Genesis 24
1 Now Abraham was old and of many days. And the Lord had blessed him in all things.
Abraham was now a very old man. Yahweh had blessed Abraham in many ways.
2 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,
One day Abraham said to the chief servant of his household, the man who was in charge of everything Abraham owned, “Put your hand between my thighs to solemnly promise you will do what I tell you.
3 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.
Knowing that Yahweh God [who created] the heavens and the earth is listening, promise that you will not get a wife for my son, Isaac, from the women here in Canaan.
4 But that you will proceed to my land and kindred, and from there take a wife for my son Isaac.”
Instead, go back to my country and to my relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac from among them.”
5 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?”
The servant asked him, “If I find a woman among your relatives, what if she is not willing to come back with me to this land? Shall I take your son back there to the country you came from, [so he can find a wife and live there]?”
6 And Abraham said: “Beware that you never lead my son back to that place.
Abraham replied to him, “No! Be certain that you don’t take my son there!
7 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.
Yahweh God, who created the heavens, brought me here. He brought me from my father’s household, and from the land where my relatives lived. He spoke to me and made a solemn promise to me, saying, ‘I will give this land [of Canaan] to your descendants.’ He will send an angel who will go there ahead of you, and enable you to get a wife for my son [there and bring her to live here].
8 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.”
But if the woman you find will not come back with you, you are free to disregard the promise you are making. The only thing that you must not do is to take my son to live there!”
9 Therefore, the servant placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his lord, and he swore to him on his word.
So the servant put his hand between Abraham’s thighs and made a solemn promise about the matter.
10 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.
Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and loaded them with all kinds of goods that his master gave him to take along. Then he left to go to Aram-Naharaim, [which is in (northern Mesopotamia/Syria)]. He arrived in Nahor city.
11 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:
It was late in the afternoon, at the time when the women go to the well to get water, when he arrived there. He made the camels kneel down near the well, which was outside the city.
12 “O Lord, the God of my lord Abraham, meet with me today, I beg you, and show mercy to my lord Abraham.
The servant prayed, “Yahweh God whom my master Abraham worships, enable me to be successful today! Act kindly to my master, Abraham!
13 Behold, I stand near the fountain of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of this city will go forth to draw water.
Listen to me. I am standing near a well of water, and the young women of the city are coming to get water.
14 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.”
I am asking you this: ‘I will say to some girl, “Please lower your jar so that I may drink some water.” If she says, “Drink some, and I will draw some water [from the well] for your camels, too,” I will know that she is the woman whom you chose to be a wife for your servant, Isaac, and I will know that you have been kind to my master.’”
15 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.
Before he finished praying, [amazingly], Rebekah arrived there, carrying a jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s younger brother Nahor.
16 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.
She was very beautiful and still a virgin. She went down to the edge of the well, filled her jar with water, and then came back up.
17 And the servant ran to meet her, and he said, “Provide me with a little water to drink from your pitcher.”
Abraham’s servant immediately ran to meet her, and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”
18 And she responded, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly brought down the pitcher on her arm, and she gave him a drink.
She replied, “Drink some, sir!” She lowered her jar from her shoulder to her hands and gave him a drink.
19 And after he drank, she added, “In fact, I will draw water for your camels also, until they all drink.”
After she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will also get some water for your camels, until they have had enough to drink.”
20 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.
She quickly emptied the water in her jar into the trough [for giving water to animals], and then ran back to the well, and kept getting water for all the camels.
21 But he was contemplating her silently, wanting to know whether the Lord had caused his journey to prosper or not
The servant just watched her, without saying anything. He wanted to know if Yahweh had caused his trip to be successful or not.
22 Then, after the camels drank, the man took out gold earrings, weighing two shekels, and the same number of bracelets, ten shekels in weight.
Finally, after the camels finished drinking, the servant took out a gold nose ring that weighed (two ounces/6 grams), and two large gold bracelets for her arms, and gave them to Rebekah [and told her to put them on].
23 And he said to her: “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, is there any place in your father’s house to lodge?”
Then he said, “Tell me whose daughter you are. Also, tell me, is there room in your father’s house for me and my men to sleep there tonight?”
24 She responded, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, to whom she gave birth for Nahor.”
She replied, “My father’s name is Bethuel. He is the son of Nahor and his wife Milcah.
25 And she continued, saying, “There is very much straw and hay with us, and a spacious place to stay.”
Yes, we have room where you all can sleep tonight, and we also have plenty of straw and grain to feed the camels.”
26 The man bowed himself down, and he adored the Lord,
The servant bowed and worshiped Yahweh.
27 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.”
He said, “I thank you, Yahweh God, whom my master Abraham worships. You have continued to be kind and faithful to my master. You led me on this journey straight/directly to the house of my master’s relatives!”
28 And so the girl ran, and she reported all that she had heard in the house of her mother.
The girl ran and told everyone in her mother’s household about what had happened.
29 Now Rebekah had a brother, named Laban, who went out quickly to the man, where the spring was.
Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban went quickly to Abraham’s servant, who was still by the well.
30 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,
He was surprised to have seen the bracelets on his sister’s arms and the nose ring and to have heard Rebekah tell what the man had said to her. So he went out and saw the man standing near the camels, close to the well.
31 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.”
He said to the man, “You who have been blessed by Yahweh, come with me! (Why are standing out here?/You should not keep standing out here!) [RHQ] I have prepared a room for you in the house, and a place for the camels to stay.”
