Page:A Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Morgenstern, 1919, jewishinterpreta00morg).pdf/147

 A brah am 's

Bowing

Oriental

Here

for every meal.

the bread

is

known. high honor which Abraham shows

flour,

made from This

the finest flour then

as

Jleat

7.

is

eaten

b}-

wheat

his guests.

nomad

the

sifted

finely

further evidence of the

is

only on That Abraham takes a young calf, the choicest honor he accords his guests and the extreme pitality. The host usually kills and dresses the

V.

129

Hospitality

very rare occasions. of meats, shows the

measure of

his

hos-

animal himself, just

here.

V.

In the Orient

8.

whom

the guests

it

customary for the host

is

He

he most honors.

himself

eats

wait upon

to

later

of

what

they leave.

Sarah had remained

in

the tent, however, not because the

nomad women were forbidden

to

show

V.

9.

custom

is

as

rule

a

practicalh' never

among

the

an Israelite practice). But esteemed that her presence

nomads.

among is

the

the

(this

Orient, and

This seems not to have been

nomads woman

negligible.

is

so lightly

That the strangers ask

mark of honor. an altogether human trait of the story, that Sarah represented as standing behind the door of the tent, i. e. a skin

after Sarah

V.

is

their faces to strangers

practiced only in the cities of

10.

is

It

a distinct

is