King David | FirstOneThrough

Genesis chapter 23 describes the death of the Jewish matriarch Sarah and her burial. It is immediately followed by a peculiar opening in chapter 24:

וְאַבְרָהָ֣ם זָקֵ֔ן בָּ֖א בַּיָּמִ֑ים וַֽיהֹוָ֛ה בֵּרַ֥ךְ אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֖ם בַּכֹּֽל׃

Abraham was now old, advanced in years, and ‘ה blessed Abraham in all things.

Abraham had just buried his wife and the Torah says that Abraham had everything. A strange phrase, as he just lost his spouse!

The Bible would then describe that Abraham sent out one of his trusted attendants to make sure that his son Isaac got a suitable spouse. The biblical commentator Rashi noted that the numerical value of the Hebrew word for with everything, בַּכֹּֽל, is the same as the numerical value in Hebrew of son, בֵּן. Rashi said that because God blessed Abraham with a son, Abraham needed to find him a wife.

Looking at the Haftorah section for the weekly portion of Chayei Sarah when this portion is read, could lead to a broader interpretation of this sentence.

The rabbis decided to match Chayeh Sarah with Kings 1, which starts with King David being very old. Sentences 1 to 4 describe David as being so old that he could not retain heat, so he was brought a young virgin who stayed with him to warm him. The passages were clear that the king was not intimate with her. A lot of detail to share that the king was very old and mostly stayed in bed.

The rest of the reading would describe King David setting Solomon to be his heir, instead of sons who competed for the role of king.

*King David playing the Harp, by Peter Paul Rubens ca. 1616*

The two biblical stories convey a message to be taken together.

As Abraham and King David approached the end of their lives, they had seemingly accomplished everything. They had finished having children and building their fortune. It was time to retire peacefully.

But they did not.

Abraham made sure that his son would marry an appropriate woman and be able to carry on the family’s good name. King David made sure the appropriate son would lead the kingdom.

The bible relates that each man did this when they were old and without an active companion. While they would have no more children – hence the bible making clear that the virgin brought to David remained a virgin – they still had an active role to play in directing their children and the course of Jewish history.

Rashi’s comment that Abraham had a son could be reread that Abraham was not going to have any more sons. He needed to focus on the future of the son he had.

It is a lesson for older people even today: you are more then just a link in a chain. The next generation continues to need your guidance to make sure important values and traditions are imparted.