… Sarah will not are available in ch. 24. Searching straight back along the facts, the newest resource would be in order to the father which, early in the latest chapter, believed that he had been near to dying. It’s likely for this reason your finishing sentence ran: ‘Therefore Isaac was comfortable pursuing the death of his dad.’…
Gunkel’s option would be perhaps not sufficient, yet not. His conflict one to “when the slave involves Isaac, Isaac says to your one their dad has passed away on the interim,” ignores the point that the brand new slave relates to Isaac as the “their learn” until the several had a way to speak (v. 65), where area, the fresh servant lack known that Abraham had passed away. Additionally, new notice regarding the Isaac looking for morale to own his mother’s passing links however in order to Sarah demise (ch. 23), which means that there is absolutely no justification so you’re able to emend new verse in order to “dad.”
Good Fragment out of Customs
I recommend one to originally it had been Isaac, allegedly on his own step, which delivers out-of their slave locate him a spouse. Thus, in the event the servant yields which have Rebecca, the guy merchandise their own directly to Isaac.
When i dispute in my “Isaac just before He was Abraham’s Son” (TheTorah 2020), Abraham was previously a separate patriarch, which offered alone since “father” of the nation
An editor revised the bulk of the new narrative (vv. 1–52), that to start with focused on Isaac only, presenting Abraham as one who cared for his young buck and developed to have his relationships ahead of his passing. Therefore, the person means “their grasp Abraham” (vv. twelve, twenty-seven, 42, 48) and that is named “Abraham’s servant” (vv. 34, 52), and far of dialogue is mostly about the fresh new slave interested in good wife on the master’s young man.
An excellent fragment of the basic form of brand new narrative was preserved out of v. 53, and this refers to the new servant’s present in order to Rebecca’s cousin and you may mommy, through to the end of your story, with only a few editorial glosses (vv. 59, and you may 67a).
Right here, the newest slave try regarded merely once the “brand new servant” otherwise “the guy” (vv. 53, 58, 61, 65 [twice], 66), which will just as be easily a regard to Isaac’s servant. Alot more notably, starting with verse 54, we discover “the slave” speaking-to Rebecca’s mommy and you may cousin regarding the “my master” (vv. 54, 56) unlike “my personal grasp Abraham” (as with vv. twelve, twenty seven, 35–37, 39, 42, 48):
?????? ??:?? ????????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????? ????? ?????????? ????????? ????????? ???????????? ????? ????????? ???????????. ??:?? ??????????? ???????????? ???? ????????????? ?????? ?????? ??????????? ??????????? ???????? ????????? ??????????? ????????. ??:?? ????????? ??????? ??? ?????????? ????? ???????? ????????? ????????? ???????????? ????????? ????????.
Gen Brand new servant introduced items from gold and silver, and you can clothing, and offered them to Rebecca; and he offered gift suggestions to help you their unique sister and her mother. Then he plus the men which have your ate and ingested, as well as spent the night time. Once they arose second early morning, he said, “Bring me personally get-off to check out my personal learn.”… He said to all of them, “Don’t impede me personally, since YHWH makes my errand successful. Promote myself get-off that i might have to go on my master.”
From here up to verse 65, the fresh slave appears to be dealing with Isaac as he says “my grasp;” it is clear as he teaches you so you’re able to Rebecca who the person dealing with them is actually.
As to the reasons is the storyline reworked to make the effort to the ‘s the reason and not Isaac’s? In the first place, the latest Abraham and Isaac tales was in fact independent way of life, porslin dating kultur and you will weren’t connected: Isaac was not Abraham’s young man. At the same time, Isaac and his awesome son Jacob-the father out of Israel-belonged to help you a multiple, separate, federal community.