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Genesis 24

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A protagonist is the character that drives the action of the plot. In Genesis 24, the main character who drives the plot of the story is Abraham’s servant, who has been given the job to find a suitable wife for Isaac. The entire story of Genesis 24 is revolved around the job of the servant and him being divinely introduced to Rebekah, the wife Abraham said to find. Abraham provides specific instructions for his servant in his task to find Isaac a wife; therefore, the action of the story moves from Abraham, which most of this part of Genesis is about, to Abraham’s servant. The servant finding Rebekah is a fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham of many descendants given a couple chapters before in Genesis. Additionally, the previous chapter …show more content…

If Rebekah were the main character of the story, the story would have told of her actions before the servant notices her. The writer of the story made sure to frame Rebekah as a secondary character because she is only found because of the directions given to the servant. As mentioned before, Rebekah responded to the servant’s request just as he was told the proper wife would. In addition, Rebekah is part of the “house of [the servant’s] master’s kin” (Genesis 24:27). The servant is the one who asked that Rebekah come right away even though her family objected the notion, which was part of the servant’s initial directions (Genesis 24:56). Rebekah is the embodiment of the woman Abraham described to the servant. Being the embodiment means being the outcome of the story, not the protagonist. Also, even when Rebekah has been chosen by the servant, the wedding of Rebekah and Isaac does not take up a large part of the chapter. Genesis 24:67 proclaims that “Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent… and she became his wife”. This act of marriage seems to be an afterthought because the servant followed the directions of Abraham, so Isaac knew she was divinely meant to be his wife. The largest part of the chapter was still the servant trying to find the wife for Isaac. If Rebekah were the protagonist, a stronger emphasis would have been placed on this act of marriage between Rebekah and

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