Verse by Verse

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

³⁵ And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.

1 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.”

² Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death.

³ Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me.

⁴ And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it.

⁶ So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying,

⁷ ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’

⁸ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you.

⁹ Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves.

¹⁰ Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”

¹¹ And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man.

¹² Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”

¹³ But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.”

¹⁴ And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved.

¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son.

¹⁶ And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.

¹⁷ Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸ So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”

²⁰ But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”

²¹ Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.”

²² So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

²³ And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.

²⁴ Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.”

²⁵ He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.”

²⁷ And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed.

¹² Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.

¹³ The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous;

¹⁴ for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.

¹⁵ Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth.

¹⁶ And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

¹⁷ Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

¹⁸ And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.

¹⁹ Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there.

²⁰ But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him.

²¹ Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah.

²² And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

²³ Then he went up from there to Beersheba.

²⁴ And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.”

²⁵ So he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

²⁶ Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army.

²⁷ And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”

²⁸ But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you,

²⁹ that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’ ”

³⁰ So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

³¹ Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

³² It came to pass the same day that Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.”

³³ So he called it Shebah. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

The wells of Genesis have significant names and are associated with significant events: (1) Beer-lahai-roi, “the well of Him who liveth and seeth me” (Genesis 16:14; 24:62; 25:11). (2) Beeer-sheba, “the well of the oath” or “covenant” (Genesis 21:25-33; 22:19; 26:23-25; 46:1-5). (3) Esek, “contention” (Genesis 26:20). (4) Sitnah, “hatred” (Genesis 26:21). Esek and Sitnah were Isaac’s own attempts at well-digging. Afterward he dwelt by the old wells of his father. and (5) Reho-both, “enlargement” (Genesis 26:22). Upon Isaac’s return to Beer-sheba, the Lord made Himself known. —Schofield, page 39-40.

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In verse 12 occurs the first mention of seed-sowing in the Bible, along with the information that the Lord blessed it with a hundredfold increase. Seed-sowing is frequently used in the New Testament as symbolic of witnessing; and it is noteworthy that the first mention is in the familiar parable of the sower, in which the good seed likewise brought forth a hundredfold (Matthew 13:23).

Isaac at this point prospered so greatly that his power began to eclipse even that of Abimelech and the Philistines. His herds and flocks, the richness of his crops, the increasing number of his servants, became so great that the envy of the Philistines, already vexed because of Abimelech’s protection of him, finally led to retaliation.

An adequate supply of water was, of course, absolutely necessary for Isaac’s operation; and this was obtained from the man wells dug by Abraham, his father, in the Philistine country. The Philistines decided to plug up all these wells and to force him out of their country. Abimelech himself called on Isaac to depart from their land, since he had become more powerful than his own nation. — Morris, page 422.

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Isaac could have resisted this demand, since the earlier Abimelech had given his father the right to dwell anywhere in the land he might choose (Genesis 20:15), and since the wells belonged to Abraham by right of construction. Also he might well have been able to defeat the Philistines colonists in battle, if it had come to that, since he now had ample manpower.

Isaac chose to let them have their way. He moved away, therefore, from the capital, going east and further up the valley of Gerar. Here there were other wells which Abraham had constructed, but these had already been plugged up when Abraham died. … Isaac embarked on a program of reopening these wells … He used the same names Abraham had given them.

In addition, his servants dug another well, evidently lower in the valley, and this turned out to be an artesian well, a well of “living water.” The Philistine herdsmen, however, claimed this water belonged to them … Rather than argue the point, Isaac instructed his own herdsmen to let them have the well and to dig another farther up the valley. He gave the first well the ironic name of Esek (the “Quarrel Well”). They proceeded to dig the second well, but the men of Gerar followed them there and demanded that well also.

Isaac then named it Sitnah (the “Hatred Well”) and again gave it to them. He moved much further away this time, beyond any region to which the Philistines had any reasonable claim. Finally, this time the men from Gerar no longer followed him; so the new well he dug was called Rehoboth (“the Well of Ample Room”). Isaac left some of his flocks and herds in this location, with their herdsmen, while he himself went on still farther. — Morris, page 423.

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While the well-digging was under way at Beersheba, a delegation of the Philistines again appeared—this time none less than King Abimelech himself, along with his chief captain Phichol and another man. … They knew Jehovah was blessing Isaac and that he was growing stronger all the time. Now that he was out of their land, they decided it was the policy of wisdom to stay on good terms with him. … They proposed a mutual nonaggression treaty, somewhat like the one Abraham and the earlier Abimelech had made on this same spot nearly a century before. Isaac was quite agreeable, especially after his recent encounter with God.

