Yitschaq: The New Chieftain Of The Hebrew Clan
YAHWEH blessed Yitschaq
Then Abraham breathed his last, dying at a ripe old age, an old man who had lived his full span of years; and he was gathered to his people....After Abraham's death YAHWEH blessed his son Yitschaq, and Yitschaq lived near the well of Lahai Roi (Bereshith 25:7,11).
The date was about 1800 B.C. In the oak-grove of Mamre, near the city of Hebron, the shepherds' camp was in mourning. In the black tent of woven goats' hair, Abraham, the old nomad chieftain, the Aramean patriarch, the one 'loved by YAHWEH', as the Scriptures calls him, had just breathed his last. In noisy and somewhat ostentatious fashion the assembled company gave vent to their grief.
Abraham was gathered to his people says Bereshith on this occasion. Sometimes, in speaking of a dead person, he was described as having 'gone down into Sheol'; the term used to designate the underground dwelling of the departed. In this dark, desolate place the 'shade', although not entirely devoid of feelings, continued to lead a rather sad and diminished existence. During the period, which concerns us, the Hebrews had no idea of a moral reward after death.
Abraham's body was taken to the funeral cave of Machpelah which had recently been fitted out as a family vault by Abraham himself. Behind the procession of weeping mourners walked Ishmael and Yitschaq, the two sons of the dead man. On a stone shelf, similar to that on which lay the remains of Sarah, the ancestress, were placed the mortal remains of Abraham, wrapped up in a sheepskin unless, following the Sumerian custom, a reed mat was used. In any case, there was no embalming such as the Egyptians did. Beside the corpse bowls were placed and a jar full of water. Then the heavy boulder was rolled back into place to secure the entrance, which at this period was usually a cleft in the rock.
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