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Texts -- Genesis 24:1-43 (NET)

Context
The Wife for Isaac
24:1 Now Abraham was old , well advanced in years , and the Lord had blessed him in everything . 24:2 Abraham said to his servant , the senior one in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh 24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise by the Lord , the God of heaven and the God of the earth : You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites , among whom I am living . 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives to find a wife for my son Isaac .” 24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me to this land ? Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came ?” 24:6 “Be careful never to take my son back there !” Abraham told him. 24:7 “The Lord , the God of heaven , who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives , promised me with a solemn oath , ‘To your descendants I will give this land .’ He will send his angel before you so that you may find a wife for my son from there . 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, you will be free from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there !” 24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes . 24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. He journeyed to the region of Aram Naharaim and the city of Nahor . 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city . It was evening , the time when the women would go out to draw water . 24:12 He prayed , “O Lord , God of my master Abraham , guide me today . Be faithful to my master Abraham . 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring , and the daughters of the people who live in the town are coming out to draw water . 24:14 I will say to a young woman , ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink .’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply , ‘Drink , and I’ll give your camels water too .’ In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master .” 24:15 Before he had finished praying , there came Rebekah with her water jug on her shoulder . She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor ). 24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful . She was a virgin ; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. She went down to the spring , filled her jug , and came back up . 24:17 Abraham’s servant ran to meet her and said , “Please give me a sip of water from your jug .” 24:18 “Drink , my lord ,” she replied , and quickly lowering her jug to her hands , she gave him a drink . 24:19 When she had done so, she said , “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels . 24:21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine if the Lord had made his journey successful or not . 24:22 After the camels had finished drinking , the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels and gave them to her. 24:23 “Whose daughter are you ?” he asked . “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night ?” 24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah , whom Milcah bore to Nahor . 24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed ,” she added , “and room for you to spend the night .” 24:26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord , 24:27 saying “Praised be the Lord , the God of my master Abraham , who has not abandoned his faithful love for my master ! The Lord has led me to the house of my master’s relatives !” 24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about these things . 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban .) Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring . 24:30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring and heard his sister Rebekah say , “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man . There he was, standing by the camels near the spring . 24:31 Laban said to him, “Come , you who are blessed by the Lord ! Why are you standing out here when I have prepared the house and a place for the camels ?” 24:32 So Abraham’s servant went to the house and unloaded the camels . Straw and feed were given to the camels , and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet . 24:33 When food was served , he said , “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say .” “Tell us,” Laban said . 24:34 “I am the servant of Abraham ,” he began . 24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy . The Lord has given him sheep and cattle , silver and gold , male and female servants , and camels and donkeys . 24:36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him when she was old , and my master has given him everything he owns. 24:37 My master made me swear an oath. He said , ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites , among whom I am living , 24:38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find a wife for my son .’ 24:39 But I said to my master , ‘What if the woman does not want to go with me?’ 24:40 He answered , ‘The Lord , before whom I have walked , will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives , from my father’s family . 24:41 You will be free from your oath if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath .’ 24:42 When I came to the spring today , I prayed , ‘O Lord , God of my master Abraham , if you have decided to make my journey successful , may events unfold as follows: 24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring . When the young woman goes out to draw water , I’ll say , “Give me a little water to drink from your jug .”

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Eliezer

    [ebd] God his help. (1.) "Of Damascus," the "steward" (R.V., "possessor") of Abraham's house (Gen. 15:2, 3). It was probably he who headed the embassy sent by Abraham to the old home of his family in Padan-aram to seek a wife for ...
    [isbe] ELIEZER - el-i-e'-zer, e-li-e'-zer ('eli`ezer; Eliezer, "God is help"): (1) The chief servant of Abram (Gen 15:2); the American Standard Revised Version "Eliezer of Damascus," the English Revised Version "Dammesek Eliezer." ...
    [nave] ELIEZER 1. Abraham's servant, Gen. 15:2; 24. 2. Son of Becher, 1 Chr. 7:8. 3. Son of Moses, Ex. 18:4; 1 Chr. 23:15, 17. 4. A priest, 1 Chr. 15:24. 5. Son of Zichri, 1 Chr. 27:16. 6. A prophet, 2 Chr. 20:37. 7. Son of J...

