Bereshis 24
Orthodox Jewish Bible
24 And Avraham was zaken (old), and well stricken in age; and Hashem berach (had blessed) Avraham in all things.
2 And Avraham said unto his eved zekan of his bais, hamoshel (that ruled) over all that he had, Put, now, thy yad under my thigh;
3 And I will make thee swear by Hashem Elohei HaShomayim and Elohei Ha’Aretz, that thou shalt not take an isha unto beni of the Banot HaKena’ani, among whom I dwell:
4 But thou shalt go unto my eretz, and to my moledet, and take an isha unto beni Yitzchak.
5 And the eved said unto him, What if the isha will not be willing to follow me unto HaAretz Hazot: must I needs bring binecha back unto ha’aretz from where thou camest?
6 And Avraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not beni to there!
7 Hashem Elohei HaShomayim, which took me from bais avi,and from the eretz of my moledet, and which spoke unto me, and that swore unto me, saying, Unto thy zera will I give HaAretz Hazot; He shall send His Malach before thee, and thou shalt take an isha unto beni from there.
8 But if the isha will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be released from this my shevu’ah (oath): only do not bring back beni there.
9 And the eved put his yad under yerech Avraham adonav, and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 And the eved took asarah gemalim of the gemalei adonav, and departed; for all the goods of adonav were in his yad: and he arose, and went to Aram Naharayim, [Mesopotamia] unto the Ir Nachor.
11 And he made his gemalim to kneel down outside the Ir near a be’er hamayim at the time of erev, at the time that women go out to draw mayim.
12 And he said Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, now, send me success this yom, and show chesed unto adoni Avraham.
13 Hinei, I stand here by the ayin hamayim; and the banot anshei haIr come out to draw mayim;
14 And let it come to pass, that the na’arah to whom I shall say, Let down thy jug, now, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy gemalim drink also; let the same be she that Thou hast appointed for Thy eved Yitzchak; and thereby shall I know that Thou hast showed chesed unto adoni.
15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, hinei, Rivkah came out, who was born to Beituel Ben Milcah, eshet Nachor, achi Avraham, with her jug upon her shoulder.
16 And the na’arah was tovat mareh me’od, a betulah, neither had any ish known her: and she went down to haayenah (the spring), and filled her jug, and came up.
17 And the eved hurried to meet her, and said, Let me, now, drink a little mayim of thy jug.
18 And she said,Drink, adoni: and she hasted, and let down her jug upon her yad, and gave him drink
19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw for thy gemalim also, until they have done drinking.
20 And she hasted, and emptied her jug into the trough, and ran back unto the be’er to draw, and drew for all his gemalim.
21 And the ish gazed at her and held his peace, so as to have da’as whether Hashem had made his derech prosperous or not.
22 And it came to pass, just as the gemalim had done drinking, that the ish took a nezem zahav (gold ring) by weight a beka, and two tzemidim (bracelets) by weight ten [shekels of] gold for her wrists;
23 And said, Whose bat art thou? Tell me, now: is there makom in the bais of thy av for us to spend the night?
24 And she said unto him, I am Bat Beituel Ben Milcah, the ben which she bore unto Nachor.
25 She said moreover unto him, We have both teven (straw) and mispo (fodder) enough, and makom (room) to spend the night.
26 And the ish bowed his head, worshiped Hashem.
27 And he said, Baruch Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, who hath not left destitute of His chesed and His emes; I being on the derech, Hashem led me to the bais achei adoni.
28 And the na’arah ran, and told them of her bais em these things.
29 And Rivkah had an ach, shmo Lavan; Lavan ran out unto the ish, unto the ayin.
30 And it came to pass, when he saw the nezem and tzemidim upon the wrists of his achot, and when he heard the words of Rivkah his achot, saying, Thus spoke the ish unto me; that he came unto the ish; and, hinei, he stood by the gemalim at the ayin.
31 And he said, Come in, Baruch Hashem; why standest thou outside? for I have prepared the bais, and makom for the gemalim.
