Genesis 24
1 And Abraam was old, advanced in days, and the Lord blessed Abraam in all things.
Now Abraham was old and of many days. And the Lord had blessed him in all things.
2 And Abraam said to his servant the elder of his house, who had rule over all his possessions, Put thy hand under my thigh,
And he said to the elder servant of his house, who was in charge of all that he had: “Place your hand under my thigh,
3 and I will adjure thee by the Lord the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou take not a wife for my son Isaac from the daughters of the Chananites, with whom I dwell, in the midst of them.
so that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live.
4 But thou shalt go instead to my country, where I was born, and to my tribe, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my son Isaac.
But that you will proceed to my land and kindred, and from there take a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 And the servant said to him, Shall I carry back thy son to the land whence thou camest forth, if haply the woman should not be willing to return with me to this land?
The servant responded, “If the woman is not willing to come with me into this land, must I lead your son back to the place from which you departed?”
6 And Abraam said to him, Take heed to thyself that thou carry not my son back thither.
And Abraham said: “Beware that you never lead my son back to that place.
7 The Lord the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, who took me out of my father's house, and out of the land whence I sprang, who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, I will give this land to thee and to thy seed, he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife to my son from thence.
The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my nativity, who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ himself will send his Angel before you, and you will take from there a wife for my son.
8 And if the woman should not be willing to come with thee into this land, thou shalt be clear from my oath, only carry not my son thither again.
But if the woman is not willing to follow you, you will not be held by the oath. Only do not lead my son back to that place.”
9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraam, and swore to him concerning this matter.
Therefore, the servant placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his lord, and he swore to him on his word.
10 And the servant took ten camels of his master's camels, and [he took] of all the goods of his master with him, and he arose and went into Mesopotamia to the city of Nachor.
And he took ten camels from his lord’s herd, and he went forth, carrying with him things from all of his goods. And he set out, and continued on, to the city of Nahor, in Mesopotamia.
11 And he rested his camels without the city by the well of water towards evening, when damsels go forth to draw water.
And when he had made the camels lie down outside of the town, near a well of water, in the evening, at the time when women are accustomed to go out to draw water, he said:
12 And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraam, prosper my way before me to day, and deal mercifully with my master Abraam.
“O Lord, the God of my lord Abraham, meet with me today, I beg you, and show mercy to my lord Abraham.
13 Lo! I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of them that inhabit the city come forth to draw water.
Behold, I stand near the fountain of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of this city will go forth to draw water.
14 And it shall be, the virgin to whomsoever I shall say, Incline thy water-pot, that I may drink, and she shall say, Drink thou, and I will give thy camels drink, until they shall have done drinking—even this one thou hast prepared for thy servant Isaac, and hereby shall I know that thou hast dealt mercifully with my master Abraam.
Therefore, the girl to whom I will say, ‘Tip your pitcher, so that I may drink,’ and she will respond, ‘Drink. In fact, I will give your camels a drink also,’ the same one is she whom you have prepared for your servant Isaac. And by this, I will understand that you have shown mercy to my lord.”
15 And it came to pass before he had done speaking in his mind, that behold, Rebecca the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Melcha, the wife of Nachor, and [the same] the brother of Abraam, came forth, having a water-pot on her shoulders.
But he had not yet completed these words within himself, when, behold, Rebekah went out, the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham, having a pitcher on her shoulder.
16 And the virgin was very beautiful in appearance, she was a virgin, a man had not known her; and she went down to the well, and filled her water-pot, and came up.
She was an exceedingly elegant girl, and a most beautiful virgin, and unknown by man. And she descended to the spring, and she filled her pitcher, and then was returning.
17 And the servant ran up to meet her, and said, Give me a little water to drink out of thy pitcher;
And the servant ran to meet her, and he said, “Provide me with a little water to drink from your pitcher.”
18 and she said, Drink, Sir; and she hasted, and let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him to drink, till he ceased drinking.
And she responded, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly brought down the pitcher on her arm, and she gave him a drink.
19 And she said, I will also draw water for thy camels, till they shall all have drunk.
And after he drank, she added, “In fact, I will draw water for your camels also, until they all drink.”
20 And she hasted, and emptied the water-pot into the trough, and ran to the well to draw again, and drew water for all the camels.
And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back to the well to draw water; and having drawn, she gave it to all the camels.
21 And the man took great notice of her, and remained silent to know whether the Lord had made his way prosperous or not.
But he was contemplating her silently, wanting to know whether the Lord had caused his journey to prosper or not
22 And it came to pass when all the camels ceased drinking, that the man took golden ear-rings, each of a drachm weight, and he [put] two bracelets on her hands, their weight was ten pieces of gold.
Then, after the camels drank, the man took out gold earrings, weighing two shekels, and the same number of bracelets, ten shekels in weight.
