GENESIS: Snoopy's Short & Snappy Review

[paradox3]

In wars, it is often the mothers who push hardest to have their sons go off to war.

This is not my understanding at all from my own family history.

A positive about this story is reminding people God is not a stuffed toy god, but is one who offers much and demands much.

Works for me.

 

[paradox3]

Good morning. Here is Genesis 23.

Snoopy's Snappy Review: Surprisingly poignant.

Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 23 - New English Translation

The Death of Sarah - Sarah lived 127 years. Then she died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife and said to the sons of Heth, “I am a foreign resident, a temporary settler...

www.biblegateway.com

Today's passage is a simple little story about Sarah's death and burial. We witness Abraham's grief and his efforts to secure a burial field in his new land.

It is a surprisingly human and poignant story.

In Genesis, our eyes have glazed over with details of geography and genealogy. We have read many tall tales and sought meaning in their mythology. Today we come to such a relatable human story.

We ourselves have lost loved ones and mourned like Abraham. We have also confronted all the practicalities of death, even when some arrangements were made in advance.

We remember Sarah when she laughed with joy at Isaac's birth. Maybe we forgive her for her jealousy & even understand it. She was a brave woman to embark on the journey with Abraham.

I wonder if anyone has ever chosen Genesis 23 for a reading at a funeral.

 

[jimkenney12]

The request for a place to bury Sarah reminds us Abraham was a nomad. He occupied s lot of space wherever he went. A lot of land must have been the commons. Would that land be the scrubby land fit only for pasture?

The purchase of a field would have marked the beginning of permanent occupation of a place. Was this where Isaac would have lived?

His grief ends up being fairly short lived.

 

[paradox3]

Abraham later takes another wife who will bear him six children. He also has an unspecified number of sons with his concubines.

Do we know anything about the timeline? How do we know his grief over Sarah is short lived @jimkenney12?

 

[Mendalla]

Samuel Clemens wrote a short commentary about the American participation in WW I including a reference to mothers.

Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, died in 1910, well before WWI. Spanish-American War (1898) or US Civil War maybe?

 

[Mendalla]

Abraham later takes another wife who will bear him six children.

How do we know his grief over Sarah is short lived @jimkenney12?

Yeah, I know from sad experience that "taking another wife" can be part of grief, not necessarily the end of it. Dad's second marriage (Mom was his first) was a hasty, short-lived one that was clearly more about him trying to escape grief and loneliness than his grief being short-lived. The third turned out better, though I think the bad experience of the second helped in that regard.

 

[jimkenney12]

It was probably the Spanish American war. He was adamantly against war. I sort of remember it being written about 1905. I read an article against war several years ago that referenced a couple of his articles along with others.

The war in Gaza is part of American colonialism. I regret American leadership does not understand the flimsy security provided by arms alone. China understands how to effectively use economic assistance in building relationships and the importance of not letting ideologies interfere with building partnerships, unfortunately.

 

[paradox3]

Yeah, I know from sad experience that "taking another wife" can be part of grief, not necessarily the end of it. Dad's second marriage (Mom was his first) was a hasty, short-lived one that was clearly more about him trying to escape grief and loneliness than his grief being short-lived. The third turned out better, though I think the bad experience of the second helped in that regard.

Grief can be very complicated. I know from experience it can be triggered once again long after the fact.

 

[Waterfall]

Canaan is the land of milk and honey according to what God told Abraham in Exodus 3:17.
Canaan was the promised land for the Israelites.
Perhaps Sarah being buried there assured this?

 

[unsafe]

Sarah was very highly regarded in the scripture and I believe if you do your research you will see that she is the only woman in scripture that we are told her age of death -----

Isaiah 51 CEB​

Look to Abraham and Sarah​

51 Listen to me,
you who look for righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
and to the quarry where you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your ancestor,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
They were alone when I called them,
but I blessed them and made them many.

