Genesis 24:1-32 ▼

1 NOW Abraham was old and well advanced in years; and the LORD had blessed him in all things.

2 And Abraham called his eldest servant, the steward of his house, who was in charge of everything that he had; and he said to him, Put your hand under my girdle;

3 And I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you shall not take to my son a wife of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell;

4 But that you will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.

5 And the servant said to him, Suppose the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then take your son back to the land from whence you came?

6 And Abraham said to him, Beware that you do not take my son thither again.

7 The LORD God of heaven, who took me from thence, from my father's household and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me, and who made a covenant with me, saying, To your descendants will I give this land; he shall send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife to my son from there.

8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow you, then you shall be clear from this my oath; only you must not take my son there again.

9 So the servant put his hand under the girdle of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed, carrying with him all kinds of choice things of his master; and he arose, and went to Aram-nahrin (Mesopotamia), to the city of Nahor.

11 And he made his camels to kneel down outside the city by a well of water in the evening, the very time when women go out to draw water.

12 And he prayed, saying, O LORD God of my master Abraham, prosper my journey, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.

14 Let it come to pass that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down your pitcher, that I may drink; and she shall say to me, Drink, and I will water your camels also; let the same be she that thou hast selected for thy servant Isaac; and by this token shall I know that thou hast shown kindness and faithfulness to my master.

15 And it came to pass, before he had finished speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher on her shoulder.

16 And the damsel was very beautiful to look upon, a virgin whom no man had known; and she went down to the well and filled her pitcher and came up.

17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, Let me drink a little water from your pitcher.

18 And she said, Drink, my lord; and she hastened and let down the pitcher upon her hands and gave him a drink.

19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, I will draw water for your camels also, until they are all watered.

20 So she hastened and emptied her pitcher into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew water for all his camels.

21 And as the man watered his camels he scrutinized her, and waited to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.

22 And it came to pass, when the camels were through drinking, the man took golden earrings weighing a shekel and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold,

23 And said to her, Whose daughter are you? tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to lodge?

24 And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.

25 And she said moreover to him, We have plenty of straw and hay, and room to lodge in.

26 And the man knelt on the ground and worshipped the LORD.

27 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld his grace and his truth from my master; while I was on the road, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brother, to take his brother's daughter to his son.

28 Then the damsel ran, and related these things to her father's household.

29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban; so Laban ran out to the man, to the well.

30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earrings and the bracelets on his sister's hands and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spoke the man to me, he came to the man; and, behold, he was standing by the camels at the well.

31 And he said to him, Come in, you blessed of the LORD; why do you stand in the street? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.

32 So the man came into the house and ungirded the camels and gave straw and hay for the camels, and was given water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.