23 And he asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? Tell me if there is room for us to lodge with thy father.
And he said to her: “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, is there any place in your father’s house to lodge?”
24 And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bathuel the son of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor.
She responded, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, to whom she gave birth for Nahor.”
25 And she said to him, We have both straw and much provender, and a place for resting.
And she continued, saying, “There is very much straw and hay with us, and a spacious place to stay.”
26 And the man being well pleased, worshipped the Lord,
The man bowed himself down, and he adored the Lord,
27 and said, Blessed be the Lord the God of my master Abraam, who has not suffered his righteousness to fail, nor his truth from my master, and the Lord has brought me prosperously to the house of the brother of my lord.
saying, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my lord Abraham, who has not taken away his mercy and truth from my lord, and who has led me on a direct journey to the house of the brother of my lord.”
28 And the damsel ran and reported to the house of her mother according to these words.
And so the girl ran, and she reported all that she had heard in the house of her mother.
29 And Rebecca had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran out to meet the man, to the well.
Now Rebekah had a brother, named Laban, who went out quickly to the man, where the spring was.
30 And it came to pass when he saw the ear-rings and the bracelets on the hands of his sister, and when he heard the words of Rebecca his sister, saying, Thus the man spoke to me, that he went to the man, as he stood by the camels at the well.
And when he had seen the earrings and bracelets in his sister’s hands, and he had heard all the words being repeated, “This is what the man spoke to me,” he came to the man who stood by the camels and near the spring of water,
31 And he said to him, Come in hither, thou blessed of the Lord, why standest thou without, whereas I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?
and he said to him: “Enter, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.”
32 And the man entered into the house, and unloaded the camels, and gave the camels straw and provender, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were with him.
And he brought him into his guest quarters. And he unharnessed the camels, and he distributed straw and hay, and water to wash his feet and that of the men who arrived with him.
33 And he set before them loaves to eat; but he said, I will not eat, until I have told my errand. And he said, Speak on.
And bread was set out in his sight. But he said, “I will not eat, until I have spoken my words.” He answered him, “Speak.”
34 And he said, I am a servant of Abraam;
Then he said: “I am the servant of Abraham.
35 and the Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he is exalted, and he has given him sheep, and calves, and silver, and gold, servants and servant-maids, camels, and asses.
And the Lord has blessed my lord greatly, and he has become great. And he has given him sheep and oxen, silver and gold, men servants and women servants, camels and donkeys.
36 And Sarrha my master's wife bore one son to my master after he had grown old; and he gave him whatever he had.
And Sarah, the wife of my lord, has given birth to a son for my lord in her old age, and he has given him all that he had.
37 And my master caused me to swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Chananites, among whom I sojourn in their land.
And my lord made me swear, saying: ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell.
38 But thou shalt go to the house of my father, and to my tribe, and thou shalt take thence a wife for my son.
But you shall travel to my father’s house, and you shall take a wife of my own kindred for my son.’
39 And I said to my master, Haply the woman will not go with me.
But truly, I answered my lord, ‘What if the woman is not willing to come with me?’
40 And he said to me, The Lord God to whom I have been acceptable in his presence, himself shall send out his angel with thee, and shall prosper thy journey, and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my tribe, and of the house of my father.
‘The Lord,’ he said, ‘in whose sight I walk, will send his Angel with you, and he will direct your way. And you shall take a wife for my son from my own kindred and from my father’s house.
41 Then shalt thou be clear from my curse, for whensoever thou shalt have come to my tribe, and they shall not give her to thee, then shalt thou be clear from my oath.
But you will be innocent of my curse, if, when you will arrive at my close relatives, they will not grant this to you.’
42 And having come this day to the well, I said, Lord God of my master Abraam, if thou prosperest my journey on which I am now going,
And so, today I arrived at the well of water, and I said: ‘O Lord, the God of my lord Abraham, if you have directed my way, in which I now walk,
43 behold, I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come forth to draw water, and it shall be [that] the damsel to whom I shall say, Give me a little water to drink out of thy pitcher,
behold, I stand next to the well of water, and the virgin, who will go forth to draw water, will hear from me, “Give me a little water to drink from your pitcher.”
44 and she shall say to me, Both drink thou, and I will draw water for thy camels, this [shall be] the wife whom the Lord has prepared for his own servant Isaac; and hereby shall I know that thou hast wrought mercy with my master Abraam.
And she will say to me, “You drink, and I will also draw for your camels.” Let the same be the woman, whom the Lord has prepared for the son of my lord.’
45 And it came to pass before I had done speaking in my mind, straightway Rebecca came forth, having her pitcher on her shoulders; and she went down to the well, and drew water; and I said to her, Give me to drink.
And while I thought over these things silently within myself, Rebekah appeared, arriving with a pitcher, which she carried on her shoulder. And she descended to the spring and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Give me a little to drink.’
