Genesis 24:53
Bridal Presents
Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother.
Isaac and Rebekah
Apparently Rebekah’s father was not alive because the dowry or bride-price (see Genesis 29:18 Dowry), was given to her brother and mother. The gifts given to Rebekah were wedding gifts, but the dowry paid to her brother and mother was to secure her financial future in case Isaac should forsake her or he should die. The dowry was actually hers, and was to kept for her by her brother and mother. If the dowry was used for other purposes, the bride had full right to protest, as Rachel and Leah did about their father: “Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us” (Genesis 31:15). The wedding gifts to the bride were also a token of her future husband’s ability to provide for her, and his respect and desire for her. To not give gifts would be the highest of insults, just as would be the refusal to accept the gifts.
Freeman, James M., and Harold J. Chadwick. Manners & Customs of the Bible. North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers, 1998. Print.
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