And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she also has borne sons to thy brother Nahor
After the altar on Moriah, news reaches Abraham from the family he left behind long ago. It reads like a footnote. But commentators say it is placed here on purpose, and they point to the last name on the list.
One writer treats these closing verses as groundwork for what follows:
The rest of the chapter (verses 20-24) was meant to prepare the way for Rebekah. It shows her relationship with Abraham's family line, with a still closer tie in view.
That "closer tie" is marriage: Rebekah is already a relative, and she will become the wife of Isaac.
Abraham had left that family long ago. One writer reads the timing of the news — right after the offering of Isaac — as meaningful:
Though Abraham had left his former house, yet his brother Nahor is not forgotten. When God blesses Israel He does not forget Gentiles. After Abraham had, in effect, offered up Isaac, news reaches him that Nahor has had children. This reminds us that the offering of Christ was not for the nation Israel only. It was also "to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad" (John 11:51-52). But the special reason for verses 20-23 is to bring Rebecca to our attention (v.23). She was to be the bride for Isaac — a picture of the Church united to Christ after His wonderful sacrifice.
One writer sets these chapters in a single sequence, running from the altar to a wedding:
Genesis 24 forms part of the last section of Abraham's history, beginning with Genesis 22 and ending with Genesis 25:10. The early part of his history shows the individual life of faith. This last section gives a full view of God's ways with the world through the different ages. In Genesis 22 Abraham offers up Isaac and, in picture, receives him back from the dead. This is a striking picture of the death and resurrection of Christ. After the offering up of Isaac, Genesis 23 tells of the death of Sarah… All of this pictures Israel being set aside for a time as the nation that held the promise, because of the death of Christ. In the call of Rebekah in Genesis 24, we have a picture of the call of the Church as the Bride of Christ, during the time that Israel is set aside.
Rebekah appears as one more name in Nahor's family. No one has told her anything, and she has never heard of Isaac. One writer makes that gap the lesson:
The third great fact is illustrated by the birth of Rebekah. This is Acts 2, the birthday of the Church — the Church called into life. Yet Rebekah does not know her position as Isaac's wife, or her relationship with Isaac. The church began at Pentecost, but Paul and John had not yet written the letters that would show the church its position and its relationships.
Nahor's family stayed behind in Mesopotamia. One writer describes what their comfortable life produced:
He and his wife stay in Mesopotamia, and they do well there. They have children; their goods and property increase. Their path through the world is easy and respectable. But they do not grow in the knowledge of God, and they give no witness to His name — or at best a small and unclear one.
Two generations later God's servant arrives at that same house to call one member out of it:
The ministry of Eliezer, God's servant as well as Abram's, came to Bethuel's house to draw Rebecca out of it. It set her on the very journey that the call of the God of glory had carried Abram two generations before… A respectable, religious family has to be stirred awake, and a fresh act of separation has to take place inside it.
One writer follows a later figure in Scripture back to a name in this list. He is a speaker who steps forward after four other men fall silent:
A fresh speaker appeared, and the way he is introduced shows that we are reading history and not a made-up story. He was descended from Buz, who was a nephew of Abraham, as Genesis 22:21 shows. In those early days after the flood, when population was small, the duplication of names would not be common.
- Sacrifice first. The news arrives only after Moriah. No one seeks the bride until the father has offered the son and received him back.
- Reach. God does not forget the brother left behind. The blessing won at the altar reaches past Abraham's line to those far off.
- Destination. The list runs through a whole family to reach one name: Rebekah, of Bethuel's house, the future wife of Isaac.
- Unaware. Rebekah enters the story long before anyone tells her of Isaac — called first, told later.
- Choice. Nahor's household did well without growing in the knowledge of God. One member still had to be called out of it, as Abraham once was.
Uz his first-born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,
Abraham comes down from the mountain where he offered Isaac, and news arrives from home: his brother Nahor has a growing family. The list of names looks like filler, but commentators find in it real history and preparation for what follows.
The news comes after the offering of Isaac, not before. One writer treats that order as part of the meaning, and points to the one name the whole list is heading for.
