Genesis 24:63 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming.

NIV: He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching.

NASB: Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening; and he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming.

CSB: In the early evening Isaac went out to walk in the field, and looking up he saw camels coming.

NLT: One evening as he was walking and meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming.

Isaac, 40, is now living in the Negeb region (Genesis 25:20). He surely knows that Abraham's servant has been sent to find him a wife from among his father's extended family (Genesis 24:3–4). On this evening, he goes out to meditate in a field. Scholars are not exactly sure what is meant by the word translated as "to meditate" here. The term is related to thoughtfulness and communication, but is only used here in the Bible. Was some form of meditation a regular discipline of Isaac's or was he just thinking through some things on his mind? We don't really know. The English term "meditate" is used to translate other Hebrew words used in a positive sense elsewhere in Scripture (Psalm 1:2; Joshua 1:8), and is not the same as the modern concept espoused by eastern philosophies such as Buddhism.

In any case, Isaac looks up and sees the train of camels coming toward him. This is his first glimpse of Rebekah.

Genesis 24:60–67 describes how, after being blessed and sent away by her family, Rebekah journeys to the land of Canaan. Arriving in the Negeb, she is met by her future husband Isaac and given the tent of his late mother Sarah. Soon, they are married, taking their place as the next generation of God's chosen people.

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 1:40:28 PM