B'reshith/Genesis
CHAPTER 23

1. Now Sarah's lifetime [chayei Sarah] was 127 years--the years of Sarah's life.

   Life: Yet this account is about her death! But all that comes after her is a result of how she lived. She is the only woman in Scripture whose lifespan is given. Milkah, another woman in her husband's family, had just been given prominence in the Scriptural account, and now Sarah is given center stage. And her death is not recorded until the genealogy of Yitzhaq's wife is established, as it is clear that Avraham can no longer have children through Sarah. Such a heavily patrilineal society would not commonly place so much emphasis on women in the record, but Moshe ensures that we know that this line could not be continued without the women, for after all, it is the woman who is promised that her seed would conquer the serpent's. (3:15) The covenantal promises to the patriarchs cannot be fulfilled without their wives.

2. Then Sarah died in Qiryath Arba (that is, Hevron) in the land of Kanaan. And Avraham came to beat his chest in mourning for Sarah, and to weep for her.

3. When Avraham rose up from over the face of his dead [wife], he spoke to the sons of Cheth, saying,

   Cheth means "terror", from a root meaning "to shatter" or "cause dismay". They came to be known as the Chithites (or Hittites). This Torah portion gives us much instruction, from Avraham's example, about how to deal with different kinds of people among whom we dwell--some who are part of the family, and some who are not, and some who may potentially be. There are different ways of dealing with each, and recognizing whose presence we are in, whether insiders or outsiders, will help us discern how to speak to them and how much to say--or not say.

4. "I am a stranger, yet a sojourner with you. Please permit me [to acquire] a title to a holding among you, so that I may bury my dead away from before my face.

   Stranger: an outsider, one who "turns in" for a while. David says, "I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide your commandments from me." (Psalm 119:19) This suggests that if we are "friends with the world" (as Yaaqov 4:4 puts it), YHWH's commandments will be hidden from us, for we will be His enemies. When we live among those who call right wrong and wrong right, we should have a "stranger" mentalty except when with fellow Israelites, for we have an advantage over Avraham in knowing who we are. Even in the places of our birth, we do not fit in once we recognize that we are in exile. In community, we are not alone, but we are still looking for our home. We are part of a people, but are still foreigners until we get to our true home. Sojourner: in Hebrew, one looking for a place to settle. He had lived with them a long time, yet recognized that he was not one of them, and he did not pretend to be, just so he could fit in. He has no right to make demands, for he does not yet own the Land. But there is something he needs that they have. So we will let him teach us how to act when those who surround us are outsiders to the covenant.

5. But the sons of Cheth responded to him by saying to him,

6. "Listen to us, my master. You are a prince of Elohim among us! Bury your dead in the best of our burying-places! Not a man of us will withhold his own burial ground from you or keep you from burying your dead there!"

   Avraham was held in very high esteem here. He was not a troublemaker; he was a man of shalom. When surrounded by those who are not part of our people, we still should not be a screech in their ears or a foul odor to them. We must still do our job without compromise, but must still be aware of how we are affecting those around us. He had been living here when he took his 318 men to retrieve his nephew from four armies, and had been honored by kings. And he is very wealthy, because YHWH has prospered him. They wish to claim him as their own, or at least want to sell him something, but he understood that he was different from them, and their flattery did not affect him at all. Such flamboyance is common among Yishma'el's descendants today. Yet it is not to be taken at face value. "The righteous say little and perform much; the wicked promise much and perform but little." On the one hand, this is part of a legal proceeding to show in an exaggerated way that Avraham is accepted as worthy to own land among them.

7. But Avraham stood up and bowed to the people of the land--the sons of Cheth.

   Bowing to them does not mean he belongs to them, be he is not so proud that he will not show them common courtesy. He recognizes that they have authority in this place, and he shows them respect by at least following their laws and ordinances. Avraham's example is to be both respectful and respectable. Respect is a two-way street; there are things people do that are not respectable, but we need to start out wit the benefit of the doubt. We only remove our respect if they spit on it. Respect is greatly lacking today, especially among children, because parents are lazy and still want to act like children themselves.

