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As he lived to be 175 (<a href="/genesis/25-7.htm" title="And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred three score and fifteen years.">Genesis 25:7</a>), he survived Isaac’s marriage thirty-five years, and lived to see Esau and Jacob nearly grown up.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-2.htm">Genesis 24:2</a></div><div class="verse">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:</div>(2) <span class= "bld">Unto his eldest servant of his house.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">his servant, the elder of his house. </span>It is the name of an office; and though one holding so confidential a post would be a man of ripe years, yet it is not probable that Abraham would send any one who was not still vigorous on so distant a journey. Eliezer of Damascus had held a similar office fifty-five years previously (<a href="/genesis/15-2.htm" title="And Abram said, LORD God, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?">Genesis 15:2</a>), but this was probably a younger man.<p><span class= "bld">Put </span>. . . <span class= "bld">thy hand under my thigh.</span>—As Jacob requires that Joseph should swear to him in the same manner (<a href="/genesis/47-29.htm" title="And the time drew near that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said to him, If now I have found grace in your sight, put, I pray you, your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray you, in Egypt:">Genesis 47:29</a>), this form of oath was evidently regarded as a very solemn one. The meaning of it has been much discussed, but we find the thigh in <a href="/genesis/46-26.htm" title="All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were three score and six;">Genesis 46:26</a>, <a href="/exodus/1-5.htm" title="And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.">Exodus 1:5</a>—in both which places it is rendered <span class= "ital">loins</span>—used as the source of posterity. Probably, therefore, as Tuch argues, it is an euphemistic manner of describing the circumcised member, which was to be touched by the hand placed beneath the thigh; and thus the oath was really by the holy covenant between Abraham and God, of which circumcision was the symbol.<p><span class= "bld">Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.</span>—The betrothal of Isaac and Rebekah is told with the utmost exactness of detail, because it contained two principles of primary importance to Abraham’s posterity: the first, that they were not to allow themselves to be merged among the Canaanites, but remain a distinct people; for this intermarriage with women of their own race was only a means to an end, and not a binding law, to be observed for its own sake. And secondly, that under no circumstances might they return to Mesopotamia, but must cling devotedly to the land of which God had promised them the possession. We learn from <a href="/genesis/24-8.htm" title="And if the woman will not be willing to follow you, then you shall be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.">Genesis 24:8</a> that this second point was regarded by Abraham as even more important than the first; and with reason. For the race might remain distinct even if Isaac took a woman of Palestine to wife, though there would be the risk of religious deterioration; but if they returned to Padanaram they were certain to be absorbed, and could look for no higher lot than that attained to by Laban’s descendants.<p><span class= "bld">Land of my kindred.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">of my nativity; </span>and so in <a href="/genesis/24-4.htm" title="But you shall go to my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife to my son Isaac.">Genesis 24:4</a>. (See Note on <a href="/genesis/12-1.htm" title="Now the LORD had said to Abram, Get you out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you:">Genesis 12:1</a>.) It is a different word from that rightly translated <span class= "ital">kindred </span>in <a href="/genesis/24-38.htm" title="But you shall go to my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife to my son.">Genesis 24:38</a>. Jewish interpreters say that by his <span class= "ital">father’s house </span>here, and by his <span class= "ital">country </span>in <a href="/genesis/24-4.htm" title="But you shall go to my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife to my son Isaac.">Genesis 24:4</a>, Abraham meant Charran: but by his <span class= "ital">birthplace </span>he meant Ur of the Chaldees. If, therefore, the servant failed in obtaining a wife at Charran, he was to continue his journey to Ur, where Abraham, doubtless, had many relatives.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-10.htm">Genesis 24:10</a></div><div class="verse">And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master <i>were</i> in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.</div>(10) <span class= "bld">And the servant.</span>—Why did not Isaac go himself in search of a wife? We must not conclude from his inactivity that the matter had not his full concurrence; but he was the heir, and according to Oriental manners it was fit that the choice should be left to a trusty deputy. What is peculiar in the narrative is the distance to which the servant was sent, and the limitation of his choice to a particular family; but both these peculiarities arose from the religious considerations involved. Jacob subsequently went in person on a similar errand, but we must remember that Rebekah was also seeking for him a place of safety. But for this, and had he been the sole heir, she would probably have sent an embassy to her brother’s house to ask for him a wife.<p><span class= "bld">For all the goods of his master were in his hand.