Add parallel Print Page Options

Chapter 24

Isaac and Rebekah.[a] Abraham was old, having seen many days, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. (A)Abraham said to the senior servant of his household, who had charge of all his possessions: “Put your hand under my thigh,[b] and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live,(B) but that you will go to my own land and to my relatives to get a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant asked him: “What if the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham told him, “Never take my son back there for any reason! The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, and who confirmed by oath the promise he made to me, ‘I will give this land to your descendants’—he will send his angel before you, and you will get a wife for my son there.(C) If the woman is unwilling to follow you, you will be released from this oath to me. But never take my son back there!” So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore to him concerning this matter.

10 The servant then took ten of his master’s camels, and bearing all kinds of gifts from his master, he made his way to the city of Nahor[c] in Aram Naharaim. 11 Near evening, at the time when women go out to draw water, he made the camels kneel by the well outside the city. 12 Then he said: “Lord, God of my master Abraham, let it turn out favorably for me[d] today and thus deal graciously with my master Abraham. 13 While I stand here at the spring and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water, 14 if I say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jug, that I may drink,’ and she answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels, too,’ then she is the one whom you have decided upon for your servant Isaac. In this way I will know that you have dealt graciously with my master.”

15 (D)He had scarcely finished speaking when Rebekah—who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor—came out with a jug on her shoulder. 16 The young woman was very beautiful, a virgin, untouched by man. She went down to the spring and filled her jug. As she came up, 17 the servant ran toward her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 18 “Drink, sir,” she replied, and quickly lowering the jug into her hand, she gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels, too, until they have finished drinking.” 20 With that, she quickly emptied her jug into the drinking trough and ran back to the well to draw more water, until she had drawn enough for all the camels. 21 The man watched her the whole time, silently waiting to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful. 22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose-ring weighing half a shekel, and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels for her wrists. 23 Then he asked her: “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please. And is there a place in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She answered: “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor. 25 We have plenty of straw and fodder,” she added, “and also a place to spend the night.” 26 The man then knelt and bowed down to the Lord, 27 saying: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not let his kindness and fidelity toward my master fail. As for me, the Lord has led me straight to the house of my master’s brother.”

28 Then the young woman ran off and told her mother’s household what had happened. 29 (E)Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban. Laban rushed outside to the man at the spring. 30 [e]When he saw the nose-ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms and when he heard Rebekah repeating what the man had said to her, he went to him while he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31 He said: “Come, blessed of the Lord! Why are you standing outside when I have made the house ready, as well as a place for the camels?” 32 The man then went inside; and while the camels were being unloaded and provided with straw and fodder, water was brought to bathe his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 But when food was set before him, he said, “I will not eat until I have told my story.” “Go ahead,” they replied.

34 “I am Abraham’s servant,” he began. 35 “The Lord has blessed my master so abundantly that he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. 36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to my master in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. 37 My master put me under oath, saying: ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live; 38 instead, you must go to my father’s house, to my own family, to get a wife for my son.’ 39 When I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not follow me?’ 40 he replied: ‘The Lord, in whose presence I have always walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey successful, and so you will get a wife for my son from my own family and my father’s house.(F) 41 Then you will be freed from my curse. If you go to my family and they refuse you, then, too, you will be free from my curse.’[f]

42 “When I came to the spring today, I said: ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, please make successful the journey I am on. 43 While I stand here at the spring, if I say to a young woman who comes out to draw water, ‘Please give me a little water from your jug,’ 44 and she answers, ‘Drink, and I will draw water for your camels, too—then she is the woman whom the Lord has decided upon for my master’s son.’

45 “I had scarcely finished saying this to myself when Rebekah came out with a jug on her shoulder. After she went down to the spring and drew water, I said to her, ‘Please let me have a drink.’ 46 She quickly lowered the jug she was carrying and said, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels, too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also. 47 When I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ she answered, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, borne to Nahor by Milcah.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 Then I knelt and bowed down to the Lord, blessing the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. 49 Now, if you will act with kindness and fidelity toward my master, let me know; but if not, let me know that too. I can then proceed accordingly.”

50 (G)Laban and Bethuel said in reply: “This thing comes from the Lord; we can say nothing to you either for or against it. 51 Here is Rebekah, right in front of you; take her and go, that she may become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has said.” 52 When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed to the ground before the Lord. 53 Then he brought out objects of silver and gold and clothing and presented them to Rebekah; he also gave costly presents to her brother and mother. 54 After he and the men with him had eaten and drunk, they spent the night there.