  • Laban

    [ebd] white. (1.) The son of Bethuel, who was the son of Nahor, Abraham's brother. He lived at Haran in Mesopotamia. His sister Rebekah was Isaac's wife (Gen. 24). Jacob, one of the sons of this marriage, fled to the house of Laba...
    [isbe] LABAN - la'-ban: The person named Laban, labhan; (Laban, possibly connected with the root meaning "to be white," from which in Hebrew the adjective meaning "white" has just this form) is first introduced to the reader of Gen...
    [smith] (white). Son of Bethuel, brother of Rebekah and father of Leah and Rachel. (B.C. about 1860-1740.) The elder branch of the family remained at Haran, Mesopotamia, when Abraham removed to the land of Canaan, and it is there th...
    [nave] LABAN Son of Bethuel, Gen. 28:5. Brother of Rebekah, Gen. 22:23; 24:15, 29. Receives the servant of Abraham, Gen. 24:29-33. Receives Jacob, and gives him his daughters in marriage, Gen. 29:12-30. Jacob becomes his servan...

  • Abraham

    [ebd] father of a multitude, son of Terah, named (Gen. 11:27) before his older brothers Nahor and Haran, because he was the heir of the promises. Till the age of seventy, Abram sojourned among his kindred in his native country of ...
    [isbe] ABRAHAM - a'-bra-ham: I. NAME 1. Various Forms 2. Etymology 3. Association II. KINDRED III. CAREER 1. Period of Wandering 2. Period of Residence at Hebron 3. Period of Residence in the Negeb IV. CONDITIONS OF LIFE 1. Economi...
    [nave] ABRAHAM, called also Abram. Son of Terah, Gen. 11:26, 27. Marries Sarah, Gen. 11:29. Dwells in Ur, but removes to Haran, Gen. 11:31; Neh. 9:7; Acts 7:4, and Canaan, Gen. 12:4-6; Acts 7:4. Divine call of, Gen. 12:1-3; Josh....

  • Isaac

    [ebd] laughter. (1) Israel, or the kingdom of the ten tribes (Amos 7:9, 16). (2.) The only son of Abraham by Sarah. He was the longest lived of the three patriarchs (Gen. 21:1-3). He was circumcised when eight days old (4-7); and ...
    [isbe] ISAAC - i'-zak:oIT- (CS:HebrewIT+`iruIT-/CS): Eldest son of Caleb (1 Ch 4:15); probably to be read Ir, the syllable "-u" being the conjunction "and" belonging to the following word. I. NAME 1. Root, Forms, Analogues 2. Impli...
    [nave] ISAAC 1. Miraculous son of Abraham, Gen. 17:15-19; 18:1-15; 21:1-8; Josh. 24:3; 1 Chr. 1:28; Gal. 4:28; Heb. 11:11. Ancestor of Jesus, Matt. 1:2. Offered in sacrifice by his father, Gen. 22:1-19; Heb. 11:17; Jas. 2:21. Is...

  • Rebekah

    [ebd] a noose, the daughter of Bethuel, and the wife of Isaac (Gen. 22:23; 24:67). The circumstances under which Abraham's "steward" found her at the "city of Nahor," in Padan-aram, are narrated in Gen. 24-27. "She can hardly be r...
    [smith] (ensnarer), daughter of Bethuel, (Genesis 22:23) and sister of Laban, married to Isaac. She is first presented to us in (Genesis 24:1) ... where the beautiful story of her marriage is related. (B.C. 1857.) For nineteen years ...
    [nave] REBEKAH Daughter of Bethuel, grandniece of Abraham, Gen. 22:20-23. Becomes Isaac's wife, Gen. 24:15-67; 25:20. Mother of Esau and Jacob, Gen. 25:21-28. Passes as Isaac's sister, Gen. 26:6-11. Displeased with Esau's wives...

