Genesis 24
24
A Wife for Isaac
1Abraham was now old, getting on in years, # 24:1 Lit days,# 24:1 Gn 18:11; Jos 13:1; 23:1–2; 1Kg 1:1 and the Lord had blessed him in everything. 2Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh, # 24:2 Gn 47:29; Ex 1:5 3and I will have you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live, # 24:3 Gn 26:34,35; 27:46; Dt 7:3; 2Co 6:14 4but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac.”
5The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I have your son go back to the land you came from? ”
6Abraham answered him, “Make sure that you don’t take my son back there. 7The Lord, the God of heaven, # 24:7 2Ch 36:23; Ezr 1:2 who took me from my father’s house and from my native land, # 24:7 Gn 12:1 who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘I will give this land to your offspring’ # 24:7 Lit seed,# 24:7 Gn 12:7; 13:15; 15:18; Ex 32:13 #— #he will send his angel before you, # 24:7 Gn 16:7; 21:17; 22:11; Ex 23:20,23 and you can take a wife for my son from there. 8If the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are free from this oath to me, # 24:8 Jos 2:17–20 but don’t let my son go back there.” 9So the servant placed his hand under his master Abraham’s thigh and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
10The servant took ten of his master’s camels, and with all kinds of his master’s goods in hand, he went to Aram-naharaim, to Nahor’s town. 11At evening, the time when women went out to draw water, he made the camels kneel beside a well outside the town.
12“Lord, God of my master Abraham,” he prayed, “make this happen for me today, # 24:12 Gn 27:20 and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13I am standing here # 24:13–14 Gn 24:43–44 at the spring where the daughters of the men of the town are coming out to draw water. 14Let the girl to whom I say, ‘Please lower your water jug so that I may drink,’ and who responds, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels also’ #— #let her be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”
15Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah #— #daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, # 24:15 Gn 11:29; 22:23 the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor #— #coming with a jug on her shoulder. 16Now the girl was very beautiful, # 24:16 Gn 12:11; 26:7; 29:17 a virgin #— #no man had been intimate with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up. 17Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me have a little water from your jug.”
18She replied, “Drink, my lord.” She quickly lowered her jug to her hand and gave him a drink. 19When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I’ll also draw water for your camels until they have had enough to drink.” # 24:19 Lit they are finished drinking 20She quickly emptied her jug into the trough and hurried to the well again to draw water. She drew water for all his camels 21while the man silently watched her to see whether or not the Lord had made his journey a success.
22As the camels finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing half a shekel, and for her wrists two bracelets weighing ten shekels of gold. 23“Whose daughter are you? ” he asked. “Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night? ”
24She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25She also said to him, “We have plenty of straw and feed and a place to spend the night.”
26Then the man knelt low, worshiped the Lord, # 24:26 Ex 4:31 27and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld his kindness and faithfulness from my master. # 24:27 Ru 2:20; Ezr 9:9; Neh 9:17 As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”
28The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, # 24:29 Gn 25:20; 28:2; 29:5 and Laban ran out to the man at the spring. 30As soon as he had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he had heard his sister Rebekah’s words #— #“The man said this to me! ” #— #he went to the man. He was standing there by the camels at the spring.
31Laban said, “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord. # 24:31 Gn 26:29; Jdg 17:2; Ru 3:10 Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” 32So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded. # 24:32 Gn 43:24; Jdg 19:21 Straw and feed were given to the camels, and water was brought to wash his feet and the feet of the men with him.
33A meal was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.”
So Laban said, “Please speak.”
34“I am Abraham’s servant,” he said. 35“The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. 36Sarah, my master’s wife, bore a son to my master in her # 24:36 Sam, LXX read his old age, # 24:36 Gn 21:2 and he has given him everything he owns. # 24:36 Gn 25:5 37My master put me under this oath: ‘You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live 38but will go to my father’s family and to my clan to take a wife for my son.’ 39But I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman will not come back with me? ’ 40He said to me, ‘The Lord before whom I have walked # 24:40 Gn 17:1; 1Sm 2:30; 1Kg 2:4; 8:23; 2Kg 20:3; Ps 116:9 will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, and you will take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father’s family. 41Then you will be free from my oath if you go to my family and they do not give her to you #— #you will be free from my oath.’