When they got up the next morning, he said, “Allow me to return to my master.”(H) 55 Her brother and mother replied, “Let the young woman stay with us a short while, say ten days; after that she may go.” 56 But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has made my journey successful; let me go back to my master.” 57 They answered, “Let us call the young woman and see what she herself has to say about it.” 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” She answered, “I will.”[g] 59 At this they sent off their sister Rebekah and her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah and said:

“Sister, may you grow
    into thousands of myriads;
And may your descendants gain possession
    of the gates of their enemies!”(I)

61 Then Rebekah and her attendants started out; they mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went on his way.

62 Meanwhile Isaac had gone from Beer-lahai-roi and was living in the region of the Negeb.(J) 63 One day toward evening he went out to walk in the field, and caught sight of camels approaching. 64 Rebekah, too, caught sight of Isaac, and got down from her camel. 65 She asked the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking through the fields toward us?” “That is my master,” replied the servant. Then she took her veil and covered herself.

66 The servant recounted to Isaac all the things he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent of his mother Sarah. He took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her and found solace after the death of his mother.

Footnotes

  1. 24:1–67

    The story of Abraham and Sarah is drawing to a close. The promises of progeny (21:1–7) and land (chap. 23) have been fulfilled and Sarah has died (23:1–2). Abraham’s last duty is to ensure that his son Isaac shares in the promises. Isaac must take a wife from his own people (vv. 3–7), so the promises may be fulfilled. The extraordinary length of this story and its development of a single theme contrast strikingly with the spare style of the preceding Abraham and Sarah stories. It points ahead to the Jacob and Joseph stories.

    The length of the story is partly caused by its meticulous attention to the sign (vv. 12–14), its fulfillment (vv. 15–20), and the servant’s retelling of sign and fulfillment to Rebekah’s family to win their consent (vv. 34–49).

  2. 24:2 Put your hand under my thigh: the symbolism of this act was apparently connected with the Hebrew concept of children issuing from their father’s “thigh” (the literal meaning of “direct descendants” in 46:26; Ex 1:5). Perhaps the man who took such an oath was thought to bring the curse of sterility on himself if he did not fulfill his sworn promise. Jacob made Joseph swear in the same way (Gn 47:29). In both these instances, the oath was taken to carry out the last request of a man upon his death.
  3. 24:10 Nahor: it is uncertain whether this is the place where Abraham’s brother Nahor (11:27) had lived or whether it is the city Nahur, named in the Mari documents (nineteenth and eighteenth centuries B.C.), near the confluence of the Balikh and Middle Euphrates rivers. Aram Naharaim: lit., “Aram between the two rivers,” is the Yahwist designation for Terah’s homeland. The two rivers are the Habur and the Euphrates. The Priestly designation for the area is Paddan-aram, which is from the Assyrian padana, “road or garden,” and Aram, which refers to the people or land of the Arameans.
  4. 24:12 Let it turn out favorably for me: let me have a favorable sign; cf. end of v. 14.
  5. 24:30 Laban becomes hospitable only when he sees the servant’s rich gifts, which is in humorous contrast to his sister’s spontaneous generosity toward the servant. Laban’s opportunism points forward to his behavior in the Jacob stories (31:14–16).
  6. 24:41 Curse: this would be the consequence of failing to carry out the oath referred to in v. 3.
  7. 24:58 Marriages arranged by the woman’s father did not require the woman’s consent, but marriages arranged by the woman’s brother did. Laban is the brother and Rebekah is therefore free to give her consent or not.

Isaac and Rebekah

24 Abraham was now very old,(A) and the Lord had blessed(B) him in every way.(C) He said to the senior servant(D) in his household, the one in charge of all that he had,(E) “Put your hand under my thigh.(F) I want you to swear(G) by the Lord, the God of heaven(H) and the God of earth,(I) that you will not get a wife for my son(J) from the daughters of the Canaanites,(K) among whom I am living,(L) but will go to my country and my own relatives(M) and get a wife for my son Isaac.(N)

The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land?(O) Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?(P)

“Make sure that you do not take my son back there,”(Q) Abraham said. “The Lord, the God of heaven,(R) who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land(S) and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring[a](T) I will give this land’(U)—he will send his angel before you(V) so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath(W) of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”(X) So the servant put his hand under the thigh(Y) of his master(Z) Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

10 Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels(AA) loaded with all kinds of good things(AB) from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim[b](AC) and made his way to the town of Nahor.(AD) 11 He had the camels kneel down near the well(AE) outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.(AF)

12 Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham,(AG) make me successful(AH) today, and show kindness(AI) to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.(AJ) 14 May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink,(AK) and I’ll water your camels too’(AL)—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac.(AM) By this I will know(AN) that you have shown kindness to my master.”