Although Abraham had left his former house, his brother Nahor is not forgotten. When God blesses Israel He does not forget Gentiles. After Abraham had, in effect, offered Isaac, news comes to him that Nahor has had children. This reminds us that the offering of Christ was not for the nation Israel only. It was also "to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad" (John 11:51-52). But the special reason for verses 20-23 is to bring Rebecca to our attention (v. 23). She was to be the bride for Isaac, a picture of the Church united to Christ after His wonderful sacrifice. The names of these descendants of Nahor will surely have some meaning, illustrating God's work among Gentiles as a result of the sacrifice of His beloved Son.
Some older translations spell the firstborn's name "Huz." That can make readers think of two different men, but there is only one.
Eldest son of Nahor and Milcah. Gen. 22:21. The name is really Uz, as it is given elsewhere.
The second son's name also surfaces outside the Bible, in ancient records from Assyria.
Son of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham's brother. Gen. 22:21. The name BAZU appears in the Assyrian inscriptions, and is thought to refer to the settlement of Buz in Northern Arabia.
The verse calls Kemuel the father of Aram. The same name marks a district in Mesopotamia — the place this family kept going back to for wives.
A farmed district in Mesopotamia. The city of Nahor stood there. Terah and his family moved there from Ur of the Chaldees, and Isaac and Jacob took their wives from there — Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel. The name is strictly Paddan-aram, meaning "table land of Aram."
This verse links Abraham's family to one of the speakers in the book of Job. Elihu is called "the Buzite." One writer traces that name back to Buz here — a man just outside the chosen family, yet close to it.
Elihu belonged to the family of Nahor, the brother of Abraham. He was not strictly one of the chosen family, but he was close to it, like Laban and others. He belonged to another branch.
That family link also tells us what kind of book Job is.
All four men in the argument had fallen silent. Then a new speaker appeared. He too is introduced in a way that shows we are reading history, not a made-up story. He came from Buz, a nephew of Abraham, as Genesis 22:21 shows. In those early days after the flood the population was small, so the same name would rarely belong to two people.
Nahor had children by his wife Milcah and children by his concubine Reumah. The line that matters runs through the wife.
The closing verses of the chapter give us a brief sketch of the line of Nahor, Abraham's brother. His son Bethuel was the father of Rebekah through Milcah the wife, not through Reumah the concubine. In due time we will see how closely this connects with Isaac's future, carrying out the purpose of God.
- Timing. The news reaches Abraham after the altar. The sacrifice comes first; the wider circle of blessing follows.
- Reach. Abraham left Nahor behind, but Nahor is not forgotten; those outside the chosen line are still in view.
- Names. "Huz" in older translations is simply Uz. Buz may be the BAZU of Assyrian records, a settlement in Northern Arabia.
- Cousins. Buz's line produced Elihu the Buzite, who speaks in Job. He was near the chosen family, not inside it. His family line marks Job as history, not fiction.
- Destination. The list narrows to Bethuel, then through Milcah to Rebekah — the bride for Isaac, and a picture of the Church joined to Christ after His sacrifice.
and Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
Right after Abraham offers up Isaac, Scripture drops the drama and lists eight sons born to Nahor, Abraham's brother. Why pause here, and why does one name, Bethuel, matter more than the rest?
The report reaches Abraham once the trial is over. One writer draws a wider lesson from that timing:
Though Abraham had left his former house, his brother Nahor is not forgotten. When God blesses Israel He does not forget the Gentiles. After Abraham had all but offered Isaac up, news reaches him that Nahor has had children. This reminds us that the offering of Christ was not for the nation Israel only. It was "also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad" (John 11:51-52).
The verse names eight sons, and the record then singles out the last one. The line that counts runs through Nahor's wife, not his concubine:
The closing verses of the chapter give us a short sketch of the line of Nahor, Abraham's brother. His son Bethuel was the father of Rebekah through Milcah the wife, not through Reumah the concubine. We shall see in due time how closely this ties in with Isaac's future, carrying out the purpose of God.
His name comes back at every turn of the family story:
Son of Nahor, a Syrian, Abraham's brother, and father of Rebekah. Genesis 22:22-23; Genesis 24:15-47; Genesis 25:20; Genesis 28:2, 5.
The list explains nothing on the spot. Its purpose shows up two chapters later:
The closing verses of our chapter give us a little more genealogy. It is clearly there to introduce Rebekah. We are to hear of her in Genesis 24 as the bride of Isaac, who is now in type the risen seed.
The order of events is part of the teaching. Abraham offers Isaac and receives him back before anyone looks for a wife for him:
Notice carefully that the story of Isaac and Rebekah comes after the touching account of Abraham offering up Isaac and receiving him back "in a figure" (Hebrews 11:19) from the dead. This pictures the truth the New Testament insists on everywhere: there could be no church of God, no bride for Christ, apart from the sacrifice of our Lord on the cross. That sacrifice settled the whole question of sin, for God's glory and man's blessing.
Another writer traces the steps after the altar — the mother leaves the scene, then the bride arrives:
Take Rebekah. If Isaac is a type of Christ, received back "in figure" from the dead in Genesis 22 (Hebrews 11:19), how is it that we next find Sarah, the mother (Romans 9:5), passing away? Then Rebekah takes her place in Sarah's tent as bride of the risen heir. She is already one of the family. A special messenger calls her (as the Holy Spirit calls the Church) to cross the desert in his company and meet her Lord, whom she has not yet seen.
One writer expects the whole list to carry meaning: "The names of these descendants of Nahor will surely have some significance in illustrating God's work among Gentiles as a result of the sacrifice of His beloved Son" (L. M. Grant). A dictionary of Bible names gives what little is known:
Bethuel — Separated of God. … Chesed — meaning is unknown.
- Timing. The family news arrives after the altar. The sacrifice comes first, and everything else follows from it.
- Reach. The brother Abraham left behind is not forgotten. Writers see a hint here that Christ's offering gathers in more than one nation.
- Narrowing. The verse names eight sons, but the record fastens on Bethuel. The line runs through Nahor's wife Milcah, not his concubine.
- Purpose. Bethuel matters because of his daughter. The genealogy brings Rebekah into view for Genesis 24.
- Result. Isaac, received back as from the dead, is the risen heir who then receives a bride. Writers read the pattern like this: sacrifice, resurrection, then the calling of the Church.
(And Bethuel begot Rebecca.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.
Genesis 22 does not end at the altar where Abraham offered Isaac. It ends with news from far away about Nahor, Abraham's brother: eight sons born to his wife Milcah. Then the list stops to name one granddaughter, Rebekah. Why does a family record close the greatest chapter in Abraham's life, and why is she the name that matters?
The family list is not a loose end. It is here to introduce one person before the story needs her.
The rest of the chapter (verses 20-24) needs no special notice now. It was meant to prepare the way for Rebekah, by showing how she was related to Abraham's family line, with a still closer tie in view.
The verse also fixes which branch of the family she comes from. Nahor had sons by a concubine as well, and the record is careful about the line it traces.
The closing verses of the chapter give us a short sketch of the line of Nahor, Abraham's brother. His son Bethuel was the father of Rebekah through Milcah the wife, not through Reumah the concubine. In due time we will see how closely this connects with Isaac's future, carrying out the purpose of God.
A wife for Isaac is never mentioned until Abraham has offered his son and received him back. Commentators read that order as deliberate.
The eastern story of how Rebekah was won to be Isaac's bride is thrilling. It is more wonderful still when we see in it a picture of Christ and His church, His bride. But notice this carefully. The story of Isaac and Rebekah comes after the moving account of Abraham offering up Isaac and receiving him back "in a figure" (Hebrews 11:19) from the dead. That pictures a truth the New Testament presses everywhere: there could be no church of God, no bride for Christ, apart from the sacrifice of our Lord on the cross, which settled the whole question of sin for God's glory and man's blessing.
Isaac does not travel to find his bride. A messenger goes for her, and she comes to him.
Take Rebekah. If Isaac is a picture of Christ, received back "in figure" from the dead in Genesis 22 (Hebrews 11:19), then look at what follows. Sarah the mother (Romans 9:5) passes away. Rebekah takes her place in Sarah's tent as the bride of the risen heir. She already belongs to the family, and a special messenger calls her — as the Holy Spirit calls the Church — to cross the desert with him and meet her Lord, whom she has never seen.
The verse records a birth, not a wedding. Rebekah is alive long before she knows anything about Isaac. One writer matches that gap to the Church's own start.
The birth of Rebekah illustrates the third great fact. This is Acts 2, the birthday of the Church, the Church called into life. Yet Rebekah does not yet know her position as Isaac's wife, nor her relationship with Isaac. The Church began at Pentecost, but Paul and John had still to write the letters that showed the Church what its position is and what its relationships are.
Abraham had left his relatives long before. News of them arrives just after the altar, and one writer draws a lesson from that timing.
