NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible | Page 56

60 | Genesis 24:5
5 The ser vant asked him , “ What if the woman is un will ing to come back with me to this land ? Shall I then take your son back to the coun try you came from ?”
6 “ Make sure that you do not take my son back there ,” Abra ham said . 7 “ The Lord , the God of heaven , who brought me out of my fa ther ’ s house hold and my na tive land and who spoke to me and prom ised me on oath , say ing , ‘ To your off spring a q I will give this land ’ r —​ he will send his an gel be fore you s so that you can get a wife for my son from there . 8 If the woman is un will ing to come back with you , then you will be re leased from this oath of mine . Only do not take my son back there .” 9 So the ser vant put his hand un der the thigh t of his mas ter Abra ham and swore an oath to him con cern ing this mat ter .
10 Then the ser vant left , tak ing with him ten of his mas ter ’ s cam els loaded with all kinds of good things from his mas ter . He set out for Aram Na ha raim b and made his way to the town of Na hor . 11 He had the cam els kneel down near the well u out side the town ; it was to ward eve ning , the time the women go out to draw wa ter . v
12 Then he prayed , “ Lord , God of my mas ter Abra ham , w make me suc cess ful to day , and show kind ness to my mas ter Abra ham . 13 See , I am stand ing be side this spring , and the daugh ters of the towns peo ple are com ing out to draw wa ter . 14 May it be that when I say to a young wom an , ‘ Please let down your jar that I may have a drink ,’ and she says , ‘ Drink , and I ’ ll wa ter your cam els too ’ — ​let her be the one you have cho sen for your ser vant Isaac . By this I will know x that you have shown kind ness to my mas ter .”
15 Be fore he had fin ished pray ing , y Rebekah z came out with her jar on her shoul der . She was the daugh ter of Be thuel son of Mil kah , a who was the wife of Abra ham ’ s brother Nahor . b 16 The woman was very beautiful , c a vir gin ; no man had ever slept with her . She went down to the spring , filled her jar and came up again . 17 The ser vant hur ried to meet her and said , “ Please give me a lit tle wa ter from your jar .” 18 “ Drink , d my lord ,” she said , and quickly low ered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink .
19 Af ter she had given him a drink , she said , “ I ’ ll draw wa ter for your cam els too , e until they have had enough to drink .” 20 So she quickly emp tied her jar into the trough , ran back to the well to draw more wa ter , and drew enough for all his cam els . 21 Without saying a word , the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful . f
22 When the cam els had fin ished drink ing , the man took out a gold nose ring g weighing a beka c and two gold brace lets weigh ing ten shek els . d 23 Then he asked , “ Whose daugh ter are you ? Please tell me , is there room in your fa ther ’ s house for us to spend the night ?”
24 She an swered him , “ I am the daugh ter of Be thuel , the son that Mil kah bore to Nahor . h ” 25 And she added , “ We have plenty of straw and fod der , as well as room for you to spend the night .”
26 Then the man bowed down and wor shiped the Lord , i 27 say ing , “ Praise be to the Lord , j the God of my mas ter Abra ham , who has not aban doned his kind ness and faith ful ness k to my mas ter . As for me , the Lord has led me on the jour ney l to the house of my mas ter ’ s relatives .” m
28 The young wom an ran and told her moth er ’ s house hold about these things . 29 Now Re bekah had a brother named La ban , n and he hur ried out to the man at the spring . 30 As soon as he had seen the nose ring , and the brace lets on his sis ter ’ s arms , and had heard Re bekah tell what the man said to her , he went out to the man and found him stand ing by the cam els near the spring . 31 “ Come , you who are blessed by the Lord ,” o he said . “ Why are you stand ing out here ? I have pre pared the house and a place for the cam els .”
24:7 q Gal 3:16 * r Ge 12:7 ; 13:15
s Ex 23:20 , ​23
24:9 t ver 2
24:11 u Ex 2:15 v ver 13 ; 1Sa 9:11
24:12 w ver 27 , ​42 , ​48 ; Ge 26:24 ; Ex 3:6 , ​15 , ​16
24:14 x Jdg 6:17 , ​37
24:15 y ver 45 z Ge 22:23 a Ge 22:20
b Ge 11:29
24:16 c Ge 26:7 24:18 d ver 14 24:19 e ver 14 24:21 f ver 12 24:22 g ver 47 24:24 h ver 15
24:26 i ver 48 , ​52 ; Ex 4:31
24:27 j Ex 18:10 ; Ru 4:14 ; 1Sa 25:32 k ver 49 ; Ge 32:10 ;
Ps 98:3 l ver 21 m ver 12 , ​48
24:29 n ver 4 ; Ge 29:5 , ​ 12 , ​13
24:31 o Ge 26:29 ; Ru 3:10 ; Ps 115:15 a 7 Or seed b 10 That is , Northwest Mesopotamia c 22 That is , about 1 / 5 ounce or about 5.7 grams d 22 That is , about 4 ounces or about 115 grams
24:9 put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham . By placing his hand there , the servant formally commits himself to fulfilling Abraham ’ s instructions . Jacob later uses this ritual to ensure that Joseph will bury him in Canaan ( 47:29 – 30 ). 24:10 camels . See note on 12:16 . Aram Naharaim . Means “ Aram of the rivers ”; see NIV text note . Ancient texts from Mari mention a town called Nakhur situated close to Harran ( see 11:31 ). Nahor . The name of both Abraham ’ s grandfather and brother ( 11:25 – 27 ; 22:20 ). It is not unusual for individuals to be called after a place and vice versa . From Hebron to Harran is a journey of over 500 miles ( 800 kilometers ).
24:12 – 14 Like Abraham , the servant is a man of faith . He asks God to guide him to the woman who will become Isaac ’ s wife . Common sense informs his prayer for divine help . He seeks a woman who will be both hospitable and hardworking ; ten camels ( v . 10 ) would require a considerable quantity of water . 24:15 – 16 The narrator ’ s description of Rebekah creates a sense of expectation ; she is both a relative of Abraham and an attractive , unmarried woman . She has also come to the well to collect water . 24:17 – 21 Rebekah does everything that the servant mentioned in his prayer .
24:24 – 27 When she identifies herself as the granddaughter of Nahor , Abraham ’ s brother , the servant responds by worshiping God . Through divine guidance he has encountered Abraham ’ s relatives . 24:29 After Rebekah rushes off to inform her family , her brother Laban comes to greet Abraham ’ s servant . Laban ’ s involvement ( vv . 30 – 31,33,50,55 – 60 ) suggests that his father , Bethuel , is possibly old and frail . Bethuel is mentioned only once as an active participant in the events that unfold ( v . 50 ). In marked contrast , there are several references to the involvement of Rebekah ’ s mother ( vv . 28,55,57 – 58 ).