And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;
20. after these things ] Cf. Gen 22:1.
Milcah ] See Gen 11:27; Gen 11:29. Nahor’s marriage with his niece probably represents the fusion of two tribes.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
20 24. The Genealogy of Nahor (J)
In this genealogy it is to be noted, (1) that the home of Nahor and his sons is not Ur, but Aram Naharaim, as in Gen 24:10; (2) that the sons of Nahor, like those of Ishmael (Gen 25:13-16), Esau (Gen 36:15-19), and Jacob, are twelve in number, of whom eight are born to his legitimate wife Milcah, and four to his concubine Reumah; (3) that the names of the sons represent tribes, or tribal dwelling-places, in the Aramaean, or Syrian, region on the N.E. of Palestine. The genealogy seems to represent a recollection of the traditional names of the prehistoric ancestors of the Hebrew immigrants. Probably the introduction of the genealogy at this point is due to the mention of Rebekah in Gen 22:23, which prepares the way for the story in 24 (J).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 20. Behold, Milcah, she hath also borne children unto thy brother] This short history seems introduced solely for the purpose of preparing the reader for the transactions related Ge 24:1-67, and to show that the providence of God was preparing, in one of the branches of the family of Abraham, a suitable spouse for his son Isaac.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This narration and genealogy is added for Rebekahs sake, and to make way for the following relation.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And it came to pass, after these things,…. Abraham’s taking his son Isaac to the land of Moriah, building an altar on one of the mountains there, and laying him on it with an intention to sacrifice him, and offering of a ram in his stead, and the return of them both to Beersheba:
that it was told Abraham; by some person very probably who was lately come from those parts where the following persons lived; though Jarchi suggests this was told him by the Lord himself, and while he was thinking of taking a wife for Isaac of the daughters at Aner, or Eshcol, or Mamre; and to prevent which the following narration was given him:
saying, behold Milcah, she hath also borne children unto thy brother Nahor; as Sarah, supposed to be the same with Iscah, a daughter of Haran, had borne a son to him, and whom he had received again as from the dead; so Milcah, another daughter of Harsh, had borne children to his brother Nahor, whom he had left in Ur of the Chaldees, when he departed from thence, and who afterwards came and dwelt in Haran of Mesopotamia; see Ge 11:27.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Descendants of Nahor. – With the sacrifice of Isaac the test of Abraham’s faith was now complete, and the purpose of his divine calling answered: the history of his life, therefore, now hastens to its termination. But first of all there is introduced quite appropriately an account of the family of his brother Nahor, which is so far in place immediately after the story of the sacrifice of Isaac, that it prepares the way for the history of the marriage of the heir of the promise. The connection is pointed out in Gen 22:20, as compared with Gen 11:29, in the expression, “ she also.” Nahor, like Ishmael and Jacob, had twelve sons, eight by his wife Milcah and four by his concubine; whereas Jacob had his by two wives and two maids, and Ishmael apparently all by one wife. This difference with regard to the mothers proves that the agreement as to the number twelve rests upon a good historical tradition, and is no product of a later myth, which traced to Nahor the same number of tribes as to Ishmael and Jacob. For it is a perfectly groundless assertion or assumption, that Nahor’s twelve sons were the fathers of as many tribes. There are only a few names, of which it is probable that their bearers were the founders of tribes of the same name. On Uz, see Gen 10:23. Buz is mentioned in Jer 25:23 along with Dedan and Tema as an Arabian tribe; and Elihu was a Buzite of the family of Ram (Job 32:2). Kemuel, the father of Aram, was not the founder of the Aramaeans, but the forefather of the family of Ram, to which the Buzite Elihu belonged, – Aram being written for Ram, like Arammim in 2Ki 8:29 for Rammim in 2Ch 22:5. Chesed again was not the father of the Chasdim (Chaldeans), for they were older than Chesed; at the most he was only the founder of one branch of the Chasdim, possibly those who stole Job’s camels ( Knobel; vid., Job 1:17). Of the remaining names, Bethuel was not the founder of a tribe, but the father of Laban and Rebekah (Gen 25:20). The others are never met with again, with the exception of Maachach, from whom probably the Maachites (Deu 3:14; Jos 12:5) in the land of Maacah, a small Arabian kingdom in the time of David (2Sa 10:6, 2Sa 10:8; 1Ch 19:6), derived their origin and name; though Maachah frequently occurs as the name of a person (1Ki 2:39; 1Ch 11:43; 1Ch 27:16).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; 21 Huz his first born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. 23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.
This is recorded here, 1. To show that though Abraham saw his own family highly dignified with peculiar privileges, admitted into covenant, and blessed with the entail of the promise, yet he did not look with contempt and disdain upon his relations, but was glad to hear of the increase and prosperity of their families. 2. To make way for the following story of the marriage of Isaac to Rebekah, a daughter of this family.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 20-24:
Likely it was not long after the return from Moriah to Beer-sheba that news came to Abraham of his brother Nahor’s family, in Haran in Mesopotamia. One of the eight sons of Nahor and Milcah was Bethuel (dwelling of God), whose name is an indication of his piety. Bethuel became the father of a daughter named Rebekah. As the daughter of Nahor’s youngest son, she was likely about the same age of Isaac.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
NAHORS POSTERITY.
(20) Thy brother Nahor.Dwelling so far apart, news would seldom reach Abraham of those whom he had left at Haran. But besides the domestic interest, the knowledge thus conveyed to him was the cause probably of Abrahams determination to seek a wife for his son from among his own kindred. It has been noticed that Nahor has twelve sons, eight by his lawful wife, and four by his concubine. So Jacob has twelve sons, eight by two lawful wives, and four by two concubines. Lastly, Ishmael has twelve sons. These coincidences are curious, but afford no ground for the assertion that therefore these narratives are mythical. For coincidences quite as strange are to be found in every history, and in daily life.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20. It was told Abraham How few and far between the visits and messages of those days! Fifty or more years had passed since Abraham left his kindred in Haran, and now he hears from them . The news may have come by a passing traveller from Haran, or a company of merchants, passing down into Egypt; or possibly some special messenger from Nahor sent to inquire after Abraham.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Sons of Nahor and the Family Connection of Rebekah ( Gen 22:20-24 ).
The incident at Mount Moriah was the climax of Abraham’s life. All that remains is the closing down of his life. The stress in Gen 22:20 to Gen 24:67 is the new beginnings in Isaac, the chosen heir.
This family record is the introduction to Genesis 24. It is explaining the knowledge of a daughter that persuaded Abraham to send his steward to Nahor’s family to find a wife for Isaac. It was thus included in the original covenant record which included Genesis 24. It may be that the contract detailed in Genesis 23 was also incorporated in that covenant record at the time. This would explain why it divides Gen 22:20-24 from the passage it introduces.
Alternatively Genesis 23 may have been placed within the latter by the editor. It is possible that this happened while Joseph was in authority in Egypt, when it would have been likely that the life history and background of so important a man would be set down in writing from the written records available. Alternately it may have been done later by Moses himself from the covenant records. In either case it was done because the editor knew that the news of the existence of Rebekah reached Abraham before the death of Sarah, and that Sarah died before Isaac married Rebekah. We will consider why it was introduced shortly.
It is clear that many years have passed since the previous incident, silent years because there was no revelation from Yahweh. It is not the history of Abraham that is written down, but the history of Yahweh in His dealings with Abraham.
This introduction of a tablet with a genealogy was a regular feature of such ancient tablets.
Gen 22:20-21
‘And so it was after these things that Abraham was told, saying, “Behold, Milcah, she also has borne children to your brother Nahor. Uz, his firstborn, and Buz, his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram.’
It was quite natural that news would come through to Abraham about his brother’s family. It may have been because he himself sent a messenger to enquire whether there was a suitable wife for his son there, or because Nahor kept in contact with his elder brother who was thus aware of family affairs. The former is very likely and would explain why full details of the family genealogy were sent to Abraham.