32 And the ish came into the bais; and he unloaded his gemalim, and gave teven (straw) and mispo (fodder) for the camels, and mayim to wash his raglayim, and the raglei haanashim that were with him.
33 And there was set ochel before him to eat; but he said, I will not eat, until I have stated my business. And he said, Speak on.
34 And he said, I am eved Avraham.
35 And Hashem hath blessed adoni me’od; and he is become prospered: and He hath given him tzon, and bakar, and kesef, and zahav, and avadim, and shefachot, and gemalim, and chamorim.
36 And Sarah eshet adoni bore ben to adoni when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.
37 And adoni made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take an isha for beni of the Banot HaKena’ani, in whose land I dwell;
38 But thou shalt go unto bais avi, to my mishpokhot, and take an isha unto beni.
39 And I said unto adoni, What if the isha will not follow me.
40 And he said unto me, Hashem, before Whom I walk, will send His Malach with thee, and prosper thy derech; and thou shalt take an isha for beni of my mishpokhot, and of my bais avi;
41 Then shalt thou be released from this my oath, when thou comest to my mishpokhot; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be released from my oath.
42 And I came this day unto the ayin, and said, Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, if now Thou do prosper my derech which I go;
43 Hinei, I stand by the ayin hamayim; and it shall come to pass, that when haAlmah [haAlmah used here as synonym for na’arahbetulah, Genesis 24:16; see Isaiah 7:14, p.vii-xii] cometh forth to draw mayim, and I say to her, Give me, now, a little mayim of thy jar to drink;
44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy gemalim; let the same be the isha whom Hashem hath appointed for ben adoni.
45 And before I had done davening in mine lev, hinei, Rivkah came forth with her jar on her shoulder; and she went down unto ha’ayenah, and drew: and I said unto her, Let me drink, now.
46 And she made haste, and let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy gemalim drink also: so I drank, and she made the gemalim drink also.
47 And I asked her, and said, Whose bat art thou? And she said, Bat Beituel Ben Nachor, the ben whom Milcah bore unto him: and I put the nezem upon her face, and the tzemidim upon her wrists.
48 And I bowed down my head, and worshiped Hashem, and I said a brocha to Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, which had led me on the derech emes to take bat achi adoni for bno.
49 And now if ye will do chesed and emes to adoni, tell me; and if not, tell me; that I may turn to yamin, or to smol.
50 Then Lavan and Beituel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from Hashem; we cannot speak unto thee rah or tov.
51 Hinei, Rivkah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be isha for ben adonecha, just as Hashem hath spoken.
52 And it came to pass, that, when eved Avraham heard their words, he worshiped Hashem, bowing himself to the ground.
53 And the eved brought forth kelei kesef, and kelei zahav, and begadim, and gave them to Rivkah; he gave also to her ach and to her em migdanot (costly gifts).
54 And they did eat and drink, he and the anashim that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the boker, and he said, Send me away unto adoni.
55 And her ach and her em said, Let the na’arah abide with us ten days or so; after that she shall go.
56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing Hashem hath prospered my derech; send me away that I may go to adoni.
57 And they said, We will call the na’arah, and inquire at her mouth.
58 And they called Rivkah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this ish? And she said, I will go.
59 And they sent away Rivkah their achot, and her nurse, and eved Avraham, and his anashim.
60 And they said a brocha over Rivkah, and said unto her, Thou art achoteinu, may thou be increased to thousands upon thousands and may thy zera possess the sha’ar of those which hate them.
61 And Rivkah arose, and her na’arot, and they rode upon the gemalim, and followed the ish: and the eved took Rivkah, and went his way.
62 And Yitzchak had come from Be’er Lachi Roi; for he dwelt in the eretz hanegev.
63 And Yitzchak went out to meditate in the sadeh at erev: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, hinei, the gemalim (camels) were coming.