15 Before he had finished praying,(AO) Rebekah(AP) came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel(AQ) son of Milkah,(AR) who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.(AS) 16 The woman was very beautiful,(AT) a virgin;(AU) no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

17 The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”(AV)

18 “Drink,(AW) my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

19 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels(AX) too,(AY) until they have had enough to drink.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.(AZ) 21 Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.(BA)

22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring(BB) weighing a beka[c] and two gold bracelets(BC) weighing ten shekels.[d] 23 Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you?(BD) Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?(BE)

24 She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.(BF) 25 And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder,(BG) as well as room for you to spend the night.”

26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord,(BH) 27 saying, “Praise be to the Lord,(BI) the God of my master Abraham,(BJ) who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness(BK) to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey(BL) to the house of my master’s relatives.”(BM)

28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.(BN) 29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban,(BO) and he hurried out to the man at the spring. 30 As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms,(BP) and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. 31 “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord,”(BQ) he said. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”

32 So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder(BR) were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet.(BS) 33 Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.”

“Then tell us,” Laban said.

34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.(BT) 35 The Lord has blessed(BU) my master abundantly,(BV) and he has become wealthy.(BW) He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.(BX) 36 My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age,(BY) and he has given him everything he owns.(BZ) 37 And my master made me swear an oath,(CA) and said, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live,(CB) 38 but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.’(CC)

39 “Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’(CD)

40 “He replied, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked faithfully,(CE) will send his angel with you(CF) and make your journey a success,(CG) so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family.(CH) 41 You will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you—then you will be released from my oath.’(CI)

42 “When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success(CJ) to the journey on which I have come. 43 See, I am standing beside this spring.(CK) If a young woman(CL) comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,”(CM) 44 and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’(CN)

45 “Before I finished praying in my heart,(CO) Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder.(CP) She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’(CQ)

46 “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’(CR) So I drank, and she watered the camels also.(CS)

47 “I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’(CT)

“She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel(CU) son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.’(CV)

“Then I put the ring in her nose(CW) and the bracelets on her arms,(CX) 48 and I bowed down and worshiped the Lord.(CY) I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham,(CZ) who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.(DA) 49 Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness(DB) to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.”

50 Laban and Bethuel(DC) answered, “This is from the Lord;(DD) we can say nothing to you one way or the other.(DE) 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.(DF)

52 When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord.(DG) 53 Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing(DH) and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts(DI) to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.

When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way(DJ) to my master.”

55 But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so;(DK) then you[e] may go.”

56 But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success(DL) to my journey. Send me on my way(DM) so I may go to my master.”

57 Then they said, “Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.”(DN) 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”

“I will go,”(DO) she said.

59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way,(DP) along with her nurse(DQ) and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed(DR) Rebekah and said to her,

“Our sister, may you increase
    to thousands upon thousands;(DS)
may your offspring possess
    the cities of their enemies.”(DT)

61 Then Rebekah and her attendants(DU) got ready and mounted the camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

62 Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi,(DV) for he was living in the Negev.(DW) 63 He went out to the field one evening to meditate,[f](DX) and as he looked up,(DY) he saw camels approaching. 64 Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel(DZ) 65 and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?”

“He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil(EA) and covered herself.

66 Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. 67 Isaac brought her into the tent(EB) of his mother Sarah,(EC) and he married Rebekah.(ED) So she became his wife, and he loved her;(EE) and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.(EF)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 24:7 Or seed
  2. Genesis 24:10 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
  3. Genesis 24:22 That is, about 1/5 ounce or about 5.7 grams
  4. Genesis 24:22 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams
  5. Genesis 24:55 Or she
  6. Genesis 24:63 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

24 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

And I will make thee swear by 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.

And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.

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 sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.

And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.

10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: 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 the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.

12 And he said O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

13 Behold, I stand here 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 the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed 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 was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known 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 water 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 water, and drew for all his camels.

21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit 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 golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;

23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?

24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.

25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.

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 hath not left destitute 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.

28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.

29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.

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 spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.

31 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.

32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him.

33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.

34 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, Peradventure 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 prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house:

41 Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.

42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:

43 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;

44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for my master's son.

45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.

46 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.

47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.

48 And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.

49 And now if ye 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.

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken.

52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth.

53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.

54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.

55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.

56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.

57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.

58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

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 unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

61 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.

62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country.

63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.

64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.

66 And the servant told Isaac all 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.