As we have previously been told, Milcah was the daughter of Haran, who had died young, and was married to Nahor (11:29). She was clearly fruitful and bore him eight sons listed in this passage. The names are typical of the period and are attested either elsewhere in the Old Testament or in cuneiform sources. For Uz compare 10:23 where an Uz is a descendant of an earlier Aram, also 36:28. Job lived in ‘the land of Uz’ (Job 1:1). For Buz compare 1Ch 5:14; Job 32:2; Job 32:6; Jer 25:23. For Kemuel compare Num 34:24; 1Ch 27:17. Aram is well associated with the area in which they dwelt.
Gen 22:22
‘And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. And Bethuel begat Rebekah. These eight did Milcah bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.’
For Bethuel compare 1Ch 4:30. Bethuel is the father of Rebekah.
Gen 22:23-24
‘And Bethuel begat Rebekah. These eight did Milcah bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. And his concubine Reumah, she also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.’
The four sons of Reumah are mentioned to bring the number of sons to twelve. It is constantly apparent that twelve is depicted as the ideal inter-tribal make up. Compare Ishmael –Gen 25:13-16 – and the twelve tribes of Israel. (The number of the tribes of Israel are maintained at twelve even though the constituents change).
Thus the family pedigree is carefully laid out in preparation for the account of the obtaining of a bride for Isaac. The family associations of Rebekah are made clear. Rebekah is the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor who rules over an established tribal association.
In Gen 29:5 Laban, Rebekah’s brother, is called ‘the son of Nahor’. But this is to connect him directly with the Patriarch of the tribal association. It was quite common for a man to be called ‘the son of’ his grandfather when that grandfather was very distinguished. In the same way Rebekah is later described as residing in ‘the house of his master’s (Abraham’s) brother’ (Gen 24:24). The continual stress is on Rebekah’s relationship with Nahor. It must be made apparent that she is a suitable wife for Isaac.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Genealogy of Nahor – Nahor had twelve sons, eight by his wife Milcah, and four by his concubine Reumah. Note that Ishmael, Abraham’s son, also had twelve sons also, which are listed in the genealogy of Gen 25:12-16. Nahor’s genealogy sets the backdrop for Gen 24:1-67, when Isaac takes Rebekah as his wife. But why is this passage placed here at the end of chapter 22? Perhaps the reason is because Gen 22:1-19 is figurative of the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, while the story of Isaac taking Rebekah in Gen 22:20-24 is figurative of the birth of the church, Jesus’ bride, which comes immediately after Jesus’ resurrection.
Gen 22:20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;
Gen 22:20
Comments – Milcha is daughter of Haran and sister to Lot and Iscah. She married her uncle named Nahor and bare him eight children. She is first mentioned in Gen 11:29 in the genealogy of Terah. She is mentioned a second time in Scripture Gen 22:20-24, where Nahor’s genealogy is given. Her name is mentioned on a third occasion in the chapter where Isaac takes Rebekah as his bride (Gen 24:15; Gen 24:24; Gen 24:47). She is mentioned no more in the Scriptures.
Gen 11:29, “And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.”
Gen 24:15, “And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.”
Gen 22:20 Comments Keil-Delitzsch use the phrase “she hath also born children” to tie the passage in Gen 22:20-24 back to Gen 11:29, where Nahor and Milcah are first mentioned as relatives of Abraham. [213] This brother of Abraham will play an important role in God’s redemptive plan for mankind by providing a grandchild named Rebekah to marry Abraham’s son Isaac. Thus, Nahor’s genealogy plays a smaller, but important role in Israel’s ancestry. The author of Genesis has just written the narrative material of Isaac’s birth and Abraham’s offering on Mount Moriah. Now, he is preparing the stage for the birth of his wife Rebekah.
[213] C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Pentateuch, vol. 1, in Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin, in P.C. Study Bible, v. 3.1 [CD-ROM] (Seattle, WA: Biblesoft Inc., 1993-2000), comments on Genesis 22:20.
Gen 22:21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,
Gen 22:21
Gen 22:21 Word Study on “Buz” Gesenius and PTW tell us the Hebrew name “Buz” “Buwz” ( ) (H938) means “contempt.” Buz was very possibly the ancestor of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, who is the fourth speaker in the book of Job (Job 32:2). He may also be the ancestor of a people that dwelt in the region of the Arabian Desert (Jer 25:22-23).
Job 32:2, “Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.”
Jer 25:22-23, “And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners,”
Gen 22:21 Word Study on “Kemuel” Gesenius says the Hebrew name “Kemuel” “Qmuw’el” ( ) (H7055) means, “congregation of God”. Strong says it means, “raised of God.” PTW tells us the name means “God stands,” or “God’s mound.” Although there are three individual by the name “Kemuel,” Gen 22:21 is the only mention of this person.
Gen 22:21 Word Study on “Aram” Strong says the Hebrew name “Aram” ( ) (H758) means, “raised of God.” Although this name is shared by three individuals in the Scriptures, this grandson of Nahor is not mentioned again in Scriptures. However, we are familiar with the son of Shem by the name of Aram, which country named after him is Syria, used frequently in the Scriptures.
Gen 22:22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
Gen 22:22
[214] John Richard Sampey, “Chesed,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
Job 1:17, “While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.”
Gen 22:23 Word Study on “Hazo” Strong says the Hebrew name “Hazo” “Chazow” ( ) (H2375) means, “seer.” This individual is mentioned in no other passage in the Scriptures.
Gen 22:23 Word Study on “Pildash” Gesenius and Strong say the Hebrew name “Pildash” ( ) (H6394) is of uncertain origin. BDB tells us the name means, “flame of fire.” This individual is mentioned in no other passage in the Scriptures.
Gen 22:23 Word Study on “Jidlaph” Gesenius says the Hebrew name “Jidlaph” “Yidlaph” ( ) (H3044) means, “weeping.” Strong says it means, “tearful.” PTW tells us the name means “melting away.” This individual is mentioned in no other passage in the Scriptures.
Gen 22:23 Word Study on “Bethuel” Gesenius says the Hebrew name “Bethuel” “Bthuw’el” ( ) (H1328) means, “man of God”. Strong says it means, “destroyed of God.” PTW tells us the name means, “dweller of God.” He is known in the Scriptures as the father of Laban and Rebekah (Gen 22:22-23; Gen 24:15; Gen 24:24; Gen 24:47; Gen 24:50; Gen 25:20; Gen 28:2; Gen 28:5) . He is last mentioned as “Bethuel the Syrian.”
Gen 28:5, “And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.”
Gen 22:23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
Gen 22:23
Gen 22:24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.
Gen 22:24
Gen 22:24 Word Study on “Tebah” Gesenius says the Hebrew name “Tebah” “Tebach” ( ) (H2875) means, “a slaying, a slaughter.” Strong says it means, “massacre.” PTW tells us the name means, “thick, strong.” This individual is mentioned in no other passage in the Scriptures.
Gen 22:24 Word Study on “Gaham” Gesenius says the Hebrew name “Gaham” ( ) (H1514) means, “having flaming eyes.” Strong tells us this word means, “to burn.” PTW tells us the name means, “blackness.” This individual is mentioned in no other passage in the Scriptures.
Gen 22:24 Word Study on “Thahash” Gesenius explains the etymology of the Hebrew word “Tachash” ( ) (H8477) to refer to either an animal skin, or the animal in particular, such as the seal or badger. Strong says this word refers to “a clean animal with fur, probably a species of antelope, a badger.” PTW tells us the name means, “reddish,” a reference to the color of the animal skin. This individual is mentioned in no other passage in the Scriptures.