64 And Rivkah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Yitzchak, she got down from the gamal.
65 For she had said unto the eved, Who is that ish that walketh in the sadeh to meet us? And the eved had said, He is adoni: therefore she took a veil, and covered herself.
66 And the eved told Yitzchak all things that he had done.
67 And Yitzchak brought her into the ohel of Sarah immo, and took Rivkah, and she became his isha; and he loved her: and Yitzchak was comforted after the [mot] immo.
Genesis 24
New American Standard Bible
A Bride for Isaac
24 Now (A)Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had (B)blessed Abraham in every way. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household who was in (C)charge of all that he owned, “(D)Please place your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, (E)the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you (F)shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of (G)the Canaanites, among whom I live; 4 but you will go to (H)my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?” 6 Then Abraham said to him, “(I)Beware that you do not take my son back there! 7 (J)The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘(K)To your [a]descendants I will give this land’—He will send (L)His angel ahead of you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will (M)be free of this oath of mine; (N)only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant (O)placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham, and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and went out with a variety of (P)good things of his master’s in his hand; so he set out and went to [b]Mesopotamia, to (Q)the city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down outside the city by (R)the well of water [c]when it was evening, (S)the time when women go out to draw water. 12 And he said, “(T)Lord, God of my master Abraham, please [d](U)grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, (V)I am standing by the [e]spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; 14 now may it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and [f]who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
Rebekah Is Chosen
15 And it came about, (W)before he had finished speaking, that behold, (X)Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of (Y)Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman was (Z)very beautiful, a virgin; no man had [g]had relations with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, “(AA)Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” 18 And (AB)she said, “Drink, my lord”; then she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 Now when she had finished giving him a drink, (AC)she said, “I will also draw water for your camels until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. 21 (AD)Meanwhile, the man was taking a close look at her [h]in silence, to find out whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not.
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a (AE)gold ring weighing a [i]half-shekel, and two bracelets for her [j]wrists weighing ten shekels in gold, 23 and he said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room for us to stay overnight at your father’s house?” 24 She said to him, “(AF)I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 Again she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to stay overnight.” 26 Then the man (AG)bowed low and worshiped the Lord. 27 And he said, “(AH)Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned (AI)His kindness and His trustworthiness toward my master; as for me, (AJ)the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”
28 Then (AK)the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was (AL)Laban; and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring. 30 When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s [k]wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “[l]This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31 And he said, “(AM)Come in, (AN)blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside, since (AO)I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels?” 32 So the man entered the house. Then [m](AP)Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 But when food was set before him to eat, he said, “I will not eat until I have stated my business.” And he said, “Speak on.” 34 So he said, “I am (AQ)Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has greatly (AR)blessed my master, so that he has become [n]rich; and He has given him (AS)flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and slave women, and camels and donkeys. 36 Now (AT)my master’s wife Sarah bore a son to my master [o]in her old age, and (AU)he has given him all that he has. 37 (AV)My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; 38 but you shall go to my father’s house and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.’ 39 Then (AW)I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman does not follow me.’ 40 And he said to me, ‘(AX)The Lord, before whom I have (AY)walked, will send (AZ)His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house; 41 (BA)then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’
42 “So (BB)I came today to the spring, and said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I have been going (BC)successful; 43 behold, (BD)I am standing by the [p]spring, and may it be that the [q]young unmarried woman who comes out to draw water, and to whom I say, “(BE)Please let me drink a little water from your jar”; 44 and she says to me, “You drink, and I will draw for your camels also”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’
45 “Before I had finished (BF)speaking in my heart, behold, (BG)Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew water, and (BH)I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘(BI)Drink, and I will water your camels also’; so I drank, and she watered the camels also. 47 (BJ)Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him’; and I put the (BK)ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her [r]wrists. 48 And I (BL)bowed low and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, (BM)who had guided me in the right way to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 So now if you are going to [s](BN)deal kindly and truthfully with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me now, so that I may turn to the right or the left.”