As they were departing … Isaac’s servants came to him with the happy news that the well they were digging had struck a good supply of water. It was appropriate that the well be called “the Well of the Oath” (Beersheba), not only because of the pact signed that day, but also because of the similar covenant and name assigned the place by Abraham long ago. No doubt Isaac had in mind God’s great covenant, which He had confirmed to him here. — Morris, page 425.

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Isaac at length makes his way from amongst the Philistines, and gets up to Beersheba. “And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, ‘I am the God of Abraham thy father; fear, not, for I am with the, and will bless thee.'” Mark, it was not the Lord’s blessing merely, but the Lord Himself. And why? Because Isaac had left the Philistines, with all their envy and strife and contention, behind, and gone up to Beersheba. Here the Lord could show Himself to His servant. The blessings of His liberal hand might follow him during his sojourn in Gerar, but His presence could not there be enjoyed. To enjoy God’s presence, we must be where He is, and He certainly is not to be found amid the strife and contention of an ungodly world; and hence, the sooner the child of God gets away from all such, the better. It is a very common error to imagine that we serve the men of this world by mixing ourselves up with them in their associations and ways. The true way to serve them is to stand apart from them in the power of communion with God, and thus show them the pattern of a more excellent way.

The true way to act on the hearts and consciences of the men of the world is to stand in decided separation from them, while dealing in perfect grace toward them. — Mackintosh, page 264-265.

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The patriarchal parallels continue: just as Abram’s “chain of sin” in Genesis 12:10-20 was followed in chapter 13 by the depiction of strife between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen over the land’s resources, so too in this present passage we are told that the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac over the preciously rare Middle Eastern commodity—water. To his credit, though Isaac’s entourage undoubtedly outnumbers and outpowers the Canaanite herdsmen (since he would have inherited, inter alia, the formidable fighting force of Abram described in Genesis 14:14-15), he patiently moves on from each disputed site until he found a location that the herdsmen did not quarrel over. Then, just as to his father Abram (see Genesis 13:14-17; 15:1), God subsequently affirms His covenant protection and provision for Isaac, in exemplary response to which the patriarch built an altar … and called upon the name of the Lord. — Wechsler, pages 227-228.

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That this is the same Abimelech who interacted with Abraham—which view we incline to—is supported by the following observations: (1) the name of the commander of his army—i.e., Phicol—is the same in both accounts (see Genesis 21:22); (2) the life-span of man at this point is in the 200-year range (i.e., Terah died at 205 years; Abraham at 175, and Isaac at 180), which is perfectly consistent with a reign of 80-plus years; and (3) the initiative and wording of Abimelech’s covenant with Isaac is very similar—at points even identical—to that expressed by Abimelech in Genesis 21:22-23. More importantly, this passage stands as a testimony to God’s absolute, gracious sovereignty in evangelism, for here—just as in chapter 21—the patriarch fails to exhibit the confident trust and righteous behavior of a believer in the True God—even common human decency, doing what most people in general know “ought to be done” (see Genesis 20:9). And yet in both instances the one most directly sinned against (Abimelech) affirms, on his own initiative, not only a covenant of peace with the failed evangelist, but also the supreme sovereignty and gracious character of his God! Indeed, that Abimelech’s appreciation—and perhaps faith in—the True God has been deepening since his encounter with Abraham is tantalizingly suggested by the fact that, whereas he only employs the general term “God” (Elohim) in his meeting with Abraham, he here refers to Him when talking to Isaac by His covenant name “Yahweh.” — Wechsler, pages 228-229. 

1 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

² Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you.

³ Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.

⁴ And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;

⁵ because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

⁶ So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

⁷ And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister”; for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.”

⁸ Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife.

⁹ Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’ ”

¹⁰ And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.”

¹¹ So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

A famine sent Abraham into Egypt where he denied Sarah, who was the vessel of the promises. A similar weapon [of Satan] is used to push Isaac into Gerar, where he also denies his wife! It is evident from the second verse that in spite of the lesson taught him by his father’s experience, he would have gone down into Egypt, had not the Lord appeared to him and prevented him, saying, “Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of.”But it would seem from verse 3 that he had not faith to dwell in that part of the land that God promised to tell him of, and accordingly God condescended to his fears saying in effect: very well, sojourn, if you will, in this land, that is, the land of the Philistine, only do not go down into Egypt, etc. Accordingly it is stated in verses 12-14 that Jehovah did bless him in that land in material wealth, but he suffered spiritually, was a moral injury to the Philistines, was continually contending with them, had anything but a life of peace and, finally, was asked by them to go away! — Williams, page 30.

