (Pressure, squeezed, crushed: lit. She has pressed).
 
Rivkah, in addition to being the daughter of a queen (Milcah) is also the daughter of one who dwells in God (Betuel).
 
© 2025 Yaakov Ben Yehoshua

​Introduction:
 
Soon after the promise of the heir had been reaffirmed by God to Avraham and Sarah, S’dom was destroyed and Sarah was abducted by Avimelech, her promised progeny almost defiled by the seed of Avimelech. However, God protected Sarah’s purity and secured her womb for Avraham’s seed. Now, having suffered many trials, both Avraham and Sarah can rejoice in the delivery of the son and heir, Isaac. But even this event will prove Avraham’s resolve as he is asked to part with his beloved son Ishmael, born to him by Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant.
 
The literary devices of Hebraic repetition and counterpoint are prolific in this chapter: an indication of things firmly decided and implemented by HaShem. Laughter is given to Sarah in the form of a son and with laughter Ishmael mocks the heir Isaac. Hagar sits a bow’s length away from Ishmael and her son subsequently becomes a bowman. The well of seven is a refuge for Hagar and a place of contention between Avraham and Avimelech, and finally secured by Avraham through a sevenfold covenant of rest.
 
The Holy name YHVH begins and ends the account as an allusion to the Mercy of God and the Judge Elohim, is seen throughout.
 
Ultimately God’s will is done and the promised heir Isaac is made secure in the bosom of the father of faith Avraham, protected from the mocking laughter of his future enemies (progeny of Ishmael) through the prophetic voice of his mother Sarah, the great matriarch and princess established by God in the ancestry of Israel.
 וַֽיהוָ֛ה פָּקַ֥ד אֶת־שָׂרָ֖ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר אָמָ֑ר וַיַּ֧עַשׂ יְהוָ֛ה לְשָׂרָ֖ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֵּֽר׃
 וַתַּהַר֩ וַתֵּ֨לֶד שָׂרָ֧ה לְאַבְרָהָ֛ם בֵּ֖ן לִזְקֻנָ֑יו לַמּוֹעֵ֕ד אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר אֹת֖וֹ אֱלֹהִֽים׃
 
Gen 21:1 And HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) cared for Sarah (Princess), visiting her as He had said, and HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) made in Sarah that of which He had spoken. Gen 21:2 For Sarah conceived, and bore Avraham (father of nations, father of trust) a son in his old age, at the set time (moeid) of which God had spoken to him.
 
Tradition holds that Sarah conceived on the day of Rosh Hashanah (Talmud Bavliy Rosh Hashanah. 11a.), as a result, the present narrative is the Torah reading for that holy day.
 
“The Lord did miracles for Sarah as He had spoken.”
 
–Yerushalayim & Yonatan Targums 2nd Century C.E
 
It is God as Mercy Who begins this important account. He cares for Sarah and fulfils His promise to her.
 
“In trust, agreement, firm belief, also Sarah herself received the ability to conceive seed, and delivered a child when she was past age, because she judged Him Who had promised, to be trustworthy.”
 
–Hebrews 11:11 [Author’s translation]
 
The similarities to the later birth of the Messiah are prophetic in nature. The differences equally important. Sarah, who had doubted Hashem’s angel now gives birth in comfortable circumstances and with great joy. While Mariyam (Mary), who received Gavriel’s message with great joy and firm belief, would give birth in a time of turmoil and later suffer the loss of her son, only to receive Him again with even greater joy than any experienced by Sarah. All this illuminates the metanarrative of God’s redemptive plan, which He decided upon before the creation of the world.
 
Verses 2 & 3, and later 25:19, emphasis the fact that Avraham is the father of Isaac. This is to reassure the reader that despite his age it was his fertile seed that impregnated Sarah and not that of the wicked king Avimelech.
 
וַיִּקְרָ֨א אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶֽת־שֶׁם־בְּנ֧וֹ הַנּֽוֹלַד־ל֛וֹ אֲשֶׁר־יָלְדָה־לּ֥וֹ שָׂרָ֖ה יִצְחָֽק׃
וַיָּ֤מָל אַבְרָהָם֙ אֶת־יִצְחָ֣ק בְּנ֔וֹ בֶּן־שְׁמֹנַ֖ת יָמִ֑ים כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה אֹת֖וֹ אֱלֹהִֽים׃
 
Gen 21:3 And Avraham called the name of his son that was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Yitzchak (Isaac: he laughs). Gen 21:4 And Avraham circumcised his son Yitzchak at eight days old, as God had commanded him.
 
The name Yitzchak is the first of many uses of the Hebrew root צחק tz’chok (laughter). Avraham was given the name by God in 17:19. There is much to learn from the ways laughter is used both in joyous proclamation and in sinful mockery. The halakhic applications abound. 
 
וְאַבְרָהָ֖ם בֶּן־מְאַ֣ת שָׁנָ֑ה בְּהִוָּ֣לֶד ל֔וֹ אֵ֖ת יִצְחָ֥ק בְּנֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 21:5 And Avraham was a hundred years old, when his son Yitzchak was born to him.
 
The birth of Isaac took place 25 years after Avraham departed from Charan (Genesis 12:4).
 
וַתֹּ֣אמֶר שָׂרָ֔ה צְחֹ֕ק עָ֥שָׂה לִ֖י אֱלֹהִ֑ים כָּל־הַשֹּׁמֵ֖עַ יִֽצְחַק־לִֽי׃
וַתֹּ֗אמֶר מִ֤י מִלֵּל֙ לְאַבְרָהָ֔ם הֵינִ֥יקָה בָנִ֖ים שָׂרָ֑ה כִּֽי־יָלַ֥דְתִּי בֵ֖ן לִזְקֻנָֽיו׃
 
Gen 21:6 And Sarah said, “Tz’chok (Laughter) has been made for me by Elohim (God: Judge), so that all that hear will y’tzchak liy (laugh) with me.” Gen 21:7 And she said, “Who would have said that for Avraham, sons would be nursed by Sarah? Yet my child, a son, I have born him in his old age.”
 
This laughter is joy, the text intends to convey the idea that a person who brings joy has entered the world, that all who hear of his birth will be filled with joy and respond in laughter. This joy has been introduced by the Merciful Judge of the universe so that all may join in celebrating the fulfilment of His promise. The laughter that accompanies this birth is a response of right action born of God’s mercy.
 
Rashi observes that this event brings hope and joy to the barren women of Israel, thus the joy shared by those who hear of Sarah’s miracle, forms a foundation for their trust in the God Who is able to bring life forth from a dead womb. This too is a picture of the then yet to be born Messiah and His resurrection.
 