32 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.
So the servant went to the house, and Laban’s servants unloaded the camels, and brought straw and grain for the camels, and water for him and the men with him to wash their feet.
33 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.”
They set food in front of him for him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I tell you (what I need to tell you/why I have come).” So Laban said, “Tell us!”
34 Then he said: “I am the servant of Abraham.
So the servant said, “I am Abraham’s servant.
35 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.
Yahweh has greatly blessed my master so that he has become very rich. Yahweh has given him many sheep and cattle, a lot of gold and silver, male and female servants, camels and donkeys.
36 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.
My master’s wife, Sarah, bore a son for him when she was very old, and my master has given to his son everything he owns.
37 And my lord made me swear, saying: ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell.
My master made me solemnly promise, saying, ‘Do not get a wife for my son from the women here in Canaan.
38 But you shall travel to my father’s house, and you shall take a wife of my own kindred for my son.’
Instead, go back to my father’s family, to my own clan, and get from them a wife for my son.’
39 But truly, I answered my lord, ‘What if the woman is not willing to come with me?’
Then I asked my master, ‘What shall I do if the woman you show me will not come back with me?’
40 ‘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.
He replied, ‘Yahweh, whom I have always obeyed [MTY], will send his angel with you, and he will cause your journey to be successful, with the result that you can get a wife for my son from my clan, from my father’s family.
41 But you will be innocent of my curse, if, when you will arrive at my close relatives, they will not grant this to you.’
But if my clan refuses to allow her to return with you, you will be freed from being cursed because of not obeying me.’
42 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,
“When I came today to the well, I prayed, ‘Yahweh God whom my master, Abraham worships, if you are willing, please allow this journey of mine to be successful.
43 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.”
Listen to me. I am standing beside a well. A young woman may come to draw water. I will say to her, “Please, give me a little water to drink from your jar.”
44 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.’
If she says to me, “Certainly, drink some! And I will also draw some water for your camels,” that will be the woman whom you have chosen for my master’s son!’
45 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.’
Before I finished praying, [amazingly], Rebekah approached with her water jar on her shoulder. She went down to the well and got some water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink!’
46 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.
She quickly lowered her jar and said, ‘Drink some! And I will draw water [from the well] for your camels, too.’ So I drank some water, and she also got water for the camels.
47 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.
Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor and his wife, Milcah.’ I had [a ring and bracelets with me, and] I put the ring in her nose and put the bracelets on her arms.
48 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.
Then I bowed and worshiped Yahweh, and I thanked Yahweh God, the one my master Abraham worships, the one who led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother to be a wife for my master’s son.
49 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.”
Now, if you are kind and faithful to my master, tell me that you will do what I am asking. If you will not do that, tell me that also, so I may know what to do [MTY].”
50 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.
Laban and Bethuel answered, “It is clear that Yahweh has caused this to happen. So we two cannot say anything more.
51 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.”
Rebekah is here in front of you. Take her and go, and let her be a wife for your master’s son, just as Yahweh has indicated.”
52 When Abraham’s servant had heard this, falling down to the ground, he adored the Lord.
When Abraham’s servant heard these words, he bowed down to the ground to [thank] Yahweh.
53 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.
Then the servant brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothes, and gave them to Rebekah. And he gave gifts to her brother Laban and to her mother.
54 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.”
Then they ate a meal together. The men who were with Abraham’s servant also slept there that night. The next morning, the servant said, “Allow me now to return to my master.”
55 And her brothers and mother responded, “Let the girl remain for at least ten days with us, and after that, she will continue on.”
But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl remain with us for about ten days. After that, you may take her and go.”
56 “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.”
But he replied to them, “Yahweh has made my journey successful, so do not detain me. Let me take her back to my master now!”
57 And they said, “Let us call the girl, and ask her will.”
They said, “Let’s call Rebekah and ask her what she wants to do.” [MTY]
58 And when, having been called, she arrived, they wanted to know, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”
So they summoned Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man now?” She replied, “Yes, I will go.”
59 Therefore, they released her and her nurse, and the servant of Abraham and his companions,
So they allowed Rebekah, a woman who had taken care of her when she was very young, Abraham’s servant, and the men who had come with him. to go.
60 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.”
Before they all left, they [asked God to] bless Rebekah, and said to her, “Our sister, we ask that Yahweh will cause you to have millions of descendants, and allow them to completely defeat [MET] all those that hate them.”
61 And so, Rebekah and her maids, riding upon camels, followed the man, who quickly returned to his lord.
Then Rebekah and her maid servants got ready and got on their camels and went with Abraham’s servant.
62 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.
At that time, Isaac was living in the Negev desert. He had gone there from Beer-Lahai-Roi.
63 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.
One evening he went out into the field to meditate as he walked. He looked up and [was surprised to] see some camels coming.
64 Likewise, Rebekah, having seen Isaac, descended from the camel.
Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got off the camel,
65 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.
and asked the servant, “Who is that man who is approaching?” The servant replied, “That is Isaac, my master, [the man you will be marrying].” So she took her veil and covered her face, which was the custom for a woman who was about to be married.
66 Then the servant explained to Isaac all that he had done.
The servant told Isaac everything that had happened.
67 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.
Then Isaac took Rebekah into the tent that belonged to his mother, Sarah, and she became his wife. And he loved her. So Isaac was comforted about his mother’s death.