50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “(BO)The matter has come from the Lord; (BP)so we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51 Here 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 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he (BQ)bowed himself to the ground [t]before the Lord. 53 And the servant brought out (BR)articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they got up in the morning, he said, “(BS)Send me away to my master.” 55 But her brother and her mother said, “(BT)Let the young woman stay with us a few days, say ten; afterward she may go.” 56 However, he said to them, “Do not delay me, since (BU)the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away so that I may go to my master.” 57 And they said, “We will call the young woman and [u]ask her.” 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” 59 So they sent away their sister Rebekah and (BV)her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“May you, our sister,
(BW)Become thousands of ten thousands,
And may (BX)your [v]descendants possess
The gate of those who hate them.”
61 Then Rebekah got up with her female attendants, and they mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.
Isaac Marries Rebekah
62 Now Isaac had come back from [w]a journey to (BY)Beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in (BZ)the [x]Negev. 63 Isaac went out (CA)to [y]meditate in the field toward evening; and (CB)he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. 64 Rebekah raised her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel. 65 She said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her [z]veil and covered herself. 66 The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and (CC)he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and (CD)he loved her; so Isaac was comforted after (CE)his mother’s death.
Footnotes
- Genesis 24:7 Lit seed
- Genesis 24:10 Heb Aram-naharaim, Aram of the two rivers
- Genesis 24:11 Lit at time of evening
- Genesis 24:12 Lit cause to occur for me
- Genesis 24:13 Lit fountain of water
- Genesis 24:14 Lit she will say
- Genesis 24:16 Lit known her
- Genesis 24:21 Lit keeping silent
- Genesis 24:22 A shekel was about 0.5 oz. or 14 gm
- Genesis 24:22 Lit hands
- Genesis 24:30 Lit hands
- Genesis 24:30 Lit Thus the man
- Genesis 24:32 Lit he
- Genesis 24:35 Lit great
- Genesis 24:36 Lit after she was old
- Genesis 24:43 Lit fountain of water
- Genesis 24:43 Or virgin
- Genesis 24:47 Lit hands
- Genesis 24:49 Lit show kindness and truth to
- Genesis 24:52 Lit to
- Genesis 24:57 Lit ask her mouth
- Genesis 24:60 Lit seed
- Genesis 24:62 Lit coming to
- Genesis 24:62 I.e., South country
- Genesis 24:63 Or stroll; meaning uncertain
- Genesis 24:65 Or shawl
Genesis 24
New King James Version
A Bride for Isaac
24 Now Abraham (A)was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord (B)had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said (C)to the oldest servant of his house, who (D)ruled over all that he had, “Please, (E)put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you (F)swear[a] by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that (G)you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 (H)but you shall go (I)to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 And 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?”
6 But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. 7 The Lord God of heaven, who (J)took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, (K)‘To your [b]descendants I give this land,’ (L)He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then (M)you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, (N)for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to (O)the city of Nahor. 11 And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time (P)when women go out to draw water. 12 Then he (Q)said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please (R)give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here (S)I stand by the well of water, and (T)the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And (U)by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
15 And it happened, (V)before he had finished speaking, that behold, (W)Rebekah,[c] who was born to Bethuel, son of (X)Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16 Now the young woman (Y)was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”
18 (Z)So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. 21 And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether (AA)the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
22 So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden (AB)nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, 23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us [d]to lodge?”
24 So she said to him, (AC)“I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”
26 Then the man (AD)bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. 27 And he said, (AE)“Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken (AF)His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord (AG)led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” 28 So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things.
29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was (AH)Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. 30 So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. 31 And he said, “Come in, (AI)O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.”
32 Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and (AJ)provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to (AK)wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Food was set before him to eat, but he said, (AL)“I will not eat until I have told about my errand.”
And he said, “Speak on.”