The neighbours of Elisheva (Elizabeth), the mother of the prophet Yochanan (John) rejoiced in this same way when they heard that she had given birth (Luke 1:58). In that context it is called, “rejoicing” which is synonymous with the term, “laughter” in Genesis 21:6.
 
וַיִּגְדַּ֥ל הַיֶּ֖לֶד וַיִּגָּמַ֑ל וַיַּ֤עַשׂ אַבְרָהָם֙ מִשְׁתֶּ֣ה גָד֔וֹל בְּי֖וֹם הִגָּמֵ֥ל אֶת־יִצְחָֽק׃
 
Gen 21:8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Avraham made a great feast the same day that Yitzchak was weaned.
 
The age of weaning cannot be determined with certainty. The rabbinical views range from three years to twelve years, citing various sources. Though some modern readers may find the idea of lengthy weaning periods to be distasteful (no pun intended), it was not unusual in ancient times for children to be nursed well into their formative years. When we add to this the fact that at the time of these events people were still living much longer than we do today, it seems reasonable to split the difference and settle on an approximate age of seven (Philo: De his Verb. Resipuit. Noe, p. 275) for Isaac’s weaning.
 
Rashi claims that the feast was great because the great men of that generation attended: Shem, Eber and Avimelech. Note the names: Shem (Name), Eber (Beyond) and Avimelech (My father is King). Each name describes God, The Name (Mercy), Messiah, God with us, Who enters the world from beyond, and My Father the King of worlds.
 
וַתֵּ֨רֶא שָׂרָ֜ה אֶֽת־בֶּן־הָגָ֧ר הַמִּצְרִ֛ית אֲשֶׁר־יָלְדָ֥ה לְאַבְרָהָ֖ם מְצַחֵֽק׃
 
Gen 21:9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar (flight) the Mitzriyt (Egyptian: double distress), which she had born to Avraham, mocking m’tzacheik (laughing, mocking).
 
The Hebrew, מְצַחֵֽק m’tzacheik is a play on Isaac’s name, יִצְחָֽק Yitzchak. The text can be read, “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, who she had born to Avraham, laughing in mockery, playing (at being Isaac).”
 
Thus, we could understand the text to mean that Ishmael was mocking by playing at being Isaac. This is yet another hint at the type of mockery that was taking place and illuminates the reason for Sarah’s firm resolve regarding Ishmael’s removal from the camp of Avraham. It seems that Ishmael was, at his mother Hagar’s prompting, seeking to usurp Isaac’s position as heir by demeaning and seeking to subjugate Isaac. This is of course confirmed by 21:10. This behaviour has continued to be the practice of Ishmael’s descendants toward Israel throughout recorded history
 
Ishmael is at this point in the historical record, a young man (17 – 27 yrs.) and is fully aware of his moral responsibility. From the text we can discern that Hagar’s influence and his own delusions of grandeur are responsible for his mocking of Isaac (21:10). Ishmael could have chosen to laugh in joy at the honouring of his new brother, however, he instead seeks to humiliate Isaac in the presence of those over whom Isaac is appointed to rule in his God established position as heir to the faith of Avraham. This is not the innocent mocking of a child rather it is the intentional sin of a young man, and a mocking not only of Isaac, Avraham and Sarah but more significantly a mocking of YHVH Who has established those being targeted as His representatives to bear light to the nations.
 
This same kind of mocking laughter (tz’cheik) is linked to the sins of idolatry (Exodus 32:6), adultery (Exodus 39:17) and murder (2 Samuel 2:14). Rashi notes that this infers the complete corruption of Ishmael and sees his being sent away as a necessary act for the sake of Isaac’s spiritual character and protection.
 
“Keep not Your silence, O Elohim: don’t hold Your peace, and don’t be still, O Elohim. For, behold, Your enemies make a tumult: and they that hate You have lifted up their heads in pride. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people (Israel), and consulted against the ones You protect. They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel shall be remembered no more.’ For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against You: The shelters of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes…”
 
 –Tehillim (Psalm) 83:1-6
 
וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לְאַבְרָהָ֔ם גָּרֵ֛שׁ הָאָמָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את וְאֶת־בְּנָ֑הּ כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יִירַשׁ֙ בֶּן־הָאָמָ֣ה הַזֹּ֔את עִם־בְּנִ֖י עִם־יִצְחָֽק׃
 
Gen 21:10 So she said to Avraham, “Cast out this maid-servant and her son: for the son of this maid-servant shall not be heir with my son, even with Yitzchak (Isaac: he laughs).”
 
“Now we, fellow Jewish brothers and sisters in Messiah, are as Isaac was, the children of promise. But as it was then, he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless, what does the scripture say? ‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.’ So then, fellow Jewish brothers and sisters in Messiah, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.”
 
–Galatians 4:28-31
 
As the primary matriarch of Israel, Sarah saw the danger that Ishmael posed to her son and his Godly mission. Sarah’s response is not one of vindictiveness but of protection. She speaks here, not out of hateful jealousy but in prophetic power, inspired by the Holy Spirit!
 
 וַיֵּ֧רַע הַדָּבָ֛ר מְאֹ֖ד בְּעֵינֵ֣י אַבְרָהָ֑ם עַ֖ל אוֹדֹ֥ת בְּנֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 21:11 And the thing was very grievous in Avraham's sight because of his son.
 
Avraham was grieved both by his son Ishmael’s behaviour and due to the resulting need for expelling him from the camp. To be clear, Avraham is grieved, not by Sarah’s request but by the need to expel his son Ishmael as a result of his own sin and the sin of Hagar and Ishmael.
 
Additionally Avraham is grieved because this sinful mockery has been aimed at his son and heir Isaac.
 
Pirke Eliezer calls this the most difficult of Avraham’s trials. (Pirke Eliezer, c 30 )
 
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֗ם אַל־יֵרַ֤ע בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ עַל־הַנַּ֣עַר וְעַל־אֲמָתֶ֔ךָ כֹּל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר תֹּאמַ֥ר אֵלֶ֛יךָ שָׂרָ֖ה שְׁמַ֣ע בְּקֹלָ֑הּ כִּ֣י בְיִצְחָ֔ק יִקָּרֵ֥א לְךָ֖ זָֽרַע׃
 
Gen 21:12 And God said to Avraham, “Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the boy, and because of your maid-servant; shema listen to, receive, comprehend, understand all that Sarah has said to you, hear her voice; for in (through) Yitzchak your seed will be called (identified).”
 
