John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Genesis 24:1



INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 24



This chapter shows Abraham's concern to get a suitable wife for his son Isaac, for which purpose he commits the affair into the hands of his eldest servant, and makes him swear that he will not take one from among the Canaanites, but out of his own country, and from among his own kindred, Ge 24:1; which his servant agreed to, after having the nature of his charge, and of the oath, explained to him, Ge 24:5; upon which he departed to Mesopotamia, and coming to the city of Nahor, and to a well near it, he prayed for success, and desired direction by a token, which was granted him, Ge 24:10; and inquiring of the damsel, who answered to the token, whose daughter she was, and whether they had room for him and his in their house; and an agreeable answer being returned, he gave thanks to God that had directed him, and had so far made his journey prosperous, Ge 24:23; the damsel acquainting her parents whom and what she met with at the well, a brother of her steps out, and invites the servant in, and makes him welcome,

Ge 24:28; but before he would eat anything, he tells his errand he was come upon, at the instance of his master; how, he had prayed for direction, and was heard, and for which he had given thanks,

Ge 24:34; and then treats with the relations of the damsel about her marriage to his master's son, to which they agreed,

Ge 24:49; and after having blessed God, and given his presents he brought with him to the damsel, and her family, and ate and drank with them, was for departing the next morning, Ge 24:52; but the friends of the damsel being desirous of her stay with them some few days, and he urgent to be gone, the affair was referred to her, and she agreed to go with him directly, Ge 24:55; upon which they dismissed her with their blessing, Ge 24:59; who being met by Isaac in the way, was received and introduced into his mother's tent, and married by him, Ge 24:61.



Ver. 1. And Abraham was old, [and] well stricken in age,.... Being now one hundred and forty years of age, for as he was an hundred years old when Isaac was born, and Isaac was forty years of age when he married Rebekah, which was at this time, Abraham must be of the age mentioned, see Ge 21:5;



and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things; with all kind of blessings, with temporal and spiritual blessings; the former seems chiefly designed here, because of what follows; God had blessed him, as Aben Ezra observes, with long life, and riches, and honour, and children, things desirable by men.





Genesis 24:2



Ver. 2. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house,.... To Eliezer his servant, according to the Targum of Jonathan, and as is generally thought; and who may well be called an old servant, and his oldest servant, since he must have lived with him fifty years and upwards; one may trace him near sixty years in Abraham's family, and it is highly probable he lived much longer; he was his servant when he had the vision between the pieces, Ge 15:2; and then he was the steward of his house, and bid fair to be his heir; which was some time before Hagar was given to Abraham; and Ishmael his son by Hagar was fourteen years of age when Isaac was born, and he was now forty years old, which make fifty five years, or thereabout. Bishop Usher places the vision of the pieces in A. M. 2092, and the marriage of Isaac in 2148, some fifty six years from each other; and so long Eliezer, if he is the servant here meant, must have been in Abraham's family, and how much longer cannot with certainty be said:



that ruled over all that he had; had the care and management of his house, and the affairs of it under him; this agrees with the character of Eliezer in Ge 15:2:



put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: as a token of his subjection to him as a servant, and of his readiness, willingness, and fidelity to execute any commands he should lay upon him, and in order to take an oath, as appears by what follows; for it seems this rite was used in swearing, and is still used in India, as Aben Ezra affirms; and some say among the Ethiopians. The Jewish writers are pretty much of opinion that respect is had to the covenant of circumcision, by which Abraham made his servant to swear, which is not likely: rather respect is had to his seed, the promised Messiah, that should spring from his thigh, by whom the adjuration was made, as follows: though Dr. Clayton {k} thinks this is no other than an equivalent term for approaching in an humble servile manner, and means no more than "come near me", and I will make thee swear; and that, as a respectable method of approach with the Egyptian, as Herodotus {l} relates, was by bowing the body reciprocally when they met, and saluted one another, and by carrying their hands to each other's knee; so some such like ceremony as embracing the knee, and putting the hand under or round the thigh, might be used by servants when they approached their masters; but it should be observed, that this same rite or ceremony was required of Joseph, governor of Egypt, by his father Jacob; see Ge 47:29.



{k} Chronology of the Hebrew Bible, p. 130, 131. {l} Euterpe sive, l. 2.





Genesis 24:3



Ver. 3. And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of earth,.... The Maker and possessor of heaven and earth, by whom Abraham used to swear whenever he did, and by whom only men should swear, see Ge 14:22. The Targum of Jonathan is,



"I will make thee swear by the name of the Word of the Lord God,''



which strengthens the sense given of the rite before observed:



that thou wilt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; these being not only idolaters, and very wicked people, degenerated yet more and more, but were the seed of the accursed Canaan; and who in process of time would be dispossessed of the land, and be destroyed. Now though Isaac was forty years of age, and one would think at an age sufficient to have chosen a wife for himself; but as Abraham knew that he had a great respect for this servant, and would be influenced by him in such a choice, and especially as this affair was now about to be committed to his care, and no doubt with the consent of Isaac, therefore he thus charges and adjures him.





Genesis 24:4



Ver. 4. But thou shalt go unto my country,.... Not Canaan, which though his by promise, yet not in possession, but Mesopotamia, as appears from Ge 24:10; which taken largely included the Chaldea, see Ac 7:2, the country where Abraham was born, and from whence he came:



and to my kindred; the family of Nahor his brother, which now dwelt at Haran in Mesopotamia, called the city of Nahor, Ge 24:10; see

Ge 29:4; of the increase of whose family Abraham had heard a few years ago, Ge 22:20:



and take a wife to my son Isaac; from among them, who though they were not clear of superstition and idolatry, yet they worshipped the true God with their "idols"; and a woman taken out of such a family, and removed at a distance from it, it might be reasonably concluded would be brought off of those things, and adhere to the pure and undefiled religion; and the rather this family was chosen, not only because related to Abraham, but because it had sprung from Shem, who was blessed of God, and whose God the Lord was; nearness of kin was no objection and hinderance to such a marriage, the laws relating to marriage not being given till the time of Moses.





Genesis 24:5



Ver. 5. And the servant said unto him,.... Before he would take the oath, being cautious of it, and desirous of knowing how far it reached, and what it would or would not oblige him to, which was prudently done:



peradventure the woman will not be to follow me into this land; supposing this should be the case, as it is not unlikely that the woman would object to coming along with him to the land of Canaan, and insist upon Isaac's coming into her country, and dwelling there, what must then be done?



must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? that is, must I agree with the woman on these terms, and promise that Isaac shall come and dwell with her in Mesopotamia? Now there was good reason for the servant's putting this question, since he was neither ignorant of the call of Abraham out of that laud, no more to return to it, nor of the promise of the land of Canaan to him and his posterity: and as for bringing Isaac "again", where he never had been in person, this may be accounted for by his being in the loins of Abraham when he was there, and came from thence, as Levi is said to be in his loins when he paid tithes to Melchizedek, and to pay them in him, Heb 7:9; and in like manner he might be said to be brought again, or return to Abraham's country, should he ever go there, as all the seed of Abraham are said in the fourth generation to come to Canaan again, though they had none of them been in person there before, Ge 15:16; besides, as Drusius observes, to bring again, or return, signifies sometimes only to bring on, or to go to some certain place, see Ru 1:10; however, the justness of the expression is confirmed by Abraham's answer in the next words.





Genesis 24:6



Ver. 6. And Abraham said unto him,.... Not blaming him for putting such a question, nor charging him with impertinence, but plainly seeing the propriety of it: and in order to clear up this matter to him, gives the following instructions,



beware thou, that thou bring not my son thither again; for the command to come out of the land of Chaldea, never to return more, and to come into the land of Canaan, and there abide, respected both Abraham and his posterity; and besides, it was dangerous for Isaac to go into a family, where, though there was some knowledge of the true God, yet there was much superstition and idolatry in it, as appears by various hints in the sequel of this history, lest he should be corrupted, and degenerate from the true religion.





Genesis 24:7



Ver. 7. The Lord God of heaven, which took from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred,.... Jarchi distinguishes between his father's house, and the land of his kindred; the former he takes to be Haran, in which he seems to be right; for his father and his family came with him from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran, and there stayed, from whence Abraham was taken and separated from them; by the latter he understands Ur of the Chaldees, interpreting the phrase of the land in which he was born, as Onkelos and Jonathan, and the Septuagint version render it: but the same is meant as before, for Haran was the land of his kindred, where Terah his father died, and Nahor his brother and family lived; from whence he was taken and removed into the land of Canaan, by the call, direction, and providence of the Lord God, who made the heavens, and dwells therein:



which spake unto me, and that swore unto me; made a promise to him, and confirmed it with an oath, Ge 15:18:



saying, unto thy seed will I give this land; the land of Canaan; and therefore his son, in whom his seed was to be called, must not be removed from hence, and settled in another country:



he shall send his angel before thee; Aben Ezra takes this to be a prayer or wish, "may he send his angel before thee"; for if it was a prophecy, he adds, why did he say "if the woman will not be willing?" but from Ge 24:10; and from what follows, that the servant should take a wife to his son from thence, and the encouragement he had for his faith in it, and from what God bad done for him, and said unto him, it seems as if he was fully assured in his own mind of the event: this angel may be either understood of a created angel, such being frequently made use of in the affairs of Providence, directing and succeeding men, or of the uncreated Angel, the Son of God, since the servant attributes his direction and success wholly to the Lord.





Genesis 24:8



Ver. 8. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee,.... Or "but" if {m}, which is said by Abraham, not as doubting she would be willing, of which he was satisfied, being persuaded that that God that had made him willing to leave his own country, and his father's house, would make her willing to do the like, and come and settle with his son in the land that God had given him; but this, and what follows, he said to make the mind of his servant easy, who had some doubt about it, or however was desirous of knowing how he must act should that be the case; and what it was he was to take an oath to do, and how far, and how far not, that would oblige him:



then thou shalt be clear from this my oath; which he enjoined his servant to take; the sense is, when he had done all he could to get the consent of the damsel, and her friends, to go with him and marry his master's son; and after all she could not be prevailed upon to come with him, then he was free from his oath, having done all that that obliged him to, and he not attempting to take one from any other quarter:



only bring not my son thither again; neither agree with the damsel and her parents, that he shall come to them, nor persuade him to comply with such terms.



{m} Maw "sin autem", V. L.





Genesis 24:9



Ver. 9. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master,.... Or "then" or "therefore the servant", &c. {n} being satisfied of the nature and extent of his oath, and thoroughly understanding how he was to act upon it, readily took it by using this rite, See Gill on "Ge 24:2";



and sware to him concerning that matter; of taking a wife to his son, engaging to do everything he had directed and enjoined him relative to it.



{n} Mvyw "posuit ergo", V. L. "igitur", Tigurine version; "itaque", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "ita", Drusius; "tum", Schmidt.





Genesis 24:10



Ver. 10. And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master,

and departed,.... Camels were much in use in the eastern countries; where, as Pliny {o} says, they were brought up among their herds of cattle, and their riches much consisted in them. Arabia abounded with them; Job had three thousand of them, Job 1:3; how many Abraham had is not said, only ten of them his servant took, being sufficient for his present purpose, and which he took with his master's leave, and by his order. These creatures are very strong and fit for carrying great burdens, even a thousand pound weight, as is affirmed; and for riding, especially such as have two humps on their backs, for some have but one; and for long journeys, being very swift, and will travel without water many days, and so very proper to take on such journeys in hot and desert countries, See Gill on "Le 11:4";



for all the goods of his master [were] in his hand; which agrees with what is before said, that he was the steward of his house, and ruled over all that he had; this in our version, and others, is put in a parenthesis, and given as a reason why the servant took, as it may seem of himself, so many camels as he did, and then set forward on his journey: though it may be rendered, "and of all the goods of his master in his hand"; that is, he took some of the choicest and most valuable things his master had, and carried them along with him as presents to the damsel and her friends; to which sense the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions interpret the words, as well as some others, and which may receive confirmation from Ge 24:22, Jarchi thinks that Abraham's servant carried a schedule of all his master's goods and substance, which he had under his hand given to his son, whereby it would appear how rich he was, and how good a match Isaac would be to the woman, and which might the more incline her and her friends to listen to the proposal. Other Jewish writers {p} say, it was his testament or will that he carried:



and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia; or Aram Naharaim, Syria of the rivers, which lay between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates, called therefore by the Greeks Mesopotamia; the three Targums render it Aram or Syria, which is by Euphrates:



unto the city of Nahor; this was the brother of Abraham, and his city was Haran, whither he came, either with his father, or with Abraham, out of Ur of the Chaldees, or followed them thither, and where he and his family stayed and settled. From Hebron, where Abraham now was, to Haran, is reckoned a journey of seventeen days; the distance between them, according to Ptolemy, as Drusius observes, were eight degrees, which make one hundred and twenty German miles; the journey Abraham's servant took is computed to be four hundred and sixty eight miles {q}.



{o} Nat. Hist. l. 7. c. 18. {p} Bereshit Rabba, sect. 59. fol. 52. 2. {q} Bunting's Travels, p. 69.





Genesis 24:11



Ver. 11. And he made his camels to kneel down,.... Which these creatures are used to do when they are loaded and unloaded, and also when they take rest, and it was for the sake of the latter they were now made to kneel. It seems that this is what is not natural to them, but what they are learned to do: it is said {r},



"as soon as a camel is born they tie his four feet under his belly, put a carpet over his back, and stones upon the borders of it, that he may not be able to rise for twenty days together; thus they teach him the habit of bending his knees to rest himself, or when he is to be loaded or unloaded.''



This was done



without the city; the city of Nahor, Haran, near to which the servant was now come: and it was



by a well of water: which place was chosen for the refreshment of his camels, as well as of himself and his men. Rauwolff {s} says, that near Haran, now called Orpha,



"there is a plentiful well still to this day (1575), called Abraham's well, the water of which hath a more whitish troubledness than others. I have (says he) drank of it several times, out of the conduit that runs from thence into the middle the great camp, and it hath a peculiar pleasantness, and a pleasant sweetness in its taste.''



The time of Abraham's servant coming hither was



at the time of the evening, [even] the time that women go out to draw [water]; which was the custom for women to do, for the necessary uses of their families; as it was especially in the eastern countries: and the Arabian women to this time, after they have been hard at work all day, weaving, or grinding, or making bread, at evening they set out with a pitcher or a goat's skin, and, tying their sucking children behind them, trudge it in this manner two or three miles to fetch water {t}.