Gen 22:24 Word Study on “Maachah” – Gesenius says the Hebrew name “Maachah” “Ma`akah” ( ) (H4601) means, “oppression.” Strong says it means, “depression.” PTW says it means, “oppression.” The gender of this person, whether male or female, can be debated, since the context of Gen 22:24 suggests a son, while we note that one of David’s wives, who was the mother of Absalom, also bore this name (2Sa 3:3). Although there are around ten individuals in the Old Testament by this name, this particular individual in not mentioned again.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Family of Nahor
v. 20. And it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor: v. 21. Huz, his first-born, and Buz, his brother, and Kemuel, the father of Aram, v. 22. and Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
v. 23. And Bethuel begat Rebekah; these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
v. 24. And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Gen 22:20
And it came to pass after these things (probably not long after his return to Beersheba), that it was told (by some unknown messenger or accidental traveler from Mesopotamia) Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah (vide Gen 11:29), she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahoras Sarah has born a son to thee. From this it would almost seem as if Milcah had not begun to have her family at the time Abram left Ur of the Chaldees; but vide Gen 11:30. The present brief table of Nahor’s descendants is introduced for the sake of showing the descent of Rebekah, who is soon to become Isaac’s wife.
Gen 22:21
Huz his firstborn,(vide Gen 10:23, where Uz appears as a son of Aram; and Gen 36:28, where he recurs as a descendant of Esau. That he was a progenitor of Job (Jerome) has no better foundation than Job 1:1and Buz his brother,mentioned along with Dedan and Tema as an Arabian tribe (Jer 25:23), and may have been an ancestor of Elihu (Job 32:2)and Kemuel the father of Aram. “Not the founder of the Arameans, but the forefather of the family of Ram, to which the Buzite Elihu belonged; Aram being written for Ram, like Arammim, in 2Ki 8:29, for Rammim, in 2Ch 22:5” (Keil).
Gen 22:22
And Chesed,according to Jerome the father of the Chasdim or Chaldees (Gen 11:28); but more generally regarded as the head of a younger branch or offshoot of that race (Keil, Murphy, Lange; cf. Job 1:17)and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph (concerning whom nothing is known), and Bethnel“man of God” (Gesenius); dwelling of God (Furst); an indication probably of his piety.
Gen 22:23
And Bethuel begat RebekahRibkah; captivating, ensnaring (Furst); “a rope with a noose,” not unfit as the name of a girl who ensnares men by her beauty (Gesenius). Rebekah was the child of Isaac’s cousin, and being the daughter of Nahor’s youngest son, was probably about the same age as her future husband. These eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
Gen 22:24
And his concubine (vide on Gen 16:3), whose name was Reumah,raised, elevated (Gesenius); pearl or coral (Furst)she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachahwhence probably the Maachathites. That three of Terah’s descendants (Nahor, Ishmael, and Jacob) should each have twelve sons has been pronounced” a contrived symmetry, the intentional character of which cannot be mistaken” (Bohlen); but “what intention the narrator should have connected with it remains inconceivable, unless it was to state the fact as it was, or (on the supposition that some of them had more than twelve sons) to supply a round number easily retainable by the memory” (Havernick).
HOMILETICS
Gen 22:20-24
Good news from a far country.
I. THE JOYFUL BUDGET.
1. Tidings from home. For nearly half a century Abraham had been a wanderer in Palestine, and with something like an emigrant’s emotion on receiving letters from the old country would the patriarch listen to the message come from Haran beyond the river.
2. News concerning Nahor. It demands no violent exercise of fancy to believe that Abraham regarded his distant brother with intense fraternal affection, and that the unexpected report of that distant brother’s prosperity struck a chord of joy within his aged bosom.
3. A message about Milcah. When the two brothers parted it would seem that neither of their spouses had begun to have a family. Now information reaches the patriarchal tent that the union of Nahor and Milcah, like that of himself and Sarai, has been blessed with offspring; and, in particular, that the second generation had begun to appear in Nahor’s house, the queenly grace of Milcah being reproduced in her captivating grandchild Rebekah.
II. THE WELCOME MESSENGER.
1. His unknown name. One is curious to know who it was that brought the tidings from the old home. Some spirited adventurer who at the distance of half a century sought to emulate the Chaldaean chieftain who left the valley of the Euphrates for the bleak hills of Palestine; some Mesopotamian Stanley whom Nahor, now a wealthy Emir, had dispatched upon a mission of inquiry after his long-lost brother; or some chance traveler who had come across the patriarch’s tent.
2. His timely arrival. Whoever he was, his appearance at this particular juncture was exceedingly opportune, when, the great trial having passed, Isaac’s marriage must have loomed in the prospect as a near possibility. To Abraham it must have seemed not a fortuitous occurrence, but a providential arrangement.
Learn
1. That no passage of Scripture can be said to be entirely useless.
2. That joy and sorrow mostly lie in close contiguity in human life.
3. That it becomes good men and women to be interested in each other’s welfare.
4. That in God’s government of the world there are no such things as accidents.
5. That it becomes good men to keep an outlook upon the leadings of Divine providence.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Gen 22:20. It was told Abraham, &c. The chief intention of this genealogy seems to be, to give us an account of the family of Rebekah, whom Isaac married: it connects with the beginning of ch. 24: And it was in consequence of the information here given Abraham, that he thought of seeking a wife for his son from this family. Huz or Uz here mentioned, is supposed to have given its name to Job’s country, see Job 1:1. Note; It is a great comfort to hear of the prosperity of our friends; their joy is our own.
Further Reflections on the offering of Isaac, considered as a type of the Messiah.
Who can forbear here to think of the adorable mystery of redemption by Jesus Christ? “For God so loved the world, as not to spare his own Son, but deliver him unto the death for us all.” Methinks the language of this whole transaction was as if God had said, “Ye children of men, hear you what my faithful servant and friend has done upon this mountain, in cheerfully sacrificing his only Son to testify his love to me. By the same method I will declare my love to a perishing world, by giving my only-begotten Son to fall a sacrifice for sin. In this mountain shall the sword of justice awake against him by his own consent; and what has now been done only in a figure, shall be really transacted at the appointed time. Meanwhile let rams, and other beasts, be sacrificed as a memorial of this grand burnt-offering; but let no human blood smoke upon my altars.”
But more particularly to enumerate the important predictions of this prophetical history: it contained, first of all, a lively intimation, that in the fulness of time a human sacrifice should be offered up. Indeed, it is but just and equal that the nature which sinned, should suffer: for how can the blood of harmless beasts atone for the sins of guilty men? And this might seem to have been confessed by the horrid custom which obtained in the Gentile world, of sacrificing men to appease the wrath of their deities. But the Living and True God prohibited such direful offerings under the severest penalties; not only for their evident barbarity, but because they encroached upon the plan of his infinite wisdom, and anticipated the great Propitiation, who was to be a human Sacrifice, although he was no ordinary person, as Isaac was no ordinary son. Like Isaac, he was a Son and Heir, the Son of God, and the Heir of all things.A Beloved Son; for he was daily his delight, before the mountains were brought forth: and oftener than once it was declared by a voice from the excellent Glory, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” Mat 17:5.An only Son; for angels and saints, though stiled the sons of God, have no claim to such a sonship as the filial Godhead is possessed of. Isaac’s birth was altogether extraordinary, both by the father’s and mother’s side, surpassing the ordinary course of nature; but still more amazing is the generation of our atoning sacrifice, whose Father as God was the All-glorious JEHOVAH, and whose mother was a virgin. The event of his birth, like Isaac’s, was long foretold, and ardently expected before it happened; but though long delayed, the promise was punctually fulfilled at the appointed time. Isaac’s name imported laughter. In Jesus, the true Isaac, our mouths shall be filled with laughter, and our tongues with melody, and our hearts shall leap for joy.
Ask you the manner of his death? Behold it in this lively type. For as Isaac carried the wood, so the Beloved Son of God carried his cross. O ye children of men, your iniquities were the heavy load he bore in his own body on the tree. These, like the wood which was intended to reduce Isaac to ashes, rendered him combustible to the fire of Divine wrath.
