In Chapter 20, we see Abraham's arguably questionable behaviour in relation to his wife continue, now with King Abimelech of Gerar. The complexity of Abraham's relationship with Sarah is laid bare in this passage (20.12): "And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife". Again, this complexity causes a misunderstanding (that Abraham doesn't appear quick to clear up) and Abimelech is nearly unfairly punished by God for wanting to take Sarah as his wife. We then find out that God even has the power to close women's wombs (20.18), but luckily Abimelech and his people escape punishment and Sarah is returned to Abraham.
In Chapter 21, verse 8, we read of a great festival to mark Isaac's weaning: "And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned". This interested me as I've never came across the idea before of celebrating the moment a child is no longer breastfed, and moves on to real food. I'd speculate that the main reason this moment was celebrated during this era was due to the high rate of infant mortalities, so a baby's weaning marked the moment that children moved into a new, safer stage of their development.
In the middle of chapter 21 (verse 12), I found it odd that God supports Sarah's decision to cast out her handmaid Hagar, mother of Abraham's son Ishmael, especially given it was Sarah's suggestion for Abraham & Hagar to have a child. However, Sarah gets her way and we then read (21.20) that Ishmael grew up in the wild and became an archer, later marrying a wife from Egypt.
Soon after (22.2), Abraham was instructed to take his son up the mountain and make a "burnt offering". Initially, it's unclear what that offering should be, and Abraham believes it to be a sheep, but when he gets to the top there is just a burning pyre and it becomes clear that Abraham must sacrifice his son, Isaac. The passage involving Isaac meekly questioning his father about the purpose of the burning pyre (22.8) is really quite disturbing and shocking. Thankfully, an angel intervenes, but the question remains, why would God traumatise a child simply to test Abraham's faith? Leonard Cohen very memorably dramatised this passage in his song, Story of Isaac, and there are other echoes of Cohen in this section of Genesis, especially in phrases like, "If it be your [will]..." (23.8).
In Chapter 24, we then follow Isaac's development as an adult, especially his encounter with his future wife Rebekah, who we first see bearing a pitcher (I didn't realise this word, which I always associate with beer, was so old) to offer water to Abraham's unnamed elder servant, who is leading the expedition, and his camels. As we read in 24.37, God has forbidden Isaac from marrying a local girl, and is instead encouraging Abraham's family to widen the gene pool. There's a strange phrase that recurs twice – "let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them" (24.60) – which I understand relates to a hope that all the descendants of Isaac and Rebekah should conquer their enemies. The long chapter 24 closes with with a beautiful passage (24.63-67) involving Isaac and Rebekah's first proper meeting, starting with Isaac "meditating at eventide [end of the day]".
We then read (25.8) that Abraham "gave up the ghost" aged 175, after fathering more children with his concubines. I was pleased to see Ishmael return to the family fold for his father's funeral (25.9), as it troubled me that he should be apparently cast out into the wild with Hagar. It then feels symbolic that the Bible should show Isaac standing by a well (Lahai-roi) before mentioning the deep well of his (& Ishmael's) descendants (25.11). Rebekah gives birth to twins, Esau and Jacob; Esau "came out red, all over like an hairy garment" (25.25), while Jacob "sod pottage" (had to look this one up, it means cook stew!). It's not clear how old Jacob was when he relieved Esau of his birthright, as they seem to be too young to be making such an important transaction unsupervised, and I'm looking forward to exploring this strange passage further in a few days.
In Chapter 21, verse 8, we read of a great festival to mark Isaac's weaning: "And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned". This interested me as I've never came across the idea before of celebrating the moment a child is no longer breastfed, and moves on to real food. I'd speculate that the main reason this moment was celebrated during this era was due to the high rate of infant mortalities, so a baby's weaning marked the moment that children moved into a new, safer stage of their development.
In the middle of chapter 21 (verse 12), I found it odd that God supports Sarah's decision to cast out her handmaid Hagar, mother of Abraham's son Ishmael, especially given it was Sarah's suggestion for Abraham & Hagar to have a child. However, Sarah gets her way and we then read (21.20) that Ishmael grew up in the wild and became an archer, later marrying a wife from Egypt.
Soon after (22.2), Abraham was instructed to take his son up the mountain and make a "burnt offering". Initially, it's unclear what that offering should be, and Abraham believes it to be a sheep, but when he gets to the top there is just a burning pyre and it becomes clear that Abraham must sacrifice his son, Isaac. The passage involving Isaac meekly questioning his father about the purpose of the burning pyre (22.8) is really quite disturbing and shocking. Thankfully, an angel intervenes, but the question remains, why would God traumatise a child simply to test Abraham's faith? Leonard Cohen very memorably dramatised this passage in his song, Story of Isaac, and there are other echoes of Cohen in this section of Genesis, especially in phrases like, "If it be your [will]..." (23.8).
In Chapter 24, we then follow Isaac's development as an adult, especially his encounter with his future wife Rebekah, who we first see bearing a pitcher (I didn't realise this word, which I always associate with beer, was so old) to offer water to Abraham's unnamed elder servant, who is leading the expedition, and his camels. As we read in 24.37, God has forbidden Isaac from marrying a local girl, and is instead encouraging Abraham's family to widen the gene pool. There's a strange phrase that recurs twice – "let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them" (24.60) – which I understand relates to a hope that all the descendants of Isaac and Rebekah should conquer their enemies. The long chapter 24 closes with with a beautiful passage (24.63-67) involving Isaac and Rebekah's first proper meeting, starting with Isaac "meditating at eventide [end of the day]".
We then read (25.8) that Abraham "gave up the ghost" aged 175, after fathering more children with his concubines. I was pleased to see Ishmael return to the family fold for his father's funeral (25.9), as it troubled me that he should be apparently cast out into the wild with Hagar. It then feels symbolic that the Bible should show Isaac standing by a well (Lahai-roi) before mentioning the deep well of his (& Ishmael's) descendants (25.11). Rebekah gives birth to twins, Esau and Jacob; Esau "came out red, all over like an hairy garment" (25.25), while Jacob "sod pottage" (had to look this one up, it means cook stew!). It's not clear how old Jacob was when he relieved Esau of his birthright, as they seem to be too young to be making such an important transaction unsupervised, and I'm looking forward to exploring this strange passage further in a few days.
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