Genesis 24:57-67

24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” ¹  24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want ²  to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”

24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: ³ 

“Our sister, may you become the mother ⁴  of thousands of ten thousands!

May your descendants possess the strongholds ⁵  of their enemies.”

24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with ⁶  the man. So Abraham’s servant ⁷  took Rebekah and left.

24:62 Now ⁸  Isaac came from ⁹  Beer Lahai Roi, ¹⁰  for ¹¹  he was living in the Negev. ¹²  24:63 He ¹³  went out to relax ¹⁴  in the field in the early evening. ¹⁵  Then he looked up ¹⁶  and saw that ¹⁷  there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up ¹⁸  and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked ¹⁹  Abraham’s servant, ²⁰  “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. ²¹  So she took her veil and covered herself.

24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah ²²  into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her ²³  as his wife and loved her. ²⁴  So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. ²⁵ 

[24:57]  ¹ tn Heb “and we will ask her mouth.”

[24:58]  ² tn The imperfect verbal form here has a modal nuance, expressing desire.

[24:60]  ³ tn Heb “and said to her.”

[24:60]  ⁴ tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”

[24:60]  ⁵ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17.

[24:61]  ⁶ tn Heb “And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after.”

[24:61]  ⁷ tn Heb “the servant”; the word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:62]  ⁸ tn The disjunctive clause switches the audience’s attention to Isaac and signals a new episode in the story.

[24:62]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the way of.”

[24:62]  ¹⁰ sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” See Gen 16:14.

[24:62]  ¹¹ tn This disjunctive clause is explanatory.

[24:62]  ¹² tn Or “the South [country].”

[24:63]  ¹³ tn Heb “Isaac”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:63]  ¹⁴ tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain (cf. NASB, NIV “to meditate”; NRSV “to walk”).

[24:63]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “at the turning of the evening.”

[24:63]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “And he lifted up his eyes.” This idiom emphasizes the careful look Isaac had at the approaching caravan.

[24:63]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and look.” The clause introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the audience to view the scene through Isaac’s eyes.

[24:64]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lifted up her eyes.”

[24:65]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and she said to.”

[24:65]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:65]  ²¹ tn Heb “and the servant said.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:67]  ²² tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.

[24:67]  ²³ tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:67]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”

[24:67]  ²⁵ tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.