Genesis 24:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.”

NIV: The servant hurried to meet her and said, 'Please give me a little water from your jar.'

NASB: Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, 'Please let me drink a little water from your jar.'

CSB: Then the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me have a little water from your jug."

NLT: Running over to her, the servant said, 'Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.'

KJV: And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.

NKJV: And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”

Abraham's servant, resting by the well outside the city of Nahor, watches Rebekah fill her water jar and begin to return to the city. He has been sent to find a wife for Abraham's son, Isaac, and recently began praying for God to send the right woman to the well (Genesis 24:3–4; 12–14). Before he has even finished this prayer—asking God to show him a woman who is kind and generous—Rebekah appears. Now he approaches her, seeking to put into effect his plan to find the girl God has appointed for Isaac.

In the previous verses, the servant's prayer was that the appointed woman would respond to his request for water by offering to water his ten camels, as well. So the servant asks for a drink, and Rebekah's response is found in the following verses. As it turns out, this woman is not only beautiful (Genesis 24:16), she is also hospitable (Genesis 24:18). This is the very one God has intended for Isaac.

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 5/5/2024 7:37:30 PM