Genesis 24
The Wife for Isaac
24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years,1 and the
24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me9 to this land? Must I then10 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
24:6 “Be careful11 never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him.12
24:7 “The
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.20 He journeyed21 to the region of Aram Naharaim22 and the city of Nahor.
24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well23 outside the city. It was evening,24 the time when the women would go out to draw water.
24:12 He prayed, “O
24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah31 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).32
24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her.33 She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up.
24:17 Abraham’s servant34 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 lowering35 her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink.
24:19 When she had done so,36 she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.”
24:20 She quickly emptied37 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 determine38 if the
24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka40 and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels41 and gave them to her.42 24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked.43 “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.44 24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added,45 “and room for you46 to spend the night.”
24:26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the
24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about51 these things.
24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.)52 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 ring53 and heard his sister Rebekah say,54 “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing55 by the camels near the spring.
24:31 Laban said to him,56 “Come, you who are blessed by the
24:32 So Abraham’s servant59 went to the house and unloaded60 the camels. Straw and feed were given61 to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet.62 24:33 When food was served,63 he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.”64 “Tell us,” Laban said.65
24:34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began.
24:35 “The
24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart,80 along came Rebekah81 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.’82 I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.
24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the
24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the
24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.”91
24:55 But Rebekah’s92 brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.”
24:56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me – the
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:97
“Our sister, may you become the mother98 of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds99 of their enemies.”
24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with100 the man. So Abraham’s servant101 took Rebekah and left.
24:62 Now102 Isaac came from103 Beer Lahai Roi,104 for105 he was living in the Negev.106 24:63 He107 went out to relax108 in the field in the early evening.109 Then he looked up110 and saw that111 there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up112 and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked113 Abraham’s servant,114 “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied.115 So she took her veil and covered herself.
24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah116 into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her117 as his wife and loved her.118 So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.119