Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(Genesis 24:1) And Abraham was old, well stricken in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
Abraham was 140 years old at this time, so three years have passed since the death of Sarah. We know this because we were told previously that he was ten years older than Sarah, and because of a scripture still to come that will tell us Isaac is 40 about this time--Genesis 25:20.
(2) And Abraham said to his oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please, put your hand under my thigh, (3) And I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; (4) But you will go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac."
Putting one's hand under another's thigh appears to have been a method of swearing an oath; it was a way of binding by oath the two parties. The person binding himself put his hand under the thigh of the person to whom he was to be bound. The reason the thigh area was chosen likely may have been because that is the part of the body that bore the mark of circumcision, the sign of God’s covenant. The person, in essence, is swearing by God, or in the presence of God, much like one today might put his hand on the Bible. Abraham told his servant what he planned to have him swear, that he would not take a wife for his son Isaac from the Canaanites, his neighbors. The original word for "take" doesn't always mean to actively take, but also means "receive" or "accept". At 40 years of age by this time, Isaac would have been well able to choose his own wife, so whether it was a custom for it to be prearranged or because Isaac would have had great respect for the opinion of the oldest servant of his father's house, either way, Abraham wanted his servant to be pro-active in steering Isaac away from the idolatrous and wicked Canaanites and finding him a wife from his own people.
(5) And the servant said to him, "Suppose the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land; must I take your son back to the land from which you came?"
It certainly appears that the servant is taking this oath seriously as he seems to be carefully considering all angles before he swears. Suppose he finds the right woman, but she will not leave her homeland. Should the servant bring Isaac to her?
(6) And Abraham said to him, "Beware that you do not take my son back there. (7) The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants will I give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. (8) And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be clear from this oath; only do not take my son back there."
Abraham made it clear that the servant was not to take Isaac away from this land. God took Abraham from his homeland to this land, and told him He would give this new land to his descendants. Abraham is very certain that this is where Isaac must stay. He is so certain that he has faith that God Himself will guide the servant in finding the wife. However, for the servant's benefit, so that he may feel comfortable in swearing this oath, he told the servant that if he could not convince the woman to come back to this land, then the servant would be released from the oath.
(9) And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning that matter.
Once the servant had asked his questions and had a complete understanding of what he was being asked to swear to and do, he put his hand under Abraham's thigh and swore to him concerning the matter of finding a wife for Isaac.
(10) And the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, for all his master's goods were in his hand; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. (11) And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time that women go out to draw water.
I believe the sense of verse 10 is that as steward of Abraham's house, the servant had access to all of Abraham's goods, and therefore he was free to take ten camels, and it was his own decision to take them, and he then departed for the city of Nahor, Abraham's brother. When he reached his destination, he made his camels lie down beside a well outside the city. Whether at this point it was by design or not, it was in the evening at the time that women came to draw water.
(12) And he said, "O LORD God of my master Abraham, please send me good speed this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham."
The servant prayed to God for favor in his endeavor, and was asking this for his master Abraham's benefit. The words translated as "good speed" are not translated that way anywhere else in the Bible, so I had difficulty determining their exact meaning, but obviously he asked for success in his mission, or asked that it happen quickly and decisively. Perhaps "Godspeed" is the better translation; he asked that God prosper or bring him good fortune that day, but again, it was Abraham's good fortune for which he prayed.
(13) "Behold, I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water. (14) And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, 'Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,' and she shall say, 'Drink, and I will give your camels drink also', let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that You have shown kindness to my master."
I have to wonder if this prayer and request for a sign from God was totally the servant's, or if Abraham had had any part of it, recalling that it was Abraham who first assured the servant that God would send His angel before the servant to find a wife for Isaac. Regardless the servant does appear to be a God-fearing man who is looking for assurance from God that he has found the right wife for his master's son.
(15) And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. (16) And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, no man had known her; and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
How awesome that God began to answer the servant's prayer before he had even completed it! There is a scripture in Isaiah, specifically, Isaiah 65:24, which says, "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." How wonderful is that? We are given a brief genealogy of Rebekah to show that she was indeed of Abraham's brother's family, and she was a fair unattached maiden. Rebekah came to the well and filled her pitcher, and was apparently coming back from the well.
(17) And the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher." (18) And she said, "Drink, my lord", and she hurried and let down her pitcher to her hand, and gave him a drink. (19) And when she had done giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have done drinking."
The servant apparently watched Rebekah fill her pitcher and as she was leaving the well, then ran to meet her. The sign for which he had prayed could not have been fulfilled until she had water in her pitcher. Rebekah was beautiful to look upon and turned out to be most gracious and considerate, and began to fulfill the requested sign perfectly.