{r} Calmet's Dictionary in the word "Camel". {s} Travels, par. 2. ch. 10. p. 177. Ed. Ray. {t} Shaw's Travels, p. 241. Ed. 2.





Genesis 24:12



Ver. 12. And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham,.... He does not call the Lord his God, though no doubt he was, since he appears throughout the whole to be a good man; but the God of Abraham, because God had often manifested and renewed his covenant with Abraham in an eminent manner, and had bestowed many favours upon him, and admitted him to much nearness and communion with him; and it was not on his own account, but on his master's business he now was:



I pray thee, send me good speed this day; or "cause [something] to happen before me this day" {u}; some extraordinary event, which depends not upon the will, or skill, or contrivance of men, but upon the pleasure of God; and which, with respect to second causes, men call hap or chance, but with respect to God, is according to his determinate counsel and will. The Targum of Jonathan is,



"prepare now a decent wife before me this day.''



But the servant's meaning is, that something might turn up in providence that would lead on to such an event:



and shew kindness unto my master Abraham; which he would be ready to acknowledge as a favour, an instance of kindness and mercy, and not merit.



{u} ynpl an hrqh "occurere fae nune coram me", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; so Junius & Tremellius, Schmidt, Ainsworth.





Genesis 24:13



Ver. 13. Behold, I stand [here] by the well of water,.... Wishing, hoping, and expecting that something would turn out that would direct and instruct what further to do, and that would lead on to the business he came about:



and the daughters of the men of the city came out to draw water; which was the usual custom in those parts about that time. So Homer speaks {w} of meeting a girl before the city udreuoush, drawing or fetching water. And this was a principal reason why Abraham's servant stopped at the well, not only to refresh himself, his men, and his cattle, but in hopes he should meet with the damsel there he was come for; or at least should hear of her, or meet with some one or another that would direct him to her; or something would fall out there that would be a means in Providence of bringing about what he was sent to do.



{w} Odyss. 10. ver. 109.





Genesis 24:14



Ver. 14. And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say,

let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink,.... The pitcher of water she should have upon her shoulder, after she had drawn it out of the well:



and she shall say, drink, and I will give thy camels drink also; not only very readily and courteously invite him to drink himself but also propose to draw water for his camels too:



[let the same be] she [that] thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; to be his wife; he desired this might be the token by which he might know who the person was God had appointed, and whom he approved of as a proper wife for Isaac, and whom he pointed at in his Providence most clearly to be the person he had designed for him; and this was a very agreeable sign and token; for hereby he would know that she was a careful and industrious person, willing to set her hand to business when necessary; that she was humane and courteous to strangers; humble and condescending, and willing to do the meanest offices for the good of others; and such a wife as this he sought for, and knew would be a good one, and greatly acceptable to his master and to his son:



and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness to my master; by directing to so good a wife for his son, and prospering the journey of his servant according to his wishes.





Genesis 24:15



Ver. 15. And it came to pass, before he had done speaking,.... In his heart, Ge 24:45; for his prayer was mental; while the last words were dropping from him, that very moment, as the Targum of Jonathan; so soon were his prayers heard and answered, Isa 65:24;



that behold Rebekah came out; out of Haran, the city of Nahor:



who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother; a daughter of Bethuel, which Bethuel was the eighth and last son of Milcah, and who was the daughter of Haran and the wife of Nahor, both brothers to Abraham: this is the genealogy of Rebekah, and for the sake of her is the account of Nahor's family given, Ge 22:20:



with her pitcher upon her shoulder; to fetch water from the well for the use of the family; which, though the daughter of a wealthy person, she did not disdain to do; an instance of diligence and humility this.





Genesis 24:16



Ver. 16. And the damsel [was] very fair to look upon,.... Of a good countenance and beautiful aspect: a virgin,



neither had any man known her; not only was reckoned a virgin, but was really one, pure and incorrupt:



and she went down to the well and filled her pitcher, and came up; by which it appears the well lay low, there was a descent unto it, and an ascent from it. Rebekah was very diligent and speedy in doing her work, she did not stay to look at strangers, or hold an idle conversation with other damsels that came thither on the same account; but, having filled her pitcher, was making the best of her way home.





Genesis 24:17



Ver. 17. And the servant ran to meet her,.... He did not stop her as she went to the well, but stayed till she had been there and filled her pitcher, and then he made all the haste he could to meet her, in order to have the sign and token answered he had requested, which could not be done until she returned:



and said, let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher; or taste a little of it, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; or suffer me to swallow a little of it; for it was not so much to quench his thirst that he asked for this, for he could have got, and perhaps had had water out of the well before this time, or however could easily have supplied himself; but this was done to try whether she was the person, and whether her conduct and carriage would answer the token. Josephus {x} says, he asked other virgins and they refused him, for which churlishness Rebekah rebuked them, and gave him water liberally.



{x} Antiqu. l. 1. c. 16. sect. 2.





Genesis 24:18



Ver. 18. And she said, drink, my lord,.... Signifying at once that he was welcome to drink what he would, giving him a very honourable title, observing that he had a pretty large retinue with him of men and camels; so that she took him for some considerable personage:



and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand; from off her shoulder, and let it rest upon her hand or arm:



and gave him drink; let him drink what he would of it.





Genesis 24:19



Ver. 19. And when she had done giving him drink,.... Whatever he pleased to have:



she said, I will draw [water] for thy camels also, until they have done drinking; she proposed to go back to the well, and did, and fill her pitcher, and repeat it as often as was necessary, until the camels had enough; and this now was the sign or token the servant had desired might be, by which he would know who was the person intended for the wife of his master's son; and this was granted him, which shows that it was not a rash and ill thing which he asked, but what was agreeable to the will of God, and to which he was directed by an impulse of his.





Genesis 24:20



Ver. 20. And she hasted and emptied her pitcher into the trough,.... The place out of which cattle drank water, being put there for that purpose, which was of wood or of stones made hollow; into this Rebekah poured out what was left in her pitcher after the servant had drank:



and ran again to the well to draw [water]; and which must be repeated several times to have enough for all the camels, for it follows:



and drew for all his camels; and there were ten of them; and these, being thirsty after so long a journey, required a great deal of water to satisfy them; therefore Rebekah must take a vast deal of pains and labour to draw water for them all until they had enough.





Genesis 24:21



Ver. 21. And the man wondering at her,.... At her affability and courteousness to a stranger; at her humility and condescension to take upon her such a service; at her readiness, diligence, and laboriousness in it; and the quick dispatch she made; and at her expressions and conduct being so exactly agreeable to the token he desired to have; and at the providence of God in bringing him to this place so seasonably; and at the damsel, that she should come just at this time, and every way answer his expectations and desires:



held his peace, to wit; or to know, to think and consider further with himself,



whether, or "if"



the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not; or if not; he was musing and saying within himself, surely God had made his journey prosperous; or if not, how was it that such strange surprising circumstances should occur? or what else must be done by him? or what methods must be taken for the future.





Genesis 24:22



Ver. 22. And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking,.... Having had enough to abate their thirst and satisfy them, by means of Rebekah's drawing water for them:



that the man took a golden earring; out of his pocket, or out of a box or parcel that was upon the camels; it is in the margin of our Bibles, "a jewel for the forehead"; or, as some render it, a "nose jewel" {y}; and so in Ge 24:47, "an earring upon her face", or "nose"; and this was a jewel that hung from the forehead upon a lace or ribbon between the eyes down upon the nose; and such the daughters of Sion wore in later times, Isa 3:21; see Eze 16:12; and nose jewels are still in use with the Levant Arabs, as Dr. Shaw {z} relates. Rauwolff {a}, who travelled through Mesopotamia and the parts adjacent in 1574, says of the women in those parts that are of greater substance, and have a mind to be richer and finer in their dress, that they wear silver and gold rings in one of their nostrils, wherein are set garnets, turquoise, rubies, and pearls: and in Egypt they wear nose jewels {b} and small gold rings in their right nostrils, with a piece of coral set in them {c} and this earring or jewel was



of half a shekel weight; which was eighty barley corns, for a whole shekel weighed one hundred and sixty. The Targum of Jonathan is,



"the weight of a drachma, which was the half of a didrachma or common shekel:''



and two bracelets for her hands, of ten [shekels] weight of gold; a shekel of gold, according to Calmet {d}, was worth eighteen shillings and three pence of English money, so that ten of them amount to nine pounds two shillings and six pence; according to Waserus {e}, these made twenty Hungarian pieces of gold, which were worth upwards of ninety pounds of Swiss money. A handsome present this was, and suitable to a virgin. Jarchi and Jonathan allegorize the two bracelets of the two tables of the law, and the ten shekels of the ten commands on them.



{y} Mzn "imponeret naso ejus monile aureum", Junius & Tremellius. {z} Travels, p. 241. Ed. 2. {a} Travels, par. 2. ch. 5. p. 128, 129. {b} Pitts's Account of Mahometanism, p. 68. {c} Egmont and Heyman's Travels, vol. 2. p. 85. {d} Dictionary, in the word "Shekel". {e} De Antiqu. numis, Heb. l. 2. c. 10.





Genesis 24:23



Ver. 23. And said,.... After he had given her the earring and the bracelets, he put the following question, according to Jarchi, and so our version seems to intimate the same; but, as it is related in

Ge 24:47; the question was put before those were given, therefore some render the words, "and he had said", or, "and after he had said" {f}, namely, what follows; though, as Schmidt observes, the matter is easily reconciled, and both accounts stand clear and plain, if it be only remarked, that he took out the earring and bracelets before he put the question, but it was after it that he gave her them, or put them upon her:



whose daughter [art] thou? the reason of this question is, because by her answer to it he would know whether she was of the family related to Abraham or not; from whom only, according to his oath, he was to take a wife for Isaac, and which would in a good measure satisfy him as to what he had been musing about, whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not:



tell me, I pray thee, is there room [in] thy father's house for us to lodge in? by her answer to this he would know whether her family was wealthy, and so fit to be in connection with his master's; and besides, if she appeared to be the person he hoped she was, he was desirous of lodging in her father's house, that he might have the better opportunity of managing the affair he was come about.



{f} rmayw "et dixerat", Drusius; "postquam dixisset", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.





Genesis 24:24



Ver. 24. And she said unto him, I [am] the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah,.... Which Milcah was the daughter of Haran, Abraham's elder brother, and, as thought by many, sister to Sarah, Abraham's wife, see

Ge 11:29:



which she bare unto Nahor; Abraham's brother; so that her father was Nahor's son, not by his concubine Reumah, but by his lawful wife Milcah, which sets Rebekah's descent in a true light, see Ge 22:20; whether she told her own name is not certain, it may be, since the servant bade it, Ge 24:45.





Genesis 24:25



Ver. 25. She said moreover unto him,.... In answer to the second question:



we have both straw and provender enough; for the camels, straw for their litter, and provender for their food, as hay, barley, &c.



and room to lodge in; for him and his men; this she could venture to say, and invite him to come and take up his quarters in her father's house, without going home to relate the question put to her, and to have leave to give the invitation, knowing full well the generosity, liberality, and hospitable spirit of her father.





Genesis 24:26



Ver. 26. And the man bowed down his head,.... To show what a deep sense he had of the divine goodness, and in humble acknowledgment of the favours he had received in being thus providentially directed:



and worshipped the Lord; gave thanks unto him, that he had thus far prospered him, hoping and believing that things were in good forwardness, according to his master's mind and will.





Genesis 24:27



Ver. 27. And he said, blessed [be] the Lord God of my master Abraham,.... See Gill on "Ge 24:12":



who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and truth; or hath not withdrawn his mercy, grace and goodness, truth and faithfulness; for his loving kindness he does not take away from his people, nor suffer his faithfulness to fail; his mercy and grace in making kind and gracious promises continue, and his truth in performing them sooner or later appear, and both in this case; as Abraham believed in the grace and goodness of God, that he would send his angel and direct his servant, and make his way prosperous, here was now an appearance of his truth and faithfulness, in making good the promise or prophecy on which Abraham's faith was built, see Ge 24:7:



I [being] in the way; by the way of the well; in the right way, as Jarchi, in which he was directed; in the way of his duty, following the steps of divine Providence, and observing them. It is good to be in the way which God directs to and prescribes, especially in religious things, where the blessing and presence of God may be expected:



the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren: Nahor, whose granddaughter Rebekah was, was Abraham's brother, and Bethuel her father might be called so, as Lot was, who stood in the same relation to Abraham as he did, Ge 14:16; and, though the servant was not as yet come to the house where they lived, he had met with one of the family, and had got an invitation to it, and was on his way thither and near it.





Genesis 24:28



Ver. 28. And the damsel ran,.... Having invited him to come and lodge at her father's house, that he might not be brought in abruptly, she ran before to acquaint the family of what had passed:



and told [them] of her mother's house these things; she did not go to her father to inform him of it; some think he was dead, as Josephus {g}, but the contrary appears from Ge 24:50; rather the reason was, because her mother had an house, a tent, or an apartment to herself, as women in those times and places used to have, see Ge 24:67; and because daughters are generally more free to converse with their mothers and impart things to them than to their fathers, which may be the true reason of Rebekah's conduct.



{g} Antiqu. l. 1. c. 16. sect. 2.





Genesis 24:29



Ver. 29. And Rebekah had a brother, and his name [was] Laban,.... Perhaps he was her only brother, or however the elder brother, the principal in the family, her father Bethuel being old:



and Laban ran out: out of his house, and out of the city of Haran:



unto the man unto the well; this was after Rebekah had got home, and had related to the family whom she had met with at the well, and what had passed between them, as follows:





Genesis 24:30



Ver. 30. And it came to pass, when he saw the earring, and bracelets upon his sister's hands,.... From whence he concluded that he was a rich and generous man she had met with, and might hope to receive a gift also upon giving him an invitation to his house; or however might judge he should be no loser by receiving him kindly and entertaining him generously; therefore it was that he made haste, and ran to him to bring him in; for that Laban was of a covetous disposition, appears from the whole story of him:



and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, thus spake the man unto me; inquiring whose daughter she was, and whether there was any room in her father's house for him and those that were with him to lodge in:



that he came unto the man; made haste and ran till he came to him:



and, behold, he stood by the camels at the wall; he did not follow Rebekah, but kept still at the well, expecting somebody would come out of the house and give him an invitation into it, upon Rebekah's representation of him.





