Bereshis 24
24
1And Avraham was zaken (old), and well stricken in age; and Hashem berach (had blessed) Avraham in all things.
2And Avraham said unto his eved zekan of his bais, hamoshel (that ruled) over all that he had, Put, now, thy yad under my thigh;
3And I will make thee swear by Hashem Elohei HaShomayim and Elohei Ha'Aretz, that thou shalt not take an isha unto beni of the Banot HaKena'ani, among whom I dwell:
4But thou shalt go unto my eretz, and to my moledet, and take an isha unto beni Yitzchak.
5And the eved said unto him, What if the isha will not be willing to follow me unto HaAretz Hazot: must I needs bring binecha back unto ha'aretz from where thou camest?
6And Avraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not beni to there!
7 Hashem Elohei HaShomayim, which took me from bais avi, and from the eretz of my moledet, and which spoke unto me, and that swore unto me, saying, Unto thy zera will I give HaAretz Hazot; He shall send His Malach before thee, and thou shalt take an isha unto beni from there.
8But if the isha will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be released from this my shevu'ah (oath): only do not bring back beni there.
9And the eved put his yad under yerech Avraham adonav, and swore to him concerning this matter.
10And the eved took asarah gemalim of the gemalei adonav, and departed; for all the goods of adonav were in his yad: and he arose, and went to Aram Naharayim (Mesopotamia), unto the Ir Nachor.
11And he made his gemalim to kneel down outside the Ir near a be'er hamayim at the time of erev, at the time that women go out to draw mayim.
12And he said Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, now, send me success this yom, and show chesed unto adoni Avraham.
13Hinei, I stand here by the ayin hamayim; and the banot anshei haIr come out to draw mayim;
14And let it come to pass, that the na'arah to whom I shall say, Let down thy jug, now, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy gemalim drink also; let the same be she that Thou hast appointed for Thy eved Yitzchak; and thereby shall I know that Thou hast showed chesed unto adoni.
15And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, hinei, Rivkah came out, who was born to Betuel Ben Milcah, eshet Nachor, achi Avraham, with her jug upon her shoulder.
16And the na'arah was tovat mareh me'od, a betulah, neither had any ish known her: and she went down to haayenah (the spring), and filled her jug, and came up.
17And the eved hurried to meet her, and said, Let me, now, drink a little mayim of thy jug.
18And she said, Drink, adoni: and she hasted, and let down her jug upon her yad, and gave him drink.
19And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw for thy gemalim also, until they have done drinking.
20And she hasted, and emptied her jug into the trough, and ran back unto the be'er to draw, and drew for all his gemalim.
21And the ish gazed at her and held his peace, so as to have da'as whether Hashem had made his derech prosperous or not.
22And it came to pass, just as the gemalim had done drinking, that the ish took a nezem zahav (gold ring) by weight a beka, and two tzemidim (bracelets) by weight ten [shekels of] gold for her wrists;
23And said, Whose bat art thou? Tell me, now: is there makom in the bais of thy av for us to spend the night?
24And she said unto him, I am Bat Betuel Ben Milcah, the ben which she bore unto Nachor.
25She said moreover unto him, We have both teven (straw) and mispo (fodder) enough, and makom (room) to spend the night.
26And the ish bowed his head, worshiped Hashem.
27And he said, Baruch Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, who hath not left destitute of His chesed and His emes; I being on the derech, Hashem led me to the bais achei adoni.
28And the na'arah ran, and told them of her bais em these things.
29And Rivkah had an ach, shmo Lavan; Lavan ran out unto the ish, unto the ayin.
30And it came to pass, when he saw the nezem and tzemidim upon the wrists of his achot, and when he heard the words of Rivkah his achot, saying, Thus spoke the ish unto me; that he came unto the ish; and, hinei, he stood by the gemalim at the ayin.
31And he said, Come in, Baruch Hashem; why standest thou outside? for I have prepared the bais, and makom for the gemalim.