The Targum of Yonatan reads, “Listen to all that Sarah has said to you, hear her voice, for she is a prophetess.”
 
The Talmud Bavliy refers to Sarah’s protection of Isaac’s rights as evidence of the fact that she is a prophetess (b. Meg. 14a).
 
The Hebrew, שְׁמַע Shema, listen, hear, understand, comprehend; is used here in the present continuous or perfect tense of the Hebrew. It is the positive counter to the use of the same word in the past tense in Genesis 3:17, where Adam has listened (שָׁמַעְתָּ Shama’ta) to the flawed advice of Eve. By listening to Eve’s advice Adam invited sin into the world, whereas by listening to Sarah’s advice (via HaShem) Avraham invites light into the world. That is, Isaac was to be the heir who would produce the struggling people Yaakov/Israel. Israel in-turn was to be a light to the nations, a calling that is fully filled in the Mashiyach Yeshua, born to the line of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov according to His humanity.
 
God affirms Sarah’s instruction, which is an act of righteous trust. With these words Sarah becomes Israel’s second prophet. God reminds Avraham that Isaac is the chosen seed who will perpetuate the ministry of light to the nations through his son Yaakov, Israel.
 
וְגַ֥ם אֶת־בֶּן־הָאָמָ֖ה לְג֣וֹי אֲשִׂימֶ֑נּוּ כִּ֥י זַרְעֲךָ֖ הֽוּא׃
 
Gen 21:13 And also of the son of the maid servant will I make a nation, because he is your seed.
 
By way of consolation God comforts Avraham with the knowledge that He will also take good care of Ishmael, making him a great, albeit subservient, nation.
 
וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֣ם אַבְרָהָ֣ם׀ בַּבֹּ֡קֶר וַיִּֽקַּֽח־לֶחֶם֩ וְחֵ֨מַת מַ֜יִם וַיִּתֵּ֣ן אֶל־הָ֠גָר שָׂ֧ם עַל־שִׁכְמָ֛הּ וְאֶת־הַיֶּ֖לֶד וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֶ֑הָ וַתֵּ֣לֶךְ וַתֵּ֔תַע בְּמִדְבַּ֖ר בְּאֵ֥ר שָֽׁבַע׃
 
Gen 21:14 And Avraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder and with the young man, he sent her away: and she departed, and teitah (strayed, practiced error) in the wilderness of Beer-sheva (Well of seven, sevenfold covenant, well of blessing, covenant of rest).”
 
The act of waking early is a sign of immediate obedience on Avraham’s part. Regardless of his own grief at the loss of Ishmael, Avraham trusted God and acted in prompt obedience.
 
The Hebrew וַתֵּ֔תַע va’teitah indicates Hagar’s return to idolatrous practice as she sought a place of solace in the wilderness near Beer-sheva (a well which will be illuminated in the latter section of this account). Rashi suggests that Hagar returned to the idolatrous practices of her father’s house.
 
Ishmael is thought to be between 17 (Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 2. 2) and 27 (Pirke Eliezer, c. 30. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 53. fol. 47. 4.) years of age at this point in the historical account.
 
Beer-sheva is approximately 19 kilometres from Gerar and 32 kilometres from Hebron to the south.
 
וַיִּכְל֥וּ הַמַּ֖יִם מִן־הַחֵ֑מֶת וַתַּשְׁלֵ֣ךְ אֶת־הַיֶּ֔לֶד תַּ֖חַת אַחַ֥ד הַשִּׂיחִֽם׃
וַתֵּלֶךְ֩ וַתֵּ֨שֶׁב לָ֜הּ מִנֶּ֗גֶד הַרְחֵק֙ כִּמְטַחֲוֵ֣י קֶ֔שֶׁת כִּ֣י אָֽמְרָ֔ה אַל־אֶרְאֶ֖ה בְּמ֣וֹת הַיָּ֑לֶד וַתֵּ֣שֶׁב מִנֶּ֔גֶד וַתִּשָּׂ֥א אֶת־קֹלָ֖הּ וַתֵּֽבְךְּ׃
 
Gen 21:15 And the water ran out, so she cast, (pushed, threw) the young man under one of the shrubs. Gen 21:16 And she went, and sat down at a distance from him, a bowshot (0.8km) away: for she said, “Let me not see the death of the young man.” And as she sat there she lifted up her voice, and wept.
 
Bereshit Rabba, records a bowshot distance at about half a mile (.8 Kilometre), saying that two bowshots make a mile (1.6 kilometres) [Bereshit Rabba, ut supra. sect. 53. fol. 47. 4].
 
The term, “Child” here could be misunderstood to mean, “infant”. However, a child remains the child of his mother regardless of his age, and this is what is intended here. In fact we know from both the chronology of historical Biblical events and from tradition that Ishmael is between 17 and 27 years of age at this point in time.
 
The great irony of Hagar’s lack of water, is that her blindness to the presence of water has come about through her own spiritual decay. Both her expulsion from the camp of Avraham and her subsequent suffering are directly related to her continued attempts to seek Isaac’s inheritance for her own son Ishmael.
 
Rabbi Hirsch wisely observes that, “Hagar’s behaviour is disgraceful… Rather than comfort her child in his dying moments, she thought only of herself and the discomfort she would feel in the presence of his agony.” This is why the following verse begins with the words, “God heard the voice of the young man;”
 
וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע אֱלֹהִים֮ אֶת־ק֣וֹל הַנַּעַר֒ וַיִּקְרָא֩ מַלְאַ֨ךְ אֱלֹהִ֤ים׀ אֶל־הָגָר֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר לָ֖הּ מַה־לָּ֣ךְ הָגָ֑ר אַל־תִּ֣ירְאִ֔י כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֧ע אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶל־ק֥וֹל הַנַּ֖עַר בַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר הוּא־שָֽׁם׃
 
Gen 21:17 And God heard the voice of the young man; and the angel of Elohim (God, Judge) called to Hagar out of the heavens, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not; for Elohim (God, Judge) has heard the voice of the young man where he is.”
 
God’s communication with Hagar differs greatly from the way He has met with Avraham. We note that the angel of Elohim (God), rather than the angel of YHVH, calls to her from the heavens instead of meeting her in humanoid form on earth as He had done with Avraham. It is Elohim, the Judge and Ruler, Who attends to Hagar’s son. Mercy (YHVH) is with Avraham (Isaac and Yaakov) but Judgement (Elohim) has come to Ishmael and his decedents.
 