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So far as the record goes, this is the first time God had appeared to Isaac since he was on Mount Moriah with his father Abraham, probably fifty or more years earlier. The Lord had spoke to Rebekah just before her twins were born, but this is the first time He had spoken to Isaac. 

The Lord had not forgotten His covenant concerning Isaac, however; and so he at this time repeated it to Isaac, in much the same words Isaac had heard Him speak to Abraham so long ago. … He again told Isaac he would give his descendants all the countries of the promised land, would give him an innumerable progeny, and bless all nations through him. However, God pointed out that he would do these things because of Abraham’s faithfulness and obedience, with no mention of Isaac’s — Morris, page 419.

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Isaac stayed in Gerar, which was a part of Canaan but which had been controlled for some time by a colony of Philistines. At this time, the main body of the Philistines still lived on the island of Crete, not actually moving en masse to “Palestine” until centuries later. The king, or “Abimelech,” of this colony was hardly the same one encountered by Abraham nearly a century earlier. 

Rebekah, though she must have been at least sixty years old by this time, was still a very beautiful and desirable woman, and quickly attracted much attention from the Philistine men. Isaac, like Abraham, began to be afraid that he might be murdered on his account. … Isaac’s tent was pitched not too far from the house of Abimelech himself, which was probably on the highest eminence in the community. Abimelech could see down into the women’s quarters of the tent from his window and, one day, perhaps not too much to his surprise, he saw Isaac making love to Rebekah.

When he confronted Isaac with this evidence, Isaac had to admit what he had done and why he had done it. Abimelech rebuked Isaac, and protested that he and his people had much higher standards of morality than Isaac had given them credit for. Adultery with his wife, which conceivably might have ensued, would have involved his whole nation in guilt before God. … Perhaps [the Philistines] had heard of the similar experience with Abraham long ago, when the nation almost died as that earlier Abimelech took Sarah into his harem. In some way, at any rate, God kept the men away from Rebekah. Then, surprisingly, Abimelech, instead of taking vengeance on Isaac for his deception, pronounced a potential capital penalty for any of his subjects who harmed either Isaac or Rebekah. — Morris, pages 420-421.

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The point of these parallels [between Abraham and Isaac]—which center upon the patriarchs’ less-than-perfect faith and expressed sin—is unquestionably to highlight the unmeritoriousness of Isaac as the covenant recipient and thus the unconditionality of the covenant as well as the faithfulness and sovereignty of God in maintaining it. — Wechsler, page 226.

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Of especial significance is God’s statement in verse five that “Abraham … kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” Though God did command Abraham to do a few things, such as emigrating to Canaan (Genesis 12:1), adopting circumcision (Genesis 17:10), and sacrificing Isaac (Genesis 22:2), such actions would hardly seem to square with this emphatic “piling up” of specifically legal terminology. Indeed, this is the first time in Scripture that any one of these four specific terms (whether plural or singular) are used, and after this they are applied almost exclusively to the Mosaic Law—especially when, as here, they are used together (cf. Deuteronomy 11:1). 

A reasonable and biblically-theologically consistent explanation is that this specifically Mosaic legal terminology of God’s statement is intended to teach the reader that by his faith Abraham was credited with the righteousness of perfect law-keeping. It is precisely this point, in fact, that Paul the apostle makes in Romans 3:31, as a lead-in to his extended discussion of Abrahams’ righteousness—to wit: “Do we then nullify the [Mosaic] Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law [i.e., we affirm and fulfill its standard of righteousness].” — Wechsler, pages 226-227.

¹⁹ This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac.

²⁰ Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian.

²¹ Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

²² But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

²³ And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.”

²⁴ So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.

²⁵ And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau.

²⁶ Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

²⁷ So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents.

²⁸ And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹ Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary.

³⁰ And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom.

³¹ But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”

³² And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?”

³³ Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

³⁴ And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

The next section, beginning in Genesis 25:19b and continuing through 37:2a, was probably recorded by Jacob. — Morris, page 411.