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">with every good thing of his master’s in his hand. </span>It was necessary not only that the servant should take with him such a convoy as would ensure his safety and that of the bride on their return, but also such rich presents as would adequately represent Abraham’s wealth and power.<p><span class= "bld">Mesopotamia.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">Aram-Naharaim: </span>that is, <span class= "ital">“</span>Aram of the two rivers.” Aram means <span class= "ital">highland, </span>but it became the title of the whole Syrian race; and here Aram-Naharaim means that part of Syria which lies between the Tigris and Euphrates. It was a mountainless region, except towards the north. For Padan-aram, see Note on <a href="/genesis/25-20.htm" title="And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.">Genesis 25:20</a>.<p><span class= "bld">The city of Nahor.</span>—This was Charran (<a href="/genesis/27-43.htm" title="Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; arise, flee you to Laban my brother to Haran;">Genesis 27:43</a>). Nahor had probably migrated thither from Ur when Terah was growing old, that he might occupy the pastures which Abraham was about to abandon.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-11.htm">Genesis 24:11</a></div><div class="verse">And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, <i>even</i> the time that women go out to draw <i>water</i>.</div>(11) <span class= "bld">He made his camels to kneel down.</span>—Camels rest kneeling, but the servant did not unlade them till he knew that God had heard his prayer. (See <a href="/genesis/24-32.htm" title="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.">Genesis 24:32</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">By a well of water.</span>—The well was the property of the whole city, and might be used only at a fixed hour; and the servant therefore waits till the women came to draw. This duty of fetching water is not peculiar to Oriental women, but to this day in most parts of Europe, wherever the supply comes from a public source, women may be seen thus occupied. Rebekah carried her pitcher upon her shoulder; in the south of France the Basque women, like the ancient Egyptians, carry it on their heads, and the habit of thus balancing it gives them a peculiarly erect and graceful carriage.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-12.htm">Genesis 24:12</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(12-14) <span class= "bld">O Lord God . . . —</span>Heb., <span class= "ital">Jehovah, God of my lord Abraham. </span>The word translated “master” throughout this chapter is <span class= "ital">‘donai, </span>the ordinary word for <span class= "ital">lord, </span>and it is so rendered in <a href="/genesis/24-18.htm" title="And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hurried, and let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him drink.">Genesis 24:18</a>. As a circumcised member of Abraham’s household, the servant prays to Jehovah, Abraham’s God; and though in <a href="/genesis/24-5.htm" title="And the servant said to him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land: must I needs bring your son again to the land from from where you came?">Genesis 24:5</a> he had suggested a difficulty, apparently it was from no want of faith, but that he might know whether under any circumstances Isaac might return to Aram-Naharaim. He now leaves the success of his mission to Jehovah; and while he would use his own discernment in selecting from the troop of advancing maidens one whose countenance gave promise of goodness of heart, the fulfilment of the appointed signal which was to mark God’s approval would also show that she was no churlish woman, but one active, generous, and kind.<p><span class= "bld">Send me good speed this day.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">cause it to meet me this day.</span><p><span class= "bld">I stand.</span>—This word here, and in <a href="/genesis/24-43.htm" title="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, Give me, I pray you, a little water of your pitcher to drink;">Genesis 24:43</a>, is not the same as that used in <a href="/genesis/24-30.htm" title="And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets on his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spoke the man to me; that he came to the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.">Genesis 24:30</a>, but one that means <span class= "ital">I post myself, </span>or <span class= "ital">I take my station.</span><p><span class= "bld">Thereby.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">by her: </span>by her giving the appointed sign I shall know that thou hast showed kindness to my lord.<p><span class= "bld">The damsel.</span>—This word (Heb., <span class= "ital">Na’ar</span>) is of the common gender in the Pentateuch, except in <a href="/deuteronomy/22-19.htm" title="And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them to the father of the damsel, because he has brought up an evil name on a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.">Deuteronomy 22:19</a>, where it has the feminine termination. It is used of Abraham’s young men in <a href="/genesis/14-24.htm" title="Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.">Genesis 14:24</a>; <a href="/genesis/18-7.htm" title="And Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it to a young man; and he hurried to dress it.">Genesis 18:7</a>, &c., but no less than twenty-two times of women. In the rest of the Bible the gender is always marked, and even here it is read in the feminine in the Jewish synagogues. We have herein another of the many linguistic proofs of the extreme antiquity of the Pentateuch, and it is the more interesting because found in a Jehovistic section. The same word is used again in <a href="/genesis/24-16.htm" title="And the damsel was very fair to look on, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.">Genesis 24:16</a>; <a href="/genesis/24-28.htm" title="And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.">Genesis 24:28</a>. (See Note on <a href="/genesis/43-8.htm" title="And Judah said to Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and you, and also our little ones.">Genesis 43:8</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-16.htm">Genesis 24:16</a></div><div class="verse">And the damsel <i>was</i> 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.