ק֚וּמִי שְׂאִ֣י אֶת־הַנַּ֔עַר וְהַחֲזִ֥יקִי אֶת־יָדֵ֖ךְ בּ֑וֹ כִּֽי־לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל אֲשִׂימֶֽנּוּ׃
וַיִּפְקַ֤ח אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־עֵינֶ֔יהָ וַתֵּ֖רֶא בְּאֵ֣ר מָ֑יִם וַתֵּ֜לֶךְ וַתְּמַלֵּ֤א אֶת־הַחֵ֙מֶת֙ מַ֔יִם וַתַּ֖שְׁקְ אֶת־הַנָּֽעַר׃
 
Gen 21:18 Arise, lift up the young man, and hold him in your hand; for I will make him a great nation. Gen 21:19 And Elohim (God, Judge) opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the water-skin with water, and gave the young man a drink.
 
Some suggest that this well was made to appear supernaturally, however, the context suggests that the well finds its symbolic form in the origin story of verses 23-33, where Avraham presents ewe lambs as an offering that testifies to his right to its water through the cutting of a covenant before the Judge, Elohim. Due to the fact that the agreement for, and the naming of the well (v.23-33) is considered to have preceded the events of verses 1 through 21, it is safe to conclude that the limited supplies given to Hagar by Avraham were intended to last her the short distance to Beer-sheva, a well that Avraham had already redeemed for the use of his household.
 
The sages say that this well has ancient origins and was in fact, “Created between the two evenings, that is, on the eve of the seventh day of the creation.” (Pirke Eliezer, ut supra. c. 30)
 
It is by the Word of Hashem that Hagar’s eyes are opened and she receives living water. Hagar had returned to idolatry (v.14) and was therefore, not only physically but also spiritually blind to the water that was right in front of her.
 
Yeshua said, “Whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst again.”
 
This well is Beer-sheva, the well of sevenfold blessing, rest and covenant promise. By trusting in God’s Word (John 1), Hagar receives life for both herself and her son.
 
The Shomroniy (Samaritan) woman of John 4 is likewise held accountable by God in Messiah at Jacob’s well, and as a result repents, receives the living water of Yeshua, and proceeds to invite Yeshua, Salvation Himself to her village.
 
וַיְהִ֧י אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הַנַּ֖עַר וַיִּגְדָּ֑ל וַיֵּ֙שֶׁב֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר וַיְהִ֖י רֹבֶ֥ה קַשָּֽׁת׃
 
Gen 21:20 And Elohim (God, Judge) was with the young man; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
 
Hagar had sat a bow shot away from her son. Now her son becomes an archer. Both Ishmael’s role and the role of his descendants are emphasised by the symbol of the bow (warfare).
 
“And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brothers.”
 
–Bereishit (Genesis) 16:12
 
Jewish tradition says that Ishmael, “Was born with a bow, and brought up with one, and that he shot an arrow at his brother Isaac, with the intention to kill him, while he was in Avraham's house;” (Pirke, c. 30 Ammian. Marcellin. Hist. l. 14)
 
 וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב בְּמִדְבַּ֣ר פָּארָ֑ן וַתִּֽקַּֽח־ל֥וֹ אִמּ֛וֹ אִשָּׁ֖ה מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
 
Gen 21:21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran (Beautiful caverns): and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt (Mitzrayim: double distress).
 
The location of the ancient wilderness of Paran is debated and manipulated by Islamic scholars, however, it seems most likely that the location of Paran is below the Sea of Salt (Dead sea) to the south-west near the border of Modern Israel and Jordan. There are a number of factors that support this location, including the name itself relative to the geography of the region.
 
One Jewish tradition suggests that Ishmael had two wives; the first he divorced, and then he married the Egyptian; his first wife, they say, he sent for, and took out of the plains of Moab, whose name was “Adishah,” and the other “Phatimah.” (Pirke Eliezer, ut supra. c. 30)
 
“And he (Ishmael) dwelt in the wilderness of Paran, and took to wife Adishah, whom he divorced, and then his mother took him Phatimah to wife, out of the land of Egypt:''
 
–Yerushalayim & Yonatan Targums 2nd Century C.E
 
 וַֽיְהִי֙ בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֔וא וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲבִימֶ֗לֶךְ וּפִיכֹל֙ שַׂר־צְבָא֔וֹ אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר אֱלֹהִ֣ים עִמְּךָ֔ בְּכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֖ה עֹשֶֽׂה׃
וְעַתָּ֗ה הִשָּׁ֨בְעָה לִּ֤י בֵֽאלֹהִים֙ הֵ֔נָּה אִם־תִּשְׁקֹ֣ר לִ֔י וּלְנִינִ֖י וּלְנֶכְדִּ֑י כַּחֶ֜סֶד אֲשֶׁר־עָשִׂ֤יתִי עִמְּךָ֙ תַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה עִמָּדִ֔י וְעִם־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־גַּ֥רְתָּה בָּֽהּ׃
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם אָנֹכִ֖י אִשָּׁבֵֽעַ׃
 
Gen 21:22 And it came to pass at that time, that Avimelech (My father is king) and Phichol (Peh-col: Mouth of all, strength) the chief captain of his army, spoke to Avraham, saying, “Elohim (God, Judge) is with you in all that you do:” Gen 21:23 “Now therefore, swear to me here by Elohim (God, Judge) that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall do to me, and to the land where you have sojourned.” Gen 21:24 And Avraham said, “I will swear.”
 
These events can be understood to have been set in the past and read as, “And it was in the past at that time…” This seems consistent with the previous identification of the wilderness of Beer-sheva in the account of Hagar’s expulsion. The establishing of the well of Beer-sheva prior to Hagar’s wandering shows that the blessing of God comes to her via Avraham’s trust.
 
It’s worth noting that Avimelech does not seek a covenant with Avraham because of his wealth but with the words, “God is with you in all that you do.”
 
It seems that the Philistines observed this oath until the days of the judge Samson, when they began to attack Israel for the first time. (Sotah 10a)
 
וְהוֹכִ֥חַ אַבְרָהָ֖ם אֶת־אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ עַל־אֹדוֹת֙ בְּאֵ֣ר הַמַּ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֥ר גָּזְל֖וּ עַבְדֵ֥י אֲבִימֶֽלֶךְ׃
 
Gen 21:25 And Avraham rebuked Avimelech because of a well of water, which Avimelech's servants had violently taken away.
 
