Why did Rebekah veil herself upon seeing Isaac in Genesis 24:64? Text of Genesis 24:64–65 “Then Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from her camel and said to the servant, ‘Who is that man walking through the field to meet us?’ ‘It is my master,’ the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.” Historical & Cultural Setting Rebekah’s journey occurred c. 2080 BC (Usshur chronology) as she traveled from Aram-naharaim to Canaan. Contemporary cuneiform marriage contracts from Nuzi, Mari, and the Middle Assyrian Laws—catalogued and published in the last century by believing archaeologists working under the Oriental Institute—show that brides customarily veiled themselves when approaching the bridegroom. These documents confirm the biblical narrative’s cultural accuracy and thus reinforce the reliability of Genesis. The Practice of Veiling in the Patriarchal Period 1. Married or betrothed women wore a ṣadi/pakidu (head-to-shoulder veil) to mark covenant status. 2. Veiling distinguished honorable women from temple prostitutes (Middle Assyrian Laws A §§ 18-20). Scripture mirrors this distinction in Genesis 38:14 when Tamar concealed her face to feign harlotry, implying the veil’s recognized signal value. 3. Egyptian tomb paintings from the Eleventh Dynasty (dated by creationist Egyptologists to shortly after Babel) depict Semitic women in head coverings but not full veils, consistent with Rebekah’s Mesopotamian origin bringing her own custom south. Purposes of Rebekah’s Veil 1. Modesty and Chastity • Song of Songs 4:1: “Your eyes behind your veil are doves.” • 1 Timothy 2:9 enjoins “modest apparel” (cf. 1 Peter 3:3-4). Rebekah’s act broadcasts sexual purity at the threshold of marriage. 2. Identification of Betrothed Status • Ancient marriage tablets require a bride to veil when presented to the groom as a public sign of exclusive covenant. By veiling, Rebekah proclaims, “I now belong to Isaac.” 3. Deference to Future Husband • 1 Corinthians 11:10 : “For this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.” Her action communicates respect for Isaac’s headship before even speaking with him. 4. Protection of a Sacred Encounter • Genesis 24 emphasizes divine orchestration (v. 7, 27, 48). Covering her face preserved the solemnity of the moment Yahweh had arranged, paralleling Moses veiling after seeing God’s glory (Exodus 34:33). 5. Typological Foreshadowing of Christ and the Church Isaac, the promised son spared by substitutionary sacrifice (Genesis 22), prefigures the resurrected Christ. Rebekah, arriving by the Spirit-led servant, portrays the Church led by the Holy Spirit. The veil signifies the Church’s purity now “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3) until the full unveiling at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-8). Theological Significance Rebekah’s veil encapsulates covenantal transition—moving from her father’s household to Isaac’s, echoing Genesis 2:24. It also illustrates the biblical principle that outward symbols testify to inward realities; the covering dramatizes submission to divine order, anticipating Pauline teaching millennia later, attesting to Scripture’s unified authorship by the Holy Spirit. Practical Implications for Believers Today While specific garments vary, the heart posture Rebekah displayed—modesty, covenant loyalty, and reverent submission—remains timeless. In an age of self-promotion, her quiet honoring of God’s design invites modern disciples to glorify Christ through counter-cultural humility and purity while awaiting the final unveiling of our salvation (1 John 3:2). |
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