Genesis 24:44 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,” let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.’

NIV: and if she says to me, 'Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels too,' let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master's son.'

NASB: and she says to me, 'You drink, and I will draw for your camels also'—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

CSB: and who responds to me, 'Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels also'--let her be the woman the Lord has appointed for my master's son.

NLT: If she says, 'Yes, have a drink, and I will draw water for your camels, too,' let her be the one you have selected to be the wife of my master’s son.’

KJV: And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master's son.

NKJV: and she says to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,”— let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

Abraham's servant is in the middle of describing to Rebekah and her family what he prayed when he arrived at the spring outside their city earlier that day. He had asked his master's God to allow him to know the woman appointed to marry Abraham's son, Isaac, by her response to his request for a drink of water (Genesis 24:12–14).

Now he reveals what response he had asked God to use as a sign to him that he had found the woman. She would offer to draw water for his camels, as well, without being asked (Genesis 24:15–19).

Rebekah would now have understood clearly where the servant's story was headed. Her father and brother likely began to understand, as well. The servant is in the process of asking Rebekah to come back to Canaan with him, so that she can marry Abraham's son, Isaac.

Genesis 24:28–59 describes how Abraham's servant, confident he has found God's intended woman for Abraham's son, approaches Rebekah's family to ask for her hand in marriage to Isaac. After being welcomed into their household, the servant tells, in great detail, the story of how God has lead him to Rebekah and their home. Rebekah's father and brother quickly agree that they must allow this marriage to happen. After a bit of negotiation the next morning about when Rebekah will travel to Canaan, Rebekah agrees to leave that very day.

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 6:10:35 PM