Genesis 24:31



Ver. 31. And he said, come in, thou blessed of the Lord,.... Both with temporal and spiritual blessings; he concluded he was blessed with the former by the presents he had made to his sister, and by the men that attended him, and the number of camels that were with him; and with the latter by his devotion, his worshipping of God, and thankfulness to him, which Rebekah had observed and related: some Jewish writers say {h}, he thought he was Abraham, and therefore gave him this title and this invitation to come into the house:



wherefore standest thou without? this he said either as reproving him that he did not follow his sister upon her invitation, or rather as pressing him to make no more delay:



for I have prepared the house: swept it clean, or ordered it to be so, as the word {i} signifies; had fitted and furnished it with everything convenient for him and those with him: Jonathan and Jarchi interpret it of purging the house from idols and strange worship, which he knew would be offensive to Abraham, or any that belonged to him; but the former sense is best:



and room for the camels; he had ordered the stable to be cleansed also, and everything provided there fit for the camels; so that some time elapsed between Rebekah's return home and Laban's coming to the well, though no doubt everything was done with as much dispatch as possible.



{h} Bereshit Rabba, sect. 60. fol. 52. 4. Targ. Jon. in loc. {i} ytygp "repurgavi", Drusius; "verri", Schmidt.





Genesis 24:32



Ver. 32. And the man came into the house,.... Upon the pressing instance made unto him; for so it may be rendered, "wherefore the man came", &c. {k}



and he ungirded his camels; took off their bridles, which hindered them from eating, as the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi; or loosed their girts and took off their burdens, that they might have rest: this may be interpreted either of the servant and of his men by his order doing this, it being the first thing that travellers do when they come to an inn to take care of their cattle; or rather of Laban, as what follows must be interpreted of him:



and gave straw and provender for the camels; straw for their litter, and provender to eat; this Laban did, or ordered to be done: the Targum of Jonathan expresses his name, and no doubt he is intended, for who should give these but he?



and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that [were] with him: which was usually done to strangers and travellers in those hot countries, see Ge 18:4. The Vulgate Latin version is, "and water to wash the feet of the camels"; which, though it is possible might be done, yet is without any foundation in the text.



{k} abyw "intravit itaque", Tigurine version, Piscator; "quare", Schmidt.





Genesis 24:33



Ver. 33. And there was set [meat] before them to eat,.... By the order of Bethuel or Laban, or both; or, "afterwards was set" {l}; that is after care had been taken the camels, then food being provided was set before the men to refresh them:



but he said, I will not eat until I have told mine errand; or, "spoke my words" {m}; delivered the message he was sent with, and declared the business he came about; which shows him to be a diligent faithful servant, who had his master's interest at heart, and preferred it to his necessary food:



and he said; either Bethuel or Laban, for both were present, to whom the servant directed his discourse, Ge 24:47; perhaps Laban spoke in the name of his father, and bid him



speak on; go on with his discourse until he had said all he had to say, signifying that they were ready to give attention to him.



{l} Mvyyw "post appositum", Drusius, Schmidt. {m} yrbd ytrbd "donec loquar sermones meos", V. L. "vel mea verba", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator.





Genesis 24:34



Ver. 34. And he said, I [am] Abraham's servant. Not Abraham himself, this undeceived Laban, if he so thought, but a servant of his; which was enough to introduce his discourse, his master being a near relation of theirs, and well known to them by name, if not in person.





Genesis 24:35



Ver. 35. And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly,.... With temporal blessings, after enumerated, which are of God, and are here ascribed to him, the Father, fountain, author, and giver of all such mercies:



and he is become great; in the world, and highly honoured and esteemed among men:



and he hath given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and menservants and maidservants, and camels and asses; though many of them were obtained in the diligent use of means, yet with the blessing of God; and others were the gifts of princes to him, as of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and Abimelech king of Gerar; yet, as it was the Lord that put it into their hearts to be so liberal to him, they are here called his gifts; see Ge 12:16.





Genesis 24:36



Ver. 36. And Sarah, my master's wife,.... Who must be well known to this family, by name at least, being, as is generally supposed, the sister of Milcah, Nahor's wife, and Bethuel's mother; the same



bare a son to my master when she was old; even when ninety years of age, Ge 17:17; this is mentioned because it was an extraordinary thing, and an instance of divine power and of the favour of God; and this son of their old age must be very dear unto Abraham, as it follows:



and unto him hath he given all that he hath; by his will: Jarchi says, the servant had now the schedule of all in his hands, which he showed; but this is mere conjecture.





Genesis 24:37



Ver. 37. And my master made me swear,.... See Gill on "Ge 24:3". In Ge 24:37, the servant relates the oath his master made him take, and the charge he gave him, much in the same language as in

Ge 24:3.





Genesis 24:38



Ver. 38. But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred,

and take a wife unto my son. See Gill on "Ge 24:4".





Genesis 24:39



Ver. 39. And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. See Gill on "Ge 24:5".





Genesis 24:40



Ver. 40. And he said unto me, the Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee. See Gill on "Ge 24:7".





Genesis 24:41



Ver. 41. Then shalt thou be clear from [this] my oath,....

See Gill on "Ge 24:8".





Genesis 24:42



Ver. 42. And I came this day unto the well,.... Hither he was come at length by several days' journey; not on the same day he came from Abraham, as the Jewish writers say {n}, by means of a miracle:



and said, O Lord God of my master Abraham; being come to the well, he prayed as follows:



if now thou do prosper the way which I go; his meaning is, that if it was the pleasure of God that he should succeed in what he was come about, that he would let him know it by a token; and in Ge 24:42 he relates the token he desired, which was granted him, and his success, as before recorded, from Ge 24:21.



{n} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 95. 1. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 59. fol. 52. 2. Jarchi in loc.





Genesis 24:43



Ver. 43. Behold, I stand by the well of water, and it shall come to pass,.... See Gill on "Ge 24:14".





Genesis 24:44



Ver. 44. And she say to me, both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels,.... See Gill on "Ge 24:14".





Genesis 24:45



Ver. 45. And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder,....

See Gill on "Ge 24:15".



and she went down unto the well, and drew [water]:

See Gill on "Ge 24:16".



and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.

See Gill on "Ge 24:17".





Genesis 24:46



Ver. 46. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her [shoulder],.... See Gill on "Ge 24:18".



And said, drink, and I will give thy camels drink also.

See Gill on "Ge 24:19".



so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.

See Gill on "Ge 24:20".





Genesis 24:47



Ver. 47. And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter [art] thou?....

See Gill on "Ge 24:23".



And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: See Gill on "Ge 24:24".



and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.

See Gill on "Ge 24:22".





Genesis 24:48



Ver. 48. And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord,....

See Gill on "Ge 24:26".



And blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.

See Gill on "Ge 24:27".





Genesis 24:49



Ver. 49. And now, if you deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me,.... The servant directs himself to more than one, to the whole family, especially to Laban and Bethuel; if you will do my master a kindness, and grant him the favour he requests, that a damsel of this family may be given for a wife to his son; and, if you are hearty and sincere in granting this, tell me at once:



and if not, tell me: if you do not choose to gratify my master, and are not hearty in this matter, let me know:



that I may turn to the right hand or to the left; look out elsewhere among the daughters of some of the other sons of Nahor; for he had seven more which Milcah bare to him besides Bethuel, as well as four others by a concubine, Ge 22:20; though some of the Jewish writers {o} by "the right hand" understand the daughters of Ishmael, that dwelt to the right, and by "the left [hand]" the daughters of Lot, who were to the left, which is not likely: it seems to be only a proverbial expression, that, if they did not choose to attend to his proposal in his master's name, he must take some other method, as he might be directed; he knew not for the present which way, whether he should steer his course to the right or left, but some way he must take. The Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,



"to the south or to the north;''



because when a man stands with his face to the east, the south is on his right hand, and the north on his left.



{o} Bereshit Rabba, sect. 60. fol. 53. 1. Jarchi in loc.





Genesis 24:50



Ver. 50. Then Laban and Bethuel answered,.... The order of the words in the original is, "then answered Laban and Bethuel"; the word for "answered" is in the singular number, from whence it may be concluded, that Laban gave the answer in the name of Bethuel, he consenting to it, who might be an old man, and left the management of his family affairs to his son, who, Aben Ezra thinks, excelled his father in wisdom and honour; but Jarchi represents him as a wicked and impudent man, who took upon him to speak before his father: but some have thought that this Bethuel was not old Bethuel, the father of Rebekah, but young Bethuel his son, the younger brother of Laban and Rebekah, their father Bethuel being dead, as Josephus says, before observed; and this seems to be countenanced by Ge 24:59, where they are represented as blessing Rebekah, and calling her their sister:



and said, the thing proceedeth from the Lord: that Rebekah should be given to Isaac, as the Targum of Jonathan adds: this matter appears to be according to his will and pleasure, he seems to have appointed it in his decree, and to be bringing it about by his providence; for these men, though they were in part idolaters yet had some good notions of the true God, and of his government of the world, and of his ordering all things in it according to the counsel of his will:



we cannot speak unto thee good or bad; cannot deny the request; the thing was so plain that they had not anything to object to it.





Genesis 24:51



Ver. 51. Behold, Rebekah [is] before thee,.... Not only was present, but she was delivered to him, or his request was granted:



take [her], and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife; not that they meant he should go away directly with her; for they afterwards solicit her stay with them some time; but they agreed that he should bare her and conduct her to Isaac, to be taken by him for his wife:



as the Lord hath spoken; for so they understood the token given to the servant to know her by, as the determination of God.





Genesis 24:52



Ver. 52. And it came to pass, that when Abraham's servant heard these words,.... That Laban and Bethuel said; and no doubt but the mother of Rebekah, and she herself consented that she should be the wife of Isaac, believing it was agreeable to the will of God:



he worshipped the Lord, [bowing himself] to the earth; in the most humble manner he prostrated himself before the Lord, acknowledging his kindness, and goodness, his faithfulness and truth, his power and his providence in this affair.





Genesis 24:53



Ver. 53. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold,.... Ornaments for women, which he had brought along with him for presents, and which were a proof of the riches of his master, and of his generosity and liberality, who had furnished him with such a profusion of rich things to bestow on the person that should be got for his son's wife:



and raiment, and gave [them] to Rebekah; costly suits of clothes such as in those times were given to persons at their marriage, or in order to it; and which custom still continues among the Arabs, who, as Dr. Shaw says {p}, have the marriage contract previously made between the parents, wherein is express mention made not only of the "saddock", as they call that particular sum which the bridegroom settles on the bride; but of the several changes of raiment, and the quantity of jewels, and the number of slaves that the bride is to be attended with when she first waits upon her husband; a gold and silver "sarmah", he says {q}, which is a thin flexible plate of gold or silver, of a triangular shape, artfully cut through and engraven in imitation of lace; one or two sets of earrings bracelets and shekels, a gold chain to hang over their breasts, with half a dozen vests, some of brocades, others of rich silk, were usually the wedding clothes of a lady of fashion. And so in Barbary, the man buys his bride a suit of apparel, earrings, bracelets, a chest, &c. and gives the father a considerable sum of money, according to the qualities and circumstances of the parties {r}:



and he gave also to her brother, and to her mother, precious things; things of worth and value, which were part of the good things he brought with him from Abraham, Ge 24:10; the word being sometimes used for fruit, Jarchi interprets it of various kinds of the fruits {s} of the land of Israel; but it is not likely that these should be carried by him on so long a journey; much better Aben Ezra understands by them honourable and costly raiment; and it is observed by some {t}, that the word in general signifies everything valuable and excellent, as gold, silver, &c. no mention being made of her father, only of her brother Laban, and of her mother, seems to confirm the notion of Josephus that he was dead; or however he concerned himself no further in this affair than to give his consent to the marriage, and left everything else to his wife and son to take care of, and therefore the presents are only made to them.



{p} Travels, p. 239. {q} Ib. No. 9. p. 229. {r} Ockley's Account of Southwest Barbary, c. 6. p. 76. {s} So R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed. fol. 76. 1. Aruch in voce dgm. {t} Ib.





Genesis 24:54



Ver. 54. And they did eat and drink, he, and the men that [were] with him,.... Every thing being settled with respect to the affair he came about, he then sat down at table, and ate of the provisions set before him; he and the men that came along with him; and refreshed themselves:



and tarried all night; lodged there all night;



and they rose up in the morning; the servant and his men:



and he said, send me away to my master; either to Abraham, who was waiting to hear what success his servant would have; or to Isaac, who also was solicitous about the matter: the sense is, that he desired leave to go away, and begged he might not be detained any longer, having now done the business he came about; still showing himself a diligent faithful servant, heartily and sincerely attached to his master's interest, and not consulting his own ease and pleasure, which might have been indulged by staying longer in a family, where he would have been entertained in a sumptuous manner.





Genesis 24:55



Ver. 55. And her brother and her mother said,.... Here her brother Laban is set before his mother, as above before his father, being the chief speaker and the principal manager of business:



let the damsel abide with us [a few] days, at the least ten; which was but a reasonable request; and if no more time is intended, it is much the servant should object, and not readily agree to it; but in the margin it is, "a full year" or "ten months"; and so Onkelos and Jonathan, and other Jewish writers {u}, who say it was customary for a virgin to have twelve months allowed her to furnish herself with ornaments; and therefore if a full year could not be admitted of, it is requested that at least ten months would be granted: this by many is thought to be unreasonable, that a servant should be desired to stay so long from his master, and especially it would not be asked, when it was perceived he was in such haste to be gone directly; but when it is observed that it was the usual custom of those times for virgins espoused to continue in their father's house a considerable time before the marriage was consummated, and that Rebekah was going into a distant country, and very likely she and her friends would never see each other, the motion will not appear so very extravagant:



after that she shall go; when that time is elapsed, but cannot think of it before.



{u} Bereshit Rabba, sect. 60. fol. 53. 2. Jarchi, Ben Gersom & Ben Melech in loc.





Genesis 24:56



Ver. 56. And he said unto them, hinder me not,.... Do not detain me, let me set forward on my journey:



seeing, the Lord hath prospered my way; succeeded him in what he came about; and by his being succeeded so well, and so soon, it seemed to be the mind of the Lord that he should hasten his journey homeward:



send me away, that I may go to my master; and carry him the good news of his success, and attend his domestic affairs, over which he was set.





