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Genesis ◦ Chapter 24
1When Abraham was very old and his days were coming to an end, and the Lord had blessed him in every way, 2he said to his senior and most trusted servant who was in charge of all he had, “Place your hand beneath my upper thigh and thereby symbolically place yourself under the witness of my future descendants; and 3swear by the Lord, the Creator God of heaven and earth, who gives us procreative abilities, that you will not get a wife for my son from the women here in Canaan 4but will go to my home country, and from my own relatives get a wife for my son Isaac.” 5The servant asked him, “What if the young woman doesn’t want to leave her family and her home and come with me to this land? Do you want me to take Isaac back to your home country to live?” 6“Absolutely not! Under no circumstances are you to take my son back there,” Abraham instructed. 7“The Lord, the Creator God of heaven and earth, led me out of my father’s household and away from my native land and spoke to me, promising me with an oath, ‘To your descendant I will give this land.’ You can rest assured that God will send an angel ahead of you, so that you will be successful in getting a wife for my son from there. 8If no woman is willing to return with you, then you will be released from your oath to me. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there.” 9So the servant put his hand under the upper thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to do what Abraham had instructed him. 10Then the servant loaded ten of his master’s camels with a wide variety of Abraham’s finest goods and set out for Aram Naharaim. He travelled to the town of Nahor. 11Once there, he had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was late in the afternoon – the time the young women go out to draw water. 12He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today and ensure the outcome is favorable to my master Abraham. 13Watch over me as I stand here beside this well and the young women of the town come out to draw water. 14When they approach, I will ask each one, ‘Will you please lower your jar and allow me to drink?’ Then inspire the young woman you have chosen, to answer with ‘Of course, please drink, and I will also draw water for your camels.’ May the woman who gives this response be the one you have chosen to be the wife of your servant Isaac. This is how I will know that you are guiding the outcome in favor of my master.” 15Before he finished his prayer, Rebekah was already approaching the well with a jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife Milcah. 16She was very beautiful, a virgin, as no man had ever had sex with her. She went to the well, filled her jar, and came back. 17Abraham’s servant hurried over to meet her and said, “Will you please lower your jar and allow me to drink?” 18“Of course, please drink, sir,” and she quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. 19After she had given him a drink, she said, “I will also draw water for your camels, enough so they may drink all they want.” 20So she emptied her jar into the trough and ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. 21The man watched her in silence, to see if she watered all the camels and was the one the Lord had chosen to make his trip successful. 22Once the camels had finished drinking, the man gave her two gold bracelets weighing 4 ounces (110 grams) and a gold nose ring weighing 0.2 ounces (5.5 grams). 23Then he asked, “Who is your father? And please tell me, is there room in his house for me and my men to spend the night?” 24She answered him, “My father is Bethuel, the son of Nahor and his wife Milcah. 25And we have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as rooms for guests to spend the night.” 26The man, overjoyed with awe, bowed down and worshiped the Lord, 27saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the Creator God of my master Abraham, who has faithfully kept his promise and shown favor to my master. The Lord led me straight to the house of my master’s relatives.” 28The girl ran home and told her family everything that happened. 30As soon as he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and heard Rebekah’s report on what the man had said to her, he wasted no time but went straight out and found the man standing by the camels near the well. 31Laban said to him, “Why is a person like you, clearly blessed by the Lord and with such means, standing out here? Come, I have prepared a place for you and the camels to stay.” 32So Abraham’s servant went with Laban to the house and the camels were unloaded, fed, and watered. Water was brought for him and his men to wash their feet and refresh themselves.33Food was brought out for them, but Abraham’s servant said, “I will not eat until I have told you why I have come.” “Please tell us,” Laban said.34So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. The Lord has blessed him with sheep, cattle, camels, donkeys, gold, silver, and male and female servants. 36When Sarah, my master’s wife, was very old, she gave birth to his son, and my master has given him everything he owns. 37My master had me swear an oath, instructing me, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the women of Canaan, 38but go to my father’s family, to my own people, and get a wife for my son.’39“After swearing this oath, I asked my master, ‘But what if no woman will come back with me to marry your son?’40“He replied, ‘The Lord, whom I have trusted and followed throughout my life, will send his angel with you and make your mission successful; you will get a wife for my son from my own people and from my father’s family. 41Once you go to my people, you will be released from your oath to me, even if they refuse to give her to you.’42“When I arrived at the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please guide me today and grant me success in my mission here. 43Watch over me as I stand here beside this well; if a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Will you lower your jar and let me drink?” 44then inspire the young woman you have chosen to answer with “Of course, please drink, and I will also draw water for your camels.” Let her be the one the Lord has chosen to be the wife of my master’s son.’ 45“Before I finished my silent prayer, Rebekah came out with a jar on her shoulder. She went to the well and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Will you please give me a drink?’46“She immediately lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Of course, please drink, sir, and I will also draw water for your camels.’47“I asked her, ‘Who is your father?’ “She said, ‘My father is Bethuel, the son of Nahor and his wife Milcah.’ “Then I gave her a ring for her nose and placed bracelets on her arms, 48and bowed down in awe and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the Creator God of my master Abraham, who led me straight to the granddaughter of my master’s brother, to be the wife of my master’s son. 49Now that I have told you why I am here, please tell me whether you will send Rebekah to be the wife of my master’s son or not, so I may know what I must do next.”50Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is clearly the will of the Lord, so what we want doesn’t matter. 51Here is Rebekah; take her and return to your master and let her become the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has directed.” 52When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down before the Lord, relieved and thankful. 53Then he showered Rebekah with fine gifts of gold, silver and clothing; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and mother. 54Then he and his men ate a meal and stayed there overnight. When they arose the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Let me return at once to my master.” 55But Rebekah’s brother and mother wanted time to say farewell and prepare her for the journey, so they said, “Stay with us another week or so; then she will be ready to go.” 56But he said to them, “Now that the Lord has granted success to my mission, please do not delay my departure. Let me go now so that I may return to my master.”57So they said, “Let’s ask Rebekah what she wants and if she is ready to leave now or not.” 58So they called her and asked her, “Are you ready to leave with this man today?” She said, “Yes, I am ready to go now.” 59they bid Rebekah farewell and sent her, along with her childhood nurse, on their way, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60They blessed Rebekah and said to her, “May you, our sister, live bountifully and have millions of descendants; may your offspring thrive and be victorious over all their enemies.” 61Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted their camels and joined Abraham’s servant, who took her and left. 62Now Isaac, who was living in the Negev, had just returned from Beer Lahai Roi. 63One evening, while out on a contemplative walk in the fields, he looked up and saw camels approaching. 64When Rebecca saw Isaac walking toward them, she got down from her camel 65and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “He is my master,” the servant replied. So she covered her face with a veil. 66When Isaac arrived, the servant told him all he had done. 67And Isaac brought her into the tent where his mother Sarah had lived; and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife and he loved her; and she comforted Isaac after his mother’s death.
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