Chayei Sarah Genesis 23
Torah Portion: Chayei Sarah Genesis 23:1-25:18
HafTorah: I Kings 1:1-31
Tonight I want us to look at the Torah section and see what we can learn from these years of Abraham’s life. There are also several hints in this section about the after life and the resurrection. One of those hints occurs almost immediately in Genesis 23:1. In this verse there are words that without the vowel points can be read two ways. The same words occur in Genesis 25:7 where the text speaks about Abraham. The words are “shna chayai Sarah” and later “shna chayai Avraham”. As they are marked in most Hebrew Bibles they are read “years of life.” However, in the original Hebrew, without vowel points, they can also be read as two lives. If the text is read this way it can be talking about the after life or the resurrection. In verse 23:2 another hint occurs where the word for “weep” in Hebrew is written with a small letter in the middle suggesting that Abraham’s weeping was tempered. Suggesting Abraham as comforted by the fact that he knew he would see Sarah again. This is also stated in I Thess. 4:13 where Paul says we have a hope that nonbelievers do not share. These hints are more evident in Hebrew than our English translations.