Genesis 24:57



Ver. 57. And they said, we will call the damsel,.... Who perhaps through modesty had withdrawn herself to her own apartment, while the man and her friends were discoursing on this subject:



and inquire at her mouth; what she says to it, whether willing to go directly or not; the matter in question was referred to her, and left to her decision.





Genesis 24:58



Ver. 58. And they called Rebekah,.... Or ordered her to be called by one of the servants:



and said unto her, wilt thou go with this man? that is, directly; the question was not about her marriage of Isaac, that was agreed upon, and she had doubtless given her consent, and which she tacitly did by accepting of the presents, but about taking the journey immediately:



and she said, I will go; the note of Jarchi is,



"of myself, and even if you are not willing,''



which seems to make her answer rude, as well as resolute; but it must be interpreted consistent with her decent and modest behaviour, and as expressive of her agreeing to go with the man directly, having no manner of objection on her mind to it; but on the contrary found a strong inclination to it, and was determined on it; and perhaps was under a divine impulse, which strongly wrought upon her, and caused her to be so willing to leave her own people, and her father's house.





Genesis 24:59



Ver. 59. And they sent away Rebekah their sister,.... Not in a pet or angry humour, but with good will; they agreed she should go, and took their leave in a very honourable and affectionate manner. This is to be understood of her brother Laban, and of other brethren and sisters she might have; though by the connection of the words with the preceding, they seem to design her brother and mother, who spoke last; and probably all her relations are meant, who call her their sister, because so nearly related to them:



and her nurse: who had been her nurse in former times, as Aben Ezra observes, in her infancy, for whom she had a particular affection, as is often the case; her name was Deborah, as appears from Ge 35:8:



and Abraham's servant, and his men; who were dismissed in an handsome manner by the family.





Genesis 24:60



Ver. 60. And they blessed Rebekah,.... That is, her parents and her friends, they wished the best and choicest of blessings might descend upon her:



and said unto her, thou [art] our sister; the Targum of Jonathan is,



"hitherto thou hast been our sister,''



as if the relation now ceased, having entered into another; and especially as she was going away from them into a distant country, and might never see her more, it was as if she was no more to them or to be enjoyed by them:



be thou [the mother] of thousands of millions; as she was, the Edomites and Israelites both springing from her:



and let thy seed possess the gate of those that hate them; exercise dominion and authority over their enemies: let them not only be numerous, but powerful and victorious, as both the nations were at times, and especially the latter; and particularly this had its accomplishment in Christ, who sprung from her in the line of Jacob, Mt 1:2; some respect seems to be had to the promise made to Abraham, Ge 22:17; of which this family might have knowledge from Abraham's servant, who might report not only how great his master was, but what promises were made to him with respect to his posterity.





Genesis 24:61



Ver. 61. And Rebekah arose, and her damsels,.... Her maids that were given her by her parents to wait upon her, as was usual in those times and countries:



and they rode upon the camels; that Abraham's servant had brought with him:



and followed the man; who rode before and directed the way; the sense is only, that she went along with him:



and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way; took her under his care, and to be the wife of his master's son, at the hands of her friends, and then set forward on his journey.





Genesis 24:62



Ver. 62. And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi,.... The well at which the angel met with Hagar, when she fled from her mistress, Ge 16:7. The Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem say, that Isaac came from the school of Shem the great:



for he dwelt in the south country: at Beersheba, to which Abraham, it seems, was returned again; for that they dwelt together as yet, is clear from his mother Sarah's tent, into which he introduced Rebekah,

Ge 24:67; see Ge 22:19.





Genesis 24:63



Ver. 63. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at eventide,.... Both the time and place were very proper for meditation: the place, "in the field": where he might view the works of nature, and be led to the Creator of them, and the praise of him, and where he might be alone, and nothing to disturb his thoughts: and the time, "at evening"; after the labour, care, and hurry of the day were over, and before repose at night, and when the air was cool and refreshing, and everything was assisting to, and served to compose the mind, and help thought and contemplation. Onkelos and Jonathan render the word "to pray", and the time and place he chose were very fit for that service; and perhaps his thoughts in prayer might be directed to, and greatly employed in desiring success to his father's servant in the business he was gone on his account, and that he might safely and speedily arrive, and if so, his prayers were quickly answered:



and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels [were] coming; which his servant had took with him in his journey, and was now returning with them, and which Isaac knew full well.





Genesis 24:64



Ver. 64. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes,.... And looked about:



and when she saw Isaac; whom she suspected him to be, and therefore inquired of the servant, who told her who he was:



she lighted off the camel; or "fell" {w} from it, not accidentally, or through surprise, but willingly, and in honour to Isaac, as was customary; for had she sat on her camel when she met him, it would not have seemed respectful enough to him; though Jarchi thinks she did not get off, but only bowed herself upon the camel, when she came near him.



{w} lptw "et cecidit", Montanus, Drusius.





Genesis 24:65



Ver. 65. For she [had] said unto the servant,.... As soon as she saw a man walking towards them, who she thought with herself might be Isaac:



what man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? for by the course he steered, she perceived that he was coming towards them, and so concluded it must be one of the family, and probably the person she was to be married to; for otherwise, had he not by his look and motion discovered that he knew the servant, and was coming towards them, she would have took no notice of him



and the servant [had] said, it is my master: meaning not Abraham, but his son, who also was his master:



therefore she took a veil, and covered herself; both out of modesty, and as a token of subjection to him: for the veil was put on when the bride was introduced to the bridegroom, as among the Romans {x} in later times. The Arab women always have veils when they appear in public, so that their faces cannot be seen; and though in the summer months they walk abroad with less caution, yet then, upon the approach of a stranger, they put on their veils {y}.



{x} Vid. Lucan. l. 2. & Martial. Epigr. l. 2. 74. {y} See Shaw's Travels, p. 228. Tertullian. de Virgin. Veland, c. 17.





Genesis 24:66



Ver. 66. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. By what means he found out the person designed for his wife, and got knowledge of her father's house, to which he was introduced, and where he was made welcome; and what agreement he had made with the parents and relations of Rebekah to be his wife, whom he had brought with him.





Genesis 24:67



Ver. 67. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent,.... The apartment in which she dwelt when living; for women in those times and places had separate apartments from their husbands; this was done after many other things had passed, not here recorded; a conversation with her, an espousal of her, and an introduction of her to Abraham, with whose consent, no doubt, she had his wife's apartment allotted to her:



and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; consummated the marriage, first contracted by his servant, then confirmed by himself, and now finished:



and he loved her; as a man ought to love his wife, even as his own body, Eph 5:28; and she was a person to be beloved, being very fair, and of a goodly countenance, Ge 24:16. The Jews say {z} she was but fourteen years of age at this time:



and Isaac was comforted after his mother's [death]; which was three years ago, See Gill on "Ge 25:20"; and had made such impressions upon his spirit, that at times he was very sorrowful, and much distressed on that account; but now being blessed with so agreeable a yokefellow, his sorrow for his mother subsided, and he became cheerful and comfortable.



{z} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 1. p. 3.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Genesis 25:1



INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 25



This chapter contains an account of Abraham's marriage with another woman, and of the children he had by her and of their posterity

Ge 25:1; of Abraham's disposal of his substance; and his sons,

Ge 25:5; of the years of his life, his death and burial,

Ge 25:7; of the children of Ishmael, and of the years of his life, and of his death, Ge 25:12; and of the sons of Isaac the fruit of prayer, and of the oracle concerning them before they were born, and of their temper and disposition, conduct and behaviour, Ge 25:19.



Ver. 1. Then again Abraham took a wife,.... Three years after the death of Sarah, and when his son Isaac was married, and he alone, and now one hundred and forty years of age:



and her name [was] Keturah; who she was, or of what family, is not said. An Arabic writer {z} says she was a daughter of the king of the Turks; another {a} of them calls her the daughter of King Rama; and another {b} the daughter of Pactor, king of Rabbah; but there were then no such people in being. Very probably she was one of Abraham's handmaids born in his house, or bought with his money, perhaps the chief and principal of them. The Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem say she is the same with Hagar, and so, Jarchi; but this is rejected by Aben Ezra, since mention is made of Abraham's concubines, Ge 25:6; whereas it does not appear he ever had any other than Hagar and Keturah, and therefore could not be the same; and besides, the children of Hagar and Keturah are in this chapter reckoned as distinct. Cleodemus {c}, a Heathen writer, makes mention of Keturah as a wife of Abraham's, by whom he had many children, and names three of them. Sir Walter Raleigh {d} thinks, that the Kenites, of whom Jethro, the father- in-law of Moses, was, had their name from Keturah, being a nation of the Midianites that descended from her.



{z} Abul. Pharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 14. {a} Elmacinus, p. 34. apud Hottinger. Smegma, p. 309. {b} Patricides, p. 19. in ib. {c} Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 20. p. 422. {d} History of the World, l. 2. c. 4. sect. 2. p. 157.





Genesis 25:2



Ver. 2. And she bare him Zimran,.... That Keturah should bear children who probably, was a young woman, is not strange; but that Abraham, whose body forty years before this was dead should now have any bore to him, may seem difficult to account for, and only can be attributed to the fresh vigour his body was endued with at the generation of Isaac; and which still continued for the fulfilment of the promise to him of the multiplication of his seed. But if the notion of a late learned bishop {e} is right, there will be no need to have recourse to any thing extraordinary; which is, that Abraham took Keturah for his concubine, about twenty years after his marriage with Sarah, she being barren, and long before he took Hagar; though not mentioned till after the death of Sarah, that the thread of the history might not be broken in upon; and there are various things which make it probable, as that she is called his concubine, 1Ch 1:32, which one would think she should not be, if married to him after the death of Sarah, and when he had no other wife, and seeing before he died he had great grandchildren by her, and the children of her are reckoned down to the third generation; whereas there are only mention of two generations of Hagar, as in Ge 25:1; and therefore seems to have been taken by him before Hagar, and even when he was in Haran, and the children by her are thought to be the souls gotten there; nor does it seem very probable that he should take a wife after the death of Sarah, when he was one hundred and forty years of age, and was reckoned an old man forty years before this; and Dr. Lightfoot {f} is of opinion, that Abraham married her long before Isaac's marriage, or Sarah's death; and if this was the case, the difficulty of accounting for Abraham's fitness for generation vanishes. The first son of Keturah, born to him, was called Zimran, from whence came the Zamareni, a people in Arabia Felix mentioned by Pliny {g}; and hereabout the sons of Keturah settled, being sent by Abraham into the east country, even into Arabia, which lay east of the place where he then was; and very probably Zabram; or it may be rather Zamram, a royal city in the country of the Cinaedocolpites, a part of Arabia Felix, as placed by Ptolemy {h}, may have its name from this man: five more of Abraham's sons by Keturah follow,



and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah: some think that the first of these is the same with Cahtan, whom the Arabs call the father of their nation; but that Cahtan rather seems to be Joktan the son of Eber, see Ge 10:25. Philostorgius {i} speaks of a nation in his time, called Homerites, who were a people that sprung from Keturah, and inhabited Arabia Felix, and who used circumcision on the eighth day: and Bishop Patrick observes from Theophanes, a chronologer of the ninth century, that the Homerites, who lived in the interior parts of Arabia, descended from Jectan, which he conjectures should be read Jocshan, though perhaps he is no other than the Joktan before mentioned. From Medan and Midian sprung the Midianites, so often mentioned in Scripture; their posterity seem to be confounded together, for the same people are called Medanites and Midianites, Ge 37:28; from these men the towns in Arabia might have their names, as the Modiana and Madiana of Ptolemy {k}: as for Ishbak, there is no tracing of his name anywhere, unless, as Bishop Patrick observes, some footsteps of it are to be found in Bacascami, a town of the Zamareni, who descended from his brother Zimran, and in the people Backliltae, both mentioned by Pliny {l}; though Junius think that Scabiosa Laodicea, in Laodicene of Syria, has its name from him; which seems not likely. The name of Shuah or Shuach may be traced in Socacia, Soaca, and Socheher, cities placed by Ptolemy {m} in Arabia Felix: though some think the posterity of this man are those whom the geographers call Sauchites, Sauchaeans, and Saccaeans, who settled in Arabia Deserta, and from whom Bildad the Shuhite, Job 2:11, descended; which is not improbable. But others have been of opinion, that the town of Suez, which Pliny calls Suaza, had its name from this Shuah, situate at the extremity of the Red sea {n}.



{e} Dr. Clayton's Chronology of the Hebrew Bible, p. 83, &c. {f} Observations on the Book of Genesis in his Works, vol. 1. p. 695. {g} Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28. {h} Geograph. l. 6. c. 7. {i} Eccl. Hist. l. 3. sect. 4. p. 477. {k} Ut supra. ({h}) {l} Ut supra. ({g}) {m} Ut supra. ({h}) {n} See Egmont and Heyman's Travels, vol. 2. p. 184.





Genesis 25:3



Ver. 3. And Jokshan begat Sheba and Dedan,.... Bochart {o} is of opinion, that the posterity of this Sheba are the same with the Sabeans who inhabited at the entrance of Arabia Felix, not far from the Nabathaeans; and who, by Strabo {p}, are mentioned together as near to Syria, and used to make excursions on their neighbours; and not without some colour of reason thought to be the same that plundered Job of his cattle, Job 1:15. From Dedan came the Dedanim or Dedanites, spoken of with the Arabians in Isa 21:13; Junius thinks Adada in Palmyrene of Syria had its name from this man, and in which country is the mountain Aladan or Alladadan. Bochart {q} more probably takes Dedan, a city in Idumea, to derive its name from him. There is a village called Adedi in the country of the Cassanites, a people of Arabia Felix, which Ptolemy {r} makes mention of, and seems to have some appearance of this man's name:



and the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim; these names being plural are thought not to be proper names of men, but appellatives, descriptive of their places of abode, or of their business: hence the Targum of Onkelos represents them as such that dwelt in camps, in tents, and in islands; and the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem call them merchants, artificers and heads of the people: however, Cleodemus {s} the Heathen historian is wrong in deriving Assyria from Asshurim, whom he calls Ashur; since Assyria and Assyrians are so called from Ashur, the son of Shem, Ge 10:22.