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The birthright included (1) the father’s blessing involving supremacy; (2) a double portion of the family estate; and (3) the domestic priesthood. Jacob, deplorable as was his character, valued divine and eternal blessing; and had he placed himself in God’s hands, the prophecy, made to his mother before he was born, would have been fulfilled to him, and without the degradation and suffering which his own scheming brought upon him.

The domestic priesthood meant that the eldest son acted as priest for the family, and offered the sacrifices which God had commanded Adam and his sons to offer. These are the priests, without doubt, spoken of in Exodus 19:2, and also in Exodus 24:5. With this priesthood were joined the Ten Commandments and the simple laws connected with them; but Israel having rejected this high honour, saying to Moses, “speak thou to us, but let not God speak to us”this peculiar glory was taken from them and vested in the tribe of Levi. — Williams, page 30.

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Isaac was forty years old when he was married to Rebekah, and it would be another twenty years before they would have any children. Like Abraham and Sarah, they had to wait many years and to make it a matter of special prayer, before God sent them a son. Rebekah was from Syria and her relatives are said to be Syrians. Aram was a son of Shem, so the Armaeans, or Syrians, were Semites. She had lived in Padan-aram (“the plain of Aram”), where the towns of Haran and Nahor were settled, and to which her family had migrated. — Morris, page 411.

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Rebekah was feeling more than normal fetal movements; an actual struggle was taking place in her womb, and Rebekah seemed to realize that this was a portent of something significant. … Whether through a prophet, or dream or theophany, we are not told, but in some way God spoke to her, so clearly that she could never forget the remarkable revelation which she received.

The twins in her womb were of two utterly different and antagonistic temperaments. The nations which they would establish would inherit these tendencies. … Which, then, would prevail? The Lord was most specific in His reply: “The elder shall serve the younger.” … since one of the two must carry on the Messianic line and must inherit the promises of the Abrahamic covenant, it is crystal clear that God here told Rebekah that His covenant would be with the younger son. …

Men normally have felt that the first-born son should receive the greater honor and inheritance, but God does not necessarily work in such ways. In the Messianic line, it is significant that neither, Seth, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, nor David were first-born sons; and it is not certain if any of the others were.

There was surely no reason why God could not select the younger if He so willed. God is sovereign, and we do well not to question His choice. “And not only this, but when Rebekah also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth:) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger, As it is written, Jacob have I loved [see Malachi 1:1-2], but Esau have I hated” (Romans 9:10-13). — Morris, pages 412-413.

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The strikingly unusual appearance of the two boys is reflected in the names given them. The first was named Esau, which means “hairy,” He was obviously a rugged, strong child. The second was named Jacob, which means “heel-catcher” (perhaps also, by extension, “supplanter”). With respect to Jacob’s odd name, the prophet Hosea seems to interpret it as evidence of power with God. “He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God” (Hosea 12:3). — Morris, page 414.

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The only other hunter mentioned in the Bible is “Nimrod the mighty hunter before [literally “against”] the Lord” (Genesis 10:9). One biblical hunter was a rebel against God, the other was a sportsman unconcerned with God. Esau preferred playing out in the fields [since, with his family’s wealthy, there was no need for extra food], even long after he was a grown man, to working for his family and serving the Lord. He also was a “fornicator” (Hebrews 12:16) and profane person. 

Jacob, on the other hand, was a “plain man, dwelling in tents.” Just like Abraham and Isaac, he “sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles” (Hebrews 11:9). … The translators have done Jacob a disservice by calling him a “plain” man, or a “quiet” man. The Hebrew word is tam, which means “perfect” or “complete” or possibly “mature.” It is exactly the same word God used to describe Job when He called him “a perfect man and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil” (Job 1:8). — Morris, page 415.

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Isaac became partial to Esau, and indeed encouraged him in his irresponsible activities, for the highly unworthy reason that “he did eat of his venison.”… The right of primogeniture may have been a custom at this time, but it was not yet a biblical law. In any case, the father had the privilege of transferring it from the eldest son to another, more deserving son (1 Chronicles 5:1-2). — Morris, page 416.

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Why do people so often consider Jacob the culprit in this transaction? [See Williams above.] Scripture does not offer one word of condemnation or criticism of Jacob. Instead, it condemns Esau unequivocally. “Thus Esau despised his birthright” (Genesis 25:34). “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected” (Hebrews 12:16-17).

This experience with the red lentils, in fact, was closely associated with his very name after that. People from then on often called him Edom (meaning “red”), so that, whenever he heard his name, he was forced to remember that he had sold his birthright for a mess of red pottage!