Catholics pray to Mary -----when I think they should be praying naming Sarah instead in their repeated rosary -----

Abraham says --I am a stranger in your land -------a resident alien -verse 4 --

David also realized this fact ----in 1 Chronicles 29 verse 15 below

I say -----Just reminds us we are all resident aliens in this world -----we are only here for a time and then we reside where we choose to in our end which is our real home --

Funny how many feel there are aliens out there on other planets ----when we are the real aliens of this world ------

Genesis 23:4

Amplified Bible
“I am a stranger and a sojourner (resident alien) among you

1 Chronicles 29:10-15 ERV ----​

David’s Beautiful Prayer​

10 Then David praised the Lord in front of all the people who were gathered together. David said,
“Lord, the God of Israel, our Father,
may you be praised forever and ever!
11 Greatness, power, glory, victory, and honor belong to you,
because everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you!
The kingdom belongs to you, Lord!
You are the head, the Ruler over everything.
12 Riches and honor come from you.
You rule everything.
You have the power and strength in your hand!
And in your hand is the power to make anyone great and powerful!
13 Now, our God, we thank you,
and we praise your glorious name!
14 All these things didn’t come from me and my people.
All these things come from you.
We are only giving back to you things that came from you.
15 We are only strangers traveling through this world
like our ancestors.
Our time on earth is like a passing shadow,
and we cannot stop it.

 

[Mendalla]

Canaan is the land of milk and honey according to what God told Abraham in Exodus 3:17.

God was talking to Moses there. It's part of the burning bush revelation. But, yeah, part of the point of that speech is that God has been their God going back to the covenant with Abraham.

 

[Waterfall]

God was talking to Moses there. It's part of the burning bush revelation. But, yeah, part of the point of that speech is that God has been their God going back to the covenant with Abraham.

Whoops yes Moses, I have Abraham on my brain. Covenant with Abraham in Genesis.

 

[paradox3]

Oh boy. I don't want to derail my own thread. But am I the only one who thinks Jesus might have been inspired by that prayer of David? (Thanks for posting it @unsafe)

The flow and the phraseology seem so similar to the prayer Jesus taught.

 

[paradox3]

Good morning. Here is Genesis 24.

Snoopy's Snappy Review: Oh la la! A touching love story

Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 24 - New English Translation

The Wife for Isaac - Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in everything. Abraham said to his servant, the senior one in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh so that I may make you solemnly promise by the LORD...

www.biblegateway.com

Who is to say an arranged marriage can't be a love story? Especially when God has taken part in the matchmaking?

Abraham's chief servant and others travel to his homeland to find a wife for Isaac. It is an exotic tale involving riches and camels. When Rebekah is found, she is given a nose ring and two gold bracelets.

Rebekah ticks all the boxes. She is beautiful. She is a virgin. And she is Abraham's kinswoman. She and Isaac are first cousins once removed to be exact.

Hospitality is provided to the traveling entourage and they are given lodging overnight. Rebekah's family would like her to remain with them for several more days but she is willing to leave immediately.

When she arrives at Abraham's fields and sees Isaac, Rebekah covers herself with a veil. Isaac accompanies her into Sarah's tent. He takes her as his wife and loves her. So Isaac is is comforted after the death of his mother.

 

[jimkenney12]

His aging father and a servant make arrangements for Isaac to gain a wife. He consummates his marriage to her in his mother's tent.

The story about Rebekah is a beautiful, romantic story.

His mother has been dead for some time. If they are not where she was buried, why is it described as her tent? Did the near sacrifice of Isaac contribute to her dying? Is Abraham still around or did he die while his servant was hone to get a wife for Isaac? Are these questions relevant to the story?

 

[paradox3]

Does anyone know when the people started having weddings? There is no ritual or celebration of any kind described in this story. We know there were weddings by the time of Jesus.

For that matter, when did polygamy end?

 

[Mendalla]

For that matter, when did polygamy end?