32And the ish came into the bais; and he unloaded his gemalim, and gave teven (straw) and mispo (fodder) for the camels, and mayim to wash his raglayim, and the raglei haanashim that were with him.
33And there was set ochel before him to eat; but he said, I will not eat, until I have stated my business. And he said, Speak on.
34And he said, I am eved Avraham.
35And Hashem hath blessed adoni me'od; and he is become prospered: and He hath given him tzon, and bakar, and kesef, and zahav, and avadim, and shefachot, and gemalim, and chamorim.
36And Sarah eshet adoni bore ben to adoni when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.
37And adoni made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take an isha for beni of the Banot HaKena'ani, in whose land I dwell;
38But thou shalt go unto bais avi, to my mishpokhot, and take an isha unto beni.
39And I said unto adoni, What if the isha will not follow me.
40And he said unto me, Hashem, before Whom I walk, will send His Malach with thee, and prosper thy derech; and thou shalt take an isha for beni of my mishpokhot, and of my bais avi;
41Then shalt thou be released from this my oath, when thou comest to my mishpokhot; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be released from my oath.
42And I came this day unto the ayin, and said, Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, if now Thou do prosper my derech which I go;
43Hinei, I stand by the ayin hamayim; and it shall come to pass, that when haAlmah#24:43 haAlmah used here as synonym for na'arah-betulah, Gn 24:16; see Isa 7:14, Introduction cometh forth to draw mayim, and I say to her, Give me, now, a little mayim of thy jar to drink;
44And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy gemalim; let the same be the isha whom Hashem hath appointed for ben adoni.
45And before I had done davening in mine lev, hinei, Rivkah came forth with her jar on her shoulder; and she went down unto ha'ayenah, and drew: and I said unto her, Let me drink, now.
46And she made haste, and let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy gemalim drink also: so I drank, and she made the gemalim drink also.
47And I asked her, and said, Whose bat art thou? And she said, Bat Betuel Ben Nachor, the ben whom Milcah bore unto him: and I put the nezem upon her face, and the tzemidim upon her wrists.
48And I bowed down my head, and worshiped Hashem, and I said a brocha to Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, which had led me on the derech emes to take bat achi adoni for bno.
49And now if ye will do chesed and emes to adoni, tell me; and if not, tell me; that I may turn to yamin, or to smol.
50Then Lavan and Betuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from Hashem; we cannot speak unto thee rah or tov.
51Hinei, Rivkah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be isha for ben adoneicha, just as Hashem hath spoken.
52And it came to pass, that, when eved Avraham heard their words, he worshiped Hashem, bowing himself to the ground.
53And the eved brought forth kelei kesef, and kelei zahav, and begadim, and gave them to Rivkah; he gave also to her ach and to her em migdanot (costly gifts).
54And they did eat and drink, he and the anashim that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the boker, and he said, Send me away unto adoni.
55And her ach and her em said, Let the na'arah abide with us ten days or so; after that she shall go.
56And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing Hashem hath prospered my derech; send me away that I may go to adoni.
57And they said, We will call the na'arah, and inquire at her mouth.
58And they called Rivkah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this ish? And she said, I will go.
59And they sent away Rivkah their achot, and her nurse, and eved Avraham, and his anashim.
60And they said a brocha over Rivkah, and said unto her, Thou art achoteinu, may thou be increased to thousands upon thousands and may thy zera possess the sha'ar of those which hate them.
61And Rivkah arose, and her na'arot, and they rode upon the gemalim, and followed the ish: and the eved took Rivkah, and went his way.
62And Yitzchak had come from Be'er Lachai Roi; for he dwelt in the eretz hanegev.
63And Yitzchak went out to meditate in the sadeh at erev: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, hinei, the gemalim (camels) were coming.
64And Rivkah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Yitzchak, she got down from the gamal.
65For she had said unto the eved, Who is that ish that walketh in the sadeh to meet us? And the eved had said, He is adoni: therefore she took a veil, and covered herself.