Jacob, of course, should have been willing to let God work out the problem. God would certainly have overruled the situation even if Isaac had not been willing to give Jacob the birthright as God had instructed him. However Jacob’s sin was not a sin of greed or blackmail, but rather one of lack of faith. — Morris, page 417-418.

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Lest the reader think that God’s response to Rebekah as merely prophetic (i.e., looking forward to the national ascendancy of Israel over Edom) rather than declarative (i.e., His decision for the twins as of that moment), that it was said with respect to the twins themselves, “even though they were not yet born, and had not done anything good or bad” (Romans 9:12). The same point, Paul notes, is made by God in His statement through Malachi, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated” (Malachi 1:2-3), in which the reference is not to God’s emotional attitude towards the two, but rather (and in keeping with the broader semantic range of the Hebrew verbs) to His simple, sovereign choice of one over the other. — Wechsler, page 224-225.

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good.

⁵¹ Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.”

⁵² And it came to pass, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, that he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth.

⁵³ Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.

⁵⁴ And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, “Send me away to my master.”

⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.”

⁵⁶ And he said to them, “Do not hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.”

⁵⁷ So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.”

⁵⁸ Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”

⁵⁹ So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men.

⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her: “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands; and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them.”

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

⁶² Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South.

⁶³ And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming.

⁶⁴ Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel;

⁶⁵ for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.

⁶⁶ And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.

⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Verse 67 is the second mention of love in the Bible.

After such a testimony, there could be no doubt that God had led the servant to select Rebekah as Isaac’s bride. Both her father and her brother, Bethuel and Laban, immediately acknowledged that regardless of their personal feelings in the matter, God had spoken and they must accept His decision. … Immediately the servant went to his store of valuables, and began to lavish gifts of jewelry and beautiful raiment on Rebekah. The bride of a prince must be provided with new clothing and adornments furnished by the father of the prince. … When they arose in the morning, the servant surprised everyone by requesting an immediate departure. … They felt that a minimum of ten days would be necessary for her to make adequate preparations and for them to adjust to the idea of her departure. … After the servant’s reference to the Lord’s leading, Laban and Bethuel’s wife decided to leave the decision up to Rebekah. … She was ready to go immediately! … Rebekah took her nurse with her, as well as her maids. … The family then bestowed a blessing on Rebekah, with prayers for a billionfold progeny, and said their good-byes. — Morris, pages 403-404.

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In the Genesis account, Isaac had last been seen at the place of sacrifice (Genesis 22:13-16). Though his name was frequently on the lips of Abraham, the servant, Rebekah, and others in the narrative, Isaac himself does not appear again until he goes out to meet Rebekah. 

Isaac had apparently made preparations to set up his own tent near Hagar’s well, the well Lahai-roi (Genesis 16:14; 25:11) far in the Negev, the south country, where Hagar had first discovered “the well of the living-and-seeing One.” 

Rebekah saw Isaac … and instinctively knew it was him. When she asked the servant, and he had confirmed it, she literally “fell off” the camel to meet him. She quickly put on a “veil,” actually a garment which covered both face and body, as this was the proper way, in accord with the custom, to first meet her husband-to-be. 

Isaac first took Rebekah into Sarah’s tent, vacant for the three years since his mother’s death, until the formalities of the marriage ceremony could be arranged. Then he married her, and took her into his own tent at Lahai-roi (Genesis 25:11). — Morris, page 405-406.

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The response of Laban and Bethuel to the servant’s account of his mission—i.e., “The matter comes from the Lord, so we cannot speak to you bad or good”—is noncommittal. One must be careful not to infer from their affirmation of Yahweh’s existence and even involvement in the matter that they are committed to Him as their God.  The recognition of other people’s god(s) is “par for the course” throughout the Bible (true “atheists”—the definition of a biblical “fool” (Psalm 14:1)—were rare). Were He truly their God, they would certainly have spoken “good”—i.e., responded in the affirmative that Rebekah was God’s choice. As it is, Laban and Bethuel are not opposed to the marriage (Isaac is, after all, a rather wealthy heir) and they initially acquiesce to the marriage, telling the servant to take her and go. They apparently have second thoughts, however, and—probably hoping to reverse their acquiescence in “face-saving” fashion—they undertake the rather unusual move of summoning Rebekah to consult her wishes in the matter. She again demonstrates her exemplary character (and the propriety of God’s choice) by stating, simply, “I will go”—a response which indicates not just a willingness to recommit socially and geographically, but also theologically (to belief in Yahweh), as born out both by her later actions (cf. Genesis 25:22) as well as the fact that this exact expression is employed to express precisely the same type of recommittment by Ruth (Ruth 1:16). —Wechsler, page 219.