It was for no crime that Isaac was to suffer death in this tragical manner; yet such was his filial piety, such was his reverence of the high command, that he made no attempt to save his life, though he was able to have done it, being arrived at his manhood. Even so the innocent Redeemer, in whom was found no cause of death, no, not by his very judge, abhorred not the ignominious cross: he spared to employ all the legions of angels that were ready at his beck; he never attempted to make his escape when his time was come, which he had often done before. Though he had thoroughly digested in his mind the doleful circumstances of his crucifixion, he betrayed not the least unwillingness to submit to his Heavenly Father’s will, even when his human heart shrinked at the bitter cup. “I lay down,” says he, “my life: no man taketh it from me,” Joh 10:17-18. “Father, not my will, but thine be done,” Luk 22:42.
It was by a wound from the hand of his Father alone that Isaac was to breathe out his soul; and by him alone was the funeral pile to be lighted up. For these purposes, we are informed in the sacred history, Abraham carried the fire and the knife. It was not the envy of the Jews; it was not the covetousness of Judas; it was not the irresolution of the cowardly Roman judge, which chiefly consigned our Isaac over to the tormenting cross: but being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, these only proved the sinful (because voluntary) executioners of the high decree. Thy burning anger against the sins of men, O Heavenly Father, was the fire that preyed upon his holy soul. Thy justice, inflexibly severe, was the keen slashing sword which awaked against him, and drank his vital Blood. “It pleased the Father to bruise him: thou didst put him to grief,” Isa 53:10. And truly many of the sufferings of our dying Redeemer were of such a nature, as none but God could inflict, and none but God could have endured.
It is a circumstance by no means unworthy of our careful attention, that the true Propitiation was offered up in the same place where the beloved son of Abraham was to expire upon the altar. Ye mountains of Moriah, your name may now be JEHOVAH-JIREH for better reasons than Abraham’s offering up his Isaac, for in these mountains the Lord was seen putting away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
It was not possible for a mortal creature to give a higher document of love to God, than by sacrificing for his sake a dearly beloved and only son. The whole history is so amazing, that we know not whether we should most admire the strange commandment or the unparalleled obedience. Even so it was not possible for the immortal God to give a nobler demonstration of love to men, than by delivering for their sake his only-begotten Son to die for their offences. The whole transaction, from first to last, is of so uncommon a nature, and so foreign to every human plan for acceptance with God, that to the wise Greeks it was mere foolishness, and to the Jews a stumbling-block. As Abraham could not without faith have acquiesced in the precept, no more can we without faith truly acquiesce in the Gospel-plan. He consulted not with Sarah, when he was called to obey; and when we are called to believe, we must not consult with vain philosophy. Though in the mystery of redemption there is a depth of wisdom; yet, thy line, O reason, is too short to sound its bottom. Reason, in its depraved state, may not unfitly be compared to the patriarch’s ass, which staid at the foot of the hill, but ascended not with Isaac to the sacrifice. It is the province of faith alone to ascend this hill of the Lord, and comprehend the love of God which passeth knowledge.
Isaac, it is true, was not sacrificed; and there was no need that God should raise him from the dead, as the patriarch perhaps expected. But as he was in a manner a dead man during the three days which intervened betwixt the sentence being passed upon him, and the reversing of it by the heavenly voice, it may be truly said, that “in a figure he was received from the dead,” Heb 11:19. Exactly so, our true Isaac was received on the third day from the dead, not in a figure only. Like Isaac, he received no harm; but, “O death, he was thy plagues; O grave, he was thy destruction,” Hos 13:14. Like Isaac, he returned to his Father’s house from whence he came, and became a Father of many nations, who are begotten again to a lively hope by his resurrection from the dead: for thus the prophet Isaiah foretels, with admirable plainness and propriety, “When thou, (O Heavenly Father,) shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand,” Isa 53:10.
Forbear, ye children of men, anxiously to inquire, “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and how shall I bow myself before the high God? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, and the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? For lo, he has given his firstborn to atone for your transgression, and the Son of his love to expiate the sin of your souls by the sacrifice of himself. Thus hath he shewed you what is good: and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
ELEVENTH SECTION
The sorrows and joys of Abrahams domestic life. The account and genealogy of those at home. Sarahs death. Her burial-place at Hebron; the seed of the future inheritance of Canaan. The theocratic foundation of the consecrated burial
Gen 22:20 to Gen 23:20
20And it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying [what follows], 21Behold, Milcah, she hath also borne children unto thy brother Nahor; Huz [see Gen 10:23; a light sandy land, in northern Arabia] his first born, and Buz [a people and region in western Arabia] 22his brother, and Kemuel [the congregation of God] the father of Aram. And Chesed [the name of a Chaldaic tribe], and Hazo [an Aramaic and Chaldaic tribe; Gesenius: perhaps for , vision], and Pildash [Frst: , flame of fire], and Jidlaph [Gesenius: tearful; Frst: melting away, pining], and Bethuel [Gesenius: man of God. Frst: dwelling-place or people of God]. 23And Bethuel begat Rebekah [Ribkah, captivating, ensnaring; Frst: through beauty]: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abrahams brother. 24And his concubine, whose name was Reumah [Gesenius: raised, elevated; Frst: pearl or coral], she bare also Tebah [Frst: extension, breadth; a locality in Mesopotamia], and Gaham [Gesenius: having flaming eyes; Frst: the black; an Aramaic, dark-colored tribe], and Thahash [the name of an unknown animal: badger, marten, seal?], and Maachah [low-lands; a locality at the foot of Hermon; used besides as a female name].
Gen 23:1.And Sarah was an hundred and twenty and seven years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba [city of Arba]; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
3And Abraham stood-up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, 4I am a stranger and a sojourner [not a citizen] with you: give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. 5And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, 6Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince [a prince of God] among us: in the choice [most excellent] of our sepulchres bury thy dead: none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. 7And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth. 8And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind [soul, soul-desire] that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron [Frst: more powerful, stronger] the son of Zohar [splendor, noble]. 9That he may give me the cave of Machpelah [Gesenius: doubling; Frst: winding, serpentine], which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth [full money] he shall give it me for a possession of a burying-place [hereditary sepulchre] among you. 10And Ephron dwelt [sat] among the children of Heth. And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience [ears] of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying, 11Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead. 12And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land. 13And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me [give me hearing]: I will give thee money for the field; take it from me, and I will bury my dead there. 14And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him, 15My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead. 16And Abraham hearkened [followed] unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.
