-
†. Gen 24:11 . . He made the camels kneel down by the well outside
the city, at evening time, the time when women come out to draw
water.
"evening time" is from an ambiguous word that indicates any time between
high noon and sunset as opposed to "morning" which can indicate any time
between sunrise and high noon.
†. Gen 24:12 . . And he said: O Lord, God of my master Abraham,
grant me good fortune this day, and deal graciously with my master
Abraham:
This steward was truly a God-fearing man, and truly faithful to the one who
sent him on this errand. His prayer is not self centered, but centered upon
the best interests of his master's son. Incidentally, this is the very first
prayer recorded in the Bible of any individual clearly requesting Divine
providence.
†. Gen 24:13-14 . . Here I stand by the spring as the daughters of
the townsmen come out to draw water; let the maiden to whom I
say "Please, lower your jar that I may drink" and who replies "Drink,
and I will also water your camels"-- let her be the one whom You
have decreed for Your servant Isaac. Thereby shall I know that You
have dealt graciously with my master.
This man didn't beat around the bush, nor begin reading from a siddur, nor
a missal, nor did he chant by rote, nor blather in tongues. He gets right
down to business and spells out his concerns in plain language. Let me say
something very clearly: If you are the kind of person who has to pray in
tongues because you don't have enough command of your own native
language to express yourself in any other way, then maybe you should go
back to school for a while.
Of great interest is the steward's apparent lack of concern regarding the
prospective bride's looks. Only God truly knew who would be right for Isaac,
and Abraham's steward is not going to select a bride for his master's son like
as if she's flesh on the line the way the sons of God did back in Gen 6:2. No;
she must be hand-picked by God alone because He alone knows what's in a
heart. If the girl that God chooses for Isaac is attractive; well that will be a
bonus, but absolutely not the deciding factor.
†. Gen 24:15 . . He had scarcely finished speaking, when Rebecca--
born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah the wife of Abraham's brother
Nahor --came out with her jar on her shoulder.
As fortune would have it, the very first girl to arrive is Becky. Although she's
related to Abraham, at this point Abraham's steward doesn't know who she
is yet. In fact he's probably expecting to conduct many tiresome interviews;
testing one girl after another until the right one shows up.
†. Gen 24:16a . .The maiden was very beautiful,
Some chafe at that passage and refuse to believe Genesis is talking about
Becky's physical assets. However, later on, in Gen 26:6-7, Isaac will attempt
his dad's old trick and say Becky is his sister; in order to save his skin. The
reason Isaac gives for the lie is he believed the men of Gerar would be
tempted to kill him because Becky was attractive. It is highly unlikely pagan
men would take Becky away from Isaac just because she had a beautiful
personality. Ancient men didn't kill to obtain the nice girls; they killed for the
alluring ones.
When men talk about a woman's beauty, I guarantee they are not talking
about her character; no, they are talking about her looks. Even bad girls can
be beautiful.
"Like a gold ring in the snout of a pig is a beautiful woman bereft of sense."
(Prv 11:22)
With women like that, beauty is wasted. They look great on the outside, but
on the inside they're swine. However, our girl Becky is no pig I guarantee
you. There is not one snobby, stuck up, ill tempered, over-sensitive, thin
skinned, defensive, contentious, lazy, self absorbed, conceited, vain, self
centered, hissy-fitting, hysterical, complaining, man hating, carping, door
slamming, militant, masculine, fault-finding, confrontational bone in her
body.
Becky is not only a looker; she's industrious, energetic, personable,
courteous; and very intelligent to boot-- the veritable Barbie of the Bible.
Unfortunately, in spite of her great looks, fashion tastes, and her many
talents, Mattel's Barbie is over fifty years old now and has yet to find a
husband and have a family of her own. But that is not going to happen to
Ms. Becky.
†. Gen 24:16b . . a virgin
Becky is three girls in one: a maiden, a virgin, and a virgin. What the heck
you say? How is she two virgins?
The word for "virgin" in 24:16 is bethuwlah (beth-oo-law') which can
indicate a virgin, a bride; and also a city or state. Technically, bethuwlaw
doesn't necessarily indicate a girl who's never slept with a man. The primary
denotation is chronological, and the word simply indicates a mature young
woman of marriageable age whether she is married or not; e.g. Joel 1:8,
where a bethuwlah laments the husband of her youth.
†. Gen 24:16c . . whom no man had known.
That kind of wording says that Becky is not only all grown up, but she's a
bethuwlah who still has her virginity. We have before us a gorgeous peach,
not living with a man, neither has ever slept with a man. In other words,
Rebecca was a square and wouldn't fit very well into a typical vulgar
television sit-com like Seinfeld, Friends, or Sex In The City; nor would she
be a likely candidate for a cover picture on Playboy, Maxim, or Cosmo. Becky
is easily among the finest of young female role models in the entire Bible.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 24:11 . . He made the camels kneel down by the well outside
the city, at evening time, the time when women come out to draw
water.