Where? The Chinese upper class remained polygamous until the end of the empire (early 20th century CE). In the Middle East, though, I think it was largely gone among Jews by Jesus' time but not sure of the timeline. Solomon had multiple wives so after the kingdom period evidently. Romans and Greeks were monogamous in marriage, though having multiple partners on the side was hardly unusual. Of course, it seems to have remained among the Arabs given how Islam makes provision for it.

 

[Mendalla]

The story about Rebekah is a beautiful, romantic story.

I doubt most people today outside of some traditional South Asian cultures would call an arranged marriage to a woman picked by a servant (with help from God) as "romantic", but the language certainly puts a romantic tinge to it. One wonders if this is the real story. Usually, an arranged marriage would have been contracted already and the servant would just be escorting the bride who had already been chosen and paid for back. I wonder if any modern writers have rewritten the story more accurately.

Interesting that Rebekah in its English form of Rebecca is still a pretty popular name today. I work with a Rebecca who is Welsh.

 

[paradox3]

Genesis 23 gave us a very human glimpse of our spiritual ancestors as Abraham grieved for Sarah. Today's story continues in that vein.

Rebekah is willing to leave her homeland and family & she is blessed by them. Isaac loves her and receives comfort from her.

It is literally an age old story. Except for the arrangement aspect, does it not continue to be relevant in our time?

 

[unsafe]

This is interesting here ---seems like a strange request but apparently this is how an oath was sealed in those days ---

2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one[c] in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh
So the servant obeyed Abraham's request -----

interesting read on this ---oath thing

Why did oaths involve putting a hand under someone’s thigh (Genesis 24:9)? | GotQuestions.org

Why did oaths involve putting a hand under someone’s thigh (Genesis 24:9)? Did this type of covenant actually involve grabbing someone’s testicles?

www.gotquestions.org

Why did oaths involve putting a hand under someone’s thigh (Genesis 24:9)?​

In our culture, taking an oath usually involves raising the right hand or placing a hand over the heart or on a Bible. In ancient Hebrew culture, we find something a little different. Genesis 24:9 describes an odd practice that involved Abraham’s servant swearing to obey his master’s command to find a wife for Isaac: “So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.” In Genesis 47:29, Jacob makes his son Joseph swear to bury him in Canaan, not Egypt. The same ritual is observed: Joseph is required to put his hand under Jacob’s thigh as he makes the promise. It seems strange to us, but placing one’s hand under someone else’s thigh had a symbolic purpose.

In both cases, the request is made by a patriarch nearing death. Also, both oaths deal with family matters. In the case of Abraham and Jacob, the family was blessed by God Himself (Genesis 15:5; 28:14).

The thigh was considered the source of posterity in the ancient world. Or, more properly, the “loins” or the testicles. The phrase “under the thigh” could be a euphemism for “on the loins.” There are two reasons why someone would take an oath in this manner: 1) Abraham had been promised a “seed” by God, and this covenantal blessing was passed on to his son and grandson. Abraham made his trusted servant swear “on the seed of Abraham” that he would find a wife for Isaac. 2) Abraham had received circumcision as the sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:10). Our custom is to swear on a Bible; the Hebrew custom was to swear on circumcision, the mark of God’s covenant. The idea of swearing on one’s loins is found in other cultures, as well. The English word testify is directly related to the word testicles.

Jewish tradition also offers a different interpretation. According to Rabbi Ibn Ezra, the phrase “under the thigh” means literally that. For someone to allow his hand to be sat on was a sign of submission to authority. If this is the symbolism, then Joseph was showing his obedience to his father by placing his hand under Jacob’s thigh.

Abraham’s servant kept his oath. He not only obeyed Abraham’s instructions, but he also prayed to Abraham’s God for help. In the end, God miraculously provided Rebekah as the choice for Isaac’s wife (Genesis 24).

In the New Testament, believers are taught not to make oaths, but rather to let their “yes” mean “yes” and “no” mean “no” (James 5:12).

That is, we should consider all our words to have the weight of an oath. Others should be able to trust our words without requiring an oath.