Genesis 24:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: She added, "We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night."

NIV: And she added, "We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night."

NASB: Again she said to him, 'We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to stay overnight.'

CSB: She also said to him, "We have plenty of straw and feed and a place to spend the night."

NLT: Yes, we have plenty of straw and feed for the camels, and we have room for guests.'

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

NKJV: Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”

Abraham's servant has already seen a sign from God, in response to his prayer. After being sent to find a wife for Abraham's son, Isaac, among Abraham's family in Mesopotamia, the servant prays. In response to this prayer, Rebekah appears and fulfills the sign (Genesis 24:12–19). The servant then gives her lavish gifts, and asks about her family and possibly staying overnight with her father (Genesis 24:22–24). Her answer delights the servant—she is, indeed, part of the family Abraham wanted this man to contact.

In addition to her unknowing revelation that she is the granddaughter of Abraham's own brother, generous Rebekah adds that her family does indeed have room for this traveling stranger to spend the night. She even thinks of the camels, mentioning they have both straw and fodder enough to accommodate the beasts. Given the room for both men and animals, Rebekah's family apparently has some amount of wealth.

She stops short of offering to allow the company to stay with them. As a young women in her father's household, that would not be her role. Rather, Rebekah's answer indicates that her family can accommodate the servant and his entourage, not that they necessarily will.

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.