  • PITCHER

    [ebd] a vessel for containing liquids. In the East pitchers were usually carried on the head or shoulders (Gen. 24:15-20; Judg. 7:16, 19; Mark 14:13).
    [isbe] PITCHER - pich'-er (kadh; keramion): The word is found chiefly in the Old Testament in the story of Rebekah in Gen 24:13 ff; but Gideon's men also had their lamps in pitchers (Jdg 7:16,19). Ecclesiastes speaks of the pitcher...
    [smith] This word is used in the Authorized Version to denote the earthen water-jars or pitchers with one or two handles, used chiefly by women for carrying water, as in the story of Rebekah. (Genesis 24:15-20) but see Mark 14:13; Lu...

  • Marriage

    [ebd] was instituted in Paradise when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:18-24). Here we have its original charter, which was confirmed by our Lord, as the basis on which all regulations are to be framed (Matt. 19:4, 5). It is evident t...
    [isbe] MARRIAGE - mar'-ij: Introduction Scope and Viewpoint of the Present Article 1. Marriage among the Hebrews 2. Betrothal the First Formal Part 3. Wedding Ceremonies 4. Jesus' Sanction of the Institution 5. His Teaching concern...
    [nave] MARRIAGE In family blood lines, Abraham and Sarah, Gen. 11:29; 12:13; 20:3, 9-16. Isaac and Rebekah, Gen. 24:3, 4, 67; 28:2. Jacob and his wives, Gen. 29:15-30; see below, in the elaborated text. Levirate (the brother requ...

  • Prayer

    [ebd] is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or formal. It is a "beseeching t...
    [nave] PRAYER. Index of Sub-topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Answer to, Promised; Answered, Instances of Answered; Confession in; Importunity in, Instances of Importunity in; Intercessor...

  • Servant

    [isbe] SERVANT - sur'-vant ('ebhedh; doulos): A very common word with a variety of meanings, all implying a greater or less degree of inferiority and want of freedom: (1) The most frequent usage is as the equivalent of "slave" (whi...
    [nave] SERVANT Distinguished as bond servant, who was a slave, and hired servant. Bond Laws of Moses concerning, Ex. 21:1-11, 20, 21, 26, 27, 32; Lev. 19:20-22; 25:6, 10, 35-55; Deut. 15:12, 14, 18; 24:7. Kidnapping forbidden, D...

  • SYRIANS

    [isbe] SYRIANS - sir'-i-anz ('aram; Suroi; Assyrian Aramu, Arumu, Arimu): 1. Division of Aram 2. A Semitic Race 3. Syria and Israel 4. Under Nabateans and Palmyrenes 5. A Mixed Race, Semitic Type 6. Religion The terms "Syria" and "...

  • THIGH

    [isbe] THIGH - thi (yarekh; Aramaic yarekhah (Dan 2:32); meros (Judith 9:2; Sirach 19:12; Rev 19:16); as part of a sacrificial animal (Ex 29:22, etc.) shoq, the King James Version, the Revised Version margin "shoulder"; in addition...

  • DRAWER OF WATER

    [isbe] DRAWER OF WATER - dro'-er, (sho'ebh mayim, from sha'abh, "to bale up" water): In Syria and Palestine, outside of Mt. Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon, the springs of water are scarce and the inhabitants of these less favored pla...

  • Wife

    [nave] WIFE Called Desire of the Eyes, Ezek. 24:16. Help, Gen. 2:18, 20. Fruitful Vine, Psa. 128:3. The judgment denounced against Eve, Gen. 3:16. Relation of, to husband, Gen. 2:18, 23, 24; 1 Cor. 11:3-12. Domestic duties of,...

  • PENTATEUCH, 3

    [isbe] PENTATEUCH, 3 - III. Some Literary Points. 1. Style of Legislation: No general estimate of the Pentateuch as literature can or need be attempted. Probably most readers are fully sensible to its literary beauties. Anybody who...

  • FATHER

    [isbe] FATHER - fa'-ther (Anglo-Saxon, Foeder; German, Vater; Hebrew 'abh, etymology uncertain, found in many cognate languages; Greek pater, from root pa, "nourisher," "protector," "upholder"): 1. Immediate Male Ancestor: Immediat...

  • KETURAH

    [isbe] KETURAH - ke-tu'-ra, ke-too'-ra (qeTurah; Chettoura, "incense"): The second wife of Abraham (Gen 25:1; 1 Ch 1:32 f). According to the Biblical tradition, he contracted this second marriage after the death of Sarah (compare G...

