Genesis 24

1And Abraham was old, and advanced in age; and Jehovah had blessed Abraham in all things. 2And Abraham said to his servant, the eldest of his house, who ruled over all that he had, Put thy hand, I pray thee, under my thigh, 3and I will make thee swear by Jehovah, the God#GodHebrew: Elohim of the heavens and the God#GodHebrew: Elohim of the earth, that thou take not a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am dwelling; 4but thou shalt go to my land and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. 5And the servant said to him, Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land: must I, then, bring thy son again in any case to the land from which thou hast removed? 6And Abraham said to him, Beware that thou bring not my son thither again. 7Jehovah the God#GodHebrew: Elohim of the heavens, who took me out of my father's house, and out of the land of my nativity, and who has spoken to me, and who has sworn to me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land — he will send his angel before thee, that thou mayest take a wife for my son thence. 8And if the woman be not willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be quit of this my oath: only, bring not my son thither again. 9And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore unto him concerning that matter.

10And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; now all the treasure of his master was under his hand; and he arose and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. 11And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water, at the time of the evening, when the women came out to draw water. 12And he said, Jehovah, God#GodHebrew: Elohim of my master Abraham, meet me, I pray thee, with thy blessing this day, and deal kindly with my master Abraham. 13Behold, I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water. 14And let it come to pass, that the maiden to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink, and who will say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also, be she whom thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and hereby I shall know that thou hast dealt kindly with my master. 15And it came to pass before he had ended speaking, that behold, Rebecca came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother; and she had her pitcher upon her shoulder. 16And the maiden was very fair in countenance; a virgin, and no man had known her. And she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. 17And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, sip a little water out of thy pitcher. 18And she said, Drink, my lord! And she hasted and let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him to drink. 19And when she had given him enough to drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have drunk enough. 20And she hasted and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw water; and she drew for all his camels. 21And the man was astonished at her, remaining silent, to know whether Jehovah had made his journey prosperous or not. 22And it came to pass when the camels had drunk enough, that the man took a gold ring, of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands, ten shekels weight of gold, 23and said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee. Is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge? 24And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor. 25And she said to him, There is straw, and also much provender with us; also room to lodge. 26And the man stooped, and bowed down before Jehovah, 27and said, Blessed be Jehovah, God#GodHebrew: Elohim of my master Abraham, who has not withdrawn his loving-kindness and his faithfulness from my master; I being in the way, Jehovah has led me to the house of my master's brethren. 28And the maiden ran and told these things to her mother's house.

29And Rebecca had a brother, named Laban; and Laban ran out to the man, to the well. 30And it came to pass when he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's hand, and when he heard the words of Rebecca his sister, saying, Thus spoke the man to me — that he came to the man, and behold, he was standing by the camels, by the well. 31And he said, Come in, blessed of Jehovah! why standest thou outside? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. 32And the man came into the house; and he ungirded the camels, and gave the camels straw and provender, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men who were with him. 33And there was set meat before him to eat; but he said, I will not eat until I have made known my business. And he said, Speak on. 34And he said, I am Abraham's servant. 35And Jehovah has blessed my master greatly, and he is become great; and he has given him sheep and cattle, and silver and gold, and bondmen and bondwomen, and camels and asses. 36And Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master after she had grown old; and unto him has he given all that he has. 37And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanite, in whose land I am dwelling; 38but thou shalt by all means go to my father's house and to my family, and take a wife for my son. 39And I said to my master, Perhaps the woman will not follow me? 40And he said to me, Jehovah, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way, that thou mayest take a wife for my son of my family, and out of my father's house. 41Then shalt thou be quit of my oath, when thou shalt have come to my family. And if they give thee not one, thou shalt be quit of my oath. 42And I came this day to the well, and said, Jehovah, God#GodHebrew: Elohim of my master Abraham, if now thou wilt prosper my way on which I go, 43behold, I stand by the well of water, and let it come to pass that the damsel who cometh forth to draw water, and to whom I shall say, Give me, I pray thee, a little water out of thy pitcher to drink, 44and she shall say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels — that she should be the woman whom Jehovah hath appointed for my master's son. 45Before I ended speaking in my heart, behold, Rebecca came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder, and went down to the well, and drew water; and I said to her, Give me, I pray thee, to drink. 46And she hasted and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also. And I drank; and she gave the camels drink also. 47And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him. And I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her hands. 48And I stooped, and bowed down before Jehovah; and I blessed Jehovah, God#GodHebrew: Elohim of my master Abraham, who has led me the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. 49And now, if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; and I will turn to the right hand or to the left. 50And Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceeds from Jehovah: we cannot speak to thee bad or good. 51Behold, Rebecca is before thee: take her, and go away; and let her be wife of thy master's son, as Jehovah has said. 52And it came to pass, when Abraham's servant heard their words, that he bowed down to the earth before Jehovah. 53And the servant brought forth silver articles, and gold articles, and clothing, and he gave them to Rebecca; and he gave to her brother, and to her mother, precious things.

54And they ate and drank, he and the men that were with him, and lodged. And they rose up in the morning; and he said, Send me away to my master. 55And her brother and her mother said, Let the maiden abide with us some days, or say ten; after that she shall go. 56And he said to them, Do not hinder me, seeing Jehovah has prospered my way: send me away, and I will go to my master. 57And they said, Let us call the maiden and inquire at her mouth. 58And they called Rebecca and said to her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. 59And they sent away Rebecca their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. 60And they blessed Rebecca, and said to her, Thou art our sister; mayest thou become thousands of tens of thousands; and may thy seed possess the gate of their enemies! 61And Rebecca arose, and her maids, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man. And the servant took Rebecca, and went away.

62And Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi; for he was dwelling in the south country. 63And Isaac had gone out to meditate in the fields toward the beginning of evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, camels were coming. 64And Rebecca lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac, and she sprang off the camel. 65And she had said to the servant, Who is the man that is walking in the fields to meet us? And the servant said, That is my master! Then she took the veil, and covered herself. 66And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. 67And Isaac led her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after the death of his mother.

Genesis 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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Genesis 24

Genesis 24