8. And he spoke to them, saying, "If it is truly your wish to bury my dead from before my face, heed me: use your influence with Efron the son of Tsochar for me,

9. "that he may grant me the Cave of Makhpelah, which is his, on the edge of his field; Let him grant it to me for its full price, as a burial estate in your midst."

   We know exactly where this site is, because Herod the Great built a building over it that is still intact today, and many Jewish pilgrims go there the week this Torah portin is read, though it is again in foreign hands. Makhpelah means "doubled over" or "pairs". The name may have derived from some geological feature, but Avraham may have known that there was more to it--that an important "pair" was buried there. Rabbinic tradition says Adam and Chawwah were also buried there (and possibly even Noach and his wife, which could constitute the "four" that the town was named after). No wonder he would be willing to pay any price for it!

10. And Efron was sitting among the sons of Cheth; and Efron the Chithite answered Avraham in the ears of the sons of Cheth, to all those entering the gates of the city, saying,

   Sitting: possibly as a magistrate, for the gate is where all legal and economic transactions took place in a city. The place of judgment was stationed at the entrance to the city because the rulers had to judge whom they trusted to enter within its walls, and who was a threat.

11. "No, my master, you listen to me. I have given the field to you, and I have given you the cave that is in it. Before the eyes of the sons of my people, I have given it to you. Bury your dead!"

12. And Avraham bowed before the people of the land,

13. but spoke to Efron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, "If only you would listen to me! I have paid the silver for the field; take it from me, so that I may bury my dead there."

14. And Efron answered Avraham by telling him,

15. "My master, hear me: the land is worth 400 sheqels of silver; what is that between me and you? Now bury your dead!"

   "Well, since you asked…" 400 sheqels: a laughably high price compared to Yirmiyahu/Jeremiah 32:9, in which a tract of land of much greater value was purchased for 17 sheqels. The average yearly wage for a worker was 6 to 8 sheqels! So this is 50 years' wages! It is a custom in the Middle East that if someone expresses an interest in the beauty of a particular object, the owner should give it to him. An offer of money would have to be repeated at least three times before it was taken seriously. But when they saw that the place was worth something to Avraham, they priced it accordingly. Israel Koschitzky writes, "Although this offer [of the land as an outright gift] can certainly be interpreted as a magnanimous gesture on their part, it simultaneously contains a threatening undercurrent. This is because the provision of the burial plot (indicative of official status) as a gift will actually undermine Avraham's attempt to secure undisputed legal deed to the land as well as the status as a citizen that goes with it. Therefore, Avraham refuses. Efron finally relents and agrees to Avraham's desire to buy the cave. By attaching such an outrageous price to it, though, he is in effect again attempting to dissuade Avraham from trying to attain deed through purchase. But Avraham is undeterred and immediately agrees to the terms of the sale, thus succeeding in establishing an eternal connection with the land that can never be severed." YHWH had promised him the whole Land, but he reached out and claimed it, taking possession of it in an indisputable way. It is ironic that the traditional site of this cave is one of the most hotly-disputed pieces of property in Israel today. Similarly, King David purchased the Temple Mount for money from a foreigner, yet today its ownership is contested. Dell Griffin writes that this type of place is probably what is referred to by the "Neot Elohim" (His "precious possessions") in Psalm 83:12. The Temple Mount, Hevron, Yoseyf's tomb, Beyth Lekhem, and even Yerikho, the first city Y'hoshua conquered, have been given to today's "sons of terror". Indeed, the "West Bank" (which includes even the old city of Yerushalayim) is historically more important to Yehudah than other parts of Israel, yet it is given away most readily since the coast is more important in the modern world. The enemy starts by attacking our connection to our ancestors (Mal. 4:6) and encouraging our connection to other nations instead. The Council of Nicea did the same thing for Efrayim, removing our connection to Yehudah and Hebraic ways which belonged equally to us after Yahshua restored us to them. This was the Assyrians' tactic: make people forget who they are so they can be more easily controlled, becoming docile "citizens" of the conquering nation.