66And the eved told Yitzchak all things that he had done.
67And Yitzchak brought her into the ohel of Sarah immo, and took Rivkah, and she became his isha; and he loved her: and Yitzchak was comforted after the [mot] immo.
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Bereshis 24: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Genesis 24
24
1Abraham by now was old, really old, and the Lord had blessed him in every possible way. 2At that time Abraham told his oldest servant who was in charge of his whole household, “Put your hand under my thigh,#24:2. A customary action of the time when swearing an oath. 3and swear an oath by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you won't arrange for my son to marry any daughter of the these Canaanite people that I'm living among. 4Instead, go to my homeland where my relatives live, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”
5“What if the woman refuses to come back with me to this country?” the servant asked. “Should I take your son back to the country you came from?”
6“No, you mustn't take my son back there,” Abraham replied. 7“The Lord, the God of heaven, took me from my family home and my own country. He spoke to me and swore an oath to me in which he promised, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ He is the one who will send his angel ahead of you so that you can find a wife there for my son. 8However, if the woman refuses to return here with you, then you are released from this oath. But make sure you don't take my son back there.”
9The servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to do as he had been told. 10Then the servant arranged for ten of his master's camels to carry all kinds of valuable gifts from Abraham and left for the town of Nahor in Aram-naharaim.#24:10. “Aram-naharaim”: or “Mesopotamia.” 11Arriving in the evening, he had the camels kneel down by the spring that was outside the town. This was the time when women went out to fetch water.
12He prayed, “Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please let me be successful today, and please show your faithfulness#24:12. “Faithfulness”: this word, often translated “trustworthy love,” in this setting is really to do with “loyalty,” “commitment,” even “kindness.” to my master Abraham. 13Look, I'm standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming to get water. 14May it happen like this. The young woman that I ask, ‘Please hold your water jar so I can have a drink,’ and she replies, ‘Please drink, and I'll give your camels water too’ —may she be the one you've chosen as a wife for your servant Isaac. This way I'll know that you've shown your faithfulness to my master.”
15He hadn't even finished praying when he saw Rebekah coming to get water, carrying her water jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milkah. Milkah was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. 16She was very beautiful, a virgin—no one had slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came back up. 17The servant ran over to meet her and asked, “Please let me drink a few sips of water from your jar.”
18“Please drink, my lord,” she replied. She quickly lifted the jar down from her shoulder and held it for him to drink. 19After she finished giving him a drink, she said, “Let me get water for your camels too until they've had enough.”
20She quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran back to the spring to get more water. She brought enough for all his camels.
21The man observed her in silence to see if the Lord had made his journey successful or not. 22Once the camels had finished drinking, he gave her a gold nose-ring and two heavy gold bracelets for her wrists.#24:22. The weights are given as a half-shekel for the nose-ring, and ten shekels for the bracelets. Since the price of gold at the time is not known, it is impossible to estimate their value. However, they were significant gifts.
23Then he asked her, “Whose daughter are you? Also could you tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?”
24She replied, “I'm the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor.” Then she added, “We have plenty of straw and food for the camels, 25and yes, we have room for you to spend the night.”
26The man kneeled down and bowed in worship to the Lord. 27“Thank you Lord, the God of my master Abraham,” he prayed. “You have not forgotten your commitment and faithfulness to my master. And Lord, you have led me directly to the home of my master's relatives!”
28She ran to her mother's house and told her family what had happened. 29Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he ran out to meet the man who had remained at the spring. 30He'd noticed the nose-ring and the bracelets she was wearing, and he'd heard his sister Rebekah explaining, “This is what the man told me.” When he arrived the man was still there, standing with his camels beside the spring.
31“Please come home with me, you who are blessed by the Lord,” said Laban. “What are you standing out here for? I've got a room at home ready for you, and a place for the camels to stay.”