17And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees which were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure [stood] 18Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. 19And after this Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. 20And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying-place by the sons of Heth.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Survey. The two sections which we have here placed together, with the following and the last sections of the life of Abraham, form a contrast with his previous history. The revelations from God, the wonderful events of his life, cease, for Abrahams life of faith is completed with the sacrifice of Isaac. To the wonderful completion of the faith of Abraham there is now added the purely natural and human perfection of Abraham. Its history is certainly much shorter, but it is at the same time a proof that the miraculous in the Old Testament does not stand in any exclusive relation to the material and human. A mythology seeking to produce effect, would have closed the life of the father of the faithful with some splendid supernatural or heroic events. It is, on the other hand, a trait of the true historical character of the tradition here, that it closes the life of Abraham in the way already stated. But at the same time the true christological character of the Old Testament history, wherein it forms the introduction to the New Testament manifestation of the God-man, discovers itself therein, that the history of the life of Abraham does not close abruptly with his greatest act of faith, but that from and out of this act of faith there proceeds a natural and human progress of a consecrated and sanctified life, a course of life into which even the second marriage of Abraham does not enter as a disturbing element. A termination of this kind has already appeared in the life of Noah, appears later in the life of Jacob; and has its New Testament counterpart in the history of the forty days of the risen Christ. But as in the life of Jesus, so in the life of Abraham, the events after the great contests of faith are not without importance. The two sections which we have combined under this point of view, the family sorrows and family joys of Abraham point downwards to the history of Isaac and Israel. From the son of Abraham there must now be a family of Abraham, and to this the family genealogy of the house of Nahor serves as an introduction. This genealogical register first names Rebekah, and then lays the ground for the mission and the wooing of the bride by Eliezer (Genesis 24), a history in which also the wooing of his bride by Jacob is introduced through the mention of Laban. But as the history of the family of Abraham is introduced through the record of the house of Nahor, so also is the first possession of Abraham and his descendants in Canaan introduced by the narrative of the death of Sarah. The burial-place in the cave and field of Machpelah, are made a point of union for the later appropriation of Canaan by the people of God, just as in the new covenant, the grave of Christ has introduced for Christians the future possession of the earth; a method of conquest which unfolds itself through the graves of the martyrs and the crypts of Christian churches throughout the whole world. The testing of the faith of Abraham is completed with the sacrifice of Isaac, the end of his divine calling is fulfilled, and henceforward the history of his life hastens to its conclusion. It is altogether fitting that there should follow now, after this event, a communication to him concerning the family of his brother Nahor (Gen 11:27 ff.), which is joined with so much appropriateness to the sacrifice of Isaac, since it leads on to the history of the marriage of the heir of the promise. The (comp. Gen 2:29) also points to this actual connection. As Sarah had borne a son to Abraham, Milcah also bare sons to Nahor. of Gen 23:24 refers back to Gen 23:20. Keil.Schrder: This paragraph is merely a continuation of Gen 11:27 ff. As Gen 19:37-38, brought the side line of Haran to its goal and end, so here the side line of Nahor is continued still further, a testimony, moreover, that Moses never loses the genealogical thread of the history.
2. Gen 22:20-24. Knobel holds the number twelve of the sons of Nahor, as also of the sons of Ishmael (Gen 25:13 ff.) for an imitation of the twelve tribes of Israel. It is unjustifiable to infer from such accidental, or even important resemblances, without further grounds, that the record is fiction. It is certainly true also, that of the sons of Nahor, as also of the sons of Jacob, four are the sons of a concubine. Still, as Keil observes in the history of the sons of Jacob, there are two mothers as also two concubines. Keil also opposes, upon valid grounds, the view of Knobel, that the twelve sons of Nahor must signify twelve tribes of his descendants; thus, e.g., Bethuel does not appear as the founder of a tribe. It is probably true only of some of the names, that those who bore them were ancestors of tribes of the same name. Keil.Huz his first-born.He must be distinguished from the son of Aram (Gen 10:23), and from the Edomite (Gen 30:28). Knobel holds that he must be sought in the neighborhood of the Edomites.Buz.Also, since this tribe is mentioned (Jer 25:23) in connection with Dedan, and Thema, aud since Elihu, the fourth opponent of Job, belonged to it (Job 32:2). Knobel.KemuelIs not the ancestor or founder of the Aramaic people, but an ancestor of the family of Ram, to which the Buzite, Elihu, also belonged, since stands for . Keil.Chesed.The chief tribe of the Chaldees appears to have been older than Chesed, but he seems to have been the founder of a younger branch of the Chaldees who plundered Job (Job 1:17).Bethuel, the father of Rebekah (see Gen 25:20).Maacha.Deu 3:14; Jos 12:5, allude to the Maachathites. At the time of David the land Maacha was a small Aramaic kingdom (2Sa 10:6-8; 1Ch 19:6). The others never appear again. Keil. For conjectures in regard to them, see Knobel, p. 194. For the difference in the names Aram, Uz, Chasdim, see Delitzsch, p. 422.
3. Gerlach: The German word Kebsweib signifies a woman taken out of the condition of service, or bondage, and this is the meaning of the Hebrew term. Besides one or more legal wives, a man might take, according to the custom of the ancients, one from the rank of slaves, whose children, not by Abraham, but by Jacob, were made sharers alike with the legally born (naturally, since, they were held for the adopted children of Rachel and Leah). It was a kind of lower marriage, as with us the marriage on the left,1 for the concubine was bound to remain faithful (Jdg 19:2; 2Sa 3:7), and any other man who went in unto her, must bring his trespass offering (Lev 19:20); the father must treat the concubine of his son as his child, and the son also, after the contraction of a marriage with one of equal rank, must still treat her as his concubine (Exo 21:9-10).
4. Gen 23:1-20. Sarahs death and burial in the cave of Machpelah, purchased with the adjoining field, by Abraham, from the children of Heth as a possession of a burying-place. Knobel and Delitzsch find in the antique and detailed method of statement, and similar traits, the stamp of the characteristics of the fundamental Elohistic writing. The more truly the human side of the theocratic history comes into relief, this peculiar, pleasant, picturesque tone of the narrative appears, as, e.g., in the next so-called Jehovistic chapter. The division of this section into two parts, the one of which should embrace only the two first verses, Sarahs death (Delitzsch) is not in accordance with the unique, pervading method of statement throughout the whole. Sarahs grave was the cradle of the Abrahamic kingdom in Canaan. The scene of the narration is in Hebron (now El Chalil). When Isaac was born, and also at the time of his sacrifice, Abraham dwelt at Beersheba (Gen 22:19). At Isaacs birth Sarah was ninety years old (Gen 17:17), now she has reached 127 years, and Isaac is thus in his 37th year (see Gen 25:20). Between the journey to Moriah, and Sarahs death, there is thus an interval of at least 20 years. Delitzsch. During this interval Abraham must have changed his dwelling place to Hebron again. The mention of this change of residence may have appeared, therefore, superfluous to the writer, and further, it may be that even during his abode at Beersheba, Hebron was his principal residence, as Knobel conjectures.The years of the life of Sarah.The age of Sarah was impressed on the memory of the Israelites through this repetition, as a number which should not be forgotten. Keil: Sarah is the only woman whose age is recorded in the Bible, because, as the mother of the seed of promise, she became the mother of all believers (1Pe 3:6).Kirjath-Arba, the same is Hebron (see Gen 13:18).The name Kirjath-Arba, i.e., city of Arba, is marked by Keil after Hengstenberg as the later name (coming after Hebron), since the Anakim had not dwelt there at the time of the patriarchs, but Delitzsch, on the contrary, according to Jos 14:15, and Jdg 1:10, views it as the earlier name. Since, however, Num 13:22, the city at the very blooming period of the Anakim, was called Hebron, and, indeed, with reference to its being founded seven years before Zoan (Tanis) in Egypt, it seems clear that while the time mentioned in the books of Joshua and Judges, was an earlier time, it was not the earliest, and the succession in the names is this: Hebron, Kirjath-Arba, Hebron, El Chalil (the friend of God, viz., Abraham). It is still, however, a question whether Hebron may not designate specially a valley city of this locality, which belonged to the Hittites (see Gen 37:14, where Hebron is described as a valley), the name Kirjath-Arba, on the contrary, the mountain and mountain city, belonging to the Anakim. The locality seems to favor the supposition of two neighboring cities, of which one could now use the valley city as the abode of Abraham for the whole locality, and now the mountain city. We have confessedly to accept such a relation between Sichem and the neighboring town Sichar, in order to meet the difficulty in Joh 4:5. Delitzsch explains the change of names