48 | Genesis 24:13
kind ness to my mas ter Abra ham. 13 See, I am stand ing be side this spring, and the daugh ters of the towns peo ple are com ing out to draw wa ter.
14
May it be that when I say to a young wom an,‘ Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says,‘ Drink, and I’ ll wa ter your cam els too’— let her be the one you have cho sen for your ser vant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kind ness to my mas ter.”
15
Be fore he had fin ished pray ing, Re bek ah came out with her jar on her shoul der. She was the daugh ter of Be thu el son of Mil kah, who was the wife of Abra ham’ s broth er Na hor. 16 The woman was very beau ti ful, a vir gin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.
17
The ser vant hur ried to meet her and said,“ Please give me a lit tle wa ter from your jar.”
18
“ Drink, my lord,” she said, and quick ly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
19
Af ter she had giv en him a drink, she said,“ I’ ll draw wa ter for your cam els too, un til they have had enough to drink.” 20 So she quick ly emp tied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more wa ter, and drew enough for all his cam els. 21 With out say ing a word, the man watched her close ly to learn wheth er or not the Lord had made his jour ney suc cess ful.
22
When the cam els had fin ished drink ing, the man took out a gold nose ring weigh ing a beka a and two gold brace lets weigh ing ten shek els. b
23
Then he asked,“ Whose daugh ter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your fa ther’ s house for us to spend the night?”
24
She an swered him,“ I am the daugh ter of Bethu el, the son that Mil kah bore to Na hor.” 25 And she add ed,“ We have plen ty of straw and fod der, as well as room for you to spend the night.”
26
Then the man bowed down and wor shiped the Lord, 27 say ing,“ Praise be to the Lord, the God of my mas ter Abra ham, who has not aban doned his kind ness and faith ful ness to my mas ter. As for me, the Lord has led me on the jour ney to the house of my mas ter’ s rel a tives.”
28
The young wom an ran and told her moth er’ s house hold about these things. 29 Now Re bek ah had a broth er named La ban, and he hur ried out to the man at the spring. 30 As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the brace lets on his sis ter’ s arms, and had heard Re bek ah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the cam els near the spring. 31“ Come, you who are blessed by the Lord,” he said.“ Why are you stand ing out here? I have pre pared the house and a place for the cam els.”
32
So the man went to the house, and the cam els were un load ed. Straw and fod der were brought for the cam els, and wa ter for him and his men to wash their feet. 33 Then food was set be fore him, but he said,“ I will not eat un til I have told you what I have to say.”“ Then tell us,” La ban said.
34
So he said,“ I am Abra ham’ s ser vant. 35 The Lord has blessed my mas ter abun dant ly, and he has be come wealthy. He has giv en him sheep and cat tle, sil ver and gold, male and fe male ser vants, and cam els and don keys. 36 My mas ter’ s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has giv en him ev ery thing he owns. 37 And my mas ter made me swear an oath, and said,‘ You must not get a wife for my son from the daugh ters of the Ca naan ites, in whose land I live, 38 but go to my fa ther’ s fam i ly and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.’
39
“ Then I asked my mas ter,‘ What if the wom an will not come back with me?’
40
“ He re plied,‘ The Lord, be fore whom I have walked faith ful ly, will send his an gel with you and make your jour ney a suc cess, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my fa ther’ s fam i ly. 41 You will be re leased from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you— then you will be re leased from my oath.’
42
“ When I came to the spring to day, I said,‘ Lord, God of my mas ter Abra ham, if you will, please grant suc cess to the jour ney on which I have come. 43 See, I am stand ing be side this spring. If a young wom an comes out to draw wa ter and I say to her,“ Please let me drink a lit tle wa ter from your jar,” 44 and if she says to me,“ Drink, and I’ ll draw wa ter for your cam els too,” let her be the one the Lord has cho sen for my mas ter’ s son.’
45
“ Be fore I fin ished pray ing in my heart, Rebek ah came out, with her jar on her shoul der. She went down to the spring and drew wa ter, and I said to her,‘ Please give me a drink.’
a
22 That is, about 1 / 5 ounce or about 5.7 grams is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams b
22 That
24:15 the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah Rebekah’ s genealogy is provided to show that her grandmother was the wife of Nahor( Abraham’ s brother) and not a concubine( Ge 11:29). Rebekah, as Bethuel’ s daughter, is Isaac’ s first cousin once removed. 24:26 worshiped the Lord Rebekah’ s response is an answer to the prayer of Abraham’ s servant( v. 24). It reveals that she is related to Abraham and fits the request that Abraham made him swear( vv. 2 – 4; compare note on 24:15).
24:29 – 33 Rebekah informs her family about the visitor, Abraham’ s servant.
24:29 Laban Rebekah’ s brother and son of Bethuel( see note on v. 50). Laban is Abraham’ s great nephew and like Rebekah, Isaac’ s first cousin once removed.
24:34 – 48 Abraham’ s servant recounts the story of his journey in precise detail. This type of repetition is common in literature that originated as oral tradition.