La Vita Nuova
Abraham’s servant, oath not yet fulfilled,
Worried that Yahweh might take failure ill;
He knew for his part a Canaanite wife,
Would be an oath-breaker, nothing but strife!
The Negev was desert, camels and dung,
How find a good woman where there was none?
Isaac, however, had faith in God’s plan,
Toward evening walked like a purposeful man.
”You won’t find a good wife in fields at dusk,
And find a good wife you certainly must;
For God and your father made it quite clear,
Find an Israelite wife, no wife to fear!”
Isaac ignored the good servant’s sharp tongue,
Looked down from the sky, where stars had been flung,
Like a road through a field, coming to one
Who waited, alert, God’s will to be done.
Like Isaac, Rebekah, also alert
Saw the tall, handsome stranger, shifted her skirt,
Dismounted her camel, called Isaac’s servant,
“Who is that man who seems so observant,
Watching us carefully, eager to meet
An Israelite woman now veiled to greet
An Israelite man to marry as wife?”
”My master,” said the servant,
Thanking God for new life.
(Sorry! A work in progress, so to speak, like myself!)
(Feet are one of the many problems here too!)
Not Rebekah, but she might have been.