through a change of owners. Even now Hebron is a celebrated city, at the same time a hill and valley city, although no longer, great and populous, situated upon the way from Beersheba to Jerusalem, and about midway between them (78 hours from Jerusalem), surrounded by beautiful vineyards, olive trees and orchards; comp. the articles in Winers Dictionary, Von Raumer, and the various descriptions of travellers. [Robinsons description (ii. 431462) is full and accurate, and leaves little to be desired.A. G.]In the land of Canaan.This circumstance appears here conspicuously in honor of Sarah, and from the importance of her burial-place.And Abraham came.The shepherd prince was busy in his calling in the field, or in the environs. It is not said that he was absent at the death of Sarah, but only that he now sat down by the corpse at Hebron, to complete the usages of mourning (to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her), and to provide for her burial.From before his dead (corpse).From before his dead.2 He had mourned in the presence of the dead; now he goes to the gate of the city, where the people assembled, where the business was transacted, and where he could thus purchase a grave.To the sons of Heth.The name, according to Knobel, appears only in the Elohistic writings. [This attempt to define and characterize particular points of the book by the use of special names, breaks down so often that it may be regarded as no longer of any serious importance.A. G.]A possession of a burying-place with you.It is, as F. C. V. Moser remarks, a beautiful scene of politeness, simplicity, kindness, frankness, humility, modesty, not unmingled with some shades of avarice, and of a kind of expectation when one in effecting a sale, throws himself upon the generosity of the purchaser. Delitzsch. The delicate affair is introduced by the modest request of Abraham. As a stranger and a sojourner3 he had no possession, thus even no burying-place among them. He therefore asks that they would sell him a piece of ground for the purpose of a burial-place.Thou art a mighty prince (a prince of God).That is, a man to whom God has given a princely aspect, in consequence of communion with him. [A man whom God has favored and made great.A. G.] They offer him a sepulchre, among the most select of their sepulchres (upon the exchange of for see Knobel and the opposing remarks by Keil). [ is generally used absolutely, but the peculiarity here is not without analogy (see Lev 11:1), and does not justify the change to nor that adopted by the Sept. .A. G.] But Abraham cannot consent thus to mingle himself with them. He has a separate burying-place in his eye.And Abraham stood up.The reverential bowing is an expression of his gratitude and of his declining the offer. In the oriental bowing the person touches the earth with his brow. Luther often translates the word in question by to worship, in relation to men, where it is obviously unsuited to the sense.If it be your mind.Abraham introduces, in a very courtly and prudent way, his purpose to secure the cave of Ephron. It marks Ephron as a man of prominence and rank, that he avails himself of their intercession; Keil infers from the words his city (Gen 23:10), that he was then lord of the city. This is doubtful.The cave of Machpelah.The name is rendered in the Septuagint: , according to the meaning of . But it is a proper name, which is also true of the field (Gen 49:30; Gen 50:13), although it was originally derived from the form of the cave. Keil. Caves were often used for sepulchres in Palestine (see Winer, sepulchres).And Ephron, the Hittite, answered.When now Ephron offered to give the cave to Abrahamthis is a mode of expression still in use in the East, by which, so far as it is seriously intended, leaving out of view any regard to a counterpresent, richly compensating the value of the present, for the most part it is designed to prevent any abatement from the price desired. [See The Land and the Book, by Thompson, ii. 381388.A. G.] (Comp. Dieterici and descriptions of the Eastern lands, ii. p. 168 f.). Keil. It is not certain that we should identify so directly the original utterance of true generosity with the like sounding form of a later custom. It must be observed, still, that Abraham modestly desired only to gain the cave, a place which was at the end of the field, and to this no one objected; on the contrary, Ephron offered him at the same time, the adjoining field. And this is in favor of the good intention of Ephron, since he could have sold to him the cave alone at a costly price.And Abraham bowed down himself (again).An expression, again, of esteem, thankfulness, and at the same time, of a declinature, but, also, an introduction to what follows. He presses, repeatedly, for a definite purchase. The answer of Ephron: The field, four hundred shekels, etc., announces again the price in courtly terms. Knobel explains: A piece of land of so little value could not be the matter of a large transaction between two rich men. But it is the more distinct echo of the offer of the present, and with this utters an excuse or apology for the demand, because he (Abraham) would insist upon having it thus.And Abraham weighed.At that time none of the states had stamped coins which could be reckoned, but pieces of the metals were introduced in the course of trade, and these pieces were of definite weight, and, indeed, also marked with designations of the weight, but it was necessary to weigh these pieces in order to guard against fraud (see Winer, article Mnzen). Knobel. The use of coins for the greater convenience of original barter, has been regarded as the invention of the Phnicians, as also the invention of letters is ascribed to them.Current money with the merchant.The Hebrew term is , passing over, transitive; i.e., current, fitted for exchange in merchandise. The idea of the distinction between light pieces, and those of full weight, existed already. Keil: The shekel of silver used in trade was about 274 Parisian grains, and the price of the land, therefore, about 250 dollars, a very considerable sum for the time. The Rabbins ascribe the high price to the covetousness of Ephron. Delitzsch, however, reminds us, that Jacob purchased a piece of ground for 100 (Gen 33:19), and the ground and limits upon which Samaria was built, cost two talents, i.e., 6,000 heavy shekels of silver (1Ki 16:24). For the shekel see Delitzsch, p. 426. [Also article in Kitto on Weights and Measures, and in Smiths Dictionary.A. G.] It must be observed, too, that we cannot judge of the relation between the price and the field, since we do not know its bounds.Machpelah, which was before Mamre.For these local relations compare Delitzsch and Keil, and also 5. Raumer, p. 202. [Compare also Robinson: Researches, vol. ii. pp. 431462; Stanley: History of the Jew. Church. This cave, so jealously guarded by the Mohammedans, has recently been entered by the Prince of Wales with his suite. Dean Stanley, who was permitted to enter the cave, says that the shrines are what the Biblical narrative would lead us to expect, and there is evidence that the Mohammedans have carefully guarded these sacred spots, and they stand as the confirmation of our Christian faith.A. G.] The cave lay (Gen 23:17; comp. Gen 23:19) before Mamre, i.e., over against the oak grove of Mamre; Keil and Knobel think eastward, Delitzsch southerly. But the expression here does not appear to refer to any quarter of the heavens. The valley of Hebron runs from north to south, in a southeasterly direction. Mamre and Machpelah must have been situated over against each other in the two sides, or the two ends, of this valley. Since the structure Haram, which the Mohammedan tradition (without doubt, a continuation of the earlier Christian tradition,) designates as the cave of Machpelah, or as Abrahams grave, and which the Mohammedan power jealously guards against the entrance of Jews or Christians, lies upon the mountain-slope towards the east, it is clear that Mamre must be sought upon the end of the valley, or mountain-slope toward the west (which forms its eastern side). Here lies the height Numeidi, which Rosenmller says is the land of Mamre. We must then hold that the grove of Mamre descended into the valley, and that Abraham dwelt here in the valley at the edge of the grove. Still the opposition in locality (the vis–vis) may be defined from the high ground which lies northerly from Hebron, and is called Nimre or Nemreh (= Mamre?), but even then also Abraham must have dwelt at the foot of this eminence. However, according to the old Christian tradition (Schubert, Robinson, Seetzen, Ritter and others), this Hebron of Abraham (Wady el Rame or Ramet el Chalil, with its ruins of old walls and foundations) lay about an hour northward from the present city. This view is abandoned by the most recent commentators, since this would require too great a distance between Mamre and Hebron. So much seems at least to be established, viz., that the tradition in regard to Machpelah is confirmed, then that the tradition concerning Mamre and the location of Mamre, must be determined by the situation of Machpelah. [In regard to the words of St. Stephen, Act 7:16, Wordsworth holds that Abraham purchased two burial-places, the first, the cave of Machpelah, the second at Sichar or Shechem; and that it is by design that the one should be communicated to us by the Holy Spirit, speaking by Moses, the Hebrew legislator, and the other by the Hellenist Stephen, when he pleaded before the Jewish Sanhedrim the cause of the faithfulness of all nations, p. 103. See also Alexander on the Acts.A. G.]And the field of Ephron was made sure.The record of the transaction is very minute; first, in regard to the purchase price and the witnesses (Gen 23:16), then in regard to the piece of ground (the cave, the field and all the trees) (Gen 23:17), finally, in reference to the right of possession (again with the mention of witnesses) (Gen 23:18); as if a legal contract was made and executed. Even the burial of Sarah belongs to the confirmation of the possession, as is apparent from the forms of Gen 23:19, and from the conclusion of the account in Gen 23:20.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
(Upon Gen 22:20-24.)
