Portion 5 Hayyei Sarah Genesis 23:1-25:18
The Canaanites adopt Abraham and Sarah but Abraham rejects the Canaanites 23:1-24.4
Het is Canaan’s second son. The people that Abraham negotiates with for a burial site are the Son’s of Het. Following the biblical pattern we might expect them to possess Cannan’s birthright and blessing. The Torah refers to them as “The people of the land” indicating their superior status over other Canaanites.
Although the Canaanites show Abraham and his family the utmost respect, effectively adopting them as kin by granting Abraham the right to purchase land for burial, not to mention the kindness shown to Abraham by King Abimelech, the Priest King Melchizedek of Salem, and Abraham’s Amorite covenant allies, Abraham denies his kinship with the Canaanites and does not allow his son to marry a Canaanite woman.
The Torah shows the Canaanites being more hospitable to Abraham and his family than Abraham and his family are to them.
An alternative reading: The price that the Canaanites extract from Abraham is exorbitant and Abraham knows it. His anger at the particular Canaanites who ripped him off turns to racial hatred against all Canaanites. In this one instance of exploitation he forgets the kindness that he has been repeatedly shown by Canaanites throughout his life.
At the end of the portion Abraham marries again. Is it to a Canaanite? Does Abraham have a change of heart before he dies?
Rebekah 24:5-67
What elements of a peoples’ history and stories are lost when oral transmission and canonization are dominated by men? Could the following twice told tale be the Torah’s critique of itself?
First telling 24:5-28
Both the servant (5) and Abraham (8) acknowledge that the choice to go with the servant is the woman’s alone, not her father or another relative.
22 The servant takes out a nose ring and bracelets. But the text does not say that he places it on Rebekah. In 30 Rebekah is wearing the jewelry, leaving open the possibility that she voluntarily accepted the jewelry and put it on herself, thereby symbolically accepting the marriage proposal, even before it is asked, and without asking permission from her father or another relative.
24 Rebekah recounts her genealogy by mentioning her grandmother before her grandfather.
25 Rebekah offers the servant a place to stay without first asking permission from her father or another relative.
28 Rebekah considers her mother to be the head of the household.
Second telling 24:34-48.
38 The servant considers the father as the head of the household.
41 The servant gives the choice to Rebekah’s family instead of Rebekah herself.
47a The servant recounts Rebekah’s genealogy by mentioning her grandfather before her grandmother.
47b The servant claims to have placed the jewelry on Rebekah instead of showing them to Rebekah and allow her to voluntarily place them on herself.
The servant neglects to mention that Rebekah offered the servant a place to stay.
Laban’s Transgression
We meet Laban (Jacob’s father-in-law) for the first time where we are shown his interest in material wealth. Laban transgresses the boundary between child and parent in order to dominate his sister, just as Ham did to dominate his brothers. In 50 Laban takes his mother’s place. In 55 he takes his father’s place. The desires to hoard material wealth and to dominate others are correlated.
Rebekah’s blessing 60
When Rebekah agrees to go immediately with Abraham’s servant to marry Isaac in Canaan, she is given a blessing that parallels the blessing that Abraham received from God immediately following the Akedah. How is Rebekah’s willingness to marry Isaac comparable to Abrahm’s willingness to sacrifice his son? In both tests, the protagonists are following directives from God that jeopardizes their hope for biological progeny. Rebekah has agreed to go forth because it is God’s will that she go forth. She knows nothing about Isaac. She must be wondering why Isaac did not come himself. Is there something wrong with him? Is he malformed or mentally disturbed? What kind of father will he be to their children? Is he capable of fathering children at all? In the normal course of events, her family would have had a chance to get acquainted with the prospective husband. But this has been prevented by Abraham’s refusal to let Isaac leave Canaan. The Torah portrays Rebekah as a new Abraham. Like Abraham, Rebekah leaves the land of her kindred to go to Canaan. Like Abraham she shows hospitality to strangers. Like Abraham, she places her complete faith in God and is willing to sacrifice biological progeny to obey God’s will. The covenant is sustained and continued through Rebekah who is Abraham’s moral and spiritual progeny.
