Genesis 24

24 ¹ Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, and our Father had blessed Abraham in everything. ² Abraham said to the senior servant of his household, the one who managed all that he owned, "Please place your hand under my thigh, ^a a v2 Placing a hand under the thigh was the ancient gesture for sealing a solemn, binding oath. ³ and I will make you swear by our Father, the Father of heaven and earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, ⁴ but will go to my country and to my own kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac."

⁵ The servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land you came from?"

⁶ Abraham said to him, "See to it that you do not take my son back there. ⁷ Our Father, the Father of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my relatives, who spoke to me and swore to me, 'To your offspring I will give this land' — he will send his angel ahead of you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there."

⁹ So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter. ¹⁰ Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and set out, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He traveled to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. ^b b v10 Aram-naharaim means "Aram of the two rivers" — a region in northern Mesopotamia where Abraham's relatives still lived. ¹¹ He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at evening, the time when the women go out to draw water. ¹² Then he prayed, "Our Father, the Father of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show your faithful love to my master Abraham. ¹³ Here I am, standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the town are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ Let it be that the young woman to whom I say, 'Please lower your jar that I may drink,' and who answers, 'Drink, and I will water your camels too' — let her be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown faithful love to my master."

¹⁵ Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah coming out, with her water jar on her shoulder. She was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother. ¹⁶ The young woman was very beautiful in appearance, a virgin who had never been with a man. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. ¹⁷ The servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me sip a little water from your jar."

¹⁸ "Drink, my lord," she said, and she quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking." ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water for all his camels.

²¹ The man watched her silently, waiting to learn whether our Father had made his journey successful or not. ²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing about a fifth of an ounce and two gold bracelets for her wrists weighing about four ounces, ²³ and said, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"

²⁴ She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son Milcah bore to Nahor." ²⁵ She also said, "We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to spend the night."

²⁶ Then the man bowed down and worshiped our Father, ²⁷ and he said, "Blessed be our Father, the Father of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love and faithfulness toward my master. As for me, he has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."

²⁸ Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things. ²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and Laban ran out to the man at the spring. ³⁰ As soon as he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and heard Rebekah his sister say, "This is what the man said to me," he went out to the man. And there he was, standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹ He said, "Come in, you who are blessed by our Father. Why are you standing outside? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels." ³² So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were given to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³ Then food was set before him to eat, but he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to say." "Go ahead," Laban said.

³⁴ So he said, "I am Abraham's servant. ³⁵ Our Father has greatly blessed my master, so that he has become wealthy. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Sarah, my master's wife, bore him a son in her old age, and to him my master has given all that he owns. ³⁷ My master made me swear, saying, 'You must not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, ³⁸ but you must go to my father's house and to my clan, and take a wife for my son.' ³⁹ I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.' ⁴⁰ But he said to me, 'Our Father, in whose presence I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father's house. ⁴¹ Then you will be released from my oath when you come to my clan; and if they will not give her to you, you will be released from my oath.' ⁴² When I came to the spring today, I prayed, 'Our Father, the Father of my master Abraham, if you would only make this journey of mine successful ⁴³ —here I am, standing by the spring of water. Let it be that when a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, "Please give me a little water from your jar to drink," ⁴⁴ and she says to me, "Drink, and I will draw water for your camels too" — let her be the woman our Father has appointed for my master's son.' ⁴⁵ Before I had finished praying in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, 'Please let me drink.' ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I will water your camels too.' So I drank, and she watered the camels as well. ⁴⁷ Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists, ⁴⁸ and I bowed down and worshiped our Father. I blessed him, the Father of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to take the daughter of my master's relative for his son. ⁴⁹ Now then, if you will show faithful love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn to the right or to the left."

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered, "This matter has come from our Father; we cannot say anything to you, bad or good. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as our Father has spoken."

⁵² When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before our Father. ⁵³ Then the servant brought out articles of silver and gold and items of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and her mother. ⁵⁴ Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up in the morning, he said, "Send me on my way to my master."

⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother said, "Let the young woman stay with us ten days or so; after that she may go."

⁵⁶ But he said to them, "Do not delay me, now that our Father has made my journey successful. Send me away so that I may go to my master."

⁵⁷ They said, "Let us call the young woman and ask her about it." ⁵⁸ So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?" "I will go," she said.

⁵⁹ So they sent off their sister Rebekah and her nurse, along with Abraham's servant and his men. ⁶⁰ They blessed Rebekah and said to her, "Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands upon thousands; may your offspring capture the cities of those who hate them." ^c c v60 To hold an enemy's gate was to hold their power; the blessing prays that Rebekah's descendants will prevail over those who oppose them.

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her servant girls got ready, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went on his way.

⁶² Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negev. ⁶³ Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. ⁶⁴ Rebekah also looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she got down from her camel ⁶⁵ and asked the servant, "Who is that man walking through the field to meet us?" "It is my master," the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.

⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done. ⁶⁷ Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.