46 And she hasted and let down her pitcher on her arm from her head, and said, Drink thou, and I will give thy camels drink; and I drank, and she gave the camels drink.
And she quickly let down the pitcher from her arm, and said to me, ‘You drink, and to your camels I will also distribute drinking water.’ I drank, and she watered the camels.
47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me; and she said, I am daughter of Bathuel the son of Nachor, whom Melcha bore to him; and I put on her the ear-rings, and the bracelets on her hands.
And I questioned her, saying, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she responded, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ And so, I hung the earrings on her, to adorn her face, and I put the bracelets on her hands.
48 And being well-pleased I worshipped the Lord, and I blessed the Lord the God of my master Abraam, who has prospered me in a true way, so that I should take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.
And falling prostrate, I adored the Lord, blessing the Lord, the God of my lord Abraham, who has led me along the straight path so as to take the daughter of my lord’s brother to his son.
49 If then ye [will] deal mercifully and justly with my lord, [tell me], and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.
For this reason, if you would act according to mercy and truth with my lord, tell me so. But if it pleases you otherwise, say that to me also, so that I may go either to the right, or to the left.”
50 And Laban and Bathuel answered and said, This matter has come forth from the Lord, we shall not be able to answer thee bad or good.
And Laban and Bethuel responded: “A word has proceeded from the Lord. We are not able to speak anything else to you, beyond what pleases him.
51 Behold, Rebecca is before thee, take her and go away, and let her be wife to the son of thy master, as the Lord has said.
Lo, Rebekah is in your sight. Take her and continue on, and let her be the wife of the son of your lord, just as the Lord has spoken.”
52 And it came to pass when the servant of Abraam heard these words, he bowed himself to the Lord down to the earth.
When Abraham’s servant had heard this, falling down to the ground, he adored the Lord.
53 And the servant having brought forth jewels of silver and gold and raiment, gave them to Rebecca, and gave gifts to her brother, and to her mother.
And bringing forth vessels of silver and gold, as well as garments, he gave them to Rebekah as a tribute. Likewise, he offered gifts to her brothers and her mother.
54 And both he and the men with him ate and drank and went to sleep. And he arose in the morning and said, Send me away, that I may go to my master.
And a banquet began, and they feasted and drank together, and they lodged there. And rising up in the morning, the servant said, “Release me, so that I may go to my lord.”
55 And her brethren and her mother said, Let the virgin remain with us about ten days, and after that she shall depart.
And her brothers and mother responded, “Let the girl remain for at least ten days with us, and after that, she will continue on.”
56 But he said to them, Hinder me not, for the Lord has prospered my journey for me; send me away, that I may depart to my master.
“Do not be willing,” he said, “to delay me, for the Lord has directed my way. Release me, so that I may journey to my lord.”
57 And they said, Let us call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.
And they said, “Let us call the girl, and ask her will.”
58 And they called Rebecca, and said to her, Wilt thou go with this man? and she said, I will go.
And when, having been called, she arrived, they wanted to know, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”
59 So they sent forth Rebecca their sister, and her goods, and the servant of Abraam, and his attendants.
Therefore, they released her and her nurse, and the servant of Abraham and his companions,
60 And they blessed Rebecca, and said to her, Thou art our sister; become thou thousands of myriads, and let thy seed possess the cities of their enemies.
wishing prosperity for their sister, by saying: “You are our sister. May you increase to thousands of thousands. And may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.”
61 And Rebecca rose up and her maidens, and they mounted the camels and went with the man; and the servant having taken up Rebecca, departed.
And so, Rebekah and her maids, riding upon camels, followed the man, who quickly returned to his lord.
62 And Isaac went through the wilderness to the well of the vision, and he dwelt in the land toward the south.
Then, at the same time, Isaac was walking along the way that leads to the well, whose name is: ‘of the One who lives and who sees.’ For he dwelt in the southern land.
63 And Isaac went forth into the plain toward evening to meditate; and having lifted up his eyes, he saw camels coming.
And he had gone out to meditate in the field, as daylight was now declining. And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw camels advancing from afar.
64 And Rebecca lifted up her eyes, and saw Isaac; and she alighted briskly from the camel,
Likewise, Rebekah, having seen Isaac, descended from the camel.
65 and said to the servant, Who is that man that walks in the plain to meet us? And the servant said, This is my master; and she took her veil and covered herself.
And she said to the servant, “Who is that man who advances to meet us through the field?” And he said to her, “That is my lord.” And so, quickly taking up her cloak, she covered herself.
66 And the servant told Isaac all that he had done.
Then the servant explained to Isaac all that he had done.
67 And Isaac went into the house of his mother, and took Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted for Sarrha his mother.
And he led her into the tent of Sarah his mother, and he accepted her as wife. And he loved her so very much, that it tempered the sorrow which befell him at his mother’s death.
