Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 24/0

From AlHaTorah.org
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 24

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

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 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

There are several points of comparison between the stories of the hospitality of Avraham, Lot, and Lavan which might shed light on the characters of each.

Tools

Sources

  • One aspect of Lavan actions that stands in contrast to the other stories 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. See RashiBereshit 24:29About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki that this suggests that Lavan's hospitality (as opposed to that of Avraham and Lot) was motivated by self-interest.  

Avraham and David

There are several parallels between the ways in which in Avraham and David make provisions for their descendants as they near death.

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.