… Sarah cannot are available in ch. 24. Looking right back over the tale, the brand new reference is merely to the father exactly who, at the beginning of brand new chapter, believed he had been alongside passing. It is likely therefore your finishing phrase went: ‘Thus Isaac was comfortable following death of his father.’…
Gunkel’s solution is perhaps not sufficient, yet not. His dispute one “in the event that slave relates to Isaac, Isaac says to him you to his father have died on interim,” ignores the point that this new servant means Isaac just like the “his master” through to the several had a way to cam (v. 65), where section, brand new slave don’t have recognized you to definitely Abraham got died. Moreover, the latest notice regarding Isaac looking for comfort to possess his mother’s dying connects without a doubt to Sarah dying (ch. 23), which means that there is absolutely no good reason so you’re able to emend the brand new verse so you can “father.”
An effective Fragment out-of Customs
I would suggest one to in the first place it had been Isaac, allegedly on his own initiative, exactly who delivers off his slave to acquire him a wife. Ergo, when the slave output with Rebecca, he gifts their directly to Isaac.
Whenever i argue during my “Isaac just before He was Abraham’s Child” (TheTorah 2020), Abraham was once another patriarch, which offered by yourself due to the fact “father” of the country
An editor changed the bulk of the fresh story (vv. 1–52), you to to begin with worried about Isaac just, to present Abraham as the person who looked after his child and you will install to possess their wedding before their demise. Hence, the person relates to “his master Abraham” (vv. a dozen, 27, 42, 48) which can be called “Abraham’s slave” (vv. 34, 52), and much of the conversation is approximately the newest servant looking for an excellent wife towards master’s son.
A great fragment of one’s basic sort of new story try kept out-of v. 53, and that describes the latest servant’s gift so you can Rebecca’s brother and you may mommy, till the prevent of story, with only a small number of article glosses (vv. 59, and you can 67a).
Right here, the new slave are regarded kГ¶p fru just due to the fact “the brand new slave” otherwise “the man” (vv. 53, 58, 61, 65 [twice], 66), that may just as easily be a reference to Isaac’s servant. Even more rather, starting with verse 54, we find “the servant” speaking to Rebecca’s mother and you can sister on “my personal grasp” (vv. 54, 56) in lieu of “my grasp Abraham” (like in vv. 12, twenty-seven, 35–37, 39, 42, 48):
?????? ??:?? ????????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????? ????? ?????????? ????????? ????????? ???????????? ????? ????????? ???????????. ??:?? ??????????? ???????????? ???? ????????????? ?????? ?????? ??????????? ??????????? ???????? ????????? ??????????? ????????. ??:?? ????????? ??????? ??? ?????????? ????? ???????? ????????? ????????? ???????????? ????????? ????????.
Gen Brand new slave brought out objects out of silver and gold, and you will clothes, and you will offered these to Rebecca; and he offered gift suggestions so you’re able to their particular sibling along with her mommy. He then and also the dudes with your consumed and you will drank, and spent the night time. When they arose 2nd morning, he said, “Give me get off to check out my grasp.”… The guy said to them, “Do not decelerate myself, given that YHWH makes my personal errand winning. Render me get-off which i could go to my grasp.”
From this point until verse 65, brand new slave is apparently writing about Isaac as he claims “my learn;” this can be clear when he demonstrates to you so you can Rebecca exactly who the guy approaching all of them is actually.
As to the reasons is actually the storyline reworked to really make the step towards is why rather than Isaac’s? Originally, the fresh new Abraham and you can Isaac reports was separate way of life, and were not linked: Isaac wasn’t Abraham’s young buck. At the same time, Isaac and his young man Jacob-the father away from Israel-belonged to a parallel, independent, federal society.