A Bride for Isaac – 1856 B.C.

Thinking e1539012817663It’s clear that people knew You and Abraham were friends. 

Sarah’s dead now, so what did Abraham and Isaac do next?

“And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 

1. Canaan
Canaan was the name of a large and prosperous ancient country (at times independent, at others a tributary to Egypt) located in present-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel and was also known as Phoenicia.

The origin of the name `Canaan’ for the land comes from various ancient texts (among them the Hebrew Bible) and there is no scholarly consensus on precisely where the name originated nor what it was intended to convey about the land.

According to the Bible the land was named after a man called Canaan, the grandson of Noah (Genesis 10).

Other theories cite `Canaan’ as derived from the Hurrian language for `purple’ and, as the Greeks knew the Canaanites as `Phoenicians’ (Greek for `purple’ as the Phoenicians worked, primarily at the city of Tyre, in purple dye and so were called by the Greeks `purple people’) this explanation is the most probable but, by no means, provable.

And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the 1 Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac” (Gen 24:1-4).

“And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. 

Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.

And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. 

And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.  And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher (Gen 24:12-16)

2. Ashtoreth
Ashtoreth, the ‘moon goddess’ has also been referred to by certain nicknames such as:

* Divine Mother

* Mother Nature

* Mother of God

* Queen of Heaven

* Virgin Mother

And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. 

And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go” (Gen 24:57-58).

And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country. 

And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. 

And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. 

For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us?  And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a veil, and covered herself” (Gen 24:62-65).

1 Canaan was the son of Ham, the son that Noah cursed (Gen 9:25)

3. he stele of Baal
The stele of Baal with Thunderbolt found in the ruins of Ugarit

God didn’t want Isaac to marry a Canaanite because they were heathens (worshipped other gods).  The main two false gods were Baal, who they believed was the fertility god and controlled the wind, rain, and clouds. 

The other was Ashtoreth, who was a goddess and came from the Babylonian god Ishtar.  She consorted with Baal, bringing fertility to those that worshipped her. 

Yet, you must understand that these were not even people, but statutes.

Before Abraham’s time an ass was a chosen pack animal, and was capable of carrying 130 pounds and moving 2.5 miles for six hours a day.  A mule could carry 160 pounds and move three to four miles a day.

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