The Canaanites adopt Abraham and Sarah but Abraham rejects the Canaanites 23:1-24.4
Het is Canaan’s second son. The people that Abraham negotiates with for a burial site are the Son’s of Het. Following the biblical pattern we might expect them to possess Cannan’s birthright and blessing. The Torah refers to them as “The people of the land” indicating their superior status over other Canaanites.
Although the Canaanites show Abraham and his family the utmost respect, effectively adopting them as kin by granting Abraham the right to purchase land for burial, not to mention the kindness shown to Abraham by King Abimelech, the Priest King Melchizedek of Salem, and Abraham’s Amorite covenant allies, Abraham denies his kinship with the Canaanites and does not allow his son to marry a Canaanite woman.
The Torah shows the Canaanites being more hospitable to Abraham and his family than Abraham and his family are to them.
An alternative reading: The price that the Canaanites extract from Abraham is exorbitant and Abraham knows it. His anger at the particular Canaanites who ripped him off turns to racial hatred against all Canaanites. In this one instance of exploitation he forgets the kindness that he has been repeatedly shown by Canaanites throughout his life.
At the end of the portion Abraham marries again. Is it to a Canaanite? Does Abraham have a change of heart before he dies?
Rebekah 24:5-67
What elements of a peoples’ history and stories are lost when oral transmission and canonization are dominated by men? Could the following twice told tale be the Torah’s critique of itself?
First telling 24:5-28
Both the servant (5) and Abraham (8) acknowledge that the choice to go with the servant is the woman’s alone, not her father or another relative.
22 The servant takes out a nose ring and bracelets. But the text does not say that he places it on Rebekah. In 30 Rebekah is wearing the jewelry, leaving open the possibility that she voluntarily accepted the jewelry and put it on herself, thereby symbolically accepting the marriage proposal, even before it is asked, and without asking permission from her father or another relative.
24 Rebekah recounts her genealogy by mentioning her grandmother before her grandfather.
25 Rebekah offers the servant a place to stay without first asking permission from her father or another relative.
28 Rebekah considers her mother to be the head of the household.
Second telling 24:34-48.
38 The servant considers the father as the head of the household.
41 The servant gives the choice to Rebekah’s family instead of Rebekah herself.
47a The servant recounts Rebekah’s genealogy by mentioning her grandfather before her grandmother.
47b The servant claims to have placed the jewelry on Rebekah instead of showing them to Rebekah and allow her to voluntarily place them on herself.
The servant neglects to mention that Rebekah offered the servant a place to stay.
Laban’s Transgression
We meet Laban (Jacob’s father-in-law) for the first time where we are shown his interest in material wealth. Laban transgresses the boundary between child and parent in order to dominate his sister, just as Ham did to dominate his brothers. In 50 Laban takes his mother’s place. In 55 he takes his father’s place. The desires to hoard material wealth and to dominate others are correlated.
Rebekah’s blessing 60
When Rebekah agrees to go immediately with Abraham’s servant to marry Isaac in Canaan, she is given a blessing that parallels the blessing that Abraham received from God immediately following the Akedah. How is Rebekah’s willingness to marry Isaac comparable to Abrahm’s willingness to sacrifice his son? In both tests, the protagonists are following directives from God that jeopardizes their hope for biological progeny. Rebekah has agreed to go forth because it is God’s will that she go forth. She knows nothing about Isaac. She must be wondering why Isaac did not come himself. Is there something wrong with him? Is he malformed or mentally disturbed? What kind of father will he be to their children? Is he capable of fathering children at all? In the normal course of events, her family would have had a chance to get acquainted with the prospective husband. But this has been prevented by Abraham’s refusal to let Isaac leave Canaan. The Torah portrays Rebekah as a new Abraham. Like Abraham, Rebekah leaves the land of her kindred to go to Canaan. Like Abraham she shows hospitality to strangers. Like Abraham, she places her complete faith in God and is willing to sacrifice biological progeny to obey God’s will. The covenant is sustained and continued through Rebekah who is Abraham’s moral and spiritual progeny.
posted by ross at 10:51 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home