Genesis 24:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.

NIV: See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.

NASB: Behold, I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water;

CSB: I am standing here at the spring where the daughters of the men of the town are coming out to draw water.

NLT: See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water.

KJV: Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

NKJV: Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.

Abraham's servant continues to pray to the "God of my master Abraham," asking for success in his mission to find his master's son a wife. Abraham has sent him to find a wife for Isaac, specifically from Abraham's extended family back in Mesopotamia (Genesis 24:3–4). Now the servant becomes very specific in this request. He describes where he is sitting by the spring, the well, outside the city of Nahor. This was named for one of Abraham's relatives, making it a good place to start the search (Genesis 11:27). The servant describes to God how the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. In the following verse, he will ask God to give him a specific sign about which of these young women will be Isaac's wife.

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.

Accessed 4/29/2024 12:27:14 AM