16. So Avraham listened to Efron, and Avraham weighed out to Efron the silver of which he had spoken in the ears of the sons of Cheth: 400 silver sheqels, which passes with the merchants.

   Listened: He made sure he heard what they were really saying rather than assuming it was worth 20 sheqels, paying them that, and thus greatly dishonoring them. They really "ripped him off", but he gave them what they wanted to complete the deal so he could leave. The majority of our dealings with outsiders is for financial purposes. In order to get local supermarkets to carry kosher foods, we have to show them how it will be profitable for them. It is better to deal with insiders instead when we can, but when we must deal with others, we should pay them in full so we do not owe them anything more. At other times, we will realize that what they are offering is not something we should be involved in, like the offer from the King of S'dom, so we will not not be connected with something YHWH wants to destroy so that we will be in His way. He would do nothing to damage his reputation, because what He did reflects on YHWH. There are two additional reasons Avraham took him up on this ridiculously-high price. 400 is the total of the numerical value of the letters that make up Efron's name, so he could not have asked for more than he was "worth". But the first word in Scripture with the numerical value of 400 is nashim, which means "women" or "wives". His wife is why he bought it at all.

17. Thus the field of Efron, which was in Makhpelah facing Mamre--the field and the cave that is in it, and all the trees that are in the field, and all its surrounding territories--was certified

18. to Avraham as a purchase before the sons of Cheth and all who enter the gates of his city.

   Who enter the gates: who have access to the city.

19. Then after this Avraham buried his wife Sarah at the cave of Makhpelah facing Mamre (which is Hevron in the land of Kanaan).


CHAPTER 24

1. Now Avraham was old, having entered into the days, and YHWH had blessed Avraham in everything.

2. And Avraham said to the senior servant in his household, who managed all that was his, "Please put your hand under my thigh,

3. "and I will make you swear by YHWH, the Elohim of the heavens and the Elohim of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from among the daughters of the Kanaanite, amidst whom I dwell.

   Make you swear: or "I adjure you". For an oath, one's hand is commonly placed on a sacred object. Since this oath was related to the continuation of Avraham's line, and circumcision had been the first sign of YHWH's covenant with both Avraham and his descendants, he selected his procreative organ (of which "thigh" is sometimes used as a euphemism, as in Ex. 1:5), which was separated unto YHWH by this ceremony. He thus made himself vulnerable, for his posterity is literally in his hand. This servant would assumedly lose his inheritance if Yitzhaq married and had a son, so Avraham shows absolute trust that he will remain loyal. His continuance depends on what this servant does.

4. "Rather, you shall go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son--for Yitzhaq.

5. But the servant said to him, "Suppose the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land; in that case should I bring your son back into the land from which you came out?"

   He realized that, naturally speaking, a woman fit for a prince was unlikely to willingly opt for the rugged life of a bedouin, so he made sure he was not making a rash vow. We, too, are being called to a level of holiness that we are not used to. Stricter, it seems more severe, but is necessary if His dwelling place is to be built properly.

6. But Avraham told him, "Be very careful that you do not take my son back there.

   Yitzhaq was not to be taken to where the bride was, but she had to come to him. He had been "elevated" as an "ascending" dedicated to YHWH; for his whole life he never left the Land of Promise, for he could not thus "descend" across the Yarden River. He is a picture of Yahshua, our "high priest". More was required of priests than of the rest of Israel, and the same is true for the High Priest's bride. (Lev. 21:14) Avraham did not wish for his son to even be exposed to the idolatry he had grown up with. This is a worthy pattern for those of us who have come out of the paganized church to follow with our children. In YHWH's sovereignty, we had no choice but to be there for a time and He had a purpose in it, but it is far better to raise children in the greatest level of purity attainable in our day. We must not compromise down to a lower level; those who want the knowledge we can impart need to "come out of her" to the training community, summoned by YHWH's "unnamed servant". To let them go back to, for example, Catholic school or vacation Bible school, would be like saying, "I finally got my shirt clean, so I'm going to put it back in the mud!" In Hebrew, the word for "sons" means "building blocks"; we are not fully built until they come along, because they determine what we turn out to be. Similarly, Yahshua restricts the places we can go to seek for the lost sheep of the House of Israel so they can renew the covenant. (Mat. 10:5-6)

7. "YHWH, the Elohim of Heaven--who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me, and swore to me, saying, 'I will give this land to your seed'--shall Himself send His messenger before you, and you shall take a wife from there for my son.