  • Hivites

    [ebd] one of the original tribes scattered over Palestine, from Hermon to Gibeon in the south. The name is interpreted as "midlanders" or "villagers" (Gen. 10:17; 1 Chr. 1:15). They were probably a branch of the Hittites. At the t...

  • Greed

    [nave] GREED. Ex. 18:21; Ex. 20:17 Deut. 5:21. Neh. 5:7; Job 20:15; Job 31:24, 25, 28; Psa. 10:3; Psa. 119:36; Prov. 1:19; Prov. 11:24, 26; Prov. 15:27; Prov. 21:25, 26; Prov. 22:16; Prov. 23:4, 5; Prov. 30:8, 9; Eccl. 1:8 vs. 2-8...

  • WELL

    [ebd] (Heb. beer), to be distinguished from a fountain (Heb. 'ain). A "beer" was a deep shaft, bored far under the rocky surface by the art of man, which contained water which percolated through the strata in its sides. Such wells...
    [isbe] WELL - (1) (be'er; compare Arabic bi'r, "well" or "cistern"; usually artificial: "And Isaac's servants digged (dug) in the valley, and found there a well of springing (margin "living") water" (Gen 26:19); some times covered:...
    [smith] Wells in Palestine are usually excavated from the solid limestone rock, sometimes with steps to descend into them. (Genesis 24:16) The brims are furnished with a curb or low wall of stone, bearing marks of high antiquity in t...