If there was to be a covenant Avraham wanted it to be established with truth and integrity. This is why he placed his cards on the table regarding the continued violent behaviour of Avimelech’s men. With peace comes responsibility and openness. Any peace devised outside of these parameters is a false peace. Many today in both secular and religious communities hide behind nondisclosure agreements and legalese in order to avoid accountability. As a result of this wilful lack of transparency numerous injustices are committed and in turn form a shaky foundation that makes any real lasting peace between people impossible to achieve.
 
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲבִימֶ֔לֶךְ לֹ֣א יָדַ֔עְתִּי מִ֥י עָשָׂ֖ה אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֑ה וְגַם־אַתָּ֞ה לֹא־הִגַּ֣דְתָּ לִּ֗י וְגַ֧ם אָנֹכִ֛י לֹ֥א שָׁמַ֖עְתִּי בִּלְתִּ֥י הַיּֽוֹם׃
 
Gen 21:26 And Avimelech said, “I don’t know who has done this thing: neither did you tell me, nor have I heard of it, until today.”
 
Avimelech’s claim seems unlikely, given that it had been his practice to send his men to commit crimes against others (the abduction of Sarah).
 
וַיִּקַּ֤ח אַבְרָהָם֙ צֹ֣אן וּבָקָ֔ר וַיִּתֵּ֖ן לַאֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ וַיִּכְרְת֥וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם בְּרִֽית׃
וַיַּצֵּ֣ב אַבְרָהָ֗ם אֶת־שֶׁ֛בַע כִּבְשֹׂ֥ת הַצֹּ֖אן לְבַדְּהֶֽן׃
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֑ם מָ֣ה הֵ֗נָּה שֶׁ֤בַע כְּבָשֹׂת֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה אֲשֶׁ֥ר הִצַּ֖בְתָּ לְבַדָּֽנָה׃
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר כִּ֚י אֶת־שֶׁ֣בַע כְּבָשֹׂ֔ת תִּקַּ֖ח מִיָּדִ֑י בַּעֲבוּר֙ תִּֽהְיֶה־לִּ֣י לְעֵדָ֔ה כִּ֥י חָפַ֖רְתִּי אֶת־הַבְּאֵ֥ר הַזֹּֽאת׃
עַל־כֵּ֗ן קָרָ֛א לַמָּק֥וֹם הַה֖וּא בְּאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע כִּ֛י שָׁ֥ם נִשְׁבְּע֖וּ שְׁנֵיהֶֽם׃
 וַיִּכְרְת֥וּ בְרִ֖ית בִּבְאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע וַיָּ֣קָם אֲבִימֶ֗לֶךְ וּפִיכֹל֙ שַׂר־צְבָא֔וֹ וַיָּשֻׁ֖בוּ אֶל־אֶ֥רֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּֽים׃
 
Gen 21:27 And Avraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Avimelech; and both of them cut a covenant. Gen 21:28 And Avraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. Gen 21:29 And Avimelech asked Avraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?” Gen 21:30 And he said, “These seven ewe (female) lambs shall you take from my hand, that they may bear witness of me, that I discovered this well.” Gen 21:31 So he called that place Beer-sheva (Well of seven, sevenfold covenant, well of blessing, covenant of rest); because there they both swore. Gen 21:32 Thus, they cut a covenant at Beer-sheva: then Avimelech rose up, and Phichol (Peh-col: Mouth of all, strength) the chief captain of his army, and they returned into the land of the Pilishtiym (Immigrants, invaders, usurpers).
 
The seven (שֶׁ֛בַע shevah) female lambs correspond to the oath (נִשְׁבְּע֖וּ nishbeu) and emphasize the completeness, longevity and rest that the oath will bring. Allegorically speaking, based solely on the meaning of the names, the father of trust is making an agreement with his father the King. Thus the well is named quite literally, “Well of Seven” or, “Well of Oath”.
 
Avraham’s insistence that Avimelech accept the lambs as a gift is an ancient means of verifying ownership, much like the transaction carried out in Ruth 4:7. It is a symbolic act, intended to be witnessed by all present as a mark of future legal ownership and the security that it affords future generations.
 
 וַיִּטַּ֥ע אֶ֖שֶׁל בִּבְאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע וַיִּ֨קְרָא־שָׁ֔ם בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְהוָ֖ה אֵ֥ל עוֹלָֽם׃
וַיָּ֧גָר אַבְרָהָ֛ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים יָמִ֥ים רַבִּֽים׃
 
Gen 21:33 And Avraham planted an orchard (tamarisk) in Beersheva, and called there on the name of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), the everlasting Elohim (God, Judge). Gen 21:34 And Avraham sojourned in the land of Pilishtiym (Immigrants, invaders, usurpers) many days.
 
The account ends with the planting of an orchard representing shade and respite for weary desert travellers and the unity of the God-head in Mercy (YHVH) and Judgement (Elohim).
 
The planting of trees, possibly tamarisk (an evergreen tree that is common to the Middle East, and can reach heights of 15.2 meters) is an act of remembrance. In fact trees are still planted today in Israel in memory of loved ones and to mark special events. Therefore, the planting of these shady trees near a well in an arid location are best understood to represent a memorial to the God Who has provided Avraham with an heir, life-giving water and shelter in the wilderness.
 
Avraham is said to have sojourned in the land of the Philistines for twenty-six years. (Yarchi & Bereshit Rabbah, sect. 54. fol. 48. 4)
 
Rashi says that it’s important to read this as a sojourning because the years from the birth of Isaac are to be counted in the 400 years during which Avraham’s descendants would be aliens in a land not their own. However, the land in which Avraham is now sojourning has already been promised to him and his descendants, therefore, Rashi’s assertion is incompatible with the prophetic Word of God. The four hundred years can only refer to the years Israel will spend in Egypt as slaves to Pharaoh.
 
© 2024 Yaakov Ben Yehoshua

Introduction:
 
After witnessing the destruction of S’dom, Avraham moves south. All of the land both to the north and to the south had already been promised to Avraham by God (Gen 13:14-15).
 
Some have suggested that chapter 20 is a duplicate of the account of chapter 12, however, the reasoning for this is weak. They say that a man would not make the same mistake twice and therefore this must be a repetition. Additionally they suggest that the writer was an Elohimist (So called E author), of course they have no valid argument for explaining the use of the holy name YHVH in the final verse, other than to propose that this was included as part of a Yahwehist (So called J author) account redacted at a later date.
 