   My father's house: In the area of Kharan. The land of my birth: He is not told to go all the way back to Ur, but only to the colony of others who had left Ur. There are many parallels here with Yahshua: the one who was offered on Moryah because of the will of YHWH has been gone for a long time, but is still seeking someone to belong to him, though he himself is nowhere to be found. An ancient servant has gone on his behalf to find among his Father's people those who love him without ever seeing him. (1 Keyfa/Peter 1:8) Messenger: represents the Spirit of Messiah going before him to make things ready for the Father's Spirit (represented by the servant who goes to a foreign land as Yahshua's representative to actually retrieve the bride). Many Orthodox Jews very evidently have the Spirit of Holiness, but not the Spirit of Messiah; they are two different things. (Rom. 8:9; 1 Keyfa/Peter 1:11) Was there any other elohim known to pay such close attention to his subjects? A wife for my son: It was time for another woman to take Sarah's place in the household, which had been founded on a righteous man and his wife. Why must she come from the place he left? There is something special about these women in particular--something important and even royal. (See 22:20ff) Milkah was given more prominence than Rivqah's father because she has a kingdom name. They are still held captive back there, so someone must go get themThe bride for Yitzhaq must come from kingdom women. Our mates, too, must be Kingdom people. (See Deut. 7:1; Ex. 34:13ff; Y'hoshua 23:12ff; Judges 3:5ff.)

8. "But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you shall be cleared of this oath of mine. Just don't take my son back there!"

   Willing: the term is actually stronger--eager, literally "panting". Back there: Yitzhaq had never been there himself, so the allegorical level is where we must concentrate: YHWH, too, did not want His Son dragged back into paganism, even if his bride would not come otherwise; He promised He would send out fishermen, then hunters, to bring him a bride. (Yirm./Jer. 16:14ff) But His servants eventually failed in this very area. They did take Him "back to Egypt", and His congregation was again enslaved there, being put into a Gentile context and seen through a Greek mindset, mingled with concepts about the demigods, and commercialized. Those who were invited have not shown up for the banquet (Luk. 14:21-24), so He has to send messengers again, this time as hunters, to bring them back out to the right context.

9. So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Avraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

   By remaining nameless in the text, the servant is a picture of the Spirit who does not glorify Himself (Yochanan/John 16:13f), but acts on Yahshua's behalf and in his authority. This wind that blows back from the Kingdom to draw us to it was not empowered to bring him a bride until he died, for Yahshua did not have authority until then. (Yochanan 7:39; Mat. 28:18)

10. Then the slave took ten of his master's camels, and left, with all of his master's pleasantries in his hand. And he arose and walked to the city of Nakhor in Aram of the Two Rivers.

   With his master's pleasantries: samples of his wealth, or the deed to it. Some who "taste the power of the age to come" still refuse the offer. (Heb. 6:5) Why is it important that he took ten camels? The Hebrew word for camel is based on the root for "weaned", "fully dealt with", or "ripened"--those who have put away childish things (1 Cor. 13:11ff) and have learned how to teach others. (Heb. 5:12) Yaaqov also promised YHWH a tenth of all He gave him, which includes his descendants. A minyan (quorum) of ten mature men makes a congregation (see note on 18:32). The congregation that is to retrieve the bride is one that is mature, not geared toward babies in the faith. It also carries gifts--given to the sons of men, they rest within us. Walked: also an idiom for living out YHWH's commandments; if we stay on His path, we are sure to encounter the bride He wants us to retrieve. City of Nakhor: this may not be the city's name, but the city where Nakhor had lived. Nakhor means "snoring" or "snorting". The bride is to be taken from among those who, though capable descendants of Shem, are sleeping. (Compare Mat. 25:5.) The servant needs to find one who has awakened for the one who has been resurrected, and who is willing to come; very few are. Our job is not to wake the others up, but to find those who have already awakened and get them out of there. (Compare Mark 13;36.) Aram of the Two Rivers: that is, Mesopotamia. Aram is known today as Syria.

