Genesis 24:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels,

NIV: When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels.

NASB: When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half-shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels in gold,

CSB: As the camels finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing half a shekel, and for her wrists two bracelets weighing ten shekels of gold.

NLT: Then at last, when the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrists.

KJV: 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;

NKJV: So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold,

Abraham's servant prayed for a sign from God to help him complete his mission to find Abraham's son, Isaac, a wife (Genesis 24:3–4). Before that prayer had even been completed, Rebekah appeared and fulfilled the exact request made by the servant (Genesis 24:12–19).

Apparently convinced that God has led him to Rebekah as a potential bride for Isaac, Abraham's servant takes the next steps in making the proposal, to secure her as a wife for his master's son. He starts by giving her very generous gifts of a gold ring and two bracelets. The weight of these items communicates their value. A half-shekel, also referred to as a beka, was about 1/5 ounces. These gifts, weighing more than 4 ounces, would have been worth thousands of dollars, in their modern equivalent.

Rebekah may have assumed that the servant was repaying her act of generosity in watering his camels. She doesn't know that he is beginning negotiations for her hand in marriage by the giving of gifts and demonstrating just how wealthy his master is.

Genesis 24:10–27 follows Abraham's servant from Canaan to Mesopotamia on his mission to find a wife for Isaac from among Abraham's people. Arriving at the town of Nahor, the servant prays that God will reveal the right woman by allowing her to be the one to offer to water his ten camels without being asked. A young woman named Rebekah immediate does exactly that. When the servant learns this young woman is also the granddaughter of Abraham's brother Nahor, he quickly worships God for bringing him to the right woman in so little time.

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.