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Genesis 24

24
Genesis 24
The Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah
1 # v 35 ; Gen 13.2Now Abraham was old, advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2#Gen 47.29Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, 3#Gen 10.15, 19; 14.22; 26.34, 35; 28.1, 2, 8and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, 4#Gen 12.1; 28.2but will go to my country and to my kindred and get a wife for my son Isaac.” 5The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. 7#Gen 12.7; 13.15; 15.18; Ex 23.20, 23The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” 9#v 2So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 # Gen 11.31, 32; 27.43 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all kinds of choice gifts from his master, and he set out and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. 11#1 Sam 9.11He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water; it was toward evening, the time when women go out to draw water. 12#v 27; Gen 26.24; Ex 3.6And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13#v 43I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14#Judg 6.17, 37; 1 Sam 6.7Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please offer your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”
15 # v 45 ; Gen 22.20, 23Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, coming out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16#Gen 26.7The young woman was very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. 17Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me sip a little water from your jar.” 18#vv 14, 46“Drink, my lord,” she said and quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19#v 14When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. 21#vv 12–14The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.
22 # v 47 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose ring weighing a half shekel and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels 23and said, “Tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24#v 15She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25She added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder and a place to spend the night.” 26#vv 48, 52The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord 27#vv 21, 42, 48and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the way to the house of my master’s kin.”
28Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29#Gen 29.5, 13Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man, to the spring. 30As soon as he had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man, and there he was, standing by the camels at the spring. 31#Gen 26.29He said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside when I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?” 32#Gen 43.24; Judg 19.21So the man came into the house, and Laban unloaded the camels and gave him straw and fodder for the camels and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33Then food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told my errand.” He said, “Speak on.”
34So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35#v 1; Gen 13.2The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. 36#Gen 21.2, 10; 25.5And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and he has given him all that he has. 37My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live, 38#v 4but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’ 39#v 5I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ 40#v 7But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you and make your way successful. You shall get a wife for my son from my kindred, from my father’s house. 41#v 8Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my kindred; even if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’
42 # vv 11, 12 “I came today to the spring and said, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going! 43#vv 13, 14I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” 44and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’
45 # vv 15, 17 ; 1 Sam 1.13“Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46#v 18She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. 47#vv 23, 24Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. 48#vv 26, 27Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. 49#Gen 47.29; Josh 2.14Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.”
50 # Gen 31.24; Ps 118.23 Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you anything bad or good. 51Look, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”
52 # v 26 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before the Lord. 53#vv 10, 22And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold and garments and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. 54#vv 56, 59Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they rose in the morning, he said, “Send me back to my master.” 55Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” 56But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey successful; let me go that I may go to my master.” 57They said, “We will call the young woman and ask her.” 58And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will.” 59#Gen 35.8So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60#Gen 17.16; 22.17And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“May you, our sister, become
thousands of myriads;
may your offspring gain possession
of the gates of their foes.”
61Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man, and the servant took Rebekah and went his way.
62 # Gen 16.14; 20.1; 25.11 Now Isaac had come from#24.62 Syr Tg: Heb from coming to Beer-lahai-roi and was settled in the Negeb. 63#Ps 1.2; 77.12; 119.15; 143.5; 145.5Isaac went out in the evening to walk#24.63 Meaning of Heb uncertain in the field, and, looking up, he saw camels coming. 64And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel 65and said to the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 66And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67#Gen 23.1, 2; 25.20; 29.18Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

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