{o} Phaleg. l. 2. c. 9. col. 227. {p} Geograph. l. 16. p. 536. {q} Phaleg. l. 4. c. 6. col. 219. {r} Ut supra. (Geograph. l. 6. c. 7.) {s} Apud Euseb. ut supra. (Praepar. Evangel. 9. c. 20. p. 432.)





Genesis 25:4



Ver. 4. And the sons of Midian,.... The fourth son of Abraham by Keturah; he had five sons next mentioned, who were heads of so many tribes or families in Midian: hence we read of five kings of Midian;

Nu 31:8; their names follow,



Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah: the two first of these, whom Cleodemus {t} calls Aphra and Apher, and makes them to be sons of Abraham by Keturah, when they were his grandsons, he says, from them the city Aphra, and all Africa, had their names, and that these accompanied Hercules into Lybia, he having married a daughter of Aphra. Ephah is mentioned along with Midian in Isa 60:6; but of the rest no notice is taken in Scripture. Ptolemy {u} makes mention both of a mountain, and of a village, near Madiana in Arabia Felix, called Hippos, which perhaps had their name from this man. Some trace of Epher is thought to be in Taphuron which Philostorgius says {w} was the metropolis of the Homerites, before mentioned; and Arrianus, as Bishop Patrick observes, expressly says, the metropolis of the Homerites, is called Aphar: to which may be added, that Ptolemy {x} speaks of a people called Tappharites, near the Homerites. Hanoch, the next son, is thought to have some footsteps of his name in Cane, a mart, which Ptolemy {y} places in the country of the Adramites in Arabia Felix, and also in the country of Canauna in Arabia, mentioned by, Pliny {z}: near Cananua is placed, by the same writer, the island Devadae, called by Philostorgius {a} dibouv, "Divus", in which it is supposed there is some trace of the name of Abidah, by an inversion of the two last syllables; and perhaps also in Abissa, which Ptolemy {b} places in the country of the Sachalites in Arabia Felix. As for Eldaah, Bishop Patrick thinks there are no remains of this name, unless in the city of Elana, from whence there was a gulf called Elanites, and a people that lived there Elanitae; but one would think there are some traces of it in the cities Alata, Lattha, and Leaththa, all, according to Ptolemy {c}, in Arabia Felix:



all these [were] the children of Keturah; her children and grandchildren.



{t} Apud Euseb. ut supra. (Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 20. p. 432.) {u} Ut supra. (Geograph. l. 6. c. 7.) {w} Eccl. Hist. l. 3. sect. 4. 478. {x} Ut supra. ({u}) {y} lb. {z} Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28. {a} Ut supra, ({w}) sect. 3. {b} Ut supra. ({u}) {c} lb.





Genesis 25:5



Ver. 5. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. By his last will and testament; not all out of his own hand, while he lived, at least he reserved somewhat for himself, and for gifts to his other children; so his servant declared to the parents and friends of Rebekah, Ge 24:35; wherefore some render the words here "had given" {d}; or the sense is, that he had at that time purposed and promised to give all that he had to Isaac, and now he actually did it.



{d} Ntn "dederat", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.





Genesis 25:6



Ver. 6. But unto the sons of the concubines which Abraham had,.... These were Hagar and Keturah, though they are both called his wives,

Ge 16:3; yet they were concubines; so Keturah, 1Ch 1:32; they were, as some render the word, "concubine wives" {e}; they were half wives or secondary ones: the Jewish writers say that they were espoused, but not by writing, as wives were; they were under the lawful wife, when there were any, and a kind of head servants in the family, and their children did not inherit; now the sons of the concubines of Abraham were Ishmael by Hagar, and the six above mentioned by Keturah: to these



Abraham gave gifts; money, gold and silver, of which he had plenty: the Targum of Jonathan calls them substance and movable goods; by this it appears, that though he had sent Ishmael away without anything, yet he afterwards remembered him, and gave him a portion with the rest of the children of his, concubines:



and sent them away from Isaac his son; that they might not be troublesome to him and his family; and that there, might be no contention among them about inheriting the land of Canaan given to him and his seed: and this Abraham did



while he yet lived; or otherwise after his death a separation would not have been easily made; but his authority had weight with them: and they were sent by him



eastward, into the east country; into Arabia, and the parts thereabout, which lay east from the place where Abraham was; these are the children of the east, mentioned along with the Midianites, who sprung from Keturah, Jud 6:3.



{e} Myvglyph "concubinarum uxorum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.





Genesis 25:7



Ver. 7. And these [are] the days of the years of Abraham's life, which he lived,.... Being about to die, an account is given of his age, which was



an hundred threescore and fifteen years; one hundred and seventy years; so that Isaac was now seventy five years of age, for he was born when Abraham was an hundred years old, and Jacob and Esau must how be fifteen years of age at this time, since they were born when Isaac was sixty years of age, Ge 25:26; and Ishmael must be eighty nine years old; it may be observed, that as Abraham was seventy five years old when he went from Haran into the land of Canaan, Ge 12:4; he had been just an hundred years a sojourner in this country.





Genesis 25:8



Ver. 8. Then Abraham gave up the ghost,.... Very readily and cheerfully, without any previous sickness or present pain, but through the decay of nature by reason of old age, in a very easy quiet manner:



and died in a good old age, an old man; for quantity, in those times few arriving to a greater; for quality, not attended with those inconveniences and disadvantages with which old age generally is, and therefore called evil:



and full [of years]; in the original it is only, "and full"; the Targum of Jonathan adds, "of all good"; temporal and spiritual, with which he was filled and satisfied; or he had had enough of life, and was willing to depart, and was full of desires after another and better world:



and was gathered to his people; which is to be understood not of his interment, there being only the body of Sarah in the sepulchre in which he was laid; but of the admission of his soul into the heavenly state upon its separation from the body, when it was at once associated with the spirits of just men made perfect. The Arabic writers {f} say that he died in the month of Nisan, others say Adar, in the year of the world 3563; but, according to Bishop Usher, he died A. M. 2183, and before Christ 1821.



{f} Elmacinus, p. 34. Patricides, p. 21. Apud Hottinger. Smegma Oriental. p. 315.





Genesis 25:9



Ver. 9. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah,.... Isaac, though the younger brother, is set first, because he was born of the lawful wife of Abraham, the free woman, whereas Ishmael was born of a concubine and a bondwoman; Isaac was heir not only to Abraham's temporal estate, but of the promise made concerning the Messiah, (not so Ishmael,) and was on all accounts the greater man. It appears from hence, that, though them had been a quarrel between Ishmael and Isaac, and the latter had been persecuted by the former, yet the difference was now made up, and they were reconciled, at least they agreed in this act of showing their last respect to their father; and that, though Ishmael had been expelled his father's house, yet he was not at any great distance from him, and there was a correspondence between him and his father; nor was he forgotten by him, as is clear from Ge 25:6; and he retained a filial affection for him; and Jarchi from hence concludes, that he was a penitent and a good man. The place where these two brothers buried their father was the cave of Machpelah,



in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, which [is] before Mamre; see Ge 23:8; wherefore very false is the tradition of the Mahometans {g}, that Abraham's sepulchre is at Mecca, which they, now show, and stands about twelve paces from the temple there, enclosed with iron rails.



{g} Pitt's Account of the Religion of the Mahometans, c. 7. p. 93.





Genesis 25:10



Ver. 10. The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth,.... Of one of them, Ephron, the rest being witnesses of it, Ge 23:16;



there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife; Sarah had been buried there thirty eight years before, which was the reason why his sons buried, him there; if he died in Beersheba, as seems probable, see

Ge 24:62; from thence to Hebron were sixteen miles {h}; so far was he carried to be interred.



{h} Bunting's Travels, p. 57.





Genesis 25:11



Ver. 11. And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac,.... Yet more and more, both with spiritual and temporal blessings; showing hereby, that, though Abraham was dead, he was not unmindful of his covenant, which should be established with Isaac, Ge 17:19:



and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi; which was near the wilderness of Beersheba and Paran, where Ishmael dwelt; so that they were not far from one another, see Ge 16:14.





Genesis 25:12



Ver. 12. Now these [are] the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son,.... Or the genealogy of his posterity; and which is given to show that the Lord was not unmindful of his promise made to Abraham, concerning the multiplication of his seed, Ge 16:10:



whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham; see

Ge 16:1.





Genesis 25:13



Ver. 13. And these [are] the names of the sons of Ishmael,.... After mentioned: by their names, according to their generations; which were imposed upon them at their birth, and are recited according to the order in which they were born, as follows:



the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth: mentioned in Isa 60:7; and from whence a people of the Arabs are called Nabathaeans, and their country Nabathaea. Josephus {i} says, that all the country from Euphrates to the Red sea is called the Nabatene country. The posterity of this man inhabited part of Arabia Deserta and of Arabia Petraea, even to the entrance of Arabia Felix. Strabo {k} reckons the Nabataeans among the Arabians, and calls Petra the metropolis of Arabia Petraea, Petra Nabataea, and Petra of the Arabian Nabataeans, who he says dwelt about Syria, and often made excursions into it; and observes, that their country is populous and abounds with pastures; hence the rams of Nebaioth, mentioned in Isa 60:7; Pliny also {l} places them in Arabia, and says they inhabit the town called Petra, and that they border upon Syria.



And Kedar is the second son of Ishmael; and the posterity of this man and their country are reckoned in Arabia by Isaiah, Isa 21:13; and they are so well known to be Arabians, that the Arabic language is most frequently, in Jewish writings, called the language of Kedar. These are the people whom Pliny {m} names Cedrei, and mentions them along with the Nabathaeans, as near unto them, and indeed they dwelt in the same country, Arabia Petraea, and in tents, living by pasturage, hence they are sometimes called Scenites; and mention is made of the tents of Kedar in So 1:5; these are the Scenite Arabs, called Saracens by Ammianus Marcellinus {n}. Two other sons of Ishmael follow:



and Adbeel and Mibsam; of whom no mention is made elsewhere, nor are there any traces of their names, unless the Agubeni, placed by Ptolemy {o} near Arabia Felix.



{i} Antiqu. l. 1. c. 12. sect. 4. {k} Geograph. l. 16. p. 528, 534, 536. {l} Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 11. & l. 6. c. 28. & l. 12. c. 17. {m} lbid. l. 5. c. 11. {n} L. 22. p. 228. l. 23. p. 250. Ed. Vales. {o} Geograph. l. 5. c. 19.





Genesis 25:14



Ver. 14. And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa. Of Mishma and Massa, and of their posterity, there is not anything said elsewhere, unless the Masani, Ptolemy {p} places near Arabia Felix, came from Massa. Dumah seems to be the same Isaiah speaks of in Ge 21:11; and in Arabia Deserta, where some of Ishmael's posterity settled, is a place called Dumaetha, by Ptolemy {q}, which perhaps had its name from this son of his. The Targum of Jonathan translates these three names,



"hearing, silence, and patience;''



which the Jews use as a proverb, when they would signify that there are some things to be heard and not spoken of, and to be patiently borne. If Ishmael had in view to teach such lessons by the names he gave his children, he will seem to be a better man than he is usually thought to be.



{p} Georaph. l. 16. p. 528. 534. 536. {q} lbid.





Genesis 25:15



Ver. 15. Hadar and Tema,.... From the first of these the city Adra in Arabia Petraea, and from the other the city Themma in Arabia Deserta, both mentioned by Ptolemy {r}, may be thought to have their names; or the city Adari and the Athritae in Arabia Felix {s}; and the inhabitants of the land of Tema are mentioned as Arabians,

Isa 21:13; and Pliny {t} speaks of a people called Thimaneans, whom he says the ancients joined to the Nabathaeans: the troops of Tema mentioned in Job were of this people, Job 6:19; and Eliphaz the Temanite, Job 2:11, is thought by some not to be the descendant of Teman the grandson of Esau, but to be of this man's people and country. The three last sons follow:



Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah; the two first of these are reckoned among the Hagarites, as the Ishmaelites were sometimes called, 1Ch 5:19; from Jetur came the Itureans, whom Pliny {u} places in Coelesyria; and their country Iturea is reckoned by Strabo {w} along with Arabia; and the Ithyreans with Virgil {x} are famous for their bows, as Ishmael and his posterity were for archery in all ages, and still are,

See Gill on "Ge 21:20". As for the posterity of Naphish and Kedomah, we have no account elsewhere, nor any traces of their names, unless those of the latter should be meant by the men of the east, or the men of Kedem, Jer 49:28, which is not improbable, since they are mentioned with the posterity of Kedar the second son of Ishmael; and the Nubaeans by Lebanon may be from Naphish.



{r} Geograph. l. 5. c. 17, 19. {s} Ibid. l. 6. c. 7. {t} Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28. {u} Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 23. {w} Geograph. l. 16. p. 520. {x} Georgic. l. 2. ver. 448.





Genesis 25:16



Ver. 16. These [are] the sons of Ishmael,.... The twelve before mentioned, Ge 25:13:



these [are] their names, by their towns and by their castles; their towns and their castles being called after their names, some of which we are able to trace at this distance, as the above notes show:



twelve princes according to their nations; these were princes, or heads of tribes, and there were twelve of them, and continued so, see

Ge 17:20; where is the prophecy, and here an accomplishment of it.





Genesis 25:17



Ver. 17. And these [are] the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years,.... one hundred and thirty seven years old. So that he lived forty eight years after the death of Abraham,

Ge 25:8; and, though he did not live to be so old as he, yet it was a considerable age he attained unto, See Gill on "Ge 25:7":



and he gave up the ghost and died, and was gathered unto his people; some of the same expressions being used of him as of his father,

Ge 25:8, have led some to conclude that he was a penitent and died a good man, and was gathered to the same people; but these phrases are used both of good and bad men.





Genesis 25:18



Ver. 18. And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur,.... That is, the posterity of Ishmael, whose country reached from one place to the other; not from India to Chaluza, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem; but the extent is that vast desert of Arabia, which eastward was called the wilderness of Havilah, and westward the wilderness of Shur; so that they inhabited it from east to west:



that [is] before Egypt, as thou goest to Assyria; which last place was over against Egypt, and bordered on that part where lies the way to the land of Assyria:



[and] he died in the presence of all his brethren; they being present when he died, or in peace with them, in all prosperity along with them: but since his death is spoken of before, and here the situation of his posterity, the words may be read, "it fell {y} in the presence of his brethren"; his lot, or the habitation of his posterity fell by lot between his brethren the Egyptians on one side of him, and the Israelites on the other; or between the sons of Keturah on the east, and the posterity of Isaac on the west.



