GenesisChapter 24

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¹By now Abraham was very old. The LORD had blessed him in every way. ²Abraham spoke to the chief servant of his household, who was in charge of everything he owned. He said, "Put your hand under my thigh. ³I want you to make a promise by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth. Promise that you won't get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites. I am living among them. ⁴Instead, go to my country and my relatives. Get a wife for my son Isaac there." ⁵The servant asked him, "What if the woman won't come back with me to this land? Should I then take your son back to the land you came from?" ⁶Abraham answered, "Make sure you don't take my son back there. ⁷The LORD, the God of heaven, brought me from my father's house and the land of my birth. He spoke to me and made me a promise. He said, 'I will give this land to your offspring.' He will send his angel ahead of you. Then you can get a wife for my son from there. ⁸If the woman won't come back with you, then you are free from this promise to me. Just don't take my son back there." ⁹So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham. He made a promise to him about this. ¹⁰Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left. He took all kinds of good things from his master with him. He set out for the town where Nahor lived in Aram-naharaim.a ¹¹Evening was coming. He made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town. It was the time when the women went out to get water. ¹²He prayed, "LORD, God of my master Abraham, please give me success today. Show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³Here I am, standing beside the spring. The young women of the town are coming out to get water. ¹⁴I will say to a girl, 'Please lower your jar so I can drink.' If she answers, 'Drink, and I'll give your camels water too,' let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. That's how I will know you have shown kindness to my master." ¹⁵Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel. Bethuel was the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. ¹⁶The girl was very beautiful. She was a virgin. No man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came back up. ¹⁷The servant ran to meet her. He said, "Please give me a little water from your jar." ¹⁸"Drink, my lord," she said. She quickly lowered her jar to her hands and gave him a drink. ¹⁹After she gave him a drink, she said, "I'll get water for your camels too, until they have had enough." ²⁰She quickly emptied her jar into the trough. Then she ran back to the well to get more water. She kept going until she had gotten water for all his camels. ²¹The man watched her closely without a word. He wanted to know if the LORD had made his trip a success or not. ²²When the camels finished drinking, he took out a gold ring. It weighed a beka. He also took out two gold bracelets for her wrists. They weighed ten shekels.b ²³He asked, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" ²⁴She answered, "I am the daughter of Bethuel. He is the son Milcah had with Nahor." ²⁵She added, "We have plenty of straw and feed. We also have room for you to spend the night." ²⁶Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD. ²⁷He said, "Praise the LORD, the God of my master Abraham! He has not held back his kindness and faithfulness from my master. And the LORD has led me on the way to the house of my master's relatives." ²⁸The girl ran and told her mother's household about these things. ²⁹Rebekah had a brother named Laban. He hurried out to the man at the spring. ³⁰Laban had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister's wrists. He had heard Rebekah say, "This is what the man said to me." So he went out and found the man standing by the camels near the spring. ³¹Laban said, "Come, you who are blessed by the LORD. Why are you standing out here? I have gotten the house ready. I have a place for the camels too." ³²So the man went to the house. The camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were brought for the camels. Water was brought for him and his men to wash their feet. ³³Then food was set in front of him. But he said, "I won't eat until I have told you why I came." So Laban said, "Please tell us." ³⁴"I am Abraham's servant," he said. ³⁵"The LORD has greatly blessed my master. He has become rich. The LORD has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶My master's wife Sarah had a son for him when she was old. My master has given this son everything he owns. ³⁷My master made me make a promise. He said, 'Don't get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites. I live in their land. ³⁸Instead, go to my father's family and my relatives. Get a wife for my son there.' ³⁹Then I asked my master, 'What if the woman won't come back with me?' ⁴⁰He told me, 'I have lived my life before the LORD. He will send his angel with you. He will make your trip a success. Then you can get a wife for my son from my relatives and my father's family. ⁴¹You will go to my relatives. If they refuse to give her to you, then you will be free from your promise to me.' ⁴²When I came to the spring today, I prayed. I said, 'LORD, God of my master Abraham, please make my trip a success! ⁴³Here I am, standing beside this spring. A young woman may come out to get water. I will say to her, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar." ⁴⁴She may answer, "Drink, and I'll get water for your camels too." If so, let her be the woman the LORD has chosen for my master's son.' ⁴⁵Before I had finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out. Her jar was on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and got water. I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.' ⁴⁶She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder. She said, 'Drink, and I'll give your camels water too.' So I drank, and she gave the camels water too. ⁴⁷Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor. Milcah is his mother.' So I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. ⁴⁸Then I bowed down and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham. He led me on the right road. He led me to get my master's brother's granddaughter for his son. ⁴⁹Now, will you show kindness and faithfulness to my master? If so, tell me. If not, tell me that too. Then I can go somewhere else." ⁵⁰Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from the LORD. We have no choice in this. ⁵¹Here is Rebekah. Take her and go. Let her become the wife of your master's son, just as the LORD has said." ⁵²When Abraham's servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD. ⁵³Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothes. He gave them to Rebekah. He also gave costly gifts to her brother and her mother. ⁵⁴Then he and the men with him ate and drank. They spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, he said, "Send me back to my master." ⁵⁵But her brother and her mother said, "Let the girl stay with us ten days or so. Then she can go." ⁵⁶But he said, "Don't keep me here. The LORD has made my trip a success. Send me on my way so I can go to my master." ⁵⁷So they said, "Let's call the girl and ask her what she wants." ⁵⁸They called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?" "I will go," she said. ⁵⁹So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way. Her nurse went with her, along with Abraham's servant and his men. ⁶⁰They blessed Rebekah and said to her, "Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands and thousands. May your offspring take over the gates of their enemies." ⁶¹Then Rebekah and her servant girls got ready. They got on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left. ⁶²Isaac had just come back from Beer-lahai-roi. He was living in the Negev. ⁶³Early in the evening, Isaac went out to the field to think quietly. He looked up and saw camels coming. ⁶⁴Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel. ⁶⁵She asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?" "He is my master," the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done. ⁶⁷Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent of his mother Sarah. He took her as his wife, and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after his mother died.