Just for fun, take a look at Genesis 24:16, and think about the fact that Moses records that Rebekah (oops, not Rachel, Jacob's favorite wife) was beautiful to behold. Now consider further that tanned, or sunburnt, skin was (and is) not a sign of beauty in that culture.
One would infer that Rebekah was, when she met Abraham's servant, clad virtually head to toe to protect her from the sun, and the servant saw at most her face, and how she walked to the well and drew water. Even so, Moses records that she was beautiful to look upon.
What was so beautiful about her? Well, I'm not sure, but I'd guess that she might have had eyes that you could lose yourself in, and also that even a burqa couldn't hide the fact that she didn't sit around the tent all day eating dates--she walked strongly easily, and gracefully.
Plus, her attire allowed Abraham's servant, and all those around her, to keep their eyes on her face and appreciate the very real beauty she had--instead of drawing their eyes elsewhere, as too many fashions today do. Scripture seems to indicate that true modesty doesn't hide beauty, but rather accentuates it.
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Not to quibble with the main point, but what's your source for 3000 year old standards of beauty vis a vis the effects of the sun? And how did she prevent her face from being tanned (i.e. ugly)? ;-)
See the Song of Songs, where the beloved comments about being "dark but lovely," and comments that her family was cruel to keep her working in the sun every day. The inference is that she is somehow lovely *despite* being tanned.
And how to keep the sun off her face? Well, Paul mentions that a headcovering would be appropriate for a woman in 1 Cor. 11, does he not?
You can also take a look at the customs of the surrounding cultures; to put it mildly, apart from Sparta and various fertility cults, women of the region kept covered up.
I was actually anticipating that you would have caught my big error; naming Isaac's wife "Rachel" instead of "Rebekkah." :^) I'll fix it now.
I dunno, Bert, when I wrap a scarf around my face it doesn't do a whole lot for keeping my nose and cheeks from being tanned. And I imagine Rebekah, being a shepherdess, was working in the sun each day.
But your Song of Songs reference is well taken. And I'm certainly not disputing being "covered up"; I'm just not seeing how anything short of an abaya keeps the face from being tanned, and therefore allegedly repulsive, prior to the advent of Coppertone.
Probably wouldn't help the nose much, but if we presume that her brothers did most of the herding, and she did the gardening during the day (laundry, cooking, etc..) and took the sheep to water at night, we might be able to figure out a scenario where her face least wouldn't have heavy wrinkles by age 20.
(I knew a girl in high school who did due to tanning....magnificent brown skin, but she looked like she was 35 right after she graduated....yikes!)
Probably an overstatement to say she would be "repulsive" or "ugly", though; rather they merely preferred a bit less brown in the skin, and some covering would get you there.
Okay, I'm not trying to be a pain and I'm continuing this mostly for entertainment purposes, but aren't gardening, laundry, and cooking all outdoor activities in hot climates?
Not at all--just what direction is your face pointing when you're weeding, hoeing, or beating clothes on a rock by the river?
Not into the sun, generally speaking, right?
And actually, cooking is still done mostly inside in those climates--they depend on convection through the tent/building to keep things cooler than they otherwise would be.
Well, I doubt either of us have a reliable take on how things were done in that respect thousands of years as opposed to now, since you point out that inside cooking is a viable method in those circumstances. Anyway, what outdoor activities DO involve staring upwards into the sun as opposed to downwards? Vinedressing doesn't! I don't think the direction your face is pointing does much for preventing sun tanning or burning. Maybe some, but I'm pretty sure I could get well and truly burnt going out gardening without sunscreen or a large hat. Unless you're imagining a big, floppy hat or sunbonnet of some sort, if the girl was outside a lot in a place where shade was limited, her face was tanned.
Probably a good point, and certainly I'm guessing a little here.
On the other hand, when I read about virtually any culture outside of sub-saharan Africa, Europe, or the United States (in that yellow magazine), I see various attempts by the women to prevent their skin from becoming too tanned. So I have to guess that Rebekah tried to do the same, especially in light of the SOS passage.
More importantly, I'd have to guess that she wasn't in a miniskirt and midriff-exposing shirt like you see too often at the mall. :^)
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