32So the man went home with him. Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and food to eat. He also provided water for the man to wash his feet, as well as for the men who were with him. 33Then Laban had food brought in.
But the man told him, “I'm not going to eat until I've explained why I'm here.”
“Please explain,” Laban replied.
34“I'm Abraham's servant,” the man began. 35“The Lord has blessed my master so much, and now he is a wealthy and powerful man. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36His wife Sarah has had a son for my master even in her old age, and my master has given him everything he owns. 37My master made me swear an oath, saying, ‘You must not arrange for my son to marry any daughter of the Canaanite people in whose land I'm living. 38Instead, go to my family home where my relatives live, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.’
39I said to my master, ‘What if the woman refuses to come back with me?’
40He told me, ‘The Lord, in whose presence I have lived my life, will send his angel with you, and he will make your journey successful—you will find a wife for my son from my relatives, from my father's family. 41You will be released from the oath you swear to me if, when you go to my family, they refuse to let her return with you.’
42Today when I arrived at the spring, I prayed, Lord, God of my master Abraham, please let the journey I have taken be successful. 43Look, I'm standing here beside this spring. May it happen like this. If a young woman comes to get water, and I say, ‘Please give me a few sips of water to drink,’ 44and she says to me, ‘Please drink, and I'll get water for your camels too’ —may she be the one you've chosen as a wife for your servant Isaac.”
45“I hadn't even finished praying silently when I saw Rebekah coming to get water, carrying her water jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring to get water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46She quickly lifted the jar down from her shoulder and she said, ‘Please drink, and I'll get water for your camels too.’ So I drank, and she got water for the camels.
47I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘I'm the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor.’ So I put the ring in her nose, and the bracelets on her wrists.
48Then I kneeled down and bowed in worship to the Lord. I thanked the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, for he led me directly to find my master's niece for his son. 49So please tell me now, will you show commitment and faithfulness to my master? Please tell me yes or no so I can decide what to do next.”
50Laban and Bethuel replied, “Clearly all this is from the Lord, so we can't argue one way or the other. 51Rebekah's here, you can take her and leave. She can become the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has decided.”
52As soon as Abraham's servant heard their decision, he bowed down in worship to the Lord. 53Then he unpacked silver and gold jewelry and expensive clothes and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable presents to her brother and her mother. 54He and the men with him ate and drank, and spent the night there. When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now and go home to my master.”
55But her brother and her mother said, “Let her stay with us for another ten days or so. She can leave after that.”
56“Please don't delay me,” he told them. “The Lord has made my journey successful, so let me leave and go back to my master.”
57“Let's call Rebekah and find out what she wants to do,” they suggested.
58They called Rebekah in and asked her, “Do you want to go with this man now?”
“Yes, I'll go,” she replied.
59So they let Laban's sister Rebekah leave with Abraham's servant and his men, together with the woman who had nursed her as a child. 60They asked a blessing on her, saying, “Our dear sister, may you become the mother to thousands and thousands of descendants, and may they conquer their enemies.” 61Then Rebekah and her servant girls got on the camels. They followed Abraham's servant and left.
62Meanwhile Isaac, who was living in the Negev, had just come back from Beer-lahai-roi. 63He went out into the fields one evening to think things over.#24:63. “Think things over”: often translated “meditate,” the word's meaning is uncertain. However, Isaac must have known that possibly his bride-to-be would soon be arriving, an event of considerable importance in his life. He looked into the distance and saw camels coming.
64Rebekah was also keeping a look out. When she saw Isaac, she got down from her camel. 65She asked the servant, “Who is this walking through the fields to meet us?”
“He's my master, Isaac,”#24:65. Isaac is not specifically identified in the text here, however the servant simply says, “He's my master,” which would normally mean Abraham. he replied. So she put on her veil to cover herself.
66The servant told Isaac everything he'd done. 67Isaac took Rebekah into his mother Sarah's tent, and he married her. He loved her, and she brought him comfort after his grief over his mother's death.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com