Abraham had left his old home, yet his brother Nahor is not forgotten. When God blesses Israel He does not forget the nations outside it. After Abraham had all but offered up Isaac, news comes to him that Nahor has had children. This reminds us that Christ was offered not for the nation of Israel only, "but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad" (John 11:51-52). But the special reason for verses 20-23 is to bring Rebekah to our attention (v. 23).
One rule shaped the search for Isaac's wife. Rebekah qualifies because of the family she was born into.
Abraham then tells his servant that Isaac's bride is "not to be of the daughters of the Canaanites." She is to be from "my kindred," his own relatives. The Canaanites were under the curse and marked out for judgment. There can be no link between Christ in glory and a world under judgment. Isaac's bride was not to be a stranger, but someone who already belonged to Abraham's family.
- Prepared. The closing genealogy of Genesis 22 exists for one reason — to put Rebekah on the page before she is needed.
- After the altar. The bride appears only after Isaac comes back "in a figure" from the dead. The sacrifice comes first, always.
- Named line. She comes through Milcah the wife, not the concubine — the record is exact about the branch God is using.
- Kindred, not stranger. She already belonged to Abraham's family. That is why the servant could seek her, and not a daughter of Canaan.
- Wider reach. News comes from the relatives Abraham had left — a hint that what the altar secured reaches beyond one household.
And his concubine, named Reumah, she also bore Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maacah.
Right after Abraham raises the knife over his son, the chapter ends with a list of names — the last of them born to a concubine. Why does a family record follow the greatest scene of sacrifice in Genesis, and why does the chapter's last word fall on a side branch of the family?
The list is not a stray note. One writer traces its purpose two chapters ahead.
The closing verses of our chapter give us a little more genealogy, and clearly for the purpose of introducing Rebekah. We hear of her in Genesis 24 as the bride of Isaac, who now pictures the risen seed.
Reumah appears as a concubine, not as the wife. That difference decides which sons matter to the story that follows.
The closing verses of the chapter give us a short sketch of the line of Nahor, Abraham's brother. His son Bethuel was the father of Rebekah through Milcah the wife, not through Reumah the concubine. We will see later how closely this connects with Isaac's future, carrying out the purpose of God.
The two branches of the family had already crossed a generation earlier.
The history seems to show that Haran was the eldest son of Terah, born when his father was seventy. That helps us understand how Nahor married Haran's daughter Milcah, his niece. We also see more clearly how Nahor's granddaughter became the wife of Isaac, Abraham's son.
Abraham had left his father's house years earlier. News of his brother's family reaches him just after the offering of Isaac, and one writer sees meaning in that timing.
Though Abraham had left his former house, his brother Nahor is not forgotten. When God blesses Israel He does not forget the Gentiles. Right after Abraham had, in effect, offered up Isaac, he is told that Nahor has had children... The names of these descendants of Nahor surely have some meaning. They picture God's work among the Gentiles as a result of the sacrifice of His beloved Son.
So what sort of home was Rebekah growing up in? One writer weighs what they kept and what they refused to leave.
This is what shaped the character of Nahor's family. They were not in total darkness like the people of Canaan, the descendants of Ham, among whom Abram now lived. They had a measure of light from their link with Terah and Abram, and as descendants of Shem. But all that was sadly dimmed by the worldly principles they held dear, because they refused to separate from the world. And so the family took on its own character and standing.
The bride came out of that house. One writer says it took more than a friendly invitation.
The power of God that now comes into this family disturbs and separates. It is not simply a power that comforts or builds up... Eliezer, the servant of God as well as of Abram, came to Bethuel's house to draw Rebecca out of it. He led her on the very journey that the call of the God of glory had taken Abram two generations before. A respectable, decent family has to be shaken awake, and a fresh act of separation made in the middle of it.
- After the altar. The family list stands here on purpose. The news reaches Abraham once the sacrifice is over, and it opens the way for a bride for the son, now pictured as risen.
- Through the wife. Rebekah came from Milcah's son Bethuel, not from Reumah the concubine. God's purpose ran through one line. The other is only recorded.
- Beyond the family. The brother left behind is not forgotten. One writer sees a picture of blessing reaching past one household to the Gentiles.
- A dimmed light. Nahor's family had some light, yet they held on to the world and refused to leave it. That mix shaped the whole family's character.
- A fresh call. Bringing Rebekah out took the same call of God that once moved Abraham. Even a decent, respectable home had to be shaken awake.