24 S Genesis 23:20
20 So the f ield and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a
burial site.
Isaac and Rebekah
24
Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every
way. 2 He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in c harge
of all that he had, “Put your hand under my t high. 3 I want you to swear by the
Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for
my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4 but
will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back
with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came
from?”
6 “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. 7 “The
Lord, the God of heaven, who b
rought me out of my father’s household and
my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To
your offspring a I will give this land’ — he will send his angel before you so that
you can get a wife for my son from t here. 8 If the woman is unwilling to come
back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not
take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his
master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded
with all k
inds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim b
and made his way to the town of Nahor. 11 He had the camels k
neel down near
the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out
to draw water.
12 Then he p
rayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful
today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside
this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw
water. 14 May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your
jar that I may have a d
rink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels
too’ — let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will
know that you have shown kindness to my master.”
15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her
shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of
Abraham’s brother Nahor. 16 The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man
had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came
up again.
17 The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water
from your jar.”
18 “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and
gave him a drink.
19 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels
too, until they have had enough to drink.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar
into the t rough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew e
nough for
all his camels. 21 Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn
whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose
ring weighing a beka c and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. d 23 Then he
asked, “Whose daughter are you? P
lease tell me, is t here room in your father’s
house for us to spend the night?”
24 She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah
bore to Nahor.” 25 And she added, “We have plenty of s traw and fodder, as well
as room for you to spend the night.”
26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, 27 saying, “Praise
be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his
kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on
the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”
a 7 Or
seed b 10 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia c 22 That is, about 1/5 ounce or
about 5.7 grams d 22 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams