Genesis 24:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor.

NIV: Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master's camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor.

NASB: Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and went out with a variety of good things of his master’s in his hand; so he set out and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.

CSB: The servant took ten of his master's camels, and with all kinds of his master's goods in hand, he went to Aram-naharaim, to Nahor's town.

NLT: Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled.

KJV: And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

NKJV: Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.

Abraham's servant has accepted his mission and sworn his oath. He will do all he can to find a wife for Isaac among Abraham's people in northwest Mesopotamia, also known as Aram Naharaim.

To that end, he takes with him a demonstration of Abraham's great wealth, beginning with ten camels. In that era of the Middle East, apparently, camels, were not yet common. To bring ten of these rare, useful animals would communicate great riches to the family of any perspective wives. In addition, the servant packed a variety of expensive gifts to present to a potential bride and her family. Custom demanded that a suitor give gifts to the bride's family. Abraham's servant would make sure not to fail in his quest due to a lack of generosity.

Sufficiently equipped, the servant soon arrived at his destination in the city of Nahor. Nahor was the name of Abraham's brother (Genesis 11:27), making this a good place to start looking for a bride among Abraham's kinsmen.

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.