Genesis 24:10-28

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. ¹  He journeyed ²  to the region of Aram Naharaim ³  and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well ⁴  outside the city. It was evening, ⁵  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. ⁶  Be faithful ⁷  to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, ⁸  and the daughters of the people ⁹  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.’ ¹⁰  In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” ¹¹ 

24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah ¹²  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). ¹³  24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. ¹⁴  She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant ¹⁵  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 ¹⁶  her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, ¹⁷  she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied ¹⁸  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 ¹⁹  if the Lord had made his journey successful ²⁰  or not.

24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka ²¹  and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels ²²  and gave them to her. ²³  24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. ²⁴  “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. ²⁵  24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, ²⁶  “and room for you ²⁷  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 ²⁸  for my master! The Lord has led me ²⁹  to the house ³⁰  of my master’s relatives!” ³¹ 

24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about ³²  these things.

[24:10]  ¹ tn Heb “and every good thing of his master was in his hand.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, explaining that he took all kinds of gifts to be used at his discretion.

[24:10]  ² tn Heb “and he arose and went.”

[24:10]  ³ tn The words “the region of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “well of water.”

[24:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “at the time of evening.”

[24:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “make it happen before me today.” Although a number of English translations understand this as a request for success in the task (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV) it is more likely that the servant is requesting an omen or sign from God (v. 14).

[24:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “act in loyal love with” or “show kindness to.”

[24:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “the spring of water.”

[24:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “the men.”

[24:14]  ¹⁰ sn I will also give your camels water. It would be an enormous test for a young woman to water ten camels. The idea is that such a woman would not only be industrious but hospitable and generous.

[24:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Lower your jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I will also give your camels water,’ – her you have appointed for your servant, for Isaac, and by it I will know that you have acted in faithfulness with my master.”

[24:15]  ¹² tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out!” Using the participle introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator dramatically transports the audience back into the event and invites them to see Rebekah through the servant’s eyes.

[24:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out – [she] who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham – and her jug [was] on her shoulder.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “And the young woman was very good of appearance, a virgin, and a man she had not known.” Some argue that the Hebrew noun translated “virgin” (בְּתוּלָה, bÿtulah) is better understood in a general sense, “young woman” (see Joel 1:8, where the word appears to refer to one who is married). In this case the circumstantial clause (“and a man she had not known”) would be restrictive, rather than descriptive. If the term actually means “virgin,” one wonders why the circumstantial clause is necessary (see Judg 21:12 as well). Perhaps the repetition emphasizes her sexual purity as a prerequisite for her role as the mother of the covenant community.

[24:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and she hurried and lowered.”

[24:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “when she had finished giving him a drink.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and she hurried and emptied.”

[24:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to know.”

[24:21]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew term צָלָה (tsalah), meaning “to make successful” in the Hiphil verbal stem, is a key term in the story (see vv. 40, 42, 56).

[24:22]  ²¹ sn A beka weighed about 5-6 grams (0.2 ounce).

[24:22]  ²² sn A shekel weighed about 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce) although weights varied locally, so these bracelets weighed about 4 ounces (115 grams).

[24:22]  ²³ tn The words “and gave them to her” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[24:23]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:24]  ²⁵ tn Heb “whom she bore to Nahor.” The referent (Milcah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:25]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and she said, ‘We have plenty of both straw and feed.’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:25]  ²⁷ tn Heb The words “for you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[24:27]  ²⁸ tn Heb “his faithfulness and his commitment.”

[24:27]  ²⁹ tn Heb “As for me – in the way the Lord led me.”

[24:27]  ³⁰ tn Here “house” is an adverbial accusative of termination.

[24:27]  ³¹ tn Heb “brothers.”

[24:28]  ³² tn Heb “according to.”