Genesis 24:51 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has spoken.”

NIV: Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has directed.'

NASB: Here is Rebekah before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.'

CSB: Rebekah is here in front of you. Take her and go, and let her be a wife for your master's son, just as the Lord has spoken."

NLT: Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.'

KJV: Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken.

NKJV: Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.”

Laban and Bethuel, Rebekah's brother and father, have respond to the servant's urgent question about whether they would allow Rebekah to marry Isaac by saying, in essence, that it is not theirs to say. They have seen in the servant's story that this is the Lord's will. How could they disagree?

And now they say the words the servant has been longing to hear: Yes, take her and go. Let her be the wife of Abraham's son. The Lord has spoken. Rebekah's family reveals that they at least respected Abraham's God. They saw His will as necessary. They agreed to follow it, as the servant had described it.

Upcoming verses will show, however, that the prospect of Rebekah leaving so soon will become an issue. The family will try to negotiate a delay, which Abraham's servant cannot accept (Genesis 24:55–56).

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 5/4/2024 12:34:20 PM