Genesis 24
24
1Now Abraham was old, and advanced in age: and the Lord had blessed him in all things.
2And he said to the elder servant of his house, who was ruler over all he had: Put thy hand under my thigh,
3That I may make thee swear by the Lord the God of heaven and earth, that thou take not a wife for my son of the daughters of the Chanaanites, among whom I dwell:
4But that thou go to my own country and kindred, and take a wife from thence for my son Isaac.
5The servant answered: If the woman will not come with me into this land, must I bring thy son back again to the place, from whence thou camest out?
6And Abraham said: Beware, thou never bring my son back again thither.
7The Lord God of heaven, who took me out of my father's house, and out of my native country, who spoke to me, and swore to me, saying: To thy seed will I give this land; he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my son.
8But if the woman will not follow thee, thou shalt not be bound by the oath; only bring not my son back thither again.
9The servant therefore put his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his lord, and swore to him upon this word.
10And he took ten camels of his master's herd, and departed, carrying something of all his goods with him; and he set forth and went on to Mesopotamia to the city of Nachor.
11And when he had made the camels lie down without the town near a well of water in evening, at the time when women are wont to come out to draw water, he said:
12O Lord the God of my master Abraham, meet me to-day, I beseech thee, and shew kindness to my master Abraham.
13Behold, I stand nigh the spring of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of this city will come out to draw water.
14Now, therefore, the maid to whom I shall say: Let down thy pitcher that I may drink: and she shall answer, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: Let it be the same whom thou hast provided for thy servant Isaac. And by this I shall understand, that thou hast shown kindness to my master.
15He had not yet ended these words within himself, and, behold, Rebecca came out, the daughter of Bathuel, son of Melcha, wife to Nachor the brother of Abraham, having a pitcher on her shoulder.
16An exceedingly comely maid, and a most beautiful virgin, and not known to man: and she went down to the spring, and filled her pitcher and was coming back.
17And the servant ran to meet her, and said: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher.
18And she answered: Drink, my lord. And quickly she let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him drink.
19And when he had drunk, she said: I will draw water for thy camels also, till they all drink.
20And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back to the well to draw water: and having drawn she gave to all the camels.
21But he, musing, beheld her with silence, desirous to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
22And after that the camels had drunk, the man took out golden earrings, weighing two sicles: and as many bracelets of ten sicles weight.
23And he said to her: Whose daughter art thou? Tell me: Is there any place in thy father's house to lodge?
24And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor.
25And she said moreover to him: We have good store of both straw and hay, and a large place to lodge in.
26The man bowed himself down, and adored the Lord,
27Saying: Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not taken away his mercy and truth from my master, and hath brought me the straight way into the house of my master's brother.
28Then the maid ran, and told in her mother's house, all that she had heard.
29And Rebecca had a brother named Laban, who went out in haste to the man, to the well.
30And when he had seen the earrings and bracelets in his sister's hands, and had heard all that she related, saying: Thus and thus, the man spoke to me. He came to the man who stood by the camels, and near to the spring of water,
31And said to him: Come in, thou blessed of the Lord: why standest thou without? I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.
32And he brought him in into his lodging: and he unharnessed the camels; and gave straw and hay, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were come with him.
33And bread was set before him. But he said: I will not eat, till I tell my message. He answered him: Speak.
34And he said: I am the servant of Abraham.
35And the Lord hath blessed my master wonderfully, and he is become great: and he hath given him sheep and oxen, silver and gold, men-servants and women-servants, camels and asses.
36And Sara, my master's wife hath borne my master a son in her old age: and he hath given him all that he had.
37And my master made me swear, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the Chanaanites, in whose land I dwell.
38But thou shalt go to my father's house, and shalt take a wife of my own kindred for my son.
39But I answered my master: What if the woman will not come with me?
40The Lord, said he, in whose sight I walk, will send his angel with thee, and will direct thy way. And thou shalt take a wife for my son of my own kindred, and of my father's house.
41But thou shalt be clear from my curse, when thou shalt come to my kindred, if they will not give thee one.
42And I came to-day to the well of water, and said: O Lord God of my master Abraham, if thou hast prospered my way, wherein I now walk,
43Behold, I stand by the well of water, and the virgin, that shall come out to draw water, who shall hear me say: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher:
44And shall say to me: Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: Let the same be the woman, whom the Lord hath prepared for my master's son.
45And whilst I pondered these things secretly with myself, Rebecca appeared, coming with a pitcher, which she carried on her shoulder: and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her: Give me a little to drink.
46And she speedily let down the pitcher from her shoulder, and said to me: Both drink thou, and to thy camels I will give drink. I drank, and she watered the camels.
47And I asked her, and said: Whose daughter art thou? And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Nachor, whom Melcha bore to him. So I put earrings on her to adorn her face, and I put bracelets on her hands.
48And falling down, I adored the Lord, blessing the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath brought me the straight way to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.
49Wherefore, if you do according to mercy and truth with my master, tell me: but if it please you otherwise, tell me that also, that I may go to the right hand, or to the left.
50And Laban and Bathuel answered: The word hath proceeded from the Lord; we cannot speak any other thing to thee but his pleasure.
51Behold, Rebecca is before thee: Take her and go thy way; and let her be the wife of thy master's son, as the Lord hath spoken.
52Which when Abraham's servant heard, falling down to the ground, he adored the Lord.
53And bringing forth vessels of silver and gold, and garments, he gave them to Rebecca for a present. He offered gifts also to her brothers, and to her mother.
54And a banquet was made, and they ate and drank together, and lodged there. And in the morning, the servant arose, and said: Let me depart, that I may go to my master.
55And her brother and mother answered: Let the maid stay at least ten days with us, and afterwards she shall depart.
