48 | Genesis 24:13
kind ness to my mas ter Abra ham . 13 See , I am stand ing be side this spring , and the daugh ters of the towns peo ple are com ing out to draw wa ter .
14
May it be that when I say to a young wom an , ‘ Please let down your jar that I may have a drink ,’ and she says , ‘ Drink , and I ’ ll wa ter your cam els too ’ — let her be the one you have cho sen for your ser vant Isaac . By this I will know that you have shown kind ness to my mas ter .”
15
Be fore he had fin ished pray ing , Re bek ah came out with her jar on her shoul der . She was the daugh ter of Be thu el son of Mil kah , who was the wife of Abra ham ’ s broth er Na hor . 16 The woman was very beau ti ful , a vir gin ; no man had ever slept with her . She went down to the spring , filled her jar and came up again .
17
The ser vant hur ried to meet her and said , “ Please give me a lit tle wa ter from your jar .”
18
“ Drink , my lord ,” she said , and quick ly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink .
19
Af ter she had giv en him a drink , she said , “ I ’ ll draw wa ter for your cam els too , un til they have had enough to drink .” 20 So she quick ly emp tied her jar into the trough , ran back to the well to draw more wa ter , and drew enough for all his cam els . 21 With out say ing a word , the man watched her close ly to learn wheth er or not the Lord had made his jour ney suc cess ful .
22
When the cam els had fin ished drink ing , the man took out a gold nose ring weigh ing a beka a and two gold brace lets weigh ing ten shek els . b
23
Then he asked , “ Whose daugh ter are you ? Please tell me , is there room in your fa ther ’ s house for us to spend the night ?”
24
She an swered him , “ I am the daugh ter of Bethu el , the son that Mil kah bore to Na hor .” 25 And she add ed , “ We have plen ty of straw and fod der , as well as room for you to spend the night .”
26
Then the man bowed down and wor shiped the Lord , 27 say ing , “ Praise be to the Lord , the God of my mas ter Abra ham , who has not aban doned his kind ness and faith ful ness to my mas ter . As for me , the Lord has led me on the jour ney to the house of my mas ter ’ s rel a tives .”
28
The young wom an ran and told her moth er ’ s house hold about these things . 29 Now Re bek ah had a broth er named La ban , and he hur ried out to the man at the spring . 30 As soon as he had seen the nose ring , and the brace lets on his sis ter ’ s arms , and had heard Re bek ah tell what the man said to her , he went out to the man and found him standing by the cam els near the spring . 31 “ Come , you who are blessed by the Lord ,” he said . “ Why are you stand ing out here ? I have pre pared the house and a place for the cam els .”
32
So the man went to the house , and the cam els were un load ed . Straw and fod der were brought for the cam els , and wa ter for him and his men to wash their feet . 33 Then food was set be fore him , but he said , “ I will not eat un til I have told you what I have to say .” “ Then tell us ,” La ban said .
34
So he said , “ I am Abra ham ’ s ser vant . 35 The Lord has blessed my mas ter abun dant ly , and he has be come wealthy . He has giv en him sheep and cat tle , sil ver and gold , male and fe male ser vants , and cam els and don keys . 36 My mas ter ’ s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age , and he has giv en him ev ery thing he owns . 37 And my mas ter made me swear an oath , and said , ‘ You must not get a wife for my son from the daugh ters of the Ca naan ites , in whose land I live , 38 but go to my fa ther ’ s fam i ly and to my own clan , and get a wife for my son .’
39
“ Then I asked my mas ter , ‘ What if the wom an will not come back with me ?’
40
“ He re plied , ‘ The Lord , be fore whom I have walked faith ful ly , will send his an gel with you and make your jour ney a suc cess , so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my fa ther ’ s fam i ly . 41 You will be re leased from my oath if , when you go to my clan , they refuse to give her to you — then you will be re leased from my oath .’
42
“ When I came to the spring to day , I said , ‘ Lord , God of my mas ter Abra ham , if you will , please grant suc cess to the jour ney on which I have come . 43 See , I am stand ing be side this spring . If a young wom an comes out to draw wa ter and I say to her , “ Please let me drink a lit tle wa ter from your jar ,” 44 and if she says to me , “ Drink , and I ’ ll draw wa ter for your cam els too ,” let her be the one the Lord has cho sen for my mas ter ’ s son .’
45
“ Be fore I fin ished pray ing in my heart , Rebek ah came out , with her jar on her shoul der . She went down to the spring and drew wa ter , and I said to her , ‘ Please give me a drink .’
a
22 That is , about 1 / 5 ounce or about 5.7 grams is , about 4 ounces or about 115 grams b
22 That
24:15 the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah Rebekah ’ s genealogy is provided to show that her grandmother was the wife of Nahor ( Abraham ’ s brother ) and not a concubine ( Ge 11:29 ). Rebekah , as Bethuel ’ s daughter , is Isaac ’ s first cousin once removed . 24:26 worshiped the Lord Rebekah ’ s response is an answer to the prayer of Abraham ’ s servant ( v . 24 ). It reveals that she is related to Abraham and fits the request that Abraham made him swear ( vv . 2 – 4 ; compare note on 24:15 ).
24:29 – 33 Rebekah informs her family about the visitor , Abraham ’ s servant .
24:29 Laban Rebekah ’ s brother and son of Bethuel ( see note on v . 50 ). Laban is Abraham ’ s great nephew and like Rebekah , Isaac ’ s first cousin once removed .
24:34 – 48 Abraham ’ s servant recounts the story of his journey in precise detail . This type of repetition is common in literature that originated as oral tradition .