11. And he made the camels kneel down outside the city, by a well of water toward evening, the time when women who draw water go out.

   "Well" is from a word meaning to clarify or make plain. Water is a picture of YHWH's instruction. The congregation of mature ones does indeed kneel in submission to the water. YHWH at the place where the Torah is clarified. The city: the human "system" on which men rely for security. The servant did not go there, for that would choke out his message (Mark 4:19), but sought the bride only among those who were worthy. (Mat. 10:11) Drawing water symbolizes learning YHWH's instruction. Paul, when seeking to bring the message of Yahshua to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, sought them in the synagogues, though they were not Jewish, for that is the only place outside of the Land of Israel that the "water" of Torah could be found, and those who were already thirsty for YHWH--whom He had already begun drawing back--would be there seeking Him among "His relatives"; those who have proven faithful in the lesser things would be given more. Yahshua also met such a thirsty woman at a well. (Yochanan 4)

12. And he prayed, "YHWH, Elohim of my master Avraham, I beg you, let me have an encounter today, and show kindness to my master Avraham.

13. "Here I am, standing by the source of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.

14. "Moreover, let the girl to whom I shall say, 'Please let down your pitcher that I may drink' and she says, 'Drink, and I will water your camels also'--let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Yitzhaq. And by this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."

   The Holy Spirit is symbolically seeking a bride for Messiah who will bear the Torah and share it with others as well. Camels: many are willing to serve Yahshua (represented here by Yitzhaq), but the servant's test for a true bride was whether she would also care for his whole congregation (see v. 10), i.e., was totally selfless and would keep teaching Torah to those who are already part of Israel until all are refreshed. He has specific standards for the bride of Avraham's son. If she was like this, she was hospitable like Avraham, and could be a matriarch in Israel.

15. And before he had finished speaking, it came about! Out from the city came Rivqah, who was born to B'thuel the son of Milkah, the wife of Avraham's brother Nakhor, with her pitcher on her shoulder.

   A hunter of kosher food does not shoot his prey, but ensnares it so he can kill it properly. Rivqah means "ensnarer" (or possibly "captivating"), so she was like-minded with the one sent to "hunt" her out. Pitcher: from a Hebrew word for "to deepen", so these jars were tall, but ar symbolic of the bride bringing teaching with depth to the whole congregation, not something shallow.

16. And the girl was very fine-looking--a virgin, whom no man had known. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up.

17. Then the slave ran to meet her and said, "Please let me sip a little water from your pitcher."

18. But she said, "Drink deeply, my master!" And she hurried to let down her pitcher by hand, and gave him a drink.

   She did much more than he asked for, and approached him with humility, even though he had humbled himself before her in his neediness. By hand: Torah is meant to be brought forth not just by our words, but by the works of our hands. That it passes through our hands is what makes it truly alive.

19. And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will also draw some for your camels until they have drunk their fill."

   She even offered Torah to the very learned (the mature; see note on v. 10). But would she really follow through? This was no token gesture of hospitality; after a long trip, ten camels can easily drink 140 gallons between them. If they are very thirsty, one camel can even drink up to 35 gallons within 6 minutes! One gallon of water weighs 8 pounds.

20. And she hurried and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and again ran to the well to draw, and she drew water for all his camels!

   She is obviously a strong woman. Many women would start to feel pain after the first lowering of the pitcher. Many say they will serve, but keep snoring, saying they will do it "as soon as…", but a Kingdom concept is to not just do it, but do it now, if it is in season. She did not just do it, but hurried to do so--proving that though she lived among the snorers, she herself was far from asleep! The answer to Proverbs 31's question of "Who can find a capable woman?" is, "The one who goes to the well!" Trough: a holding tank found at some ancient wells.

