Genesis 24:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

NIV: Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.

NASB: Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in every way.

CSB: Abraham was now old, getting on in years, and the Lord had blessed him in everything.

NLT: Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.

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

NKJV: Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

Abraham was old and full of years. Scripture often uses this language at the end of a person's life to set up their final actions. Abraham, however, will apparently not die for another 35 years or so (Genesis 25:1–11). In fact, he will marry another wife and have several more children. Still, Abraham's conversation as reported in this chapter contains his final recorded words in Genesis.

Many times in Genesis, God promised to bless Abraham. This is one of the few verses which indicate that God had, indeed, blessed him "in all things." In addition to the birth of Isaac, God had blessed Abraham with great wealth and status in the land. He had not yet received the promised possession of the land of Canaan promised to his offspring, but Abraham was known as a man blessed by God in all things.

Genesis 24:1–9 describes an urgent conversation between Abraham and his most trusted servant. Abraham is asking the servant to swear an oath to find a wife for Isaac from among his own people in Mesopotamia. The servant must not allow Isaac either to marry into a Canaanite family or to leave the promised land of Canaan. With the understanding that he will be released from the oath if no young woman will agree to return with him, the servant swears to find Isaac a wife.

Abraham asks his most trusted servant to travel to his former homeland to find a wife for his son Isaac. Swearing to do so, the servant arrives at the city of Nahor and asks the Lord to show him which young women is appointed for Isaac. Finding Rebekah, the very granddaughter of Abraham's brother Nahor, the servant reveals the reason for his journey to her family. Her father Bethuel and brother Laban agree to allow Rebekah to travel to Canaan and marry Isaac, which she does.

Genesis 24 takes place a few years after Sarah has died. Abraham becomes urgent to find Isaac a wife, not among the women of Canaan, but from his own people back in Mesopotamia. His trusted servant, sent to accomplish this mission with the help of the Lord, eventually returns with Rebekah, the granddaughter of Abraham's own brother. Isaac is married to her at the age of 40. Abraham's death is recorded in the following chapter.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 11/21/2024 2:02:27 PM