1. See the Exegetical and Critical remarks.
2. Joy follows upon sorrow, comfort succeeds the conflict. The message which Abraham received was very providential, and comes at the right moment. Isaac was saved, Soon Abraham must think of his marriage, and of the establishment of his family through him. The opportune account from Mesopotamia of the children of his brother Nahor laid the foundation for the hope in him. that he might find in his family a suitable bride for Isaac. Rebekah also is mentioned in the report. Rebekah appears as the youngest branch of the children of Nahor, his grandchild through Bethuel. She is in so far a late-birth, as Isaac was. Her brother Laban, who, in some respects, forms a parallel to Ishmael, the brother of Isaac, first appears later in the history.
3. It avails not for the race to be hasty, the race is not always to the swift. Nahor precedes Abraham with his twelve sons, as Ishmael does Isaac. In the line of Abraham, the twelve sons appear first in the third generation.
4. The message from Nahors house, the sign of a relationship and love, sanctified through a reference to higher ends.
5. Love excites the thoughts of the loved ones in the distance, forms the greeting, and devises also the messages in primitive times. Between the earliest messengers, the angels of God, and the latest form of human communication, the telegraph, there is every possible form of communication and kind of messengers; but they all ought to serve, and all shall, in accordance with their idea, serve the purposes of love and the kingdom of God.The importance of the newspaper.A pious man remarks: I have only two moulding books, the one is the Bible, the other the newspaper.We should view all the events of the times in the light of God.
6. Nahor, the brother of Abraham, stands still in a spiritual relationship with him; both his message, and the piety and nobleness of his grandchild Rebekah, prove this. But he is clearly less refined than Abraham. Abraham suffers the espousal of Hagar to be pressed upon him, because he had no children; but Nahor, who had already eight children by Milcah, took in addition to her a concubine, Reumah.Contrasts of this kind teach us to estimate the higher direction of the partriarchal life, as e.g. also the history of Lot, will be estimated in the mirror of the history of Sodom.
(Upon Genesis 23.)
1. See the Exegetical and Critical remarks.
2. Sarah. It was in the land of promise that Sarah, the ancestress of Israel, died. The Old Testament relates the end of no womans life so particularly as the end of the life of Sarahfor she is historically the most important woman of the old covenant. She is the mother of the seed of promise, and in him of all believers (1Pe 3:6). She is the Mary of the old Testament. In her unshaken faith Mary rises still higher than Sarah, but the Scriptures neither record the length of her life, nor her death. This occurs because the son whom Sarah bare was not greater than herself, but Mary bore a son before whose glory all her own personality fades and vanishes away, etc. Delitzsch.
3. Abraham, the father of believers, also a model of the customary courtliness, and a proof how this courtliness is, at the same time, an expression of regard, of human love and gratitude, a polished form of human friendship, and a protection of personality and truth. [Religion does not consist entirely in acts of worship, in great self-denials or heroic virtues, but in all the daily concerns and acts of our lives. It moulds and regulates our joys and sorrows; it affects our relations; it enters into our business. Thus we have the faith and piety of Abraham, presented in the ordinary changes, the joys, the sorrows, and the business transactions of his life.A. G.]
4. Our history is a living portraiture of the courtliness and urbanity general in the remote antiquity and in the East.
5. The traffic and purchase of Abraham, throughout, a testimony of Israelitish prudence and foresight, but free from all Jewish meanness and covetousness.
6. The gradual development of money, or of the measures in value of earthly things, proceeding from the rating of the nobler metals, especially of silver, according to its weight. The importance of the Phnicians in this respect.
7. A precious gain, the gain of a burial possession for her descendants, is connected with the death of Sarah. The first real-estate property of the patriarchs was a grave. This is the only good which they buy from the world, the only enduring thing they find here below, etc. In that sepulchre Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, were laid, there Jacob laid Leah, and there Jacob himself would rest after his death, even in death itself a confessor of his faith in the promise. This place of the dead becomes the punctum saliens of the possession of the promised land. It was designedly thus minutely described, as the glorious acquisition of the ancestors of Israel. It was indeed the bond which ever bound the descendants of Abraham in Egypt to the land of promise, drew with magnetic power their desires thither, and, collected in Canaan, they should know where the ashes of their fathers rested, and that they are called to inherit the promise, for which their fathers were here laid in the grave. Delitzsch.The cave Machpelah became for the Israelites the sacred grave of the old covenant, which they won again with the conquest of Canaan, just as the Christians in the crusades reconquered the sacred grave of the new covenant, and with it Palestine. And the Christians also, like the Jews, have lost again their sacred grave and their holy land, because they have not inwardly adhered sufficiently to the faith of the fathers, who beyond the sacred grave looked for the eternal city of God: because they have sought too much the living among the dead. Even now the last desire of the orthodox Jews is for a grave at Jerusalem, in Canaan. [The transaction in securing this burial-place was, not as some have thought, to secure a title to the land of promise, that was perfect and secure in the sovereign promise of God: but it was: 1. A declaration of the faith of Abraham in the promise; 2. a pledge and memorial to his descendants, when in captivity, of their interest in the land.A. G.]
8. Notwithstanding the ancients did not easily receive a stranger into their families (among the Greeks and Romans usage forbade it), the Hittites are ready to receive Sarah into their best family sepulchres, as Joseph of Arimathea took the body of our Lord into his own tomb. This is a strong testimony to the impression which Abraham, and Sarah also, had made upon them, to their reverence and attachment for the patriarchal couple. They appear also, like Abimelech at Gerar, to have had their original monotheism awakened and strengthened by their intercourse with Abraham, whom they honor as a Prince of God.
9. Hebron, the first royal city of David, is situated five hours southerly from Bethlehem, his native city. How deeply the present spiritual relations of Hebron lie under the splendor of the royal city of David! Its inhabitants cultivate the vine, cotton, have glassworks, and live in constant feuds with the Bethlehemites. V. Raumer.
10. The custom of burial and the sanctification of the grave, after the intimation, Gen 15:15, appears here in a striking and impressive manner.
11. In order to preserve his hope for Canaan pure, Abraham could not entangle, himself with the Caananites, thus: 1. He could not use, in common with the heathen, their sepulchre; 2. he could not receive as a present a possession in the land. [This chapter is interesting as containing the first record of mourning for the dead, of burial, of property in land, of purchase of land, of silver as a medium of purchase, and of a standard of weight. Murphy, p. 347.A. G.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
(Upon Gen 22:20-24.)
Human consolation follows the great conflict and victory of faith.The joyful message which Abraham received: a. From his home; b. from his blood relations; c. from his spiritual kindred.The destination and the blessing of the ties of relationship, in the widest sense.The end and the blessing of all communication in the world.All human messengers should be messengers of love, in joy and sorrow.Salutations, messages, letters, journals, are all also under the conduct of divine providence. Human missions are accompanied by divine missions.A people spring from children, or how significantly Rebekah here comes forward from her concealment.The joy of a loving participation in the happiness of companionsneighbors. Starke: (A picture of Syria and Babylon.) Psa 112:2; Psa 127:3,Osiander: God usually refreshes and quickens his people again, after temptation.Calwer, Handbuch: When Isaac was about to be offered, God allows him to hear that his future wife was born and educated.
(Upon Genesis 23.)
