Parsha discussion

Question:  At the end of the Parasha, לבן is referred to a number of times with a lot more genealogical references than normal. Why? Approach:  It could be suggested that the references are to explain why יעקב was specifically to go his uncle. It was an unfortunate situation that led to him having to run away, and so יצחק and רבקה took the opportunity to send him in the right direction where he would be able to find a wife from the right family, even if לבן himself wasn't such a great person.

Question:  25:6 Appears to relate to the children of קטורה (and probably הגר). Since both are referred to previously as wives, why are they referred to as פילגשים? Approach: It would seem that the epithet is given to show the lower status of these children, compared with יצחק, who was the only child of the main "wife", שרה. Quite what the phrase means in the time before marriage was made into a formal "institution" is a little difficult to understand, but the relative statuses seems clear (similar to בלהה & זלפה being referred to as שפחות later in the יעקב story)

Question:  Is the city of באר שבע located in ארץ פלישתים? On the one hand 21:32 implies that it is not, yet 21:34 does (based also on fact that Avraham returns to באר שבע after the עקידה). Approach:  We can suggest that באר שבע is on the border of ארץ פלישתים, and that perhaps אברהם lived in the general area of באר שבע, rather than in the town. Alternatively, we can perhaps suggest that באר שבע was, initially at least, the area in the פלישתים where the wells were dug, and only later was a town - outside פלישתים - built nearby.

Question:  Why is Sara admonished for her reaction to the news that she will bear a child whereas Avraham, who reacts similarly, is not? Approach: Many answers have been given to this question. On the simplest level though, Avraham's response can be seen as amazement, whereas Sara's is that of skepticism, as evidenced by her words אחרי בלותי היתה לי עדנה - effectively saying that the news cannot be true due to the laws of nature.