34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord (AM)has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 And Sarah my master’s wife (AN)bore a son to my master when she was old; and (AO)to him he has given all that he has. 37 Now my master (AP)made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; 38 (AQ)but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’ 39 (AR)And I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ 40 (AS)But he said to me, ‘The Lord, (AT)before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and [e]prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house. 41 (AU)You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’
42 “And this day I came to the well and said, (AV)‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, 43 (AW)behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” 44 and she says to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’
45 (AX)“But before I had finished (AY)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. And I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 And she made haste and let her pitcher down 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, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 (AZ)And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to (BA)take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now if you will (BB)deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, (BC)“The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot (BD)speak to you either bad or good. 51 (BE)Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.”
52 And it came to pass, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, that (BF)he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. 53 Then the servant brought out (BG)jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave (BH)precious things to her brother and to her mother.
54 And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, (BI)“Send me away to my master.”
55 But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.”
56 And he said to them, “Do not [f]hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.”
57 So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.” 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”
And she said, “I will go.”
59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister (BJ)and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her:
“Our sister, may you become
(BK)The mother of thousands of ten thousands;
(BL)And may your descendants possess
The gates of those who hate them.”
61 Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.
62 Now Isaac came from the way of (BM)Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South. 63 And Isaac went out (BN)to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. 64 Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac (BO)she dismounted from her camel; 65 for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”
The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.
66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he (BP)took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac (BQ)was comforted after his mother’s death.
Footnotes
- Genesis 24:3 take an oath
- Genesis 24:7 Lit. seed
- Genesis 24:15 Rebecca, Rom. 9:10
- Genesis 24:23 to spend the night
- Genesis 24:40 make your way successful
- Genesis 24:56 delay
Genesis 24
Revised Geneva Translation
24 Now Abraham was old and stricken in years; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
2 Therefore Abraham said to his eldest servant of his house (who had the rule over all that he had), “Put now your hand under my thigh;
3 and I will make you swear by the LORD God of Heaven, and God of the Earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.
4 “But you shall go to my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son, Isaac.”
5 And the servant said to him, “What if the woman will not come with me to this land? Shall I take your son back to the land from where you came?”
6 To whom Abraham answered, “Beware that you do not take my son there again.
7 “The LORD God of Heaven, who took me from my father’s house, and from the land where I was born; and Who spoke to me, and Who swore to me, saying, ‘To your seed I will give this land’, He shall send His Angel before you; and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
8 “Nevertheless, if the woman will not follow you, then you shall be discharged of this, my oath. Only do not bring my son there again.”
9 Then the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his master, and swore to him over this matter.
10 So the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and departed (for he had all his master’s goods in his hand). So he arose and went to Aram Naharaim, to the city of Nahor.
11 And he made his camels lie down outside the city, by a well of water, in the evening, about the time that the women come out to draw water.
12 And he said, “O LORD God of my master Abraham, I beg You, send me good speed this day; and show mercy to my master, Abraham.
13 “Lo, I stand by the well of water while the men’s daughters of this city come out to draw water.
14 “Grant, therefore, that the maid to whom I say, ‘Please bow down your pitcher, so that I may drink’, if she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels drink’, may she be the one You have ordained for Your servant, Isaac. And thereby I shall know that You have shown mercy on my master.”
15 And now — before he had left speaking — behold, Rebekah came out (the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother) with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
16 And the maid was very fair to look upon, a virgin and unknown by man. And she went down to the well and filled her pitcher and came up.
17 Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”
18 And she said, “Drink, sir.” And she hurried and let down her pitcher upon her hand and gave him drink.
19 And when she had given him drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have drunk enough.”
20 And she speedily poured out her pitcher into the trough and ran back to the well to draw water; and she drew for all his camels.
21 So the man wondered at her, and held his peace, to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
22 And when the camels had finished drinking, the man took a golden earring of half a shekel in weight, and two bracelets for her hands weighing ten shekels of gold.
23 And he said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge in?”
24 Then she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.”
25 Moreover, she said to him, “We have straw, also, and enough provision and room to lodge in.”
26 And the man bowed himself and worshipped the LORD,
27 and said, “Blessed be the LORD God of my master, Abraham; Who has not withdrawn His mercy and His truth from my master. When I was on the way, the LORD brought me to my master’s brother’s house.”