21. Yet the man kept silent, watching her to see whether YHWH had prospered his journey or not.

   Watching her: staring in wonderment during a moment of suspense. Yet despite all these amazing traits she showed, he still listened for YHWH's confirmation: was this seed that would spring up quickly but have no root, or was it fruit that would remain? She had made the statement he was waiting for, but many people say they will be committed to Israel, yet continue in their snoring. She did not pass the test until the camels were actually watered, and there was one more element he was waiting to see. Avraham also had not been blessed by his visitors until after he had completed what he said he intended to do--and gone above and beyond it.

22. But when the camels had finished drinking, the man took a golden ring, its weight a beqa, and two bracelets for her arms, weighing ten [sheqels] in gold.

23. And he said, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room for us to stay in your father's house?"

24. And she told him, "I am the daughter of B'thuel, the son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nakhor."

25. And she said to him, "We have plenty of both straw and provender, and also a room to stay in."

   To be a bride in Avraham's household, she had to follow his exemple of hospitality. She went above and beyond what he had asked; that is how he knew she was really from Avraham's family. There is plenty in the bride's house, both to feed and to bring comfort. Efrayim is the "fullness of the Gentiles" (48:19). The word for "straw" is from the word "build" (probably refers to its use in making bricks, e.g. Exodus 5). Her Semitic household would thus seem to have plenty of material to build YHWH's house, but it had idolatry mixed in; straw or hay is one of those things that the fiery test will destroy (cf. v. 24; 1 Cor. 3:12)-possibly an underlying reason the servant chose not to stay (v. 56).

26. Then the man bowed and was worshipping YHWH,

27. saying, "Blessed be YHWH, the Elohim of my master Avraham, who has not abandoned His faithfulness and His truthfulness with my master. And [as for] me, while I am on my journey, YHWH has guided me to the very house of my master's brother!"

28. So the girl ran and told these things to her mother's household.

29. Now Rivqah also had a brother, whose name was Lavan, and Lavan ran out to the man at the well.

30. And when he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and when he heard the words of his sister Rivqah--"This is what the man said to me..."--he came to where the man was and saw him attending to his camels at the spring.

   In this introduction to Lavan, Moshe makes sure we see that he perked up when the objects of gold caught his eye, and was eager to have the camels' cargo. He is a picture of the corrupt church, which cares more about the gold than about the bride.

31. So he said, "Come in, O you who are blessed by YHWH! Why are you standing outside? I have gotten the house ready, and I also have a place for the camels."

   He claims credit for what Rivqah actually offered.

32. So the man came into the house, and unloaded the camels, gave them straw and fodder, and washed his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

33. And food was set before him to eat, but he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I need to say." So Lavan said, "Say it, then!"

   He would not partake of anything else this household offered until he knew whether they would accept his mission to claim one of theirs for Avraham's house. (Compare Mat. 10:13.)

34. So he said, "I am the slave of Avraham.

   Avraham was already known in their household. Avraham was already known in their household. One way to recognize those we are called to retrieve is that they are glad to hear of the welfare of those who are known to be Avraham's children:

35. "And YHWH has greatly blessed my master, and he is wealthy. And he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys.

...

49. "So now, if you are going to deal kindly and truthfully with my master, tell me, but if not, tell me now, so I may turn to the right hand or the left."

   Truthfully: Lavan indeed had to be asked this directly. Right hand or left: start looking for an alternative, wherever it may be found. If they refused, YHWH could raise up sons of Avraham from among the stones. He would not settle for a bride who would not make herself ready. Knowing one's right hand from one's left also symbolizes being trained in the knowledge of YHWH's instruction. The right and left hand also symbolize judgment and mercy, and he needed to decide which they would receive--especially if the "men" who accompanied him were the ones who destroyed S'dom.