¹⁵ And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah,

who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder.

¹⁶ Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up.

¹⁷ And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”

¹⁸ So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink.

¹⁹ And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”

²⁰ Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. ²¹ And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

²² So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold,

²³ and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?”

²⁴ So she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.”

²⁵ Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”

²⁶ Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord.

²⁷ And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”

²⁸ So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things.

²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well.

³⁰ So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well.

³¹ And he said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.”

³² Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

³³ Food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told about my errand.” And he said, “Speak on.”

³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.

³⁵ The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

³⁶ And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and to him he has given all that he has.

³⁷ Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell;

³⁸ but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’

³⁹ And I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’

⁴⁰ But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house.

⁴¹ You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’

⁴² “And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go,

⁴³ behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,”

⁴⁴ and she says to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

⁴⁵ “But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’

⁴⁶ And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also.

⁴⁷ Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.

⁴⁸ And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son.

⁴⁹ Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”

It was when Laban saw the jewelry upon his sister’s hands, that he showed kindness to Eliezer; but Rebekah showed him kindness before she saw. This was characteristic of Laban. — Williams, page 28.

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Before there was any possibility of being distracted by other girls coming to the well—indeed, before he was done speaking—Rebekah arrived, ready to draw water. … God not only had immediately sent a girl who made the generous offer he had prayed for, but she was a beautiful girl, obviously kind, energetic, strong, and hospitable. … in appreciation for her generous service, the man then took three golden rings (one for the nose—not earrings), all very valuable, and gave them to Rebekah. 

When he learned that this lovely and gracious young woman was none other than Rebekah herself, about whom they had learned back in Hebron, Isaac’s second cousin, he was almost overcome with emotion. He had to stop immediately, bow down and worship the Lord, in audible thanksgiving to the God who had so richly answered his prayer and the prayer of his master Abraham. — Morris, pages 397-398.

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Since he was making a proposal of marriage, it was of course proper to give a clear statement of his master’s financial status, which he did most impressively, ascribing all the credit for Abraham’s wealth to God rather than to his business acumen. He also noted that Isaac had been made sole heir of all this wealth, and its attendant responsibility. Morris, page 401.

1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

² So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh,

³ and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell;

⁴ but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

⁵ And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?”

⁶ But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there.

⁷ The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

⁸ And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.”

⁹ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.

¹¹ And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water.

¹² Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

¹³ Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.

¹⁴ Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

Isaac himself was forty years old by this time (Genesis 25:20), which means Abraham was 140. … Abraham knew there must be such a girl [one who loved God, a virgin, one who loved her own family, but would be OK with making her home in Canaan] somewhere, because he trusted God to provide the promised seed through Isaac; and for this Isaac must have the right woman for a wife. He had recently learned of his brother Nahor, and had even learned that Nahor had a young granddaughter named Rebekah (Genesis 22:20, 23). — Morris, page 392-393.

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Abraham was adamant in insisting that Isaac not go, probably because he had learned by then that the heir of God’s promises should stay in the promised land. As a matter of fact, during all his life, Isaac never left Canaan at all (Genesis 26:2-3). If Issac had gone in search of a bride, there might have been too great a temptation for him to stay with her among her own people, rather than to return to Canaan.

Therefore, Abraham sent his servant on the mission. This man was the steward of all his house, the oldest and most trusted one of his servants. If Eliezer was still living (Genesis 15:2), then he doubtless was the man. However, this event took place over fifty years after Eliezer’s name had been mentioned, so me may well have been dead by this time. — Morris, page 393.

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The sign and seal of the oath was a strange one. The servant was to “put his hand under the thigh of Abraham,” while making the promise. The only other occasion on which a similar procedure was used was the time Jacob asked Joseph to put his hand under his thigh and promise he would not bury him in Egypt (Genesis 47:29). the exact meaning of this phrase is obscure. The word “thigh” is frequently also translated “side” or “shaft.” On two important occasions, it refers to the loins. For example, In Genesis 46:26, it obviously refers to the procreative system: “All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins …”

All the ancient Jewish commentators understood this promise to be a euphemism for placing the hand under the male genital organ, and to have a symbolic meaning akin to that of circumcision, so far as the patriarchs were concerned. It was a most solemn oath, in any event, and clearly was related to God’s promise in connection with both the promised land and the promised seed. — Morris, page 394.

