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Sarah’s passing and Rivkah’s (Rebecca) birth

The Rav Name: Rabbis of the Da’at Institute

In Parashat Vayerah – Why did Abram go to Beer Sheba after the Akedah if Sarai passed away in Chevron. As in the next Parasha is mentioned that Abram came to Chevron to eulogize her.

Another question – at the end of parashat Veyrah the sequence seems out of place. Mentioned Milcah gave birth to 8 children to Nachor and in between comes the fact that Betuel gave birth to Rivka – shouldn’t that sentence be at the end rather than in the middle?

halom and thank you for your question! Yes it is written that Abraham went back to Beer Sheva, where he had received instructions from G-d. It is also true that Sarah died in Hevron. The commentary of the Ramban (Nachmanides,) maintains that Sarah must have passed away at a later stage, since they would not have lived in separate places. According to this opinion G-d had given Abraham instructions to be in Beer Sheva.

Regarding the placement of Rivkah’s birth before the fact that Milcah bore Nachor eight children, there is a principle in Torah interpretation that the Torah does not necessarily follow chronological order, since it comes to teach, not as a narrative. In this case it could be that Rivkah’s birth is mentioned earlier because of it’s significance, since she was the second matriarch.

Sources

“והנראה בעקידה שהייתה הצואה בה בבאר שבע, כי שם היה דר ושם חזר, כי כן כתוב בתחילה (לעיל כא לג) ‘ויטע אשל בבאר שבע ויקרא שם בשם ה’ אל עולם’ ואמר (שם) ‘ויגר אברהם בארץ פלשתים ימים רבים’, והוא גרותו בבאר שבע שהוא בארץ פלשתים, ושם נצטווה בעקידה, ועל כן שהה בדרך שלשה ימים, שארץ פלשתים רחוקה מירושלים, שאילו חברון בהר יהודה הוא … ובשובו מן העקידה לבאר שבע חזר, כמו שנאמר (לעיל כב יט) ‘וישב אברהם אל נעריו ויקומו וילכו יחדו אל באר שבע וישב אברהם בבאר שבע’, להורות שנתעכב שם וישב בו שנים. ואם כן לא מתה שרה באותו זמן, כי לא היה אברהם דר בבאר שבע ושרה דרה בחברון”.

(רמב”ן)

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Sarah’s passing and Rivkah’s (Rebecca) birth

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