28 And the maid ran and told those of her mother’s house, according to these words.
29 Now Rebekah had a brother called Laban. And Laban ran to the man, to the well.
30 For when he had seen the earrings and bracelets in his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “Thus said the man to me…”, then he went to the man; and lo, he stood by the camels at the well.
31 And he said, “Come in you blessed of the LORD. Why do you stand outside, seeing I have prepared the house and room for the camels?”
32 Then the man came into the house; and he unsaddled the camels and brought straw and provision for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the men’s feet who were with him.
33 Afterward, the food was set before him. But he said, “I will not eat until I have said my message.” And he said, “Speak on.”
34 Then he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.
35 “And the LORD has blessed my master wonderfully, so that he has become great. For He has given him sheep, and cattle, and silver, and gold, and men servants, and maid servants, and camels, and donkeys.
36 “And Sarah, my master’s wife, has borne a son to my master when she was old. And to him he has given all that he has.
37 “Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites (in whose land I dwell).
38 ‘But you shall go to my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son.’
39 “Then I said to my master, ‘What if the woman will not follow me?’
40 “Who answered me, ‘The LORD, before Whom I walk, will send His Angel with you, and prosper your journey; and you shall take a wife for my son from my kindred and my father’s house.
41 ‘Thus shall you be discharged of my oath: If you come to my kindred and they do not give you one, you shall be free from my oath.’
42 “So I came this day to the well, and said, ‘O LORD, the God of my master, Abraham, if You now prosper my journey on which I go,
43 ‘behold, I stand by the well of water when a virgin comes forth to draw water. And I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink.”
44 “And she says to me, ‘Drink, and I will also draw for your camels’, let her be the wife which the LORD has prepared for your master’s son.’
45 “And before I had made an end of speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder. And she went down to the well, and drew water. Then I said to her, ‘Please give me drink.’
46 “And she quickly took down her pitcher from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels drink.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels drink.
47 “Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she answered, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son (whom Milcah bore to him).’ Then I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.
48 “And I bowed down and worshipped the LORD and blessed the LORD God of my master, Abraham, Who had brought me the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter for his son.
49 “Now, therefore, if you will deal mercifully 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 Then Laban and Bethuel answered, and said, “This thing has proceeded from the LORD. Therefore, we cannot say to you evil or good.
51 “Behold, Rebekah is before you. Take her and go, so that she may be your master’s son’s wife, even as the LORD has said.”
52 And when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself toward the Earth, to the LORD.
53 Then the servant took forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave to Rebekah. He also gave gifts to her brother and to her mother.
54 Afterward, they ate and drank — he, and the men who were with him — and remained all night. And when they rose up in the morning, he said, “Let me depart to my master.”
55 Then her brother and her mother answered, “Let the maid remain with us at least ten days; then she shall go.”
56 But he said to them, “Do not hinder me, seeing the LORD has prospered my journey. Send me away, so that I may go to my master.”
57 Then they said, “We will call the maid and ask her consent.”
58 And they called Rebekah, and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she answered, “I will go.”
59 So they let their sister Rebekah, and her nurse, go with Abraham’s servant and his men.
60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said to her, “You are our sister. Grow into thousand thousand’s; and your seed possess the gate of his enemies.”
61 Then Rebekah arose, and her maids, and rode upon the camels, and followed the man; and the servant took Rebekah and departed.
62 Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi (for he dwelt in the South country).
63 And Isaac went out to pray in the field, toward the evening. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, the camels came.
64 Also, Rebekah lifted up her eyes. And when she saw Isaac, she dismounted the camel.
65 (For she had said to the servant, “Who is yonder man who comes in the field to meet us?” And the servant had said, “It is my master.”) So she took a veil and covered herself.
66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.
67 Afterward, Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah, his mother. And he took Rebekah. And she was his wife. And he loved her. So, Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
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