42“Today when I came to the spring, I prayed: Lord, God of my master Abraham, if only you will make my journey successful! 43I am standing here at a spring. Let the young woman # 24:43 Or the virgin who comes out to draw water, and I say to her, ‘Please let me drink a little water from your jug,’ 44and who responds to me, ‘Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels also’ #— #let her be the woman the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.
45“Before I had finished praying silently, # 24:45 1Sm 1:13 there was Rebekah coming with her jug on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please let me have a drink.’ 46She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels also.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. 47Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you? ’ She responded, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose # 24:47 Ezk 16:11–12 and the bracelets on her wrists. 48Then I knelt low, worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who guided me on the right way to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49Now, if you are going to show kindness and faithfulness to my master, # 24:49 Gn 47:29; Jos 2:14 tell me; if not, tell me, and I will go elsewhere.” # 24:49 Litgo to the right or to the left
50Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we have no choice in the matter. # 24:50 Lit we cannot say to you anything bad or good,# 24:50 Gn 31:24,29; 2Sm 13:22 51Rebekah is here in front of you. Take her and go, and let her be a wife for your master’s son, just as the Lord has spoken.”
52When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed to the ground before the Lord. 53Then he brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and her mother. 54Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night.
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Send me to my master.”
55But her brother and mother said, “Let the girl stay with us for about ten days. Then she # 24:55 Or you can go.”
56But he responded to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey a success. Send me away so that I may go to my master.”
57So they said, “Let’s call the girl and ask her opinion.” # 24:57 Litmouth
58They called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man? ”
She replied, “I will go.” 59So they sent away their sister Rebekah with the one who had nursed and raised her, # 24:59 Lit with her wet nurse; Gn 35:8,# 24:59 Gn 35:8 and Abraham’s servant and his men.
60They blessed Rebekah, saying to her:
Our sister, may you become
thousands upon ten thousands. # 24:60 Gn 17:16
May your offspring possess
the city gates of their # 24:60 Lit his enemies. # 24:60 Gn 22:17
61Then Rebekah and her female servants got up, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
62Now Isaac was returning from Beer-lahai-roi, # 24:62 = A Well of the Living One Who Sees Me,# 24:62 Gn 16:14; 25:11 for he was living in the Negev region. 63In the early evening Isaac went out to walk # 24:63 Or pray, or meditate; Hb obscure in the field, and looking up he saw camels coming. 64Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she got down from her camel 65and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us? ”
The servant answered, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 66Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.
67And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah to be his wife. Isaac loved her, and he was comforted after his mother’s death. # 24:67 Gn 23:1–2
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Genesis 24: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Genesis 24
24
Abraham sent his worker to find a wife for his son Isaac
1Abraham was very old, and God was very good to him in every way.
2Abraham had workers that looked after everything he owned. One of those workers was older than all the other workers, and he was in charge of all the other workers too. One day, Abraham talked to that oldest worker. He said, “I want you to make me a strong promise. So come here and put your hand under my leg.” You see, in Abraham’s culture, people sometimes made promises to each other that way. The person that made the promise, they put their hand under the other person’s leg, and that showed that they had to keep their promise.
3Abraham said to the worker, “I want you to make this promise with God listening. His name is Yahweh, and he is the boss of heaven and earth. Promise me that you will not get a wife for my son Isaac from this country that we are living in. Don’t get him a wife from the Canaan people that live here. 4No, I want you to go back to my home country and get a wife for Isaac from my relatives.”
5Then Abraham’s worker said, “Yes, I will do that. But think about this. Maybe I will pick a woman to be Isaac’s wife, and that woman will not want to leave her home country and come with me here, to Canaan country. Then what do you want me to do? Maybe I can come back here and get Isaac, and then I can take him to your home country to get married?”
