Genesis 24 Intro: Oath of Abraham's servant -- History of the betrothal and marriage of Isaac and Rebekah.
1 And now Abraham was old, being well stricken in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.
2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had; Put forth I pray thee thy hand under my hand, and I will make thee swear before the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son, of the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell; but thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
3 And the servant said unto him, Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land, then I must needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest.
4 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.
5 The Lord God of heaven which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that swear unto me, saying, Unto thee will I give this land;
6 He shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.
7 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this thine oath, only bring not my son thither again.
8 And the servant put his hand under the hand of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.
9 And the servant took ten camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand.
10 And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city, by a well of water, at evening, the time that women go out to draw water.
12 And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee this day, that thou wouldst show kindness unto my master Abraham, and send me good speed.
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, Let down thy pitcher I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also; let her be the one whom thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master.
15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
16 And the damsel being a virgin, very fair to look upon, such as the servant of Abraham had not seen, neither had any man known the like unto her; 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, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.
18 And she said, Drink, my lord; and she hasted and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.
21 And the man, wondering at her, held his peace, pondering in his heart whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a gold earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold, and said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee; and is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?
23 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.
24 She said moreover, unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.
25 And the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord.
26 And he said, Blessed is the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left my master destitute of his mercy and his truth; and when I was in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren.
27 And the damsel ran to the house, and told her mother these things.
28 And Rebekah had a brother, whose name was Laban; and Laban ran out to the man, unto the well.
29 And it came to pass when he saw the earrings, and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the word of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me, and I came unto the man, and behold, he stood by the camels at the well.
30 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.
31 And the man came into the house.
32 And he unburdened his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that came with him.
33 And there was set before him food to eat; but he said, I will not eat until I have told mine errand.
34 And Laban said, Speak on. And he said, I am Abraham's servant;
35 And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly, and he is become great, and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold; and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.
36 And Sarah, my master's wife, bare a son to my master when she was old; and unto him hath he given all that he hath.
37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell;
38 But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.
39 And I said unto my master, Perhaps the woman will not follow me.
40 And he said unto me, The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and he will prosper thy way;
41 And thou shalt take a wife for my son, of my kindred, and of my father's house; then shalt thou be clear of my oath.
42 When thou comest to my kindred, and if they give thee not a wife for my son, thou shalt be clear from my oath.
43 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, if now thou wilt prosper my way which I go;
44 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me I pray thee a little water of thy pitcher to drink;
45 And if she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels; the same is the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for my master's son.
46 And before I had done speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder, and she went down unto the well and drew water.
47 And I said unto her, Let me drink I pray thee;
48 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also; so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.
49 And I asked her and said, Whose daughter art thou?
50 And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him.
51 And I gave the earrings unto her, to put into her ears, and the bracelets upon her hands.
52 And I bowed down 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 unto his son.
53 And now, if thou wilt 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.
54 Then Laban and Bethuel answered, and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord; we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.
55 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken.
56 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard these words, he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth.
57 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave to Rebekah. He gave also to her brother, and to her mother, precious things.
58 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night.
59 And they arose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.
60 And her brother, and her mother, said, Let the damsel abide with us at the least ten days; after that she shall go.
61 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away, that I may go unto my master.
62 And they said, We will call the damsel and inquire at her mouth.
63 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man?
64 And she said, I will go. And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.
65 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, O thou, our sister, be thou blessed of thousands -- of millions; and let thy seed possess the gate of those who hate them.
66 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man; and the servant took Rebekah and went his way.
67 And Isaac came from the way of the well La-hai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country.
68 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at eventide; and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and behold the camels coming.
69 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel; for she said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us?
70 And the servant said, It is my master; therefore she took a veil and covered herself.
71 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.
72 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her.
73 And Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