(20) And she hurried and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. (21) And the man, wondering at her, held his peace so as to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
Rebekah indeed did what she said, and also drew water for the camels. My first thought as I read this scripture was that of course, God had made his journey prosperous! Wouldn't he have known that when the maiden first opened her mouth and said she would water the camels? However, I believe the sense of this scripture is that the servant is in incredulous wonder that things played out exactly as he had asked. He watched until the entire incident was over, and marvelled at how God had worked in this gracious young woman. When you think about it, she could have found it very condescending of this man to ask for water when he was perfectly capable of getting water himself, as he was also at the well. But to be so generous to offer even more than the man had asked was certainly something at which to marvel!
(22) And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; (23) And said, "Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father's house for us to lodge?"
Of course, it makes sense to me now that the servant could still be wondering if this was truly God's sign that this was the wife for Isaac. He did not yet know if she was of Abraham's family (only we knew that, at this point). The servant took out the gold jewelry, but the scripture doesn't say that he gave it to Rebekah yet. With what he has witnessed, he was probably pretty sure this maiden was "the one", but he may have wanted to be certain first before he gave her the jewels. Then again, the jewels may have been a "thank you" for her gracious generosity thus far, even if she wasn't "the one".
(24) And she said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor." (25) Moreover she said to him, "We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge in."
Rebekah confirmed that she was indeed of Abraham's family, and she answered the servant's question about whether or not there was room in her father's house for the servant and his entourage to lodge.
(26) And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. (27) And he said, "Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken my master of His mercy and His truth; I, being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren."
The man bowed and prayed and thanked the Lord for His mercy for Abraham and for putting him, the servant, in the right path of the maiden God had chosen for Isaac.
(28) And the damsel ran and told her mother's household these things.
At this point, Rebekah may only be telling her family that she has invited this man to lodge with them. The fact that she told her mother's household, and not her father's, might be because her father is dead at this time. While wives often had their own tents, and the fact that Bethuel is mentioned later in scripture, might mean her father is still alive, the fact that her brother appears to be the one making decisions, it may be that the Bethuel mentioned later is another brother, named after his father.
(29) And Rebekah had a brother and his name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man to the well.
Apparently, Rebekah left the servant at the well while she ran home to prepare her family for their guest, as Rebekah's brother, Laban, went back to the well to meet the servant.
(30) And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, "Thus the man spoke to me," that he came to the man; and there he stood by the camels at the well.
Rebekah had told her family what the man had said to her, and seeing the gold jewels, her brother Laban went out to meet the man at the well.
(31) And he said, "Come in, you blessed of the LORD; why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and room for the camels."
Laban saw the servant as blessed by the Lord. It could be just because he appeared wealthy because of his gifts to Rebekah, and because of the number of attendants and camels he had, but it may be that Rebekah heard the thankful prayer the servant made to God and she relayed that to her brother and the rest of her family. Laban asked the question about why he stayed behind outside, probably just as a courteous invitation to delay no further and come on in, for they were prepared for him and his camels to stay.
(32) And the man came into the house; and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
The servant went into the house, but the "he" who gave straw and feed and water to wash the feet of the men must be interpreted to be said of Laban, unless it was "he", the servant, acting on instructions and with provisions given by Laban.
(33) And there was set food before him to eat, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told about my errand." And he said, "Speak on."
Food was set before the servant, but he wanted to first make clear his purpose in being there. Laban told him to go ahead and tell them.
(34) And he said, "I am Abraham's servant. (35) And the LORD has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, and menservants and maidservants, and camels and donkeys. (36) And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and to him he has given all that he has."
The servant began by telling who he was, and of the great blessings the Lord had given his master, Abraham, and of the son that was born to Abraham, who now owned all that his father had been given of God.
(37) "And my master made me swear, saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; (38) But you shall go to my father's house and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son.' (39) And I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.' (40) And he said to me, 'The LORD, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my kindred and from my father's house. (41) Then you shall be clear from this oath when you come to my kindred, and if they will not give her to you, you shall be clear from my oath.'"
The servant told Rebekah's family of Abraham's desire for a wife for Isaac from his family, and retold in detail the oath.
(42) "And I came this day to the well and said, 'O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now You do prosper my way in which I go, (43) Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes forth to draw water, and I say to her, "Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink," (44) And she says to me, "You both drink, and I will also draw for your camels", let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master's son.' (45) And before I had done speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder, and she went down to the well and drew water; and I said to her, 'Let me drink, please.' (46) And she made haste and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.' So I drank, and she made the camels drink also."
The servant told Rebekah's family about his prayer for the sign that he had found the right woman for Isaac. Note that he told them that he had said the prayer silently, or in his heart, so it was not possible that Rebekah heard his prayer and decided to play along. He told them how she indeed did do what he had asked in his prayer.
(47) "And I asked her, and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' And she said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him', and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands."
The earring that the servant gave Rebekah might not have been the same kind of earring that we think of today. For one thing, there was only one. While it might have been only one for one ear, since the servant said he put it on her face, it might have been the type of ornament that hung from a lace tied around the head above the ears and centered down the forehead between the eyes and down the ridge of the nose. It could have also been a nosering.
(48) "And I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. (49) And now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left."