  • AUGURY

    [isbe] AUGURY - o'-gu-ri o'-gur-i: This word occurs in the Revised Version (British and American) in Lev 19:26; Dt 18:10,14; 2 Ki 21:6, and the parallel in 2 Ch 33:6. In all these cases the verb "practice augury" is in the King Jam...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The events recorded in Genesis stretch historically from Creation to Joseph's death, a period of at least 2500 years. The first part of the book (ch. 1-11) is not as easy to date precisely as the second part (ch. 12-50). The ...
  • Genesis provides the historical basis for the rest of the Bible and the Pentateuch, particularly the Abrahamic Covenant. Chapters 1-11 give historical background essential to understanding that covenant, and chapters 12-50 re...
  • The structure of Genesis is very clear. The phrase "the generations of"(toledotin Hebrew, from yaladmeaning "to bear, to generate") occurs ten times (really eleven times since 36:9 repeats 36:1), and in each case it introduce...
  • There are at least three purposes for the inclusion of this genealogy, which contains 10 paragraphs (vv. 1-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15-17, 18-20, 21-24, 25-27, 28-31, and 32).1. It shows the development of the human race from Ada...
  • The Lord destroyed the corrupt, violent human race and deluged its world, but He used righteous Noah to preserve life and establish a new world after the Flood."Noah's experience presents decisively the author's assertion tha...
  • "The Babel account (11:1-9) is not the end of early Genesis. If it were, the story would conclude on the sad note of human failure. But as with earlier events in Genesis 1-11, God's grace once again supersedes human sin, insu...
  • One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis is from cursing in the primeval record to blessing in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. H...
  • A major theme of the Pentateuch is the partial fulfillment of the promises to the patriarchs. The promises in Genesis 12:1-3 and 7 are the fountainhead from which the rest of the Pentateuch flows.397Walter Kaiser labeled the ...
  • "The function of this genealogy is not so much to connect Abraham with the preceding events, as the previous genealogies have done, but to provide the reader with the necessary background for understanding the events in the l...
  • "These verses are of fundamental importance for the theology of Genesis, for they serve to bind together the primeval history and the later patriarchal history and look beyond it to the subsequent history of the nation."414"W...
  • The second crisis Abram faced arose because of a famine in Canaan. Abram chose to sojourn in the Nile Valley until it was past. In this incident Abram tried to pass Sarai off as his sister because he feared for his life. By d...
  • In obedience to God's command Abraham took his promised heir to Moriah to sacrifice him to the Lord. Because Abraham was willing to slay his uniquely begotten son God restrained him from killing Isaac and promised to bless hi...
  • The testing of Abraham's faith was complete with the sacrifice of Isaac. The Author therefore brought the history of his life to a close and began to set the scene for related events in Isaac's life.This section signals a cha...
  • Abraham's purchase of a burial site in the Promised Land demonstrated his intention to remain in Canaan rather than going back to his native homeland. Since he was a sojourner in Canaan his friends probably expected him to bu...
  • Abraham's servant returned to Paddan-aram charged with the duty of finding a suitable bride for Isaac. He faithfully and resolutely fulfilled his task relying on God's faithfulness to prosper his journey and God's providence ...
  • A new toledotbegins with 25:19. Its theme is "the acquisition of the blessing and its development and protection by the Lord."625Moses set up the whole Jacob narrative in a chiastic structure that emphasizes the fulfillment o...
  • 26:12-17 This section of verses shows God's faithfulness in blessing Isaac as He had promised (cf. v. 3; 24:1; 25:11). Isaac enjoyed a bountiful harvest (v. 12). Abimelech testified to Isaac's power (v. 16), which was another...
  • Yahweh appeared at the top of an angel-filled stairway restating the promise to Abraham and adding more promises of blessing and protection for Jacob. The patriarch acknowledged God's presence, memorialized the place with a m...
  • The long account of Jacob's relationship with Laban (chs. 29-31) is the centerpiece of the Jacob story (chs. 25-35). It is a story within a story, and it too has a chiastic structure. At its center is the account of the birth...
  • As Jacob's death seemed to be approaching, he called for Joseph and made him swear to bury him in the Promised Land rather than in Egypt (cf. 24:2-3). As the father of such a person as Joseph, Jacob could have had a very fine...
  • Aalders, Gerhard Charles. Genesis. The Bible Student's Commentary series. 2 vols. Translated by William Heynen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas...
  • These instructions deal with how Israel was to come into possession of the Promised Land (cf. Num. 33:50-56). They are in the context of civil legislation because Israel did not have a standing army. Soldiers volunteered to g...
  • Ruth concluded that her prospects for loyal love and rest (vv. 8-9) were better if she identified with Israel than if she continued to identify with Moab. She had come to admire Israel's God. Elimelech and his family had fulf...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • While Joab was continuing to subdue the Ammonites the following spring by besieging Rabbah (modern Amman, the capital of Jordan; cf. 10:7), David was residing in Jerusalem (11:1). By mentioning the fact that normally kings le...
  • God had a very unusual ministry for Elijah to perform in which he would stand alone against hundreds of opponents (18:16-40). This section reveals how the Lord prepared him for it.The site of Zarephath was between Tyre and Si...
  • 34:1-3 David exulted in the Lord and called on his people to praise God with him.34:4-7 The psalmist's recent experience of God's answering his prayer for help and delivering him (vv. 4, 6) was only one example to him. Those ...
  • 105:7-11 God remembered His people (v. 7, cf. v. 42) so His people should remember Him (v. 5). God had been faithful to the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3, 7; 15:18-21; 22:15-18; 28:13-15). He made this covenant with Abraham...
  • This concluding exhortation contains a title for God unique in the Psalter. It highlights His sovereignty and was a favorite of the postexilic community (2 Chron. 36:23; Ezra 2:1; 5:11-12; 6:9-10; 7:12, 21, 23 [twice]; Neh. 1...
  • Isaiah next tried to move Ahaz to faith (vv. 10-12), then denounced the king for his failure to trust Yahweh (vv. 13-15), and finally forecast a calamity worse than the division of Israel's united kingdom (vv. 16-17).7:10 Evi...
  • The sailors interrogated Jonah about his reasons for travelling on their ship, but it was his failure to live consistently with his convictions that amazed them.1:7 It appears to have been common among the heathen to cast lot...
  • The first sentence in this pericope (section) serves as a title for the section, as the sentence in verse 1 did for 1:1-17. Matthew recorded the supernatural birth of Jesus to demonstrate further His qualification as Israel's...
  • The first miracle that Jesus performed, in His public ministry and in John's Gospel, was semi-public. Apparently only Jesus' disciples, the servants present, and Jesus' mother understood what had happened.2:1 The third day ev...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Genesis 24:27So said Abraham's anonymous servant when telling how he had found Rebekah at the well, and known her to be the destined bride of his master's servant. There is no more beautiful page, even amongst the many lovely...
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