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The servant immediately set out to equip a caravan for the journey and for the accomplishment of his mission. This required taking provisions for the long trip, a large quantity of his master’s goods (or “valuables”) as presents for the prospective bride and her family, and enough attendants (Genesis 24:59) for protection and other needs of the journey. … Abraham’s servant knew that the women of the place would come out to the wells to draw water for their households in the early evening, and this seemed the best place to meet them.

Drawing enough water to satisfy the thirst of ten large and tired camels would be a hard and wearisome task, to say the least. He couldn’t really ask a girl to do such a thing. Nevertheless, if she would do it voluntarily, it would be a strong indication that she was the right one. Accordingly, he decided to pray to this specific end. — Morris, page 396.

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To appreciate the truly outstanding character (viz., kindness and graciousness) that this would indicate, one should bear in mind that the servant had with him ten camels, and the typical one-humped camel found throughout the Middle East can take 26-40 gallons in one drink! — Wechsler, page 218.

1 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 

² So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

³ Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,

 ⁴ “I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

⁵ And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,

 ⁶ “Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.”

⁷ Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth.

⁸ And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me,

⁹ that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.”

¹⁰ Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying,

¹¹ “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!”

¹² Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land;

¹³ and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.”

¹⁴ And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,

¹⁵ “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.”

¹⁶ And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.

¹⁷ So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded

¹⁸ to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

¹⁹ And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

²⁰ So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.

By the time of Sarah’s death, the family had apparently  moved from Beersheba back to Hebron, which was also known as Kirjath-Arba (the “city of Arba,” the father of the Anakims), where they had lived many years earlier.

Sarah died in Hebron, still in Canaan, the land to which they had migrated, and she died without seeing the fulfillment of the promises (Hebrews 11:13). Sarah died at the age of 127, there in Hebron, and it is significant that she is the only woman in all Scripture whose age at the time of death is given. … Peter’s reference to her (1 Peter 3:5-6) indicates that, as Abraham was considered father of those who believe, so Sarah was considered mother of all believing women.  “For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are [or better, ‘have become’] if you do good and are not afraid with any terror [or, ‘with hysterical fears’].” — Morris, page 386.

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At least so far as the record goes, Abraham did not yet own any of the land himself, and so had to purchase hurriedly a plot of ground for a burying place. The only purchase of property he ever made in the land of Canaan was for a grave. The altars and wells which belonged to him were his by result of building them himself, and probably were on land which he was only using or leasing. Though he had many possessions, he himself had no certain dwelling place. “By faith, he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles” (Hebrews 11:9). …

In accordance with the exaggerated formalities of purchasing and selling that have long been practiced in the East, Abraham first asked for someone to mediate between him and Ephron, to transmit his request to be allowed to purchase the land. Although it is difficult to distinguish how much of the Hittite response was sincere and how much mere custom, it does seem significant that they called Abraham “a mighty prince [literally ‘prince of God’] among us.”

Abraham himself was obviously sincere in his offer, as well as respectful and humble before the Hittites. He did not haggle, as they perhaps expected him to, nor would he accept their offer to let him use their sepulchers or to give him their land. Almost certainly, these offers were merely opening gestures of politeness which they expected no one to take seriously. — Morris, pages 387-388.

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As far as Stephen’s statement that Abraham had purchased the field in Shechem is concerned (Acts 7:16), Abraham lived another thirty-eight years after Sarah died (Genesis 17:17; 23:1; 25:7). During that period he meet and married Keturah and had six more sons. It seems plausible that he might have purchased a second parcel of ground for use by his second family, in the region near Shechem, where he had built his first altar in Canaan (Genesis 12:6-7). When Abraham died, however, he was buried with Sarah in Mamre. Keturah and her sons may not have retained possession of the Shechem property, selling it or losing it somehow to the Hivites who had become the chief inhabitants of the region. Then, about eighty-five years after Abraham’s death, when Jacob came to the Schchem area, knowing that this tract had once belonged to his grandfather, he purchased it back again. As Abraham had built an altar there, so Jacob then did the same. — Morris, pages 389-390.

