（创24）亚伯拉罕的仆人 (Genesis 24) Servant of Abraham

(ChatGPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）

Genesis 24:34: “He said, ‘I am Abraham’s servant.’”

“Sarah lived,” is a very special reading portion in the book of Genesis. It includes chapters 23, 24, and part of chapter 25. The beginning talks about the death of Sarah, Abraham’s wife; the end talks about the death of Abraham himself. Both sections are brief. But the middle, chapter 24, is quite long, focusing on Abraham’s servant arranging a marriage for Abraham’s son. In this reading portion, the servant instead becomes the main character. This reminds me of the Jewish Hanukkah menorah: the lamp in the middle is the highest, yet it is actually the “servant lamp,” meant to light the other lamps. See source.

Human nature tends to willingly work hard for one’s own matters, but Abraham’s servant wholeheartedly worked for the affairs of others. Even more remarkable, in helping to find a wife for Abraham’s son, the servant had to overcome his own self-interest. As Abraham’s steward (Genesis 24:2), it is likely that the childless Abraham and Sarah originally intended for this steward to inherit their estate (Genesis 15:2). Later, after their son was born, arranging the son’s marriage to ensure his descendants would inherit meant that there would no longer be any share for the servant. Yet in this reading portion, the servant goes above and beyond: he swears an oath, prays for the mission, gives thanks for its progress, refuses to eat until the mission succeeds, and departs promptly the next day after the task is complete.

Human nature also seeks fame, yet the servant’s name is not mentioned in this section of the Bible. When introducing himself, he says only, “I am Abraham’s servant,” not his own name. So, in this portion, his mission becomes his name. According to traditional interpretations, this servant is likely the Eliezer mentioned in Genesis 15:2. The ultimate author of Scripture is the Creator, who obviously knows the servant’s name. Thus, the Creator deliberately used the title “Abraham’s servant” instead of naming him Eliezer or anything else. I believe this is to praise him for transcending personal identity to live fully for his mission.

In this reading portion, the narrative mentions Sarah’s death at the beginning and Abraham’s death at the end. However, when it speaks of Abraham’s servant, it concludes with the successful completion of his mission without mentioning his death, nor is his death recorded later. This shows that a life lived for the Creator’s mission transcends the bounds of mortality. (Coincidentally, Jewish tradition holds that Abraham’s servant entered paradise alive. See source).

In the world’s value system, greatness lies in commanding others. But in the eyes of the Creator, greatness lies in serving others well. Mark 10:43 records Jesus saying, “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” According to the New Testament, Jesus himself embodied this principle by taking on the form of a servant, even washing his disciples’ feet as an example before his departure. Jesus’ own name also reflects his mission: “Jesus” (Yeshua) means “The Creator saves.” His earthly life was entirely dedicated to fulfilling the Creator’s saving mission.

Abraham’s servant also serves as a model for us. The Hebrew root of “Abraham” (Avraham) shares a common element with “Abba” (Father). Thus, Abraham’s servant can be seen as a metaphor for a servant of our Heavenly Father. The servant’s journey represents the believer’s current life on earth. Ultimately, we are all servants of the Creator.

In reading Genesis, it’s easy to focus on Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob as the “red flowers” in the story, but here the Bible devotes an entire long chapter to a “green leaf” character—the journey of Abraham’s servant. His deeds are even retold twice, once in third-person narration and once in his own words. This is worth our attention. The world value emphasizes the red flowers, not the green leaves, but we should also willingly learn to be green leaves because the Creator values them. Abraham’s servant’s name is also known to the Creator.

（创24）亚伯拉罕的仆人

创世记24:34 “他说：我是亚伯拉罕的仆人。”

“撒拉享寿”，是创世记里很特殊的一个读经进度，它包括23，24，与25章的一部分。前面讲亚伯拉罕的太太撒拉去世，后面讲亚伯拉罕自己去世，都很短，而中间的24章很长，讲的是亚伯拉罕的仆人为亚伯拉罕的儿子娶亲。所以在这个读经进度里，仆人反而成了主角。这使我想起了犹太人光明节的灯台，中间的一盏灯最高，但它其实是仆人灯，目的是为了点亮其它的灯的。参见

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah_menorah

人的本性，是为自己的事努力才甘心，但亚伯拉罕的仆人是为别人的事尽心努力。更有甚者，他为亚伯拉罕娶儿媳需要额外地克服心里的自我，因为这件事与他自己的利益相反。这个仆人是亚伯拉罕的管家（创24:2），他主人亚伯拉罕与撒拉原来不能生育，很可能是想让管家继承产业的（创15:2）。后来主人生了儿子，再给儿子娶亲繁衍后代，那么主人的产业就没有管家的份了。但是在这个读经进度里，我们可以看到管家仍然为这事尽心尽力，他为成就这事起誓，祈祷，感恩，在确定成就之前连饭都不肯吃，事情成就以后第二天就启程回家。

人的本性是愿意自己出名，但亚伯拉罕的仆人的名字在圣经这里完全没有写出来，他自我介绍时也不提自己的名字，只说“我是亚伯拉罕的仆人”。所以，在这个读经进度里，他的使命就成了他的名字。其实，这个仆人的名字按照传统解经法推论，应该就是创15:2的以利以谢。圣经的终极作者是造物主，祂当然知道这个仆人的名字，所以造物主选择在这里使用“亚伯拉罕的仆人”这个名字而不是以利以谢或其他的名字，我认为这是故意的，是在赞扬他超越了自我的限制，成了为他的使命而活的人。

这个读经进度里，前面讲到撒拉去世，后面讲到亚伯拉罕去世，但中间讲亚伯拉罕的仆人时，只讲到他使命的完成，却没有讲他去世，后来也没有。原来，为造物主的使命而活，这种超越自我的生命是超越死亡的。（无独有偶，犹太传统认为亚伯拉罕的仆人活着进入了乐园。https://beinenu.com/system/files/alonim/74_05_83.pdf?download=1）

在世人的价值观里，能使唤很多其他人的自我，才是大人物。但在造物主的眼中，能服侍好其他人的自我，才是大人物。新约马可福音10:43记载耶稣说，“只是在你们中间，不是这样。你们中间，谁愿为大，就必作你们的用人。” 按照新约教导，耶稣自己，也是造物主的道选择自己降卑成为的仆人形象，他在临别前曾经作榜样为门徒们洗脚。耶稣自己的名字，也像本读经进度里亚伯拉罕的仆人那样，是按照他的使命起的名字，就是造物主拯救的意思。耶表示造物主，稣表示拯救。他在地上的生命历程，就是为了完成造物主拯救的使命。

亚伯拉罕的仆人，也是我们的榜样。亚伯拉罕的亚伯，与阿爸父的阿爸，有着相同的词源。所以亚伯拉罕的仆人，可以用来比喻阿爸天父的仆人。仆人的差旅，可以比喻信徒今生在地上的差旅。归根到底，我们都是天父造物主的仆人。

读创世记，一般人的眼光容易注重亚伯拉罕，以撒，雅各，这些红花式的人物，但圣经在这里花了很长一章讲了一个绿叶式的人物，亚伯拉罕的仆人的旅程，甚至他所做的事情还通过第三人称和第一人称讲了两遍，这是很值得我们注意的。世人愿意作红花，不愿意作绿叶，但我们也要甘心作绿叶，并学习作好绿叶，因为造物主也重视绿叶。亚伯拉罕的仆人的名字，造物主也知道。