The richly blessed end of Sarah as it appears: 1. In the quenchless memory of her age by Israel; 2. in the mourning of Abraham; 3. in his care for her grave; 4. in the esteem of the Hittites (every one is ready to admit her into his sepulchre); 5. in the opportunity for the securing of the sepulchre as a possession by Abraham.The whole chapter instructive on the grave, as is chapter fifth on death, the eleventh chapter of John on the resurrection from the grave: 1. Of death;4 2. of mourning; 3. of the acquisition of sepulchres; 4. of the burial itself; 5. of hope over the grave.The true mourning a sanctified feeling of death: 1. A fellow-feeling of death, with the dead; 2. an anticipation of death, or a living preparation for ones own death; 3. a believing sense of the end or destination of death, to be made useful to the life.Sarahs grave a sign of life: 1. A monument of faith, a token of hope; 2. an image of the state of rest for the patriarchs; 3. a sign of the home and of the longing of Israel; 4. a sign or prognostic of the New-Testament graves.The solemn burial of the corpse: 1. An expression of the esteem of personality even in its dead image; 2. an expression of the hope of a new life.5The sanctification of the grave for a family sepulchre, foreshadowing the sanctification of the church-yards or Gods-acres.Abraham the father of believers, also the founder of a believing consecration of the graveoffers themes for funeral discourses, dedication of church-yards, and at mourning solemnities.The first possession which Abraham bought was a grave for Sarah, for his household, for himself even.The choice of the grave: 1. Significantly situated (a double cave); 2. still more suitably (at the end of the field).Israels first possession of the soil: the grave of Sarah; the first earthly house of the Christian; the grave of Christ and the graves of the martyrs.
Gen 23:2. The mourning of Abraham: 1. Its sincerity (as he left his pursuits and sat or lay before the corpse); 2. its limit, and the preservation of his piety (as he rose up from before the corpse, and purchased the grave).Abraham himself must have had his own mortality brought to his mind by the death of Sarah, since he cared for a common grave.
Gen 23:9; Gen 23:13. Abrahams traffic; 1. In his transparency; 2. his purity; 3. his carefulness and security.Abraham and the Hittites a lively image of the Eastern courtliness in the early times.The true politeness of spirit as a cultivation of hearty human friendliness, in its meaning: 1. Upon what it rests (respect for our fellows and self-respect); 2. what it effects (the true position toward our neighbors, as an olive-branch of peace and a protection of personal honor).The mysterious sepulchre at Hebron.The Mohammedans as the intelligent protectors of the graves of the East until the time of its restitution.Starke: (There is no ground for the saying of the Rabbins, that Sarah died from sorrow when she learned of the sacrifice of Isaac).The fear of God makes no one insensible to feeling, as the Stoics have asserted (Job 14:5; 1Th 4:13; Psa 39:5-6).
Gen 23:13. There is a reference here to the first money transaction, for the land was not to be received as a present, or be held without price, by Abraham, but by his successors, hence he must pay for what he obtains (Act 7:5). This was, however, plainly the ordering of God, that Abraham, through a purchase of a burial-place with money, should have a foothold, and some possession of property, as a pledge of the future possession.God also shows that he takes the dead into his care and protection, and he would never do this had he not a purpose to reawaken the dead.Cramer: We should proceed with gentleness and modesty in our dealings with any one.Bibl. Tub.: Purchases should be made with prudence, that we may not give cause for controversy (1Co 6:7).We should veil in a seemly way the bodies of the dead, and bear them reverently to the grave.Lisco: Thus Abraham gained the first possession in the land of promise; here he would bury Sarah, here he himself would be buried; thus he testifies to his faith in the certainty of the divine promise made to him, as in a later case the prophet Jeremiah, just before the exile, testified his faith in the return of Israel from its banishment, by the purchase of the field of Hanameel at Anathoth (Jeremiah 32.).Calwer, Handbuch: The possession of a burying-place as his own, satisfied the pious pilgrim, and is for him a pledge of the full possession of the land by his successors.Schrder: Gen 23:1. Then also the believer may recollect how God has written all his days in his book. Psa 139:16 (Berleb. Bibl.).
Gen 23:2. The tear of sorsow has its right in the heart, because it is a human heart: but there is a despair concerning death, as concerning sin.It is thoughtfully tender to lay the children of the mother earth again in her bosom (Sir 40:1).The money with which he secures the cave is the blessing of God; thus God procures for him peculiarly a possession in the land of promise.
Footnotes:
[1] [The allusion is to a German law or custom, in regard to marriage between persons of unequal rank, and the offspring of such a marriage.A. G.]
[The concubine was a secondary or half-wife, and among the Hebrews her position was well defined, and was not regarded as illegitimate. Her position was not that of a mistress, as we use the term concubine.A. G.]
[2][Sarah, though dead, was still his. Wordsworth.A.G.]
[3][Wordsworth here calls attention to the fact that the Apostle Peter (1Pe 2:11) quotes these words as found in the Septuagint, when he addresses believers as strangers and pilgrims. They were, like Abraham, the father of the faithful.A. G.]
[4][The patriarch had encountered other trials, but he had hitherto been spared this of death. But now death enters. No health, relations, affections, can resist the march and power of death. Abraham has in heart parted with his children, now he must part actually from her who had shared all his trials and hopes.A. G.]
[5][In that grave was implied the hope of Resurrection. Wordsworth, p. 104.A. G.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Gen 22:20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;
Ver. 20. It was told Abraham. ] Good news out of a far country; God usually cheers up his children after sharpest trials; brings them, as once, from Marah to Elim, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 22:20-24
20Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram 22and Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel.” 23Bethuel became the father of Rebekah; these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.
Gen 22:20-24 This family genealogy seems to be somewhat unusual here, but in reality it is very significant in laying the groundwork for Isaac’s future bride, Rebekah, who will be mentioned in Gen 22:23.
Gen 22:23 “Bethuel” This name means “man of God” (BDB 143 I).
“Rebekah” It is possible that the Hebrew etymology of this name (BDB 918) means “to tie up an animal” and thereby came to mean “the place of tying” or when used of a woman “an ensnaring one.” The rabbis see this as meaning that Rebekah’s beauty was enticing and she “tied up” Isaac’s affection.
Gen 22:24 “Reumah” This word (BDB 910) has two possible meanings: (1) “to be raised,” which seems to be appropriate since she was raised from a slave to a concubine or (2) “pearl” or “coral,” which seems to be a closer correlation to the Hebrew term.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. Does God really test His children? If so, why?
2. What is the meaning of the term “Moriah” and where is it located?
3. Why would God ask Abraham to sacrifice the son of promise?
4. Why are Gen 22:20-24 included in this passage?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
am 2142, bc 1862
told: Pro 25:25
Milcah: Gen 11:29, Gen 24:15, Gen 24:24
Nahor: Gen 11:26, Gen 24:10, Gen 24:24, Gen 31:53
Reciprocal: Gen 24:4 – to my kindred Gen 28:2 – Padanaram Gen 29:1 – came Job 1:1 – Uz
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 22:20. This is recorded here, 1st, To show that though Abraham saw his own family highly dignified with peculiar privileges, yet he did not look with contempt upon his relations, but was glad to hear of the increase and prosperity of their families. 2d, To make way for the following story of the marriage of Isaac to Rebekah, a daughter of this family.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gen 22:20-24. The Sons of Nahor.From J, touched by the redactor, and inserted to prepare for Gen 22:24. The names are, partially at any rate, tribal. Discussion of them may be seen in the larger commentaries.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
15. The descendants of Nahor 22:20-24
The testing of Abraham’s faith was complete with the sacrifice of Isaac. The Author therefore brought the history of his life to a close and began to set the scene for related events in Isaac’s life.
This section signals a change in the direction of the narrative. It moves from Abraham to the next generation and its connections with the East. The record of Nahor’s 12 sons prepares the way for the story of Isaac’s marriage. It also shows that Rebekah ("heifer," or "soft, supple") was the daughter of Bethuel’s wife (Gen 22:23), not the daughter of Bethuel’s concubine (Gen 22:24). Isaac’s marriage was very important because Isaac was the heir of the promises (ch. 24).
Only a few of the individuals named as descendants of Abraham’s brother Nahor appear elsewhere in Scripture. The most important individuals were Rebekah and her father Bethuel. This is a segmented genealogy designed to establish family relationships, not a linear genealogy, which identifies the final descendant as the legitimate successor of the first (cf. Rth 4:18-22).