{y} lpn "cecidit habitatio ipsi", Schmidt; "cecidit sors ejus", Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Ben Gersom, and Ben Melech.





Genesis 25:19



Ver. 19. And these [are] the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son,.... Moses, having given the genealogy of Ishmael and his posterity, returns to Isaac, the other son of Abraham, with whom and his children the following part of his history is chiefly, if not altogether concerned:



Abraham begat Isaac; for the further confirmation of his being his proper legitimate son this clause is added.





Genesis 25:20



Ver. 20. And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife,.... Which was three years after the death of his mother; Isaac was born when she was ninety, and therefore must be thirty seven when she died. The Jews say Rebekah was but fourteen, though it is highly probable she was older; who is described as



the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian, of Padanaram; so called to distinguish it from other Arams, as Aram of Damascus, &c. this seems to be the same with Aram Naharaim, or Mesopotamia, which lay between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris; for Padan, as Jarchi observes from the Targum, signifies two; but rather, as he, and Aben Ezra, and others say, Padan in the Arabic language signifies a field; it here intends the field or country of Syria, as in Ho 12:12. Haran, in Syria or Mesopotamia, was the place where Bethuel and Laban lived, see

Ge 28:5. Some traces of Padan in Mesopotamia are thought to be in the cities of Aphphadana and Aphadana, which are placed by Ptolemy {z} in that country. Moreover, Rebekah is also said to be



the sister to Laban the Syrian, the son of Bethuel, who are both called Syrians, because they now lived in Syria: otherwise they were originally Chaldees, being descended from Nahor the brother of Abraham, who both were of Ur of the Chaldees; so Jacob is called a Syrian, because he lived long in the same place, De 26:5.



{z} Geograph. l. 5. c. 18.





Genesis 25:21



Ver. 21. And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife,.... Was very earnest and constant in his supplications for her, as the word signifies, as is observed by Jarchi; or, "before his wife" {a}, she being present, and joining with him in his prayers: the reason was,



because she [was] barren; which appeared by the length of time they had been married, which was near twenty years, see Ge 25:26. The Jewish writers {b} say, that, after twenty years, Isaac took her and went with her to Mount Moriah, to the place where he was bound, and prayed that she might conceive; putting the Lord in mind of the promise he there made of the multiplication of Abraham's seed, Ge 22:17:



and the Lord was entreated of him; he granted him his request; for, though God has purposed and promised to do many things for his people, yet he will be sought unto by them to do them for them:



and Rebekah his wife conceived; two sons at once, as it follows.



{a} wtva xknl "praesente uxore sua", Munster, Fagins. {b} Pirke Eliezer, c. 32. Targum. Jon. in loc. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 3. 1.





Genesis 25:22



Ver. 22. And the children struggled together within her,.... When she was quick with child: this was some time before her delivery, and was not a common and ordinary motion felt by women in such circumstances, but an extraordinary one; the two children in her strove with each other, as if it was for mastery, or who should get out first before the proper time; which not only gave her great uneasiness of mind, but pain of body: this was an emblem of the future difference between those two children, Esau and Jacob, and of the contentions that would be between their respective offspring, and of the enmity and war between good and bad men in all ages, and of the conflict between flesh and spirit in all good men:



and she said, if [it be] so, why [am] I thus? that is, either if it be so with me as is not with others in the like condition; for, as Aben Ezra suggests, she had inquired of other women, whether it had ever been so with them, and they replied, no: then, says she, how comes it to pass that it should be different with me from others? or, if those children by struggling should kill one another, or be abortive and kill me, why should I have been so desirous of conception? or prayed for it, as Jarchi observes? or, if so it is, and this will be the case, "why am I thus" {c}? this unhappy woman, to be in such circumstances, to endure so much pain, and to no purpose? why have I conceived and carried my burden so long, and at last cannot be delivered, or bring forth a live child? all my prayers and pains have been in vain:



and she went to inquire of the Lord; to the school of Shem the great, say the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, and so Jarchi: the Arabic writers say {d}, she inquired of Melchizedek; and, according to Aben Ezra, of some prophet, or of Abraham, who lived fifteen years after this event: and indeed, if she inquired of any particular person of note for religion, and as a prophet, there is none so likely as he, who was the friend of God, and had great intimacy with him, and to whom he revealed his secrets. But perhaps no more is meant by it, than that she went either to some proper and private place, and prayed unto the Lord that he would show her the reason of what had happened unto her; or to some public place of worship, and where prayer was wont to be made, and where she inquired by means of such as were engaged therein concerning this matter; see Ps 73:17.



{c} ykna hz hml "eur ego hoc?" Tigurine version, Montanus, Fagius. {d} Patricides, apud Hottinger, Smegma Oriental. p. 335. Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 15.





Genesis 25:23



Ver. 23. And the Lord said unto her,.... Either by one or other of the above persons she acquainted with this affair, and entreated to seek the Lord for her; or by an impulse upon her own mind:



two nations [are] in thy womb; or two persons, from whom two nations will spring, the Edomites and Israelites, the one from Esau, the other from Jacob:



and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; different in their bodies, complexions, manner of life, religion, as well as place of abode:



and [the one] people shall be stronger than [the other] people: the Edomites, the posterity of Esau, were a very potent people, and had a succession of dukes and kings, before the Israelites, the posterity of Jacob, made any figure in the world, and while they were slaves in Egypt, see Ge 36:1; though in later times the Israelites became the stronger:



and the elder, or "greater",



shall serve the younger, or "lesser": the offspring of Esau, the eldest, should become tributary to the posterity of Jacob, the younger; which was verified in the times of David, when the Edomites were subdued by him, 2Sa 8:14; and still more in the times of Hyrcanus, when the Edomites or Idumeans became one people with the Jews, and embraced their religion {e}, rather than to be dispossessed of their country; and will have a further accomplishment in the latter day, when the prophecies in Ob 1:18 shall be fulfilled. Of the use which the Apostle Paul makes of this passage, See Gill on "Ro 9:11",

See Gill on "Ro 9:12".



{e} Joseph. Antiqu. l. 13. c. 9. sect. 1.





Genesis 25:24



Ver. 24. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled,.... The nine months were up from the time of her conception; or, as the Targum of Jonathan, when the two hundred and seventy days she went with child were completed:



behold, [there were] twins in her womb; as was perceived by the midwife; a double mercy was granted, more given than asked for; probably only one child was asked for, but two given.





Genesis 25:25



Ver. 25. And the first came out red,.... Either his body, or rather the hair it was covered with, red; which was a sign, as Jarchi observes, that he would be a shedder of blood, fierce and cruel as were he and his posterity:



all over like an hairy garment; his body was all over full of hair, which stood as thick as a garment made of hair, and was a sign of the roughness of his disposition, as well as of the strength of his body:



and they called his name Esau; his parents, and those present at his birth, all that saw him thus covered with hair; for he had his name not from the colour of his body or hair; for the word does not signify "red", but comes from a word which signifies "to make", he being a "maker": that made his way out before his brother, or an active man as afterwards, or because of his hair was "made" or born more like a man than a child; and so the Targum adds,



"because he was wholly perfect, with the hair of his head and beard, and with his teeth and grinders:''



but chiefly because of his hairiness, for Esau in the Arabic language signifies "covered" {f}, as he was with hair: some say, a word in that language signifies a hairy garment made of camel's hair {g}.



{f} "texit", "operuit", Castel. col. 2930. {g} Vid. Stockium. p. 923.





Genesis 25:26



Ver. 26. And after that came his brother out,.... Out of his mother's womb, either by his own strength, or by the help of the midwife:



and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; to pluck him back and get out first; and this was not casual, but was so ordered in Providence, and had a meaning and mystery in it:



and his name was called Jacob; by his parents and others, and that for the above reason, because he took his brother by the heel, which his name has the signification of, and Esau has respect to in Ge 27:36:



and Isaac [was] threescore years old when she bare them; and so it was twenty years after he had been married to her; so long was his faith tried and exercised about the promised seed that was to spring from him.





Genesis 25:27



Ver. 27. And the boys grew,.... In stature, became strong and fit for business, and betook themselves to different employments:



and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field: whose business lay in tilling and sowing it, which his father Isaac followed sometimes; or rather he chose to range about the field and hunt after beasts and birds, in which he was very expert, and contrived traps and snares to catch them in; and this course of life was most agreeable to his temper and disposition, being active, fierce, and cruel; according to the Targum of Jonathan, he was also a hunter and slayer of men, Nimrod and Henoch his son:



and Jacob was a plain man; an honest plain hearted man, whose heart and tongue went together; a quiet man, that gave no disturbance to others; a godly man, sincere, upright, and perfect, that had the truth of grace and holiness in him, as well as the perfect righteousness of his Redeemer on him:



dwelling in tents; keeping at home and attending the business of the family, as we afterwards find him boiling pottage, Ge 25:29; or rather this denotes his pastoral life, being a shepherd, he dwelt in tents, which could be removed from place to place for the convenience of pasturage: Jarchi's note is,



"in the tent of Shem and in the tent of Eber;''



agreeably to the Targum of Jonathan,



"a minister in the school of Shem, seeking doctrine from the Lord;''



a student there, where he resided awhile, in order to be instructed in the doctrines of truth and righteousness.





Genesis 25:28



Ver. 28. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of [his] venison,.... Better than Jacob, not only because he was his firstborn, but because he brought him of the flesh of creatures, which he took in hunting, and being dressed, were savoury food to him: it is in the original, "because venison (or what he hunted) [was] in his mouth" {h}, into which he put it, and was very grateful to his taste:



but Rebekah loved Jacob; more than Esau, being more at home with her, and of a milder disposition; and more especially being a good man, a partaker of the grace of God, and to whom she knew by the oracle the blessing and promise belonged.



{h} wypb dyu yk "quia venatio in ore ejus", Pagninus, Montanus.





Genesis 25:29



Ver. 29. And Jacob sod pottage,.... Or boiled broth; this he did at a certain time, for this was not his usual employment; the Targum of Jonathan says, it was on the day in which Abraham died; and whereas this pottage was made of lentiles, as appears from Ge 25:34; this the Jewish writers {i} say was the food of mourners; and so this circumstance furnishes out a reason for Jacob's boiling pottage of lentiles at this time: and hence also they {k} gather, that Jacob and Esau were now fifteen years of age; for Abraham was an hundred years old when Isaac was born, and Isaac was sixty at the birth of his sons; and Abraham lived to be one hundred and seventy five, and therefore Esau and Jacob must be fifteen years old when he died:



and Esau came from the field, and be [was] faint: for want of food, and weary with hunting, and perhaps more so, having toiled and got nothing.



{i} Pirke Eliezer, c. 35. {k} Seder Olam Rabba, p. 3. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 5. 1.





Genesis 25:30



Ver. 30. And Esau said to Jacob, feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [pottage],.... Or, "with that same red {l}, red"; not knowing what it was, or what it was made of, and therefore only calls it by its colour; and the word being doubled, may denote that it was very red; or he, being in haste and greedy of it through hunger, repeats it in a quick and short way: this pottage was made of lentiles, as we learn from Ge 25:34; which sort of food was much in use with the Egyptians, Egypt abounding with lentiles; and particularly Alexandria was famous for them, from whence they were carried into other countries, as Austin {m} relates. The lentiles of Pelusium, a city in Egypt, are made mention of by Virgil {n} and Martial {o}, for which that place was famous; where, as Servius says {p}, lentiles were first found, or where they grew the best; and, in the Misnah {q}, an Egyptian lentil is spoken of, as neither large nor small, but middling. Pliny {r} speaks of two sorts of it in Egypt, and says he found it in some authors, that eating of these makes men even tempered, good humoured, and patient; and observes {s}, that they delight in red earth, or where there is much ruddle, or red ochre, from whence they may receive a red tincture; and the pottage made of them is of such a colour. And Dr. Shaw {t} says, that lentiles dissolve easily into a mass, and make a pottage or soup of a chocolate colour, much used in the eastern countries: and, as Scheuchzer observes {u}, coffee is of the bean kind, and not unlike a lentil, and makes a red decoction. The colour of it took with Esau, as well as it was sweet and savoury, as Athenaeus {w} reports; and especially, he being faint and hungry, desires his brother to give him some of it, and even to feed him with it:



for I [am] faint; so faint that he could not feed himself, or however wanted immediate sustenance, and could not wait till other food he had used to live upon was dressed:



therefore was his name called Edom; not from his red hair, but from this red pottage; for Edom signifies "red", and is the same with the names Pyrrhus and Rufus.



{l} hzh Mdah Mdah-Nm "de rufo, rufo isto", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; so Piscator, Schmidt. {m} Comment. in Psal. xlvi. tom. 8. p. 174. {n} Virgil. Georgic. l. 1. ver. 228. {o} Martial. l. 13. epigr. 9. {p} In Virgil. ut supra. (Georgic. l. 1. ver. 228) {q} Misn. Celim. c. 17. sect. 8. {r} Nat. Hist. l. 18. c. 12. {s} lbid. c. 17. {t} Travels, p. 140. Ed. 2. {u} Physica Sacra, vol. 1. p. 78. {w} Deipno Sophist. l. 4. c. 14, 15.





Genesis 25:31



Ver. 31. And Jacob said, sell me this day thy birthright. Which had many privileges annexed to it, as honour and authority in the family next to parents; a double portion of inheritance; some say the exercise of priesthood, but that is questioned; the parental blessing, and especially in this the promises of the Messiah, and of inheritance of the land of Canaan, and which was typical of the heavenly inheritance: all which Rebekah knew by the divine oracle were designed for Jacob, and which no doubt she had acquainted him with, and advised him to deal with his brother about parting with his birthright as he had opportunity; and very likely they had talked together about it before in a distant manner, and Esau had shown some indifference to his right, and made no great account of it; and now, an opportunity offering to get him in the mind to part with it, he takes it, and moves for a sale of it immediately, at once, without any more delay, and even before he had his pottage; thus taking the advantage of his brother's necessity: or, sell it me "as the day" {x}, let the bargain be as clear as the day, as Jarchi interprets it; let it be made in plain and full terms, that there may be no dispute about it hereafter, or any revocation of it: but the former sense seems best, as appears from Ge 25:33, where the same way of speaking is used.