The suggestion that a man would not make the same mistake twice is ludicrous and the subsequent multiple author claim is equally untenable. Add to this that Avraham explains clearly in verse 13 that this has been his practice since leaving Ur (light), and we are left with only one plausible conclusion, that this is a unique and separate account from that of chapter 12.
 
וַיִּסַּ֨ע מִשָּׁ֤ם אַבְרָהָם֙ אַ֣רְצָה הַנֶּ֔גֶב וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב בֵּין־קָדֵ֖שׁ וּבֵ֣ין שׁ֑וּר וַיָּ֖גָר בִּגְרָֽר׃
 
Gen 20:1 And Avraham (Father of many nations) journeyed from there (Mamrei: strength) toward the south country, and dwelt between Kadesh (Holy) and Shur (a wall), and sojourned in Gerar (drag off roughly).
 
These events must occur soon after the destruction of S’dom because Sarah is clearly still not showing her pregnancy, based on the fact that Avimelech sees her as a potential wife. The place Avraham journeyed from was Mamrei (strength), and he was journeying south, just as he had when he had approached Egypt in chapter 12.
 
The meanings of the Hebrew names of the towns he settled between place Avraham (The father of trust) at a crossroads between Holiness (Kadesh) and a wall (Shur: possible blockade). Alternatively he finds himself resting with Holiness (Kadesh) on one side and Protection (Shur: wall) on the other.
 
The region of Gerar (drag off roughly) is to be understood both literally and as a literary clue to what is about to take place. It is this allusion to a land where people are, “roughly dragged off” that sets the stage for the remainder of the account.
 
וַיֹּ֧אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־שָׂרָ֥ה אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ אֲחֹ֣תִי הִ֑וא וַיִּשְׁלַ֗ח אֲבִימֶ֙לֶךְ֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ גְּרָ֔ר וַיִּקַּ֖ח אֶת־שָׂרָֽה׃
 
Gen 20:2 And Avraham said of Sarah (Princess) his wife, “She is my sister”: and Avimelech (my father is king) king of Gerar (drag off roughly) sent men and seized Sarah.
 
The remez (hint) in the preceding verse, seen in the name Gerar (drag off roughly) is immediately enacted by Avimelech. As soon as he discovers that Sarah might be an unmarried woman, he sends men to abduct her. Note that he, “sent” others to take her and that they, “seized” her. The protocol of the time required for permission to be asked of her ruling male relative (Avraham), similar customs developed and were practiced by Jews in the first century CE, where a betrothal agreement was to be entered into and a one year period of preparation for the wedding was to be observed. Regardless of the finer details, what is clear is that this was an abduction and not an agreed arrangement. Today we might term this an attempt at sex trafficking. This of course illuminates just how righteous Avimelech really was. That is, nothing more than righteous in his own eyes.
 
D'varim (Deuteronomy) 24:7 which would be given to Israel at Sinai as law, states clearly that kidnapping of a fellow Israelite is punishable by death, how much more so the kidnapping of a relative of the father of faith himself. Regardless of whether Sarah is perceived as Avraham’s sister or not, kidnapping her was considered a capital offence in the ancient levant.
 
For Avraham’s part, the half-truth that Sarah was his sister was intended from the beginning (v.13) to be a means of protecting their retinue. Part of the reasoning for this is that protocol requires a proposal and a betrothal price to be paid to the ruling male member of the bride’s family. Thus Avraham must have presumed that he would have an opportunity to refuse such a proposal on Sarah’s behalf. It is still the practice of many Jewish and Arabic peoples today, for the agreement of the eldest male to not only be sought but also confirmed prior to any betrothal taking place. This same practice finds its way into the respectful western practice of asking the permission of the father prior to offering an engagement ring to a prospective bride.

Some deny an attraction component to the abduction of Sarah by Avimelekh. Citing her age as proof she was no longer sexually desirable.
 
However, retrospectively applying modern norms to ancient Scripture will nine times out of ten conclude error.
 
Sarah was approximately 90 when Avimelekh kidnapped her (cf. Genesis 17:1,17; 21:1-5).
 
Sarah was 127 when she died (Gen. 23:1). Therefore, given current aging and lifespans, Sarah was the equivalent of a modern 40 to 50 year old woman when she was kidnapped by Avimelekh.
 
There are numerous examples of attractive 50 year old women today.
 
Sarah was a beautiful woman (Gen. 12:11), who aged well and continued to be attractive in her later years. 
 
The text of Genesis 20:16 explains that Avimelekh paid silver to compensate for perceived sexual shame. Therefore, those who watched all this happen, Abraham, Avimelekh, and his men all clearly understood Sarah's abduction to have a sexual component.
 
It’s nonetheless also a possibility that Avimelekh intended Sarah’s abduction as either a means to usurp Avraham’s authority in order to acquire greater power through Avraham’s amassed wealth and reputation, or for use as a hostage bargaining chip intended to extort wealth from Avraham in return for Sarah’s release.
 
וַיָּבֹ֧א אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶל־אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ בַּחֲל֣וֹם הַלָּ֑יְלָה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֗וֹ הִנְּךָ֥ מֵת֙ עַל־הָאִשָּׁ֣ה אֲשֶׁר־לָקַ֔חְתָּ וְהִ֖וא בְּעֻ֥לַת בָּֽעַל׃
 
Gen 20:3 But Elohim (God, Judge) came to Avimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Behold, you are to die, for the woman you have abducted; she is the wife of a husband (Ba’al: master).
 
Notice that the words of God spoken to Avimelech reflect the instruction of God concerning kidnapping which was in turn a commonly held moral measure in the ancient levant.
 
God appears to Avimelech as Judge. He makes plan His judgement, “You are to die, for the woman you have abducted…” There are two crimes here: first, the crime of kidnapping and second, the soon to be enacted crime of rape. Make no mistake, even by the standards of the time the kidnapping of an unmarried woman was cause for tribal war. Avimelech is guilty, God does not bring judgement against the innocent.
 
וַאֲבִימֶ֕לֶךְ לֹ֥א קָרַ֖ב אֵלֶ֑יהָ וַיֹּאמַ֕ר אֲדֹנָ֕י הֲג֥וֹי גַּם־צַדִּ֖יק תַּהֲרֹֽג׃
 
Gen 20:4 But Avimelech had not come near her: and he said, “Adonai (lord), the nation (goy: heathen nation) that is also just, will You destroy?”
 
“Had not come near her” is a euphemism for sexual intimacy. The fact that Avimelech had not yet used Sarah for his own sexual pleasure (remember that he already has at least one other wife v.17) does not mean that he didn’t intend to.
 
