Genesis 24:35-49

24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy.¹ The Lord² 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 him³ when she was old,⁴ and my master⁵ 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 find⁶ a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go⁷ with me?’⁸ 24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked,⁹ 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 oath¹⁰ 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,¹¹ may events unfold as follows:¹² 24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring.¹³ When¹⁴ the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart,¹⁵ along came Rebekah¹⁶ with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’¹⁷ I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter¹⁸ of my master’s brother for his son. 24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.”¹⁹

¹tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.

²tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³tn Heb “to my master.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁴tn Heb “after her old age.”

⁵tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the servant’s master, Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵tn Heb “but to the house of my father you must go and to my family and you must take a wife for my son.”

⁷tn The imperfect is used here in a modal sense to indicate desire.

⁸tn Heb “after me.”

⁹tn The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning “live one’s life” (see Gen 17:1). The statement may simply refer to serving the Lord or it may have a more positive moral connotation (“serve faithfully”).

¹¹tn Heb “my oath” (twice in this verse). From the Hebrew perspective the oath belonged to the person to whom it was sworn (Abraham), although in contemporary English an oath is typically viewed as belonging to the person who swears it (the servant).

¹³tn Heb “if you are making successful my way on which I am going.”

¹⁴tn The words “may events unfold as follows” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

¹⁵tn Heb “the spring of water.”

¹⁶tn Heb “and it will be.”

¹⁷tn Heb “As for me, before I finished speaking to my heart.” The adverb טֶרֶם (terem) indicates the verb is a preterite; the infinitive that follows is the direct object.

¹⁸tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out.” As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is used here for dramatic effect.

¹⁹tn Heb “whom Milcah bore to him.” The referent (Nahor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²¹tn Heb “daughter.” Rebekah was actually the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. One can either translate the Hebrew term בַּת (bat) as “daughter,” in which case the term אָח (’akh) must be translated more generally as “relative” rather than “brother” (cf. NASB, NRSV) or one can translate בַּת as “granddaughter,” in which case אָח may be translated “brother” (cf. NIV).

²³tn Heb “and I will turn to the right or to the left.” The expression apparently means that Abraham’s servant will know where he should go if there is no further business here.