Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 24/0

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Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 24

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Avraham and Rivka Tanakh Lab1 demonstrates that Bereshit 24 contains many linguistic parallels to Bereshit 12.  This highlights the similarities between the stories of Avraham and of Rivka, both of whom both make a decision to journey to Canaan and to separate from their places of birth so as to establish the Jewish people.2 

Tools

Articles

Lavan, Lot, and Avraham

Tools

  • Tanakh Lab – One can use the Tanakh Lab to compare Lavan’s hospitality in Bereshit 24 with that of Avraham in Bereshit 18 on one hand, and with that of Lot in Bereshit 19 on the other hand.  One difference in the story of Lavan is the statement in 24:30 that Lavan noticed the jewelry that had been given to Rivka before inviting Avraham’s servant into his house.  RashiBereshit 24:29About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki notes that this suggests that Lavan's hospitality (as opposed to that of Avraham and Lot) was motivated by self-interest.  

Avraham, Yehoshua, and David

Tools

  • Concordance – If one highlights the phrase "זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים" in the Mikraot Gedolot on Bereshit 24:1, and chooses concordance from the drop-down, one can see that only three figures are so described - Avraham, Yehoshua, and David.3 In each case this is followed by a discussion of how they make provisions for their descendants or followers,  addressing both spiritual and practical needs.

Articles

The Servant's Retelling

In Bereshit 24, the narrator describes Avraham's servant's search for a wife for Yitzchak and then records the servant's recounting of that search to Rivka's family.  The two accounts are linguistically very similar making the reader wonder for the need to repeat the story twice.  Moreover, the few differences make one question which account is the factual one and why the other veered from what happened.

Tools

  • Use the Tanakh Lab to compare the two accounts.

Sources

Articles

  • Nechama Leibowitz compares the accounts and discusses the differences in various places in her gilyonot on the Parsahah.