56Stay me not, said he, because the Lord hath prospered my way: send me away, that I may go to my master.
57And they said: Let us call the maid, and ask her will.
58And they called her, and when she was come, they asked: Wilt thou go with this man? She said: I will go.
59So they sent her away, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his company,
60Wishing prosperity to their sister, and saying: Thou art our sister: Mayst thou increase to thousands of thousands, and may thy seed possess the gates of their enemies.
61So Rebecca and her maids, being set upon camels, followed the man: who with speed returned to his master.
62At the same time Isaac was walking along the way to the well, which is called, Of the Living and the Seeing: for he dwelt in the south country.
63And he was gone forth to meditate in the field, the day being now well spent: and when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw camels coming afar off.
64Rebecca also, when she saw Isaac, lighted off the camel,
65And said to the servant: Who is that man who cometh towards us along the field? And he said to her: That man is my master. But she quickly took Her cloak, and covered herself.
66And the servant told Isaac all that he had done.
67Who brought her into the tent of Sara his mother, and took her to wife. And he loved her so much, that it moderated the sorrow which was occasioned by his mother's death.
An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Genesis 24
24
Isaac and Rebekah
1#Ge 13:2; 12:2Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2#Ge 47:29; 39:4–6So Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who was in charge over all that he had, “Please, place your hand under my thigh, 3#Ge 26:34–35; 14:22and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live. 4#Ge 28:2But you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
5Then the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I 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#Ge 13:15; 15:18The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s family and from the land of my relatives, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give this land,’ He shall send His angel before you and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8#Jos 2:17–20If the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from my oath. Only do not take my son back there.” 9#Ge 24:2So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
10#Ge 11:31; Dt 23:4Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all the goods of his master were in his hand. And he arose and went to the city of Nahor in Aram Naharaim. 11#1Sa 9:11; Ex 2:16He made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water in the evening when the women came out to draw water.
12#Ge 24:27; 26:24Then he said, “O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please let me have success this day and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13#Ge 24:43See, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14#Jdg 6:17; 6:37Let it be that the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please lower your pitcher, that I may drink,’ and she shall say, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels water also’—let her be the one that You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. Then I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
15#Ge 11:29; 24:45Before he had finished speaking, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milkah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with a pitcher on her shoulder. 16#Ge 26:7The young woman was very beautiful to look at, a virgin, and no man had ever been with her. She went down to the well and filled her pitcher and came up.
17#Jn 4:7Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”
18So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let down her pitcher to her hand and gave him a drink.
19#Ge 24:14When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough and ran to the well to draw water and drew for all his camels. 21#Ge 24:12The man, gazing at her, remained silent, trying to discern whether the Lord had made his journey a success or not.
22#Ex 32:2–3When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose ring of half a shekel weight#About 1/5 ounce, or 5.7 grams. and two bracelets for her wrists of ten shekels weight#About 4 ounces, or 115 grams. in gold, 23and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?”
24#Ge 24:15; 22:23She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25Again she said to him, “We have both straw and provision enough, and room in which to lodge.”
26#Ge 24:48; 24:52Then the man bowed down his head and worshipped the Lord. 27#Ge 24:48; 24:12; 32:10And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s relatives.”
28So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household of these things. 29#Ge 29:5Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man at the well. 30When he saw the nose ring and bracelets on his sister’s hands and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man who stood by the camels at the well. 31#Ge 26:29; Ru 3:10And he said, “Come in, blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”
32#Ge 43:24; Jdg 19:21So the man came to the house. Then he unloaded his camels and gave straw and provision to the camels and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33He then set food before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told about my errand.”
And he said, “Speak on.”
34So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35#Ge 13:2; 24:1The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy. He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36#Ge 25:5; 21:1–7Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and he has given to him all that he has. 37My master made me swear, saying, ‘You must not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live. 38#Ge 24:4But you shall go to my father’s house, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.’
39“So I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’
40#Ge 17:1; 24:7“Then he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house. 41#Ge 24:8You will be free from my oath, when you come to my family, if they will not give her to you; then you will be released from my oath.’
42#Ne 1:11“So today I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if You will now give me success in my task; 43#Ge 24:13–14I am standing by the well of water, and let it be that when the virgin comes forth to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” 44#Ge 24:14and she says to me, “Drink, and I will also draw for your camels,” let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’
45“Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. Then I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’
46“She then quickly let down her pitcher from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also.
47“Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’
“And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milkah bore for him.’
“So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48#Ge 24:26–27; 24:52And I bowed down my head and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49#Ge 47:29; Jos 2:14And now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
50#Ge 31:24; 31:29Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “This thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51#Ge 24:15Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”
52#Ge 24:26; 24:48When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. 53#Ex 3:22; 11:2Then the servant brought out jewels of silver and gold, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. 54#Ge 24:56; 24:59Then they ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and stayed all night.
The next morning they arose, and he said, “Send me away to my master.”
55But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.”
56So he said to them, “Do not delay me, seeing the Lord has given me success. Let me go that I may go to my master.”
57They said, “We will call the girl and ask her.” 58Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”
And she said, “I will go.”
59#Ge 35:8So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60#Ge 17:16; 22:17They blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“May you, our sister, become the mother
of thousands of ten thousands;
and may your descendants possess
the gate of those who hate them.”
61Then Rebekah and her maids arose and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went his way.
62#Ge 16:14; 25:11Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he lived in the Negev. 63#Ps 1:2; 119:15Isaac went out in the evening to meditate in the field; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and surely the camels were coming. 64And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from her camel 65and said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”
The servant said, “It is my master.” Therefore she took a veil and covered herself.
66Then the servant told Isaac all the things he had done. 67#Ge 37:35; 38:12So Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah; and 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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