{x} Mwyk "juxta hunc diem", Fagius, Drusius.





Genesis 25:32



Ver. 32. And Esau said, behold, I [am] at the point to die,.... Or, "going to die" {y}, going the way of all flesh; which he might say on account of the common frailty and mortality of man, and the brevity of life at most, or by reason of the danger of life he was always exposed to in hunting of wild beasts, as Aben Ezra suggests; or rather, because of his present hunger and faintness, which, unless immediately relieved, must issue in death. Dr. Lightfoot {z} thinks it was now the time of the famine spoken of in the following chapter, Ge 26:1:



and what profit shall this birthright do to me? a dying man, or when dead? In such a case, all the privileges of it in course would devolve on Jacob; and as for the promises of the Messiah, and of the land of Canaan, made to Abraham and his seed, these seemed to be at a great distance, and if he lived ever so long might never enjoy them; and therefore judged it most advisable to consult his present interest, and have something in hand, than to trust to futurity; and, by thus saying, he signified an entire willingness to part with his birthright on the terms proposed.



{y} twml Klwh "vadens ad moriendum", Montanus. {z} Works, vol. 1. p. 15, 696.





Genesis 25:33



Ver. 33. And Jacob said, swear unto me this day,.... For the more sure and certain confirmation of the bargain; and by this oath oblige himself to let him peaceably enjoy the birthright, nor seek to revoke it, or dispute it with him, or disturb him in the possession of it:



and he sware unto him; that he would abide by the bargain, and never give him any trouble on that account; and hereby he made it over to Jacob as firm as it could be; God himself being appealed to as a witness of it, whose will it was that Jacob should have the birthright, the blessing, and the promises:



and he sold his birthright unto Jacob; with all the privileges and appurtenances of it, and that for one morsel of meat, as in Heb 12:16.





Genesis 25:34



Ver. 34. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles,.... This shows what the pottage was made of, of which see Ge 25:30; and that Jacob gave to Esau more than he asked and bargained for, bread as well as pottage; but neither of them until the bargain was made and swore to, and be had got the birthright secured unto him; as cunning as Esau, and as simple and plain as Jacob were, the latter outwitted the former, and was too crafty for him:



and he did eat, and drink, and rose up, and went his way; following his former course of life, without any remorse of conscience, reflection of mind, or repentance for what he had done; for though he afterwards carefully sought the blessing with tears he had parted with, yet not until his father was upon his deathbed, Heb 12:17;



thus Esau despised [his] birthright; by setting it at so mean a price, and by not repenting of it when he had so done; having no regard especially to spiritual blessings, to the Messiah, and to the heavenly inheritance, eternal glory and happiness by Christ: the Jerusalem Targum adds,



"and he despised his part in the world to come, and denied the resurrection of the dead;''



and the Targum of Jonathan on Ge 25:29 says, that



"on that day he committed five transgressions; he performed strange worship (or committed idolatry), he shed innocent blood, he lay with a virgin betrothed, he denied the life of the world to come (or a future state), and despised the birthright;''



which confirms the character the apostle gives of him, that he was a fornicator and a profane person, Heb 12:16.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Genesis 26:1



INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 26



This chapter treats of Isaac's removal to Gerar, occasioned by a famine, Ge 26:1; of the Lord's appearance to him there, advising him to sojourn in that place, and not go down to Egypt; renewing the covenant he had made with Abraham, concerning giving that country to him and his seed, Ge 26:2; of what happened unto him at Gerar on account of his wife, Ge 26:7; of Isaac's great prosperity and success, which drew the envy of the Philistines upon him, Ge 26:12; of his departure from hence to the valley of Gerar, at the instance of Abimelech; and of the contentions between his herdsmen, and those of Gerar, about wells of water, which caused him to remove to Beersheba,

Ge 26:16; of the Lord's appearance to him there, renewing the above promise to him, where he built an altar, pitched his tent, and his servants dug a well, Ge 26:24; of Abimelech's coming to him thither, and making a covenant with him, Ge 26:26; which place had its name from the oath then made, and the well there dug,

Ge 26:32; and lastly, of the marriage of Esau, which was a great grief to Isaac and Rebekah, Ge 26:34.



Ver. 1. And there was a famine in the land,.... In the land of Canaan, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it;



besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham; of which see

Ge 12:10; which was an hundred years before this;



and Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, unto Gerar; where his father Abraham had sojourned before he was born; and therefore the present king of this place can scarce be thought to be the same Abimelech that was king of it in Abraham's time; but it is highly probable that this Abimelech was the son of the former king, and that this was a common name to the kings of Gerar or the Philistines, as Pharaoh was to the kings of Egypt. Isaac came to this place from Lahairoi, where he had dwelt many years, see Ge 24:62; which was at or near Beersheba, and was about eight miles from Gerar {a}.



{a} Bunting's Travels, p. 70.





Genesis 26:2



Ver. 2. And the Lord appeared unto him,.... In a vision or dream, when he was at Gerar:



and said, go not down into Egypt; as his father had done in the like case, and where Isaac thought to have gone, and the rather, as that was a fruitful country; and so the Targum of Jonathan,



"and it was in the heart of Isaac to go down into Egypt, and the Lord appeared unto him, &c.''



and charged him not to go thither; partly to try his faith in him, and dependence on his providence for support in this time of famine, and partly lest he should think of continuing there, and be unmindful of the promise of the land of Canaan to Abraham's seed:



dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of; even the land of Canaan, which he was now about to give him on account of the promise of it to Abraham and his seed, and to renew it to him and to his seed.





Genesis 26:3



Ver. 3. Sojourn in this land,.... The land of Canaan, where he now was; either in Gerar, which though in the land of the Philistines was a part of Canaan, the place of his present residence; or in any other part of it he should be directed to: however, by this it appears it was the pleasure of God that he should not go out of that land, and which Abraham his father was careful of, that he should not while he lived; see Ge 24:6:



and I will be with thee, and I will bless thee; with his presence; with protection from all enemies; with a supply of all the necessaries of life; and with all spiritual blessings, and with eternal life and happiness:



for unto thee, and to thy seed, will I give these countries; inhabited at that time by the Philistines, Canaanites, and the several tribes of them:



and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; concerning the promise of the Messiah from him and his seed, the gift of the land of Canaan to them, and the multiplication of them,

Ge 22:16.





Genesis 26:4



Ver. 4. And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven,.... Meaning in the line of Jacob especially, if not only; from whom sprung twelve patriarchs, the heads of so many tribes, which in process of time became very numerous, even as the stars of heaven:



and I will give unto thy seed all these countries; which is repeated from Ge 26:3 for the greater confirmation of it:



and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; meaning in the Messiah that should spring from him, see Ge 22:18.





Genesis 26:5



Ver. 5. Because that Abraham obeyed my voice,.... In all things, and particularly in offering up his son at his command:



and kept my charge; whatever was given him in charge to observe; this, as Aben Ezra thinks, is the general, of which the particulars follow:



my commandments, my statutes, and my laws; whether moral, ceremonial, or civil and judicial; all and everyone which God enjoined him, he was careful to observe. Here seems to be something wanting, for the words are not to be joined with the preceding, as if Abraham's obedience was the cause of the above promises made to Isaac, or to himself: but this is mentioned rather as an example to Isaac, and to stir him up to do the like, as if it was said, because or seeing that Abraham thy father did so and so, do thou likewise.





Genesis 26:6



Ver. 6. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar. Continued there; in this he was obedient to the command and will of God.





Genesis 26:7



Ver. 7. And the men of the place asked [him] of his wife,.... The inhabitants of Gerar inquired of Isaac who she was, whether she was his wife or not, or in what relation she stood in to him; this was not a mere civil inquiry, but what arose from the prevalence of lust in them towards her; and yet it was under some restraint, they being not so abandoned to their lusts as to exercise them upon any; not upon a man's wife, the sin of adultery being detestable to them, though that of fornication was made no account of by them:



and he said, she [is] my sister; herein imitating his father Abraham in his infirmity and unbelief, who in the same place had made such an answer to a like question concerning Sarah, Ge 20:1; and which if Isaac knew of, as probably he did, one would wonder that he should fall into the same evil, and especially when he had not so much to say to support his assertion as Abraham had; for Rebekah was not so near akin to him as Sarah was to Abraham; and though cousins might be called sisters, yet this was mere dissimulation to call his wife sister, and was done with an intention to deceive, and therefore not justifiable:



for he feared to say, [she is] my wife; which was the real truth; but the fear of men, which brings a snare, led him to this, and from which good men are not always free:



lest, [said he], that is, within himself, in his own mind; and so the Targum of Jonathan, he thought in his heart;



the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; that they might marry her, one or other of them; for, it seems, they had not so great a sense of the sin of murder, as of adultery:



because she [was] fair to look upon; which he feared would be a temptation to them, and stir up their impure desires after her, in order to gratify which he was afraid they would kill him; Rebekah retaining her beauty still, though she had been married in all probability forty years or more, see Ge 24:16.





Genesis 26:8



Ver. 8. And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time,.... Perhaps some years: for though it is in the original, "when days were prolonged to him there" {b}; yet days are sometimes put for years:



that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window; in his own palace, near to which, in all likelihood, were the apartments that Isaac and Rebekah dwelt in; and this he did accidentally, and not out of curiosity, or with any intention to observe or pry into the behaviour and conduct of these two persons one towards the other:



and saw, and, behold, Isaac [was] sporting with Rebekah his wife; laughing and joking with her, which by his motions and gestures, and the airs and freedoms he took, Abimelech could perceive were such as were not usual between brothers and sisters, though honest and lawful between man and wife; such as embracing her in his arms, and frequently kissing her, and the like.



{b} Mymyh Mv wl wkra yk "cum prolongati essent ei ibi dies", Pagninus, Montanus, Schmidt.





Genesis 26:9



Ver. 9. And Abimelech called Isaac,.... Sent a messenger to desire him to come to him:



and said, behold, of a surety she [is] thy wife: and then perhaps told him of what he had observed that passed between them; which was a clear proof that they must be man and wife, or he would never have took such liberties with her:



and how saidst thou, she [is] my sister? what reason hadst thou for it? what could induce thee to say so?



and Isaac said unto him; not alleging, as Abraham did, any relation that was between them before marriage:



because I said; that is, within himself, for, he did not speak it out to others:



lest I die for her; for her sake, that another might have and enjoy her; it was fear of losing his life that led him to take such a step, and give out that she was his sister.





Genesis 26:10



Ver. 10. And Abimelech said, what is this thou hast done unto us?.... By entertaining suspicions and jealousies of us as bad men, and by exposing us to the temptation of committing iniquity; why hast thou dealt thus with us, and what have we done, or is in our character, that thou shouldest act after this manner?



one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife; it is much one or other had not before this time, not looking upon it criminal to have to do with a single woman, when they would not have meddled with another man's wife, Jarchi interprets this of Abimelech himself; and so the Targum of Jonathan, who perhaps had been thinking of taking her to his bed; and was "within a little" {c}, as the word for "lightly" may be rendered, of accomplishing his design:



and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us: been the occasion of their committing the sin of adultery, which was heinous in the eyes of Heathens, and of bringing on them the punishment due thereunto.



{c} jemk "parum abfuit", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schmidt.





Genesis 26:11



Ver. 11. And Abimelech charged all [his] people,.... All his subjects throughout his kingdom, and particularly the inhabitants of Gerar, and more especially his courtiers and servants about him:



saying, he that toucheth this man or his wife; that does any injury to one either by words or deeds, or behaves immodestly to the other, or attempts to ravish her; this being sometimes used as a modest expression carnal knowledge of a woman; or that does either of them any harm or hurt in any respect whatever:



shall surely be put to death; this severe edict he published, in order to deter his subjects from using them ill, to which they might be provoked by Isaac's dissimulation, and by his evil suspicions of them.





Genesis 26:12



Ver. 12. Then, Isaac sowed in that land,.... In the land of Gerar; after matters were settled between him and Abimelech, and he had ordered his servants to do him no hurt, he sowed wheat or barley, or some such grain:



and received in the same year an hundred fold; in which he sowed it, and which many take to be a year of famine; and so it was the more extraordinary, that there should be such a plentiful crop produced on Isaac's ground, when there was such barrenness elsewhere: but it does not seem likely that it should be the same year of famine in which Isaac came to Gerar, since he is said to have been them a "long time",

Ge 26:8; before this sowing and plenty upon it were. This increase is far from being incredible; for Pliny {d}, besides instances he gives of an hundred fold, says, that in a field at Byzacium in Africa one bushel produced one hundred and fifty bushels; and from the same place, the deputy of Augustus there sent him from one grain very few less than four hundred, and to Nero three hundred stalks from, one grain. Herodotus {e} speaks of a country, near to the place where the Euphrates runs into the Tigris, on which the city Ninus was, which nowhere failed of producing two hundred fold, and the better sort of it even three hundred; see Mt 13:23:



and the Lord blessed him; and prospered and succeeded all his endeavours; and this was the true reason of the fertility of the land he manured and sowed.



{d} Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 10. {e} Clio sive, l. 1. c. 193.





Genesis 26:13



Ver. 13. And the man waxed great,.... In substance, as well as in honour and glory, among men;



and went forward; in the world, and in the increase of worldly things:



and grew until he became very great: as he must needs be, since Abraham his father left him all that he had, who was very rich in cattle, in gold and silver, and had been increasing ever since; and especially since he came to Gerar, where he was gradually increasing, until he became to be exceeding great indeed, even the greatest man in all the country, yea, greater than King Abimelech himself, as it seems, from

Ge 26:16.





Genesis 26:14



Ver. 14. For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds,.... Many flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle, of oxen, asses and camels, in which the riches of men in those times and countries chiefly lay:



and great store of servants; to look after his flocks and herds, and fields; or "much husbandry" {f}; Jarchi interprets it much tillage; as, much land, many farms, fields, and vineyards, and the like; to cultivate which required many servants:



and the Philistines envied him; for his prosperity and success, that his land should bring forth so plentifully, and that he should have such an increase of flocks, and herds, and servants, which made him so very significant great, and honourable.



{f} hbr hdbe "cultura multa", Drusius; "proventus multus", Pagninus; "servitium multum", Schmidt; gewrgia polla, Sept.





