Abraham Seeks a Bride for Isaac

Abraham sends his oldest servant back to his relatives for Isaac's wife, sworn by our Father. The servant asks for a specific sign at a well, and Rebekah waters ten camels before he finishes praying. Asked outright whether she will go, she says: I will.

Chapter 24.

Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, and our Father had blessed Abraham in everything. Abraham said to his oldest servant, who managed all he owned, "Please put your hand under my thigh, ^a I will have you swear by the Father of heaven and earth, not to take a wife for my son from the Canaanites' daughters, among whom I live, but go to my country and relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac."

The servant asked him, "What if the woman won't follow me to this land? Must I take your son back to the land you left?"

Abraham said to him, "See to it that you do not take my son back there. Our Father, the Father of heaven, who took me from my father's house and the land of my relatives, who spoke to me and swore to me, 'I will give this land to your offspring'—he will send his angel ahead of you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. But if she won't follow you, you're released from this oath of mine; only don't take my son back there."

The servant put his hand under Abraham his master's thigh and swore to him about this. The servant took ten of his master's camels, and all his master's good things in hand, and set out for Aram-naharaim, the city of Nahor. ^b He had the camels kneel outside the city by the water well at evening, when women go out to draw water. Then he prayed, "Father of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show your faithful love to my master Abraham. Here I stand by the spring of water, and daughters of the town's men are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman I say this to—'Please tip your jar so I may drink'—and who answers, 'Drink, and I will water your camels too'—be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac. That is how I will know you have shown faithful love to my master."

Before he finished speaking, Rebekah came out—daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother—her jar on her shoulder. The girl was very beautiful, a virgin no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. The servant ran to meet her, saying, "Please let me sip a little water from your jar."

"Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and gave him a drink. When she finished giving him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they finish drinking." She quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran again to the well, and drew water for all his camels.

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

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

Then the man bowed down and worshiped our Father. 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 led me on the journey to my master's relatives' house."

Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things. Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and Laban ran out to the man at the spring. Seeing the nose ring and bracelets on his sister's wrists, and hearing his sister Rebekah say, "The man told me this," he went out to the man—there he was, standing by the camels at the spring. He said, "Come in, blessed of God. Why stand outside? I've prepared the house and a place for the camels." The man entered 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 with him. Food was set before him, but he said, "I won't eat until I've said what I have to say." "Go on," said Laban.

So he said, "I am Abraham's servant. Our Father has greatly blessed my master and made him wealthy, giving him flocks, herds, silver, gold, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys. Sarah, my master's wife, bore him a son in her old age; Abraham has given Isaac all he owns. My master made me swear, 'Don't take a wife for my son from the Canaanite women whose land I live in, but go to my father's house, to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.' I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.' But he said to me, 'Our Father, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey succeed, and you will take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father's house. Then you'll be free of my oath once you reach my family; if they refuse to give her to you, you'll be free of my oath.' Today when I came to the spring, I said, 'Father of my master Abraham, if you will make my journey succeed, here I am, standing by the spring of water. So 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," and she says to me, "Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels too"—let her be the woman our Father appointed for my master's son.' Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, her jar on her shoulder, went down to the spring, and drew water. I said to her, 'Please let me drink.' Quickly lowering her jar from her shoulder, she said, 'Drink—I'll water your camels too.' So I drank, and she watered the camels too. I asked, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'Bethuel's daughter, son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore him.' Then I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. I bowed and worshiped our Father, and blessed the Father of my master Abraham, who led me on the true path to take the daughter of my master's relative for his son. Now, if you will deal in faithful love and truth with my master, tell me; if not, tell me, so I can turn right or left."

Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from God; we can't say good or bad. Rebekah is before you; take her and go—let her be your master's son's wife, as our Father has spoken."

When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before our Father. The servant brought out silver and gold objects and clothing, gave them to Rebekah, and gave costly gifts to her brother and mother. He and the men with him ate, drank, and spent the night there. In the morning they rose, and he said, "Send me to my master."

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

But he said, "Don't delay me—our Father has made my journey succeed. Send me away, let me go to my master."

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

So they sent off their sister Rebekah and her nurse, along with Abraham's servant and his men. They blessed Rebekah, saying, "Our sister, may you become mother of thousands upon thousands; may your offspring capture the cities of those who hate them." ^c

Rebekah and her attendants got up, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went on.

Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negev. Isaac went out to meditate in the field at evening; looking up, he saw camels coming. Rebekah also looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she got down from her camel. She asked the servant, "Who is that man walking across the field to meet us?" "My master," he answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.

Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done. Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, married Rebekah, and loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

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Genesis 24

Abraham Seeks a Bride for Isaac

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