50. Then Lavan and B'thuel both answered and said, "The thing has come from YHWH; we are not able to tell you [it is] painful or pleasing.

51. "Behold, Rivqah is here before you; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as YHWH has said."

52. And when Avraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself on the earth to YHWH.

53. So the servant brought out vessels of silver, vessels of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rivqah. He also gave costly things to her brother and her mother.

   Note that there were no gifts for her father (cf. vv. 24, 28). Symbolically he is the same as the Egyptian father of the man who fought with the Israelite man in Lev. 24:10. But he has no real place in this story. Lavan has spoken for him all along, often to the point of disrespect and usurping his authority. Apparently he is one of the "snorers", too, but like the Church, Lavan speaks for the Father instead of letting the Father speak for Himself.

54. Then they ate and drank together, he and the men who were with him, and they stayed the night. When they got up in the morning, he said, "Send me away to my master!"

   Ate and drank: after finishing their business, to seal it and celebrate. The men: who apparently came along to attend to the camels. We knew there was something deeper than just ten camels (a congregation of mature ones); there was a congregation of men accompanying him as well.

...

63. And Yitzhaq had gone out into the fields to meditate as evening was nearing. And he lifted his eyes and looked, and--lo and behold--some camels were coming!

64. And Rivqah raised her eyes and saw Yitzhaq, and she fell from the camel.

   Was she shocked at his appearance? Yahshua, when we see him, will look like a lamb that has been butchered. (Rev. 5:6) She was coming from the place of sleep, but looking beyond herself; during the season to wake up (Yom T'ruah), it is said that the King is in the field, looking to meet His people there--as Yitzhaq was.

65. And she asked the slave, "Who is this man who is walking in the field to meet us?" And the slave said, "It is my master!" And she took a veil and covered herself. ...
CHAPTER 25
...

4. All of these were the descendants of Qeturah.

   Their names have little in common, covering just about any way people could be described. Each is unique and the nations that resulted from them differed widely from one another. There are therefore many who can truly claim to be descendants of Avraham. If we know where to look, many of these peoples are still around. Some mixed with the Yishmaelites and became what we know today as the Arabs (which, incidentally, means "mixed"). This may be one reason citizenship in the Messianic Kingdom will be made available to many peoples if they enter into covenant with YHWH. But the covenant does not belong to them:

5. But Avraham gave all that he had to Yitzhaq,

   Avraham had many descendants, but only one heir to the covenant. Yitzhaq was the seed of promise, the son of both the chosen man and the chosen woman (from whom it was important that he learn)--the one who inherited everything when Avraham died. The others helped fulfill the promises that he would be a father of multitudes. But the only ones who are counted as Avraham's descendants were those who came through Yitzhaq. (Romans 9:6ff) One must come into this covenant in order to walk fully with Avraham. Thus none but his descendants (and only some of them) can lay claim to the Land of Israel (as clarified below in 28:4; 35:12). But Yitzhaq is a picture of Yahshua, who was given all that the Father had (Yochanan 3:35), including all authority in heaven and earth (after his betrothal and resurrection, as with Yitzhaq, Mat. 28:18), and now He is the only way to know the Father intimately. (Mat. 11:27)

6. though to the sons of his concubines, Avraham gave gifts, and sent them away eastward, away from his son Yitzhaq, to a land of the Orient while he was still living.