"evening time" is from an ambiguous word that indicates any time between
high noon and sunset as opposed to "morning" which can indicate any time
between sunrise and high noon.
†. Gen 24:12 . . And he said: O Lord, God of my master Abraham,
grant me good fortune this day, and deal graciously with my master
Abraham:
This steward was truly a God-fearing man, and truly faithful to the one who
sent him on this errand. His prayer is not self centered, but centered upon
the best interests of his master's son. Incidentally, this is the very first
prayer recorded in the Bible of any individual clearly requesting Divine
providence.
†. Gen 24:13-14 . . Here I stand by the spring as the daughters of
the townsmen come out to draw water; let the maiden to whom I
say "Please, lower your jar that I may drink" and who replies "Drink,
and I will also water your camels"-- let her be the one whom You
have decreed for Your servant Isaac. Thereby shall I know that You
have dealt graciously with my master.
This man didn't beat around the bush, nor begin reading from a siddur, nor
a missal, nor did he chant by rote, nor blather in tongues. He gets right
down to business and spells out his concerns in plain language. Let me say
something very clearly: If you are the kind of person who has to pray in
tongues because you don't have enough command of your own native
language to express yourself in any other way, then maybe you should go
back to school for a while.
Of great interest is the steward's apparent lack of concern regarding the
prospective bride's looks. Only God truly knew who would be right for Isaac,
and Abraham's steward is not going to select a bride for his master's son like
as if she's flesh on the line the way the sons of God did back in Gen 6:2. No;
she must be hand-picked by God alone because He alone knows what's in a
heart. If the girl that God chooses for Isaac is attractive; well that will be a
bonus, but absolutely not the deciding factor.
†. Gen 24:15 . . He had scarcely finished speaking, when Rebecca--
born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah the wife of Abraham's brother
Nahor --came out with her jar on her shoulder.
As fortune would have it, the very first girl to arrive is Becky. Although she's
related to Abraham, at this point Abraham's steward doesn't know who she
is yet. In fact he's probably expecting to conduct many tiresome interviews;
testing one girl after another until the right one shows up.
†. Gen 24:16a . .The maiden was very beautiful,
Some chafe at that passage and refuse to believe Genesis is talking about
Becky's physical assets. However, later on, in Gen 26:6-7, Isaac will attempt
his dad's old trick and say Becky is his sister; in order to save his skin. The
reason Isaac gives for the lie is he believed the men of Gerar would be
tempted to kill him because Becky was attractive. It is highly unlikely pagan
men would take Becky away from Isaac just because she had a beautiful
personality. Ancient men didn't kill to obtain the nice girls; they killed for the
alluring ones.
When men talk about a woman's beauty, I guarantee they are not talking
about her character; no, they are talking about her looks. Even bad girls can
be beautiful.
"Like a gold ring in the snout of a pig is a beautiful woman bereft of sense."
(Prv 11:22)
With women like that, beauty is wasted. They look great on the outside, but
on the inside they're swine. However, our girl Becky is no pig I guarantee
you. There is not one snobby, stuck up, ill tempered, over-sensitive, thin
skinned, defensive, contentious, lazy, self absorbed, conceited, vain, self
centered, hissy-fitting, hysterical, complaining, man hating, carping, door
slamming, militant, masculine, fault-finding, confrontational bone in her
body.
Becky is not only a looker; she's industrious, energetic, personable,
courteous; and very intelligent to boot-- the veritable Barbie of the Bible.
Unfortunately, in spite of her great looks, fashion tastes, and her many
talents, Mattel's Barbie is over fifty years old now and has yet to find a
husband and have a family of her own. But that is not going to happen to
Ms. Becky.
†. Gen 24:16b . . a virgin
Becky is three girls in one: a maiden, a virgin, and a virgin. What the heck
you say? How is she two virgins?
The word for "virgin" in 24:16 is bethuwlah (beth-oo-law') which can
indicate a virgin, a bride; and also a city or state. Technically, bethuwlaw
doesn't necessarily indicate a girl who's never slept with a man. The primary
denotation is chronological, and the word simply indicates a mature young
woman of marriageable age whether she is married or not; e.g. Joel 1:8,
where a bethuwlah laments the husband of her youth.
†. Gen 24:16c . . whom no man had known.
That kind of wording says that Becky is not only all grown up, but she's a
bethuwlah who still has her virginity. We have before us a gorgeous peach,
not living with a man, neither has ever slept with a man. In other words,
Rebecca was a square and wouldn't fit very well into a typical vulgar
television sit-com like Seinfeld, Friends, or Sex In The City; nor would she
be a likely candidate for a cover picture on Playboy, Maxim, or Cosmo. Becky
is easily among the finest of young female role models in the entire Bible.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=