Genesis 26:15



Ver. 15. For all the wells which his father's servants had digged, in the days of Abraham his father,.... For the watering of his flocks and herds, see Ge 21:25:



the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth; that they might be of no use; and this they did through envy to him, and is mentioned as a proof of it.





Genesis 26:16



Ver. 16. And Abimelech said unto Isaac, go from us,.... Which was either said by way of advice, consulting Isaac's good, and the peace of his own kingdom; or else by way of command, enjoining him to depart, having a secret envy to him himself, or at least was jealous of his growing power and wealth:



for thou art much mightier than we; in riches or goods, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; or in number; his family being greatly increased, his servants numerous, many being born of them in his house; Abraham had three hundred and eighteen trained servants in his house, Ge 14:14; how many Isaac had is not certain; they must be a large number for Abimelech to fear anything from them. Some choose to interpret the words, thou hast increased, or thou hast got much from us, and by us; and therefore it is high time for thee to be gone from us.





Genesis 26:17



Ver. 17. And Isaac departed thence,.... At once, peaceably and quietly, though to his loss and disadvantage, without taking himself either to argument or arms, in favour of himself; he departed immediately, as soon as he perceived his abode was disagreeable to the king and his people; which gives us a very agree, able idea of the calm and peaceable disposition of Isaac:



and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there; at some distance from the city of Gerar, as Jarchi observes. Josephus {g} says it was not far from it; but how far is not certain; very probably it was not out of the country, though on the borders of it. Some render it, "the brook of Gerar" {h}, and interpret it, that he pitched his tent, and dwelt by it; and the word used does signify a brook as well as a valley; and there was a brook of Gerar, which Sozomen {i} makes mention of.



{g} Antiqu. l. 1. c. 18. sect. 2. {h} rrg lxnb "ad torrentem Gerarae", V. L. {i} Eccl. Hist. l. 6. c. 32.





Genesis 26:18



Ver. 18. And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father,.... This seems to refer to the same wells made mention of in Ge 26:15, since it follows,



for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham; these were what Abraham's servants had dug, when he lived at Gerar, and which the Philistines durst not stop during his life; but when he was dead and particularly out of envy to Isaac his son, whom they observed to prosper much, they stopped them up, that he might have no benefit by them; for otherwise they would scarcely have stopped them, if he had not been upon the spot, but would have made use of them themselves. The opening of them again by Isaac seems to be done, as Jarchi observes, before he removed from Gerar to the valley, though it is here related; unless it can be thought that Abraham dwelt in the valley also, and had dug wells there, which the Philistines stopped up after his death, and Isaac opened when he came there; and if so one would think he should have had no occasion to have dug other new wells, as we find he afterwards did; besides, this seems to be out of the jurisdiction of the Philistines, and not in their power to have stopped them here; it seems therefore most probable that these were Abraham's wells at Gerar, and not in the valley. Origen {k} makes mention of wonderful wells being dug in the land of the Philistines by righteous men, meaning Abraham and Isaac; and particularly in Askelon which, according to some, is the same with Gerar; See Gill on "Ge 20:1";



and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them; which he did out of respect to his father, to preserve the memory of his name, as well as to make his title and claim to them the more dear and certain.



{k} Contr. Cels. l. 4. p. 193.





Genesis 26:19



Ver. 19. And Isaac's servants digged in the valley,.... In the valley of Gerar, as the Septuagint version expresses it:



and found there a well of springing water; or "living water" {l}, which continually flows, as Aben Ezra rightly interprets it: hence this phrase is used of the perpetual and ever living graces of the Spirit of God, Joh 4:10.



{l} Myyx Mym "aquarum viventium", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius.





Genesis 26:20



Ver. 20. And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen,.... About the well which was dug in the valley; and this shows it was near Gerar or at least was upon the border of the country, and so it was a disputable point to whom it belonged:



saying, the water [is] ours; though the well was dug by Isaac's servants, yet they laid claim to the water, pretending it was their ground, being on their borders:



and he called the name of the well Esek: which signifies "contention": the reason of the name follows,



because they strove with him; wrangled, contended, and disputed with him about whose right it was.





Genesis 26:21



Ver. 21. And they digged another well,.... That is, Isaac's servants:



and strove for that also; the herdsmen of Gerar disputed their right to that also, and strove to get it from them:



and he called the name of it Sitnah; which signifies "hatred", it being out of hatred and malice to him that they gave him so much trouble; from this word Satan has his name, and these men were of a diabolical spirit, envious, spiteful, and malicious.





Genesis 26:22



Ver. 22. And he removed from thence,.... A little further from their border, to cut off all pretence, and put a stop to all dispute and controversy for the future:



and digged another well; in the place he removed to:



and for that they strove not; it being at such a distance from their border, they could not have the face to claim any right to it:



and he called the name of it Rehoboth; which signifies broad and spacious, places, enlargements:



for now hath the Lord made room for us; for himself, his family, his herds, and flocks, and freed them, from those difficulties under which they laboured, and the straits into which they were brought through the contention of the herdsmen of Gerar:



and we shall be fruitful in the land; his flocks and his herds increase, having good pasturage and watering for them, and so he and his family be in prosperous circumstances.





Genesis 26:23



Ver. 23. And he went up from thence to Beersheba. From the place he last, removed unto Beersheba; the famine being over, he returns to the place where he and his rather formerly lived, Ge 21:33.





Genesis 26:24



Ver. 24. And the Lord appeared to him in the same night,.... The first night he came to Beersheba, in a dream or vision, in which the Lord was represented as speaking to him:



and said, I [am] the God of Abraham thy father; though he was dead, he remembered the covenant he made with him, and the promises he made unto him: and besides, though Abraham was dead as to his body, yet alive in his soul; for God is not the God of the dead, but of the living,

Mt 22:32:



fear not; any future famine, nor want of any good things, nor any enemies, the Philistines his neighbours, who had driven him from their country, and had harassed him from place to place:



for I [am] with thee, and will bless thee; and if God is with his people, they have nothing to fear from men; and if he blesses them, they are blessed, and no curse can light upon them:



and multiply thy seed, for my servant Abraham's sake; who was a faithful, diligent, servant of his; whose service was, not forgotten by him, but would be rewarded in a way of grace, though not of debt.





Genesis 26:25



Ver. 25. And he builded an altar there,.... At Beersheba, where his father Abraham had planted a grove before, and very probably had built an altar also, though it might not be now standing, Ge 21:33;



and called upon the name of the Lord; and gave him thanks for all his mercies to him; for the care he had taken of him, and provision he had made for him and his during the time of famine; and for the protection and preservation of him in Gerar; and for his deliverance of him out of the hands of envious, malicious, and unreasonable men; as well as prayed unto him for present and future mercies, for providential care of him and his; and for communications of special grace, and for meetness for eternal glory; all which every good man daily prays to God for:



and pitched his tent there: intending to take up his abode and settle there:



and there Isaac's servants digged a well; in order to find water for the family, and for the flocks and herds; and which was necessary to be done, as they perceived their master designed to fix his habitation here; wells of water being of great moment and consequence in those hot and desert countries, as the above contentions about them abundantly show.





Genesis 26:26



Ver. 26. Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar,.... After Isaac was settled at Beersheba, and was still increasing in his family and substance, of which Abimelech very probably was informed; and fearing lest he should resent his being sent out of his country by him, and the ill treatment he met with afterwards from the herdmen of Gerar in the valley about the wells, and should employ his riches and power against him, and fall upon him, and take his kingdom from him, he took a journey from Gerar to Beersheba, to pay Isaac a visit, and make a covenant with him: and



Ahuzzath one of his friends; Jarchi and Jonathan take Ahuzzath for an appellative, and interpret it of a collection or company of his friends, which the king took along with him to attend him in his journey: but it seems rather to be the proper name of a man, who was very intimate and familiar with the king, and always kept him company, and so went along with him to Beersheba:



and Phichol the chief captain of his army; his general, as the other was his principal counsellor or prime minister. There was one of this name, and in the same office, in the days of Abraham, and who attended the then present king, who also was called Abimelech on a like account as here, Ge 21:22; but as the one affair was at the distance of an hundred years or more from the other, it is probable, that as this Abimelech might be the son of that Abimelech that lived in the times of Abraham, so this Phichol might be the son of him that lived then, and who succeeded his father in his office; though some think that Phichol is the name of an office, and signifies "the mouth of all", by whom the addresses of the people were made to the king; but this is not likely, since he is described by his office as general of the army; which is very different from the master of the ceremonies, or anything of that kind, and plainly shows it to be the name of a man.





Genesis 26:27



Ver. 27. And Isaac said unto them, wherefore come ye to me,.... What is the meaning of this visit? what has brought you hither? it cannot be from affection and friendship to me:



seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? the latter he mentions as a proof of the former; they envied his prosperity, and hated him on that account, and therefore expelled him their country, or at least would not suffer him to dwell among them; and still more glaring proofs were given of the hatred of the men of Gerar to him, not only by stopping up his father's wells, but by striving and contending with him about those he dug in the valley after he was gone from them; one of which he called "Sitnah", from their hatred of him.





Genesis 26:28



Ver. 28. And they said, we saw certainly that the Lord was with thee,.... Not only while he was among them, by the fruitfulness of the land he sowed, by the increase of his family, his flocks and herds, but also since he was gone from them, in the valley of Gerar, and now in Beersheba:



and we said; one to another, assembled in privy council, in which this affair was talked over and debated:



let there now be an oath betwixt us, [even] betwixt us and thee: what was between us and thy father, or between thine ancestors and ours, let it be renewed and confirmed before us; so Onkelos and Jarchi; see

Ge 21:23:



and let us make a covenant with thee; the articles of which follow.





Genesis 26:29



Ver. 29. That thou wilt do us no hurt,.... Neither to our persons nor properties, to our kingdom and subjects, by invading our land, and seizing on our kingdom, all which was feared from Isaac's growing wealth and power:



as we have not touched thee; not done the least injury to him, to his person, family, and substance, but suffered him to go away with all he had untouched:



and as we have done unto thee, nothing but good; by royal authority, or by the command and direction of the king and his nobles; for as for the stopping up the wells his father's servants had dug, and the controversy that was about those in the vale, and the trouble Isaac had on that account, these things were not by the order of the king and council, and perhaps without their knowledge:



and have sent thee away in peace; no one being suffered to do any injury to him, or molest him in carrying off everything that belonged unto him:



thou [art] now blessed of the Lord; so it appeared by the prosperity he was attended with, and by the Lord's protection of him, and the constant and continual favours he was bestowing on him; and this induced Abimelech and his nobles to seek to cultivate friendship, and be on good terms with him. De Dieu gives a different sense of these words, and considers them in the form of an oath or imprecation,



"if thou shouldest do us any hurt, seeing we have not touched thee, &c. be thou now accursed of the Lord,''



taking the word used in a contrary sense, as in Job 1:5

1Ki 21:10.





Genesis 26:30



Ver. 30. And he made them a feast,.... Made a feast like a king, for the king and his grandees; he treated them in a generous way, according to their dignity, and agreeable to his own disposition and substance:



and they did eat and drink; freely, cheerfully, and in a friendly manner; for both having spoken their minds, they agreed to bury all former things oblivion, and live in peace and friendship; though this feast was not on account of the covenant made between them, as is observed by some interpreters, but as an hospitable act, and a token of good will; for the covenant and the oath confirming it seem to be made next morning, as follows:





Genesis 26:31



Ver. 31. And they rose up betimes in the morning,.... Abimelech and his friends, in order to return home, and Isaac to take his leave of them, and both to make the covenant between them in form, and confirm it by an oath, for which the morning was the fitter time; when the mind is quite free and composed, and attentive to what is done, as so solemn a transaction should be performed with the utmost attention and seriousness:



and swore one to another; to live in amity and friendship, and not distress and disturb each other:



and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace; he took his leave of them in a friendly manner, and they departed well pleased with the reception they had met with, and the success they had had, having agreed on and settled articles of peace to mutual satisfaction.





Genesis 26:32



Ver. 32. And it came to pass the same day,.... That the above things were transacted:



that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged; they had dug it before Abimelech came to Isaac, but they had not had an opportunity of acquainting him with it until he was gone, and then they came to give him an account of it, what sort of a well it was, and how it answered their expectations and wishes; and which in those countries was a very great blessing, and served very much to recommend a place to dwell in:



and said unto him, we have found water; not only had dug a well, but they had found plenty of water, and that which was good; or otherwise it would not have been worth while to have troubled Isaac with the account of it.





Genesis 26:33



Ver. 33. And he called it Sheba,.... Which, according to Jerom, signifies "fulness", as if it had its name from the abundance of water in it; but rather it signifies an "oath", and was so called from the oath, which he and Abimelech had just took to one another; and these circumstances meeting together, the taking of the oath, and the account of the well,



therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day; that is, the well of the oath: it had been so called by Abraham an hundred years ago or more; but now upon this occasion it was renewed and confirmed, and so continued until the times of Moses, and many ages after.





Genesis 26:34



Ver. 34. And Esau was forty years old,.... The same age his father was of when he married, Ge 25:20:



when he took to wife Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite; Josephus {m} makes her to be the same with Aholibamah; but her father's name was Zibeon, and an Hivite, and must therefore be another person, not only the name being different, but the tribe, Ge 36:2:



and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; whom Aben Ezra takes to be the same with Adah, and so does Josephus; and in this they may be right, since the name of her father, and his nation or tribe, agree,

Ge 36:2. The fathers of these two women are represented by Josephus as men of great power and authority among the Canaanites, as very probably they were. Esau had another wife of the same name with this last, but she was daughter of Ishmael, and sister of Nebajoth, Ge 36:3; for he had more wives than those; these were his two first, who very probably were not taken together, but one after another, though it may be but at a short distance from each other.



{m} Antiqu. l. 1. c. 18. sect. 4.





Genesis 26:35



Ver. 35. Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac, and to Rebekah. The marriage of them itself was a trouble to them, it being contrary to their will that any of their children should marry with the Canaanites, and those the worst sort of them, the Hittites; it having been the care of Abraham, the father of Isaac, that his son should not marry with them, and laid a strict injunction on his servant not to take a wife for his son from among them; and which was an example to be followed in later times, and which Esau very likely was not ignorant of: and besides this, the women themselves he took for wives were very disagreeable on all accounts, partly because of their religion, being idolaters, and partly by reason of their temper and behaviour, being proud, haughty, and disobedient; as all the three Targums intimate.

 

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