6Abraham said, “No way. Make sure that you never take Isaac back to my home country. He has to stay here in Canaan country. 7You know that Yahweh my God is the boss in heaven. He took me away from my father’s family and my home country, and he brought me here to Canaan country. And God made me a strong promise. He said, ‘I am going to give this country to all the people that will be born into your family later on.’ ”
Then Abraham said, “I know that God will help you find a wife for my son. Yes, God will send an angel worker to my home country to get things ready for you. When you get there, you will find a woman for my son Isaac to marry. 8But if that woman doesn’t want to leave her home country and come back here with you, then don’t worry. You will not have to keep that promise any more. But I tell you again, you can never take my son Isaac back to my home country.”
9So Abraham’s worker put his hand under Abraham’s leg, and he made that strong promise, just like Abraham told him to. He said, “I promise that I will not get a wife for your son Isaac from the Canaan people that live here in this country. I promise that I will go back to your home country and get a wife for Isaac from your relatives.”
10Abraham wanted to give lots of really good presents to his relatives, so the worker got those presents ready, and he got 10 of Abraham’s camels to carry everything, and he got some of Abraham’s other workers to go with him. They all left that place, and they went north, all the way to Abraham’s home country. That country was called Aram Naharayim. When they got to that country, they went towards the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor lived.
Abraham’s worker met Rebekah
11Abraham’s worker stopped near that town, next to a water-hole, and he let the camels lie down there to rest. It was nearly night time, and the young women that lived in that town, they were going to the water-hole to get water. They used to do that at the same time every day.
12Abraham’s worker saw those young women, and he prayed to God. He said, “Yahweh, you are the God of my boss Abraham. Please be very good to Abraham, just like you promised him. Please let me find a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac today. 13Look, I am standing next to this water-hole, and the young women that live in the town are coming out to get water. 14Please show me which woman you picked to be Isaac’s wife.”
Then Abraham’s worker said to God, “I will talk to one of those women, and I will say, ‘Please give me a drink from your jar of water.’ Maybe that woman will say to me, ‘Yes, I will give you a drink, and I’ll give your camels some water too.’ If she says that, then I will know that she is the woman you picked to be Isaac’s wife. And I will know that you have been very good to my boss Abraham, just like you promised him.”
15While Abraham’s worker was still praying, a young woman walked out of the town with a jar on her shoulder. That woman’s name was Rebekah, and her father’s name was Bethuel. Bethuel’s mother was Milcah, and Bethuel’s father was Nahor. And Nahor was Abraham’s brother.
16Rebekah was a very beautiful young woman, and she wasn’t married. She never slept with a man, like a woman sleeps with her husband.
Rebekah got to the water-hole, and she went down to the water and filled up her jar, and then she came back up.
17Then Abraham’s worker ran to meet Rebekah. He said to her, “Please let me drink a little bit of water from your jar.”
18Rebekah said, “Yes, please have a drink, sir.” Straight away, she took the jar off her shoulder. Then she held the jar in her hands and gave Abraham’s worker a drink.
19After Rebekah finished giving him a drink, she said, “Now I will get water for your camels too, until they have enough to drink.” 20Then she quickly poured the rest of the water from her jug for the camels to drink. Then she ran back to the water-hole to get more water. She kept on doing that until all the camels had enough to drink.
21While Rebekah was getting the water, Abraham’s worker kept on looking at her, but he didn’t say anything. He waited to see if she was the woman that God picked to be Isaac’s wife.
22After the camels finished drinking, Abraham’s worker got some of Abraham’s presents out, and he gave Rebekah some jewellery. He gave her a gold nose ring and 2 heavy gold bracelets for her arms. That nose ring was made out of 6 grams of gold, and those bracelets were made out of 120 grams of gold each. 23Then the worker said to Rebekah, “Please tell me, who is your father?” Then he said, “Me and my men, we want to stay here in this town tonight. Is there enough room for us to stay at your father’s house?”
24Rebekah said to the worker, “My father’s name is Bethuel. His mother’s name is Milcah, and his father’s name is Nahor.” 25Then Rebekah said, “We have plenty of food for your camels, and we have plenty of dry grass for them to sleep on. And we have plenty of room for you and your men to stay with us tonight.”
