Page:A critical and exegetical commentary on Genesis (1910).djvu/449

 but whether she will go at all. The reference to the wishes of the bride may be exceptional (owing to the distance, etc.); but a discrepancy with $51$ cannot easily be got rid of.—59. their sister] cf. 'your daughter,' 34$8$, the relation to the family being determined by that to the head of the house. But it is better to read (pl.) in $53. 55$ with VS and MSS of G.—her nurse] see on 35$8$.—60. The blessing on the marriage (cf. Ru. 4$11ff.$), rhythmic in form, is perhaps an ancient fragment of tribal poetry associated with the name of Rebekah.—possess the gate] as 22$17$.—61a and 61b seem to be variants. For another solution (KS.), see on $6$2.—her maidens] parallel to 'her nurse?' in $5$9.

62-67. The home-bringing of Rebekah.—62. Now Isaac had come ] What follows is hardly intelligible. The most probable sense is that during the servant's absence Isaac had removed to Beer-laḥai-roi, and that near that well the meeting took place.

The difficulty lies partly in the corrupt (v.i.), partly in the circumstantial form of the sent., and partly in the unexplained disappearance of Abraham. Keeping these points in mind, the most conservative exegesis is that of De.: Isaac (supposed to be living with his father at Beersheba) 'was coming from a walk in the direction of B.', when he met the camels; this, however, makes ($63$) plup., which is hardly right. More recent writers proceed on the assumption that the death of Abraham had been explicitly recorded. Ho. suggests that Isaac had removed to Laḥairoi during his father's life (transposing 25$11b$ before 24$2$), and that now he comes from that place (reads ) on hearing of Abraham's death. Di. reads $62a$ [], and finds in these words the notice of Isaac's migration to B.—KS., reading as Di., but making the servant implicit subj. of, puts the chief hiatus between $61a$ and $61b$: the servant on his return learned that Abraham was dead;

—59. ] G =, a word of P.—60.  is appositional vocative, not subj. to (soror nostra es, V).—] with abnormal (G-K. § 63 q).—] [E], as 22$17$.

62. ] cannot be inf. const. with ; the French il vint d' arriver (Hupf. 29) has no analogy in Heb. idiom. Nor can it readily be supposed equivalent to (1 Ki. 8$65$; De. v.s.); for the direction in which Isaac took his walk is an utterly irrelevant circumstance, [E] and G read, from which a fairly suitable text ( or ) could be obtained (cf. Di. and Ho. s.). Gu.'s (as acc. of direction) has no parallel except the very remote one of, Ezk. 27$3$ (of the situation of Tyre). Other suggestions are to delete the word as an uncorrected lapse of the pen; to read with omission of the following