   Concubines: secondary legal wives who did not receive an actual inheritance. The word is related to division or streams, indicating several streams of descendants, but division of interest for the man who has them, since he can no longer concentrate all his energies on one family. So he sent them away so there would be no strife of the type that his servants had with Lot's, or the trouble he had from Yishmael. In Hebrew, "east", "ancient", and "antiquity" are the same word, so since he had come from the east and was not going back there, he was "putting them behind him" so he could focus on Yitzhaq. He was also making sure no one else would try to lay claim to the Land. Since Avraham had some seeds of idolatry still latent in him, he separated Yitzhaq from any such influence. This was Sarah's legacy: sending away what could corrupt the covenant. And He is doing the same with us today. The all-embracing emphasis of other Bible-based religions may seem to focus more on people than on ideas, but it does not reflect wisdom as regards the purity of the faith. Only a few of these other children show up again in Scripture. But since all his inheritance was given to Yitzhaq (v. 5), what would he have left to give these other children? How could he give all to one son, yet some to all? There are some kinds of gifts that can be given more than once, or which one can give and still have to give again: a sense of what is right or wrong (i.e., general morality), some of his insights and abilities (many of which would have been passed on genertically), knowledge and wisdom, and some of his longing for closeness to the Creator. The Rabbis say he taught them mystical arts and the understanding of the stars. Some of them may have been founders of eastern religions, which have bits of truth in them, but not the completeness. Rabbi Lebel Wolf has found much evidence for connections between the Hebrew language and conepts known among the peoples of India and China, largely through Hinduism and Buddhism. In the local language, the Indus River means "the one from the other side"--the same meaning as "Hebrew". The name Brahman requires only a a minor rearrangement of the name Avraham, suggesting some ancestor worship. In Aramaic, the name Ash-shurim is interpreted as "a camp", and in India an Ashram is a spiritually-oriented commune. Ram means "high and lifted up" in Hebrew, and a major deity of the Hindus bears this name. The term Veda is related to the Hebrew term da'at (knowledge). A Hindu term for ritual impurity is tamas--very similar to the Hebrew tamei. Eastern religions are highly meditative, with the focus on listening to one's breath as the primary approach. In 2:7 we were told that YHWH had breathed into man the breath (nishmah) of life, and man became a living soul (neshamah). So the breath and the soul are inseparable both linguistically and scientifically. Ancient clay heads show greatly-exaggerated noses, because of the belief that the nose was the seat of the life-force. As YHWH sends His rain on the just and the unjust (Mat. 5:45; Gal. 6:10), Avraham was a hospitable man and would not send them out empty-handed. But to Yitzhaq he gave the things that mattered most--his friendship with YHWH, his position as His particular servant, and his right to spiritual priesthood. The land and any physical treasures he gave to him would only be symbolic of this more important heritage. If the others wanted these blessings, they would need to come under the authority of Yitzhaq, whom he had made minister in this special sense. Yeshayahu 60:6-7 even shows gifts coming back to his descendants from all of these other children. There are many who pray (see note on v. 1) and who receive gifts of YHWH's mercy in His grand scheme, but the right of mediator he has given only to Israel, and most specially to Yahshua. (Yochanan 14:6) We just saw Yitzhaq meditating in the field. (24:63) YHWH's name sounds like a breath, and listening for Him in the quiet places without busyness is the only way to become all that we can. But why are these gifts given to the other children not adequate? The difference is what the meditation is unto. Their gifts are valid and profitable to some extent, but they lack a covenant that teaches them to focus not only on one's own soul, but also of all the others who are in the covenant. Avraham and Moshe started their spiritual journeys as lone men, but they "acquired" more souls. As others joined them, they needed to become their leaders and treat them as family, not just students or servants. The covenant was no longer just about the individual, though it was carried on through a single seed. Even Jewish kabbalah focuses on the individual, but YHWH sees Israel as a collective bride with whom He will be one only corporately. We will never be made perfect as long as we look only at self. Our work to perfect ourselves individually must be in the context of and for the purpose of the whole community of Israel being united with YHWH.

...

11. And it came about that after the death of Avraham, YHWH blessed his son Yitzhaq, and Yitzhaq remained by the Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.

   Remained: the tense suggests that he "continued to dwell" there. Yitzhaq never left the land of his inheritance as both his father and son did. There is deeper spiritual meaning here than simply identifying the location where he settled. He was abiding by the source of water. (See Psalm 1)


12. Now these are the genealogies of Yishmael, the son of Avraham, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maidservant, had borne to Avraham,

   This portion is called "the life of Sarah", yet ends with Yishma'el's genealogy, reminding us that we do have to keep an eye on some of these cousins.




Commentary on
Parashat Chayei Sarah
How to Deal with
Insiders
and Outsiders