DISCERNING CHARACTER
Scripture: Genesis 24:34-38, Genesis 24:42-49, Genesis 24:58-67
Title: Discerning Character
Scripture: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
Author: Christopher B. Harbin
The unknown often makes us feel unsettled. We don't know how to interact, how much credence to give to what we hear, how to interpret words and actions. These are things we learn little by little as young children, figuring out how to read social situations, how to interact with the world around us, and what to expect from people. Over time, we develop pre-judgments or prejudices of others based on these experiences. When we are pressed into unknown settings, how do we navigate the uncertain? How can we gague what is important about a stranger we are just meeting? How do we discern character?
Hebrew does not use verb tense to denote time. Past, present, future, and their variations are not constructed with verbs. Time shows up in different ways, but not from verbal forms. The more honest translation of Hebrew, then, is to place all of the verbs in the present tense, looking elsewhere for indicators of time and its passage. As far as the verbs are concerned, all time is the present.
Today's passage falls within the scope of narratives about Abraham. The problem with that is that Abraham hardly figures into the text at all. He is mentioned as sending out his servant on an errand, yet beyond that, he plays no active part in the story. We only see his hand and action as presented through the words and actions of his servant, Eliezar. Isaac is mentioned, yet only in passing. It is the interaction between Eliezar and Rebekah that takes center stage. Through this interaction, we still learn something of Abraham, Abraham's faith, and the character of Yahweh.
Eliezar (or so we assume from what we are told a few chapters before) leaves Abraham on this errand to find a wife for Isaac from among Abraham's family. As is standard, he does not travel alone, but with a contingent of other men from Abraham's retinue. Since the o ...
Scripture: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
Author: Christopher B. Harbin
The unknown often makes us feel unsettled. We don't know how to interact, how much credence to give to what we hear, how to interpret words and actions. These are things we learn little by little as young children, figuring out how to read social situations, how to interact with the world around us, and what to expect from people. Over time, we develop pre-judgments or prejudices of others based on these experiences. When we are pressed into unknown settings, how do we navigate the uncertain? How can we gague what is important about a stranger we are just meeting? How do we discern character?
Hebrew does not use verb tense to denote time. Past, present, future, and their variations are not constructed with verbs. Time shows up in different ways, but not from verbal forms. The more honest translation of Hebrew, then, is to place all of the verbs in the present tense, looking elsewhere for indicators of time and its passage. As far as the verbs are concerned, all time is the present.
Today's passage falls within the scope of narratives about Abraham. The problem with that is that Abraham hardly figures into the text at all. He is mentioned as sending out his servant on an errand, yet beyond that, he plays no active part in the story. We only see his hand and action as presented through the words and actions of his servant, Eliezar. Isaac is mentioned, yet only in passing. It is the interaction between Eliezar and Rebekah that takes center stage. Through this interaction, we still learn something of Abraham, Abraham's faith, and the character of Yahweh.
Eliezar (or so we assume from what we are told a few chapters before) leaves Abraham on this errand to find a wife for Isaac from among Abraham's family. As is standard, he does not travel alone, but with a contingent of other men from Abraham's retinue. Since the o ...
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