Genesis 24:59 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men.

NIV: So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men.

NASB: So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men.

CSB: So they sent away their sister Rebekah with the one who had nursed and raised her, and Abraham's servant and his men.

NLT: So they said good-bye to Rebekah and sent her away with Abraham’s servant and his men. The woman who had been Rebekah’s childhood nurse went along with her.

KJV: And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.

NKJV: So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men.

With Rebekah's agreement to an immediate departure for her future in Canaan with Isaac, her family agreed to let her go. More specifically, they sent her away. It was truly their decision to make, and they did as she wished.

Along with Rebekah, they send her nurse, likely a caregiving servant/nanny who has helped to raise Rebekah from a small child. We will learn later that the nurse's name is Deborah (Genesis 35:8). They also send along with Rebekah some of her "young women" or servant girls (Genesis 24:61).

Abraham's servant and his men are released by the family to depart as well.

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 5/2/2024 3:23:17 PM