Chapter 17: Seeking a Wife for Isaac

Q1 - What clues does this reading give that Nahor, Abraham’s brother, had likely already passed away by the time the servant arrived in Mesopotamia?

A1 - Rebekah’s father must have already died, as in Genesis 24:28, the girl ran to her “mother’s” household, and then in verses 29 and 31, her brother, Laban, took on the duties of the head of the household.

Q2 - What clues does this reading give concerning the size and wealth of the household of Abraham’s brother, Nahor?

A2 - The fact that this family had plenty of room for the servant and his 10 camels and all the men the servant brought with him indicates that they had plenty of property. Then, they provided food for the camels, took care of the servant’s men, and had plenty of food ready to set before the servant, all in a seemingly short period of time. So certainly this household had a fair amount of people and wealth.

Q3 - Do you think Abraham’s family in Mesopotamia knew that God had purposely called Abraham away from them and had made promises to Abraham and not to them? How would such knowledge influence the way they treated Abraham’s servant and later Jacob when he came to them for a bride?

A3 - While it’s quite likely Abraham’s family did know that God had called him away from them and made great promises to him, the scriptures do not tell us that information. When Laban greeted the servant, he told him, “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord” (Genesis 24:31, NIV). Could this have indicated that he knew about God’s blessings on Abraham, or it could be that after seeing the expensive jewelry he knew this stranger came from a household that God had blessed with wealth? Maybe this was simply a common greeting at the time, but we know that Abraham was called out from among idol worshippers. His relatives could have been a bit envious of him. Also, if they knew he had been called by God, this could have caused them to go to great lengths to be hospitable and care for his servant.