</div>(16) <span class= "bld">She went down to the well.</span>—The water, therefore, was reached by a flight of steps, the usual rule wherever the well was fed by a natural spring. Cisterns, on the contrary, supplied from the rains were narrower at the top than at the bottom.<p>Mr. Malan (<span class= "ital">Philosophy or Truth, </span>p. 93), in an interesting account of his visit to this well, says that on going out from Haran in the evening to examine it, he found “a group of women filling, no longer their pitchers, since the steps down which Rebekah went to fetch the water are now blocked up, but their water-skins by drawing water at the well’s mouth. Everything around that well bears signs of age and of the wear of time; for as it is the only well of drinkable water there, it is much resorted to. Other wells are only for watering the flocks. There we find the troughs of various height for camels, for sheep and for goats, for kids and for lambs; there the women wear nose-rings and bracelets on their arms, some of gold or of silver, and others of brass, or even of glass.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-21.htm">Genesis 24:21</a></div><div class="verse">And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.</div>(21) <span class= "bld">And the man wondering at her . . . —</span>The verb is rare, and the LXX., Syr., and Vulg., followed by Gesenius and Fürst, translate, “And the man gazed attentively at her, keeping silence, that he might know,” &c. The servant, we may well believe, was astonished at the exactness and quickness with which his prayer was being answered, but this is not the point to which the rest of the verse refers; rather, it sets him before us as keenly observing all she said and did, and carefully coming to the conclusion that the comely and generous maiden was the destined bride of the son of his lord.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-22.htm">Genesis 24:22</a></div><div class="verse">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 <i>shekels</i> weight of gold;</div>(22) <span class= "bld">Earring.</span>—Really <span class= "ital">nose-ring; </span>for in <a href="/genesis/24-47.htm" title="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 on her face, and the bracelets on her hands.">Genesis 24:47</a> the man places it on her nose, wrongly translated <span class= "ital">face </span>in our version. The word occurs again in <a href="/ezekiel/16-12.htm" title="And I put a jewel on your forehead, and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.">Ezekiel 16:12</a>, where it is rendered <span class= "ital">jewel, </span>and again is placed “on the nose;” it is also similarly translated <span class= "ital">jewel </span>in <a href="/proverbs/11-22.htm" title="As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.">Proverbs 11:22</a>, where it is placed in “a swine’s snout.” It was hung not from the central cartilage of the nose, but from the left nostril, the flesh of which was pierced for the purpose; and such rings are still the usual betrothal present in Arabia, and are commonly worn both there and in Persia, made not only of gold and of silver but of coral, mother-of-pearl, and even cheaper materials. (See Quotation in Note on <a href="/genesis/24-16.htm" title="And the damsel was very fair to look on, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.">Genesis 24:16</a>.) Its weight, about a quarter of an ounce, would make it not more disfiguring than many of the personal ornaments worn at the present time.<p>Bracelets are profusely worn at this day by Oriental women, the whole arm to the elbow being usually covered by them.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-24.htm">Genesis 24:24</a></div><div class="verse">And she said unto him, I <i>am</i> the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.</div>(24) <span class= "bld">Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.</span>—Rebekah mentions her father’s mother to show that she was descended from a highborn wife; but the servant would welcome it as proving that not only on the father’s side, but also on the mother’s, she was Isaac’s cousin, Milcah being the daughter of Haran, Abraham’s brother. And when thus he knew that she fulfilled all the conditions, he gave her the jewels which he was holding in his hand, and bowed the head, and gave thanks.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-28.htm">Genesis 24:28</a></div><div class="verse">And the damsel ran, and told <i>them of</i> her mother's house these things.</div>(28) <span class= "bld">The damsel ran, and told (them of) her mother’s house.</span>—The words inserted in italics are worse than useless. The wife of a sheik has a separate tent (<a href="/genesis/24-67.htm" title="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.">Genesis 24:67</a>), and the result of polygamy is to make each family hold closely together. Naturally, too, the maiden would first show her mother and the women presents of so special a meaning. We even find Laban, the brother, acting as Rebekah’s representative; and it is only when the final decision has to be given that Bethuel is allowed to have any voice in the matter (<a href="/genesis/24-50.htm" title="Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceeds from the LORD: we cannot speak to you bad or good.">Genesis 24:50</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-29.htm">Genesis 24:29</a></div><div class="verse">And Rebekah had a brother, and his name <i>was</i> Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.</div>(29) <span class= "bld">Laban ran out unto the man.</span>—Not until he had seen Rebekah, as narrated in the next verse—this being a brief summary, followed by a more detailed account. Milcah had probably sent and summoned him to her tent, where his sister showed him her presents, and told him what had happened. He then hurried out to offer due hospitality to the generous stranger.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-31.htm">Genesis 24:31</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(31) <span class= "bld">Come in, thou blessed of the Lord.</span>—This hospitality was in the East almost a matter of course, though Laban’s earnestness may have been increased by the sight of his sister’s golden ornaments. More remarkable is it that Laban addresses the servant as “blessed of Jehovah;” for we learn in <a href="/joshua/24-2.htm" title="And Joshua said to all the people, Thus said the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelled on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.">Joshua 24:2</a> that the monotheism of Nahor and his family was by no means pure. Still, neither were they idolaters, and the “other gods” whom they served were probably teraphim, as certainly were the gods of Laban mentioned in <a href="/genesis/31-30.htm" title="And now, though you would needs be gone, because you sore longed after your father's house, yet why have you stolen my gods?">Genesis 31:30</a>. Even to the last these household gods seem to have retained a hold upon the affections of the nation (<a href="/hosea/3-4.htm" title="For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:">Hosea 3:4</a>); and probably most uneducated minds, even when their religion is in the main. true, have nevertheless a tendency to add on to it some superstitions, especially in the way of fashioning for themselves some lower mediator.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-33.htm">Genesis 24:33</a></div><div class="verse">And there was set <i>meat</i> before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.</div>(33) <span class= "bld">I will not eat, until I have told mine errand.</span>—Two points in Oriental manners are here brought into view: the first, that hospitality, so necessary in a country where there are no inns, was, and still is, a religion to the Bedouin; the second, that consequently he will concede anything rather than have his hospitality refused. Aware of this feeling, Abraham’s servant will not partake of Laban’s bread and salt until he has told his request. After he had become Laban’s guest, Laban would have been free to do as he liked; but he must now grant what is asked, or the stranger would decline <span class= "ital">to </span>enter his dwelling.<p>Mr. Fraser (<span class= "ital">Historical Description of Afghanistan </span>Genesis 11 p. 424: Edinburgh, 1834) and Ferrier (<span class= "ital">L’Af ghanistan, </span>Genesis 11, p. 119: ed. 1842) mention a remarkable custom connected with Afghan hospitality which admirably illustrates the behaviour of Abraham’s servant. It is called <span class= "ital">menawâti, </span>from two words signifying <span class= "ital">I am come in. </span>Any one who has a favour to ask goes to the tent or house of the person from whom he expects it, but refuses to sit on his carpet or partake of his food until he has granted the required boon. And custom makes it a point of honour to concede it, if it be in the power of the person thus appealed to.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-38.htm">Genesis 24:38</a></div><div class="verse">But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.</div>(38) <span class= "bld">Kindred.</span>—Not the word so translated in <a href="/genesis/24-4.htm" title="But you shall go to my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife to my son Isaac.">Genesis 24:4</a>; <a href="/genesis/24-7.htm" title="The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spoke to me, and that swore to me, saying, To your seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife to my son from there.">Genesis 24:7</a>, but that rendered <span class= "ital">family </span>in <a href="/genesis/8-19.htm" title="Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatever creeps on the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.">Genesis 8:19</a>, marg., 10:5, 12:3, &c. Strictly, it signifies a subdivision of a tribe (<a href="/numbers/1-18.htm" title="And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.">Numbers 1:18</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-43.htm">Genesis 24:43</a></div><div class="verse">Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw <i>water</i>, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;</div>(43) <span class= "bld">The virgin.</span>—Not the word used in <a href="/genesis/24-16.htm" title="And the damsel was very fair to look on, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.">Genesis 24:16</a>, nor that rendered <span class= "ital">damsel </span>there and in <a href="/genesis/24-14.htm" title="And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down your pitcher, I pray you, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give your camels drink also: let the same be she that you have appointed for your servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that you have showed kindness to my master.">Genesis 24:14</a>, but <span class= "ital">almah, </span>a young woman just ripening for marriage. It is applied to Miriam in <a href="/exodus/2-8.htm" title="And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.">Exodus 2:8</a>, where it is rendered <span class= "ital">maid, </span>and to the mother of the Immanuel in <a href="/isaiah/7-14.htm" title="Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.">Isaiah 7:14</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-45.htm">Genesis 24:45</a></div><div class="verse">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 <i>water</i>: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.</div>(45) <span class= "bld">Speaking in mine heart</span>—The Heb. idiom is far more exact and true: namely, <span class= "ital">before I had done speaking to my heart.</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-47.htm">Genesis 24:47</a></div><div class="verse">And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter <i>art</i> 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.</div>(47) <span class= "bld">Upon her face.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">upon her nose. </span>This mistranslation explains the strange rendering <span class= "ital">jewel for the forehead </span>in the margin of <a href="/genesis/24-22.htm" title="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;">Genesis 24:22</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-50.htm">Genesis 24:50</a></div><div class="verse">Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.</div>(50) <span class= "bld">Laban and Bethuel.</span>—See Note on <a href="/genesis/24-28.htm" title="And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.">Genesis 24:28</a>. Even when thus tardily mentioned, the father is placed after the brother; and of this we need look for no further explanation than that by polygamy the father was estranged from his own children, while each separate family held very closely together. Thus when Dinah was wronged, it was two of her mother’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who avenged her (<a href="/context/genesis/34-13.htm" title="And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:">Genesis 34:13-25</a>); and so it was Absalom who avenged Tamar (<a href="/2_samuel/13-22.htm" title="And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.">2Samuel 13:22</a>). Still, Bethuel’s consent was finally necessary; but as soon as it was given all active arrangements were left to the mother and Laban (<a href="/context/genesis/24-53.htm" title="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.">Genesis 24:53-55</a>), and Bethuel is mentioned no more.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-53.htm">Genesis 24:53</a></div><div class="verse">And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave <i>them</i> to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.</div>(53) <span class= "bld">Jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">vessels. </span>In ancient times a wife had to be bought (<a href="/genesis/34-12.htm" title="Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as you shall say to me: but give me the damsel to wife.">Genesis 34:12</a>), and the presents given were not mere ornaments and jewellery, but articles of substantial use and value. Quickly indeed in a country of such ceremonial politeness the purchase took a more honourable form, but Orientals do not let their courtesy interfere with their interests, and the relatives would take care that the freewill offerings did not fall below the usual standard. These went partly to the bride, and partly to her relatives: and as they are described here as going exclusively to the brother and mother, Jewish tradition has invented the story that Bethuel was ill at the time, and died on the day of the servant’s arrival. But the manner in which Isaac speaks of him in <a href="/genesis/28-2.htm" title="Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and take you a wife from there of the daughers of Laban your mother's brother.">Genesis 28:2</a> does not allow us to suppose that he was either dead at the time of her departure, or that he was a person of no ability or importance. Possibly, therefore, polygamy had led to the custom of the purchase presents going to the mother’s tent.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-55.htm">Genesis 24:55</a></div><div class="verse">And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us <i>a few</i> days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.</div>(55) <span class= "bld">A few days, at the least ten.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">days or a decade, </span>which Onkelos, Saadja, Rashi, and others translate as in the margin: “a year or ten months.” But while this rendering has high Jewish authority for it, yet more probably <span class= "ital">decade </span>was the name for the third part of a month. It would be curious thus to find that the family of Terah, either with or instead of weeks, measured time by periods of ten days, as was certainly the custom of the Egyptians at one period of their history.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-58.htm">Genesis 24:58</a></div><div class="verse">And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.</div>(58) <span class= "bld">Wilt thou go with this man?</span>—A woman in the East has little choice in the matter of her marriage, and here, moreover, everything was so plainly providential, that Rebekah, like her father and brother (<a href="/genesis/24-50.htm" title="Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceeds from the LORD: we cannot speak to you bad or good.">Genesis 24:50</a>), would have felt it wrong to make difficulties, and she expresses her readiness to go at once, though she will never see her relatives again. Of course there would be some little delay for preparation, but none for leave-taking.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-59.htm">Genesis 24:59</a></div><div class="verse">And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.</div>(59) <span class= "bld">Their sister.</span>—Bethuel may have had other sons, though Laban only is mentioned.<p><span class= "bld">Her nurse.</span>—How dear Deborah was, first to Rebekah, and afterwards to Jacob, may be seen by the lamentation at her death (<a href="/genesis/35-8.htm" title="But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.">Genesis 35:8</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-60.htm">Genesis 24:60</a></div><div class="verse">And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou <i>art</i> our sister, be thou <i>the mother</i> of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.</div>(60) <span class= "bld">Thousands of millions.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">thousands of ten thousands. </span>A million was a number which at this early period the Hebrews had no means of expressing. The blessing contains two parts: the first, the hope of fruitfulness founded on the primæval command (<a href="/genesis/1-28.htm" title="And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.">Genesis 1:28</a>); the second, that of victory in war (see <a href="/genesis/22-17.htm" title="That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;">Genesis 22:17</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-62.htm">Genesis 24:62</a></div><div class="verse">And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country.</div>(62) <span class= "bld">The well Lahai-roi.</span>—Hagar’s well (<a href="/genesis/16-14.htm" title="Why the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.">Genesis 16:14</a>), situated in the “south country,” that is, the Negeb (see <a href="/genesis/12-9.htm" title="And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.">Genesis 12:9</a>). The oasis round it became Isaac’s favourite residence (<a href="/genesis/25-11.htm" title="And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelled by the well Lahairoi.">Genesis 25:11</a>), and was in the neighbourhood of Beer-sheba, where Abraham was dwelling when Sarah died at Hebron (<a href="/genesis/23-2.htm" title="And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.">Genesis 23:2</a>). The journey of the servant would take some months, and during this time Abraham’s herds would be shifted from station to station, but it would be known where he was from the period of the year. As Isaac was at the station most remote from Charran, Rebekah would have visited all his homes before arriving at Beer-lahai-roi.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-63.htm">Genesis 24:63</a></div><div class="verse">And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels <i>were</i> coming.</div>(63) <span class= "bld">To meditate.</span>—Many Jewish commentators translate <span class= "ital">to pray, </span>and derive one of the three Jewish forms of prayer from this act of Isaac. But though the verb is rare, the substantive is used in <a href="/psalms/104-34.htm" title="My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.">Psalm 104:34</a> of religious meditation; and this sense well agrees with the whole character of the calm, peaceful Isaac, already marked out as the type of the Lamb dumb before His slayers (<a href="/genesis/22-7.htm" title="And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?">Genesis 22:7</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-64.htm">Genesis 24:64</a></div><div class="verse">And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.</div>(64) <span class= "bld">She lighted off.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">fell: </span>descended hastily from her camel. It is still the custom in the East for an inferior when meeting a superior to dismount, and advance on foot. Rebekah, therefore, would have been thought bold and disrespectful had she not acknowledged the superiority of her lord. Besides beauty, we have already seen in her kindliness of heart, activity, and courageous submission to the guidance of Providence; we now see her modesty and courtesy towards her husband.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-65.htm">Genesis 24:65</a></div><div class="verse">For she <i>had</i> said unto the servant, What man <i>is</i> this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant <i>had</i> said, It <i>is</i> my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.</div>(65) <span class= "bld">She took a vail, and·covered herself.</span>—Brides are usually taken to the bridegroom enveloped in a vail, which covers the whole body, and is far larger than that ordinarily worn. At the present time the bride-vail is usually red, the ordinary vail blue or white. By wrapping herself in this vail Rebekah notified that she was the bride. After marriage it was seldom worn at this early period, and so both the Egyptians and Abimelech saw Sarah’s beauty.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/24-67.htm">Genesis 24:67</a></div><div class="verse">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 <i>death</i>.</div>(67) <span class= "bld">Sarah’s tent.</span>—So Leah and Rachel had each her own tent (<a href="/genesis/31-33.htm" title="And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maidservants' tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.">Genesis 31:33</a>; but see on <a href="/genesis/24-28.htm" title="And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.">Genesis 24:28</a>).<p><span class= "bld"><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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