26Then Abraham’s worker knew that Rebekah was Abraham’s relative, and he knew that God picked her to be Isaac’s wife. So he got down on his knees and put his face near the ground, to thank God and show him respect. 27He said, “Yahweh, you are really great. You are the God of my boss Abraham. You keep on being very good to him, just like you promised him. We can always trust you. You brought me straight to Abraham’s relatives, so that I can get a wife for Isaac.”
Abraham’s worker talked to Rebekah’s family
28Rebekah ran home and told her family what happened. 29-30She told them everything that Abraham’s worker said to her at the water-hole, and she showed them the gold nose ring and the gold bracelets that Abraham’s worker gave her. Rebekah’s brother Laban was there, and straight away he ran to the water-hole to find Abraham’s worker, and he found him standing there next to his camels. 31Then Laban said to Abraham’s worker, “Sir, I can see that God is good to you. Please, don’t keep on standing here at the water-hole. Come home with me. I have a room ready for you, and I have a place for your camels to stay too.”
32So Abraham’s worker, and the other men that were with him, they went to the house with Laban. Then they took the bags off the camels, and Laban got food for the camels to eat and dry grass for them to sleep on. He also got water so that Abraham’s worker and his men could wash their feet. 33After that, he got Abraham’s worker and his men some food. But Abraham’s worker said, “I will not eat yet. First I have to tell you why I came here.”
Laban said to him, “Yes, tell us.”
34So Abraham’s worker talked to Laban and the other people in Rebekah’s family. He said, “I work for Abraham. 35His God Yahweh is really good to him, and now Abraham is very rich. Yes, God gave him a lot of sheep, and cows, and camels, and donkeys, and a lot of silver and gold. God also gave him a lot of men and women to work for him. 36And Abraham has a son too. Yes, Abraham’s wife Sarah had a baby boy when she was very old. That boy is a man now, and later, when Abraham dies, he will get everything that belonged to Abraham.”
37Then Abraham’s worker said, “My boss Abraham got me to make him a strong promise. He said, ‘Promise me that you will not get a wife for my son from this country that we are living in. Don’t get him a wife from the Canaan people that live here. 38No, you have to go to my father’s family and my other relatives, and get a wife for my son.’
39Then I said to my boss Abraham, ‘Maybe I will pick a woman, and that woman will not want to leave her home country and come with me here, to Canaan country. Then what do you want me to do?’
40Then my boss Abraham said, ‘Listen, I trust Yahweh my God, and I always live his way. I know that he will send an angel worker to go with you and help you, so that you will find a wife for my son from my father’s family. 41But if you pick a woman to be my son’s wife, and her relatives will not let her go with you, then don’t worry. You will not have to keep that promise any more.’ ”
42Then Abraham’s worker said, “Today, I came to the water-hole that is near your town. Then I prayed to God. I said, ‘Yahweh, you are the God of my boss Abraham. Please let me find a wife for Abraham’s son today. 43-44Look, I am standing next to this water-hole, and the young women that live in the town, they are coming out to get water. Please show me which one you picked for Abraham’s son. I will talk to one of those women, and I will say, “Please let me drink a little bit of water from your jar.” Maybe that woman will say to me, “Yes, I will give you a drink, and I’ll give your camels some water too.” If she says that, then I will know that she is the woman you picked for Abraham’s son.’
45While I was still praying quietly to God, Rebekah walked out of the town with a jar on her shoulder. She went down to the water-hole and got some water. Then I said to Rebekah, ‘Please let me have a drink.’ 46Straight away, she took the jar off her shoulder and she said, ‘Yes, have a drink. And I will get water for your camels too.’ So I had a drink, and then she got water for my camels.