Avimelech is obviously aware of the recent destruction of S’dom and Amorah and thus by comparing his own region’s relative morality with that of S’dom’s abominations, defends himself and his kingdom as a just nation relatively speaking (neither he nor his people qualify as just based on the kidnapping). He is clearly afraid that the same destruction that has come upon those cities will also be meted out upon his own kingdom because of God’s relationship to Avraham. Avimelech calling YHVH “Adonai” (lord) does not mean he is a devotee to YHVH but that he recognizes the power of YHVH and is fearful of Him just as he would be of any spiritual force that might bring harm upon him. Avimelech is superstitious, not honourable. We must read Avimelech’s response as his own determination of his moral standing and that of his nation. It is not the verdict of God, the Judge.
 
הֲלֹ֨א ה֤וּא אָֽמַר־לִי֙ אֲחֹ֣תִי הִ֔וא וְהִֽיא־גַם־הִ֥וא אָֽמְרָ֖ה אָחִ֣י ה֑וּא בְּתָם־לְבָבִ֛י וּבְנִקְיֹ֥ן כַּפַּ֖י עָשִׂ֥יתִי זֹֽאת׃
 
Gen 20:5 “Didn’t he say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother’: due to the integrity of my levaviy (my inner man, heart) innocent are my palms of having done this.”
 
Avimelech is not yet guilty of the rape/adultery, however, he is guilty of kidnapping. His delusional protests regarding his heart condition are exposed by the following statement of God.
 
וַיֹּאמֶר֩ אֵלָ֨יו הָֽאֱלֹהִ֜ים בַּחֲלֹ֗ם גַּ֣ם אָנֹכִ֤י יָדַ֙עְתִּי֙ כִּ֤י בְתָם־לְבָבְךָ֙ עָשִׂ֣יתָ זֹּ֔את וָאֶחְשֹׂ֧ךְ גַּם־אָנֹכִ֛י אֽוֹתְךָ֖ מֵחֲטוֹ־לִ֑י עַל־כֵּ֥ן לֹא־נְתַתִּ֖יךָ לִנְגֹּ֥עַ אֵלֶֽיהָ׃
 
Gen 20:6 And Ha-Elohim (the God, the Judge) said to him in a dream, “Yes, I also know that you did this with an innocent leiv (inner man, heart); for I also kept you from sinning against Me: therefore I did not allow you to touch her.”
 
“You did this (kidnapped with the intention of rapping), with an innocent heart…” Listen to the palpable irony here, this is not YHVH saying that Avimelech is innocent but that he is innocent of the later crime of rape simply because he hasn’t had the opportunity yet to enact his desire.
 
The so called integrity or innocence of Avimelech’s heart is shown for what it actually is, God prevented him from sexually violating Sarah. Thus Avimelech’s integrity is intact only because God stopped him from violating her.
 
I read, “Yes, I know all about your innocent heart, I’m the one who kept it innocent, I stopped you from sinning further”. In other words, you have no integrity of your own.
 
Note also that God says, “I also kept you from sinning against me.”Avimelech was about to defile the matriarch of the chosen people Israel. The people Who God had purposed to give birth to the Messiah, the One Who would deliver both Israel and the nations. This is not simply a sin against Avraham but an attempt to disturb the holy lineage of Israel and her Messiah.
 
If Avimelech was aware of the recent destruction of S’dom and Amorrah and the link to Avraham, then all his actions show contempt for Avraham and his God.
 
וְעַתָּ֗ה הָשֵׁ֤ב אֵֽשֶׁת־הָאִישׁ֙ כִּֽי־נָבִ֣יא ה֔וּא וְיִתְפַּלֵּ֥ל בַּֽעַדְךָ֖ וֶֽחְיֵ֑ה וְאִם־אֵֽינְךָ֣ מֵשִׁ֗יב דַּ֚ע כִּי־מ֣וֹת תָּמ֔וּת אַתָּ֖ה וְכָל־אֲשֶׁר־לָֽךְ׃
 
Gen 20:7 “Now therefore return the wife of the man; for he is a prophet, and he will intercede on your behalf, and you will live: and if you don’t return her, know that you will surely die, you, and all that are yours.”
 
The text infers that Avimelech was already afflicted to some degree and that if he sinned further he and his household would die. God does not punish the innocent, therefore, we must conclude once again that Avimelech is considered to be guilty and is being shown mercy so as not to invite death through an additional act of sin.
 
God calls Avraham a prophet, in fact Avraham is the first to be called a prophet of God. God has already credited Avraham’s trust as righteousness and considers him a type for the coming Messiah: an intercessor and redeemer of others, a light to the nations.
 
וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם אֲבִימֶ֜לֶךְ בַּבֹּ֗קֶר וַיִּקְרָא֙ לְכָל־עֲבָדָ֔יו וַיְדַבֵּ֛ר אֶת־כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה בְּאָזְנֵיהֶ֑ם וַיִּֽירְא֥וּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים מְאֹֽד׃
 
Gen 20:8 Therefore Avimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were very afraid.
 
The men were afraid because they knew what had happened to their neighbours in the east. They were right to be afraid. They were complicit in the kidnapping of Sarah. Those who sin against God’s chosen are sinning against God Himself.
 
וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֲבִימֶ֜לֶךְ לְאַבְרָהָ֗ם וַיֹּ֨אמֶר ל֜וֹ מֶֽה־עָשִׂ֤יתָ לָּ֙נוּ֙ וּמֶֽה־חָטָ֣אתִי לָ֔ךְ כִּֽי־הֵבֵ֧אתָ עָלַ֛י וְעַל־מַמְלַכְתִּ֖י חֲטָאָ֣ה גְדֹלָ֑ה מַעֲשִׂים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹא־יֵֽעָשׂ֔וּ עָשִׂ֖יתָ עִמָּדִֽי׃
 
Gen 20:9 Then Avimelech called Avraham, and said unto him, “What have you done to us? And how have I offended you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.”
 
These words of Avimelech are the height of hypocrisy. After all, he has abducted a woman against her will without consideration for the stigma attached to the perceived defilement of an unwed woman (Avraham and Sarah’s ruse notwithstanding), and it’s he who has disregarded Avraham’s rights as a sojourner and visitor among the people of Gerar. His unrepentant heart is proof that any innocence he might have stumbled across was clearly not of his own making.
 
 וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֑ם מָ֣ה רָאִ֔יתָ כִּ֥י עָשִׂ֖יתָ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֥ר הַזֶּֽה׃
 
Gen 20:10 And Avimelech said unto Avraham, “What did you see, that caused you to do this thing?”
 
Avimelech hints at what he knows Avraham may have witnessed among the people of Gerar. This appears to be a rhetorical question but it is one that Avraham is able to answer (v.11)
 
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם כִּ֣י אָמַ֗רְתִּי רַ֚ק אֵין־יִרְאַ֣ת אֱלֹהִ֔ים בַּמָּק֖וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וַהֲרָג֖וּנִי עַל־דְּבַ֥ר אִשְׁתִּֽי׃
 
Gen 20:11 And Avraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of Elohim (God, the Judge) is not in this place; and they will slay me because of my wife.”
 
Avraham saw the way the people of Gerar treated each other and those who sojourned among them, thus he concluded that they had no fear of God. Avimelech’s actions in sending men to abduct Sarah only proved to affirm this fact. Avraham asserts a convincing argument for the defence of his actions regarding Sarah.
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וְגַם־אָמְנָ֗ה אֲחֹתִ֤י בַת־אָבִי֙ הִ֔וא אַ֖ךְ לֹ֣א בַת־אִמִּ֑י וַתְּהִי־לִ֖י לְאִשָּֽׁה׃
 
Gen 20:12 “Additionally, she is indeed my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.”
 
Avraham is at best guilty of deceptive speech for the purpose of self-defence. The lesser commandment submits to the greater.
 
וַיְהִ֞י כַּאֲשֶׁ֧ר הִתְע֣וּ אֹתִ֗י אֱלֹהִים֮ מִבֵּ֣ית אָבִי֒ וָאֹמַ֣ר לָ֔הּ זֶ֣ה חַסְדֵּ֔ךְ אֲשֶׁ֥ר תַּעֲשִׂ֖י עִמָּדִ֑י אֶ֤ל כָּל־הַמָּקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָב֣וֹא שָׁ֔מָּה אִמְרִי־לִ֖י אָחִ֥י הֽוּא׃
 
Gen 20:13  “And it came to pass, when Elohim (God) caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, ‘This is the chesed (kindness) which you can accomplish for me; at every place we will come to, say of me, ‘He is my brother.’”
 
This verse makes clear the fact that this scenario was a well-practised one. We read in the Torah of two specific instances, but there may have been others. The point is, that this is not a duplicate of the events of chapter 12.

 וַיִּקַּ֨ח אֲבִימֶ֜לֶךְ צֹ֣אן וּבָקָ֗ר וַעֲבָדִים֙ וּשְׁפָחֹ֔ת וַיִּתֵּ֖ן לְאַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיָּ֣שֶׁב ל֔וֹ אֵ֖ת שָׂרָ֥ה אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 20:14 And Avimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and women-servants, and gave them to Avraham, and returned to him his wife Sarah.
 
These are the actions of a guilty and fearful man. This is restitution for the abduction but it is not sufficient payment to clear the good name of Sarah and cover the bride price.
 
As in the case of the events of chapter 12, Avraham has travelled from Mamrei (strength) and having suffered the trial of having his wife abducted, is now being prospered with the addition of flocks and herds. Thus he has gone from strength to strength in HaShem’s continued purpose for his life and that of his descendants.
 
 וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲבִימֶ֔לֶךְ הִנֵּ֥ה אַרְצִ֖י לְפָנֶ֑יךָ בַּטּ֥וֹב בְּעֵינֶ֖יךָ שֵֽׁב׃
 
Gen 20:15 And Avimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you: dwell wherever you please.”
 
In fact the land does not belong to Avimelech but has already been promised to Avraham and the children of Israel. Thus Avraham sojourns in yet another part of the fullness of the land that is to be given to his progeny by God.
 
וּלְשָׂרָ֣ה אָמַ֗ר הִנֵּ֨ה נָתַ֜תִּי אֶ֤לֶף כֶּ֙סֶף֙ לְאָחִ֔יךְ הִנֵּ֤ה הוּא־לָךְ֙ כְּס֣וּת עֵינַ֔יִם לְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר אִתָּ֑ךְ וְאֵ֥ת כֹּ֖ל וְנֹכָֽחַת׃
 
Gen 20:16 And to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, it is to you a covering of the eyes, to all that are with you, and with all others:” thus she was vindicated.
 
Avimelech remains defiant to some degree, using Avraham and Sarah’s words against them, “I have given your brother…”
 
The silver is a bride price that seeks to declare Sarah’s purity and provide for the veiled symbol of that purity. This is why the covering is said to show both her and those around her that she has remained sexually pure.
 
An alternate reading is, “Behold, he is to you a covering of the eyes” meaning that Avraham’s status as a prophet of God protects Sarah.
 
Some read the latter clause as a rebuke. If that is correct, Avimelech intends insult by proposing the veil and may be inferring prostitution (Genesis 38:15). If this is the correct reading then Avimelech proves the depths of his unrepentant heart and the vile impetus of his inner man.

וַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֥ל אַבְרָהָ֖ם אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיִּרְפָּ֨א אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־אֲבִימֶ֧לֶךְ וְאֶת־אִשְׁתּ֛וֹ וְאַמְהֹתָ֖יו וַיֵּלֵֽדוּ׃
 כִּֽי־עָצֹ֤ר עָצַר֙ יְהוָ֔ה בְּעַ֥ד כָּל־רֶ֖חֶם לְבֵ֣ית אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ עַל־דְּבַ֥ר שָׂרָ֖ה אֵ֥שֶׁת אַבְרָהָֽם׃
 
Gen 20:17 So Avraham interceded with Ha-Elohim (God): and Elohim (God) healed Avimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bore children. Gen 20:18 For HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) had sealed shut all the wombs of the house of Avimelech, on the word of Sarah, wife of Avraham.
 
These last verses show us that Avimelech and his household were already being punished for the sin of abducting Sarah, and this because of Sarah’s cry to God (on the word of Sarah). This is a chilling reminder of the plagues that HaShem sent against Pharoah and his house because of Sarah (12:17). What is clear is that God is the protector of both Avraham and Sarah and that He remains the protector of His servants, both men and women, to this day.
 
Avraham’s willingness to advocate for Avimelech and his family in spite of the seeming continued lack of repentance on Avimelech’s part, is evidence yet again of Avraham’s faith in YHVH and his ability in God to reflect the gracious and merciful love of the Creator as a figure for the King Messiah Yeshua HaMelekh. “Mercy triumphs over judgement!”
 
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