Genesis 24:47 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms.

NIV: I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' 'She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.' 'Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms,

NASB: Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him’; and I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her wrists.

CSB: Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you? ' She responded, 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.

NLT: Then I asked, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel, and my grandparents are Nahor and Milcah.’ So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her wrists.

KJV: And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.

NKJV: Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.

Abraham's servant now describes the final bit of information he learned from Rebekah during their encounter at the spring earlier that day. This in the information that fully convinced him God had led him straight to Rebekah as the woman meant to marry Isaac.

The servant had asked Rebekah who her father was. She answered with names the servant knew: Her father was Bethuel, the son of Nahor and Milcah. The servant could not have found any closer relatives to Abraham than these.

Interestingly, the servant describes giving Rebekah the gift of the nose ring and bracelets after asking who her father was (Genesis 24:22–24). Perhaps he simply mixed up the order or perhaps he felt that Rebekah's father and brother would feel the gifts would have been more appropriately given after knowing what family Rebekah was from. As in other instances, Scripture faithfully records the truth of what certain people said or did, without necessarily claiming those words are accurate.

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.