47Then I said, ‘Who is your father?’ And she said, ‘My father’s name is Bethuel. His father’s name is Nahor, and his mother’s name is Milcah.’ Then I knew that Rebekah is from Abraham’s family, and I knew that God picked her to marry Abraham’s son. So I gave Rebekah a gold nose ring and 2 gold bracelets for her arms. 48Then I got down on my knees and put my face near the ground, to thank God and show him respect. I said, ‘Yahweh, you are really great. You are the God of my boss Abraham. You brought me straight here to Abraham’s relatives, so that I can get a wife for Abraham’s son.’ ”
49Abraham’s worker kept on talking to Rebekah’s family. He said, “Now I’m asking you to be very good and fair to my boss Abraham. Will you let me take Rebekah to Canaan country, so that she can marry Abraham’s son? Please tell me if you will say yes or no. Then I will know what I have to do after this.”
50Then Rebekah’s brother Laban, and her father Bethuel, they talked to Abraham’s worker. They said, “Those things that you told us, we know that God made them happen. So we can’t argue with you. 51Look, here is Rebekah. Take her with you to Canaan country, so that she can marry Abraham’s son. That is what God wants.”
52Then Abraham’s worker got down on his knees and put his face near the ground, to thank God and show him respect. 53After that, the worker gave Rebekah and her family some presents from Abraham. He gave Rebekah some clothes, and some pretty things made out of silver and gold. And he also gave presents that cost a lot of money to Rebekah’s brother Laban, and to her mother.
Rebekah left her family and went to Canaan country
54Abraham’s worker and his men ate some food, and then they stayed the night with Rebekah’s family. The next morning, they got up, and Abraham’s worker talked to Rebekah’s family. He said, “Let me take Rebekah and go back to my boss Abraham.”
55But Rebekah’s brother and mother said, “Let Rebekah stay here a bit longer, maybe 10 more days, and after that she can go with you.”
56Abraham’s worker said, “Please don’t make me wait any longer. You know that God picked Rebekah to marry Abraham’s son, and he helped me find her. So please let her come with me now, so that we can go back to my boss Abraham.”
57Then Rebekah’s brother and mother said, “All right, we will get Rebekah and ask her what she wants to do.” 58So they got Rebekah, and they said to her, “Do you want to go with this man to Canaan country now, so that you can marry Abraham’s son?”
Rebekah said, “Yes, I will go now.”
59So Rebekah’s family said to Abraham’s worker, “All right, Rebekah can go with you and your men to Canaan country now. And she can take some women that work for our family. They can live in Canaan country with her and work for her there.” One of those women used to look after Rebekah when she was a little girl.
60Then Rebekah’s family asked God to be good to Rebekah. They said to her,
“We are asking God to give you lots of kids and grand-kids,
so that your family will become a really big mob of people.
And we are asking God to make them strong,
so that when other people fight against your mob, your mob will win,
and then your mob will take the towns that belonged to those other people.”
61Then Rebekah and her working women, they got on camels, and they went with Abraham’s worker and his men, to go all the way to Canaan country.
Isaac met Rebekah and married her
62Abraham’s son Isaac was living in Canaan country. You see, before this time, Isaac went south, away from Abraham’s camp, and he made his camp in the south part of the country called the Negev, near a water-hole. That water-hole was called the water-hole that belongs to God, he is alive and sees me. Then when Abraham’s worker was away in Haran, Isaac came back home.
63Then one afternoon, when it was nearly night time, Isaac went out to the grass lands to think about things. Then he looked up and saw camels coming, so he walked out to meet them. 64Rebekah was riding on one of those camels, and she looked up and saw Isaac coming towards them. Straight away, she got off her camel. 65Then she said to Abraham’s worker, “I can see a man walking towards us. Who is he?”
The worker said, “He is my boss Isaac.”
Rebekah didn’t want Isaac to see her face, so she got a scarf and put it over her head. You see, in that culture, that is what a woman did when she met the man that she was going to marry. 66Then Abraham’s worker talked to Isaac, and he told Isaac everything that happened.
67There was a tent there that used to belong to Isaac’s mother Sarah. Isaac took Rebekah into that tent, and Rebekah became Isaac’s wife. Isaac loved Rebekah.
Some time before this, Isaac’s mother Sarah died, so Isaac was sad. But after he married Rebekah, he was happy again.
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