The servant told Rebekah's family how he had thanked the Lord for fulfilling the sign and finding the woman for Isaac, and asked whether or not they would do this kindness for his master (in giving Rebekah in marriage to Isaac) or if he would have to look elsewhere.
(50) Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, "The thing comes from the LORD; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. (51) Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as the LORD has spoken."
Here is the first time we actually hear from Bethuel in this whole episode. Dr. John Gill points out in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, that the order of the words in the original text is "then answered Laban and Bethuel", and that the word for "answered" is in the singular form, so it may be concluded that Laban gave the answer in the name of Bethuel, who might be an old man who left the management of his family affairs to his son. I would think he might also be dead by this time, and Laban could still be answering in the name of his father, as he was now head of his father's household. As mentioned before, this Bethuel might also be a younger brother named after his father. A few verses later these men seem to be mentioned again as sending "their sister" away, indicating they are her brothers, or if this Bethuel is not a brother and Laban was speaking in his father's name, it does seem that Bethuel the father is gone, and that only sons (brothers to Rebekah) remain in the household.
Regardless of who the men were, brother and father, or both brothers, they realize this thing was entirely the Lord's doing. They couldn't comment for or against, because they saw it as entirely the work of God, so they just told the servant Rebekah was before him (as God had planned) and that he should take her to be Isaac's wife.
(52) And it came to pass, that when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshiped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. (53) And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.
When the servant realized that his mission was to be accomplished, he bowed himself to the ground and thanked and worshiped the Lord. He then gave Rebekah more jewels and clothing, and he also gave precious things, or presents, as the word is also translated, to Rebekah's brother and mother. Once again, we read no mention of Rebekah's father, so I have to finally conclude that her father is dead, and the gifts are being given to Laban, as head of the household.
(54) And they did eat and drink, he and the men who were with him, and stayed all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, "Send me away to my master." (55) And her brother and her mother said, "Let the damsel stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she shall go." (56) And he said to them, "Do not hinder me, since the LORD has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master."
The servant and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night with Rebekah's family. The next morning the servant was ready to depart with Rebekah and return to Abraham and Isaac. Rebekah's brother and mother wanted to spend a few more days with Rebekah before she left, but the servant asked to be hindered no longer as they were all in agreement that this was the work of the Lord.
(57) And they said, "We will call the damsel, and ask her." (58) And they called Rebekah, and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" And she said, "I will go."
I'm sure the family would have liked to spend a little more time with Rebekah as this marriage arrangement came about suddenly, but their delay may have been partly to be able to talk to Rebekah and be sure that she also wanted this marriage. Although marriages were often arranged by the parents in these times, it seems that the parties to be married had a say, as well. If they couldn't spend time with Rebekah to find out how she felt about all this, then they would ask her directly now. She said that she would go with the servant to be married to Isaac.
(59) And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men. (60) And they blessed Rebekah, and said to her, "You are our sister, you be the mother of thousands of millions, and let your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them."
Rebekah's family then sent her on her way with their blessing. I suppose it is a blessing that any family would want for their own, that they have many children and grandchildren, and that those descendants be successful and powerful and victorious, which was what they were, in essence, saying. Possessing the gate of those who hate them is to have power over them. This may have been a common blessing, but it certainly sounds prophetic. Perhaps they knew of God's promise to Abraham; maybe the servant had told them. Whether it was their unknowing prophetic wish and blessing for Rebekeh, or whether they knew God's full plan and in agreement sent Rebekah with their blessing, the end result was the same. Rebekah left her home to go with the servant back to Abraham and Isaac, to be Isaac's wife.
(61) And Rebekah arose, and her maidens, and they rode on the camels and followed the man; and the servant took Rebekah and went his way. (62) And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the south country. (63) And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening, and he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, the camels were coming.
Lahai Roi is the same place as Beer Lahai Roi, which was where the well was at which the angel met with Hagar when she fled from Sarah. As the camel caravan bringing Rebekah came back home, Isaac had gone out in a field to meditate or perhaps to pray, and saw the camels coming.
(64) And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she got off the camel; (65) For she had said to the servant, "Who is this man who walks in the field to meet us?" And the servant had said, "It is my master." Therefore she took a veil and covered herself.
Apparently when Isaac saw the camels, he started toward them. When Rebekah saw Isaac coming toward them, she asked the servant who he was and the servant replied that it was his master, Isaac. It was after she knew who he was that Rebekah got off her camel, and she covered herself with a veil out of modesty and respect and subjection, as was the custom in those days when a woman met a man.
(66) And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. (67) And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
I'm sure the servant told Isaac the entire story explaining how he knew this was the wife for Isaac. Isaac brought Rebekah to Sarah's tent, which would now be hers, as wives often had separate tents from their husbands. Rebekah became Isaac's wife, and the scripture points out that he really loved her. As a single man, he apparently still suffered from the loss of his mother, but Rebekah was a real comfort to him, just as God intended a marriage partner to be.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. - Ephesians 5:28
And the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a help meet for him." - Genesis 2:18
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be one flesh. - Genesis 2:24