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Hebron has especial significance for the Jewish people (whose current access to it, seeing that it is in the West Bank, is highly restricted) since it is also the burial site of Sarah (23:19), Isaac (35:29), Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob (49:31; 50:13, Acts 7:16), and is also the city from which David ruled for seven and a half years over Judah before being recognized as king by all twelve tribes (see 2 Samuel 5:3-5). — Wechsler, page 215.

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Because Abraham realizes that the Hittites do not recognize his divine right to the land, he does what is necessary to ensure his actual possession of the land will be respected by going through the culturally accepted process of commercial transaction. — Wechsler, page 216.

¹¹ But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.”

¹² And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

¹³ Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.

¹⁴ And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

¹⁵ Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven,

¹⁶ and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—

¹⁷ blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.

¹⁸ In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

¹⁹ So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

²⁰ Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, “Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:

²¹ Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,

²² Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.”

²³ And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.

²⁴ His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.

Note that the “angel of the Lord” commended Abraham because “thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.” It is evident here that this “angel of the Lord” is claiming to be none other than the Lord Himself. 

“God will provide himself a lamb,” Abraham had told Isaac. And now God did exactly that, except that it was a ram, rather than a lamb. The complete fulfillment must await the true Lamb, the Lamb of God. The ram was offered up on the altar as a burnt offering in substitution for his son, thus adding the teaching of substitutionary sacrifice to the type. — Morris, page 381.

Wechsler’s take (previous study) is that Isaac himself was the lamb. If that’s true, then Morris’ take (above) doesn’t work.

Abraham named the location Jehovah-jireh, which means “the Lord will provide,” or, alternatively, “the Lord will appear.” — Morris, page 382.

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Since the “mount of the Lord” in Scripture is the Temple Mount (cf. Isaiah 2:2)—i.e., Mount Moriah (cf. 2 Chronicles 3:1), the very mount on which the event of this chapter takes place!—and since nothing material is actually provided for the worshiper who goes there (he brings his own sacrifice), the only thing that can “be provided” (note the passive voice of the verb) is the forgiveness/atonement that the worshiper who comes in faith is seeking. What a vivid “shadow” of God the Father’s “provision” of the one and only sacrifice that could ever take away sin: the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham, who offered His blood on the heavenly altar—”one sacrifice for sins for all time” (see Hebrews 9:23-26; 10:12). — Wechsler, page 214.

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To emphasize as strongly as possible that His word would be accomplished, God made an oath to Abraham, swearing by His own name. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,  that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us (Hebrews 6:13-18). — Morris, pages 382-383. 

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Jesus said: “he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). God told Abraham: “Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son,” therefore He would: (1) bless Abraham himself abundantly; (2) make his descendants as innumerable as the stars of heaven or as the sand by the sea; (3) cause his descendants to prevail against their enemies; (4) cause all other nations of the earth likewise to be blessed in Abraham’s seed. All of these blessings were promised to Abraham because “thou has obeyed my voice.” This is the first occurrence of the word “obey” in the Bible, and it stresses that obedience belongs to God first of all, and that obedience to God results in rich blessing. — Morris, page 383.

As to the first use of “obey,” see the post on Genesis 2:15.

Three times in this promise, God used the word “seed.” At that time, Abraham had only one seed, Isaac, but that seed was to be multiplied and to bring blessing to all. Nevertheless, the fact that God stressed the word in the singular, rather than plural, was significant in that it would be through the Abrahamic nation that the world’s Savior would one day come. “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ” (Galatians 3:16). And, surely, rich blessings have indeed come through Christ. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). — Morris, page 383.

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[Verses 20-24] represent a sort of parenthesis in the narrative, showing that … Abraham’s brother Nahor still lived back in Mesopotamia, possibly in the city known as Nahor. … Abraham often must have wondered where he could find a wife for his son. If Isaac was to be the father of the great nation as promised, the choice of a proper wife was all-important. … Nahor had married his niece, a girl named Milcah, and he also had a concubine named Reumah. Milcah had had eight sons and Reumah four. Isaac, however, having been born so late in Abraham’s life, was more the age of Nahor’s grandchildren than of his own cousins. The grandchildren of Nahor may have been very numerous, but only two are mentioned: Aram, son of Kemuel, and Rebekah, the daughter of Nahor’s youngest son, Bethuel. The reason Rebekah is mentioned in the narrative (which is part of “the generation of Isaac,” it will be remembered) is of course that she was later to be the one chosen as Isaac’s wife. — Morris, pages 384-385.