# Genesis 24 📖: A Bride for Isaac [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Genesis Overview]] | [[Genesis 23]] | [[Genesis 25]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### The Wife for Isaac [[#Verse 01.]] Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed him in everything.  [[#Verse 02.]] Abraham said to his servant, the senior one in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh  [[#Verse 03.]] so that I may make you solemnly promise by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living.  [[#Verse 04.]] You must go instead to my country and to my relatives to find a wife for my son Isaac.” [[#Verse 05.]] The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me to this land? Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” [[#Verse 06.]] “Be careful never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him.  [[#Verse 07.]] “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, promised me with a solemn oath, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel before you so that you may find a wife for my son from there. [[#Verse 08.]] But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, you will be free from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” [[#Verse 09.]] So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. [[#Verse 10.]] Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. He journeyed to the region of Aram Naharaim and the city of Nahor.  [[#Verse 11.]] He made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city. It was evening, the time when the women would go out to draw water. [[#Verse 12.]] He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. Be faithful to my master Abraham.  [[#Verse 13.]] Here I am, standing by the spring, and the daughters of the people who live in the town are coming out to draw water.  [[#Verse 14.]] I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” [[#Verse 15.]] Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor).  [[#Verse 16.]] Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever been physically intimate with her.She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. [[#Verse 17.]] Abraham’s servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.”  [[#Verse 18.]] “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. [[#Verse 19.]] When she had done so, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.”  [[#Verse 20.]] She quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels.  [[#Verse 21.]] Silently the man watched her with interest to determine if the Lord had made his journey successful or not. [[#Verse 22.]] After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold wrist bracelets weighing ten shekels and gave them to her.  [[#Verse 23.]] “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” [[#Verse 24.]] She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.  [[#Verse 25.]] We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, “and room for you to spend the night.” [[#Verse 26.]] The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, [[#Verse 27.]] saying, “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love for my master! The Lord has led me to the house of my master’s relatives!” [[#Verse 28.]] The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about these things.  [[#Verse 29.]] (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring.  [[#Verse 30.]] When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring and heard his sister Rebekah say, “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing by the camels near the spring.  [[#Verse 31.]] Laban said to him, “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! Why are you standing out here when I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?” [[#Verse 32.]] So Abraham’s servant went to the house and unloaded the camels. Straw and feed were given to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet.  [[#Verse 33.]] When food was served, he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” “Tell us,” Laban said. [[#Verse 34.]] “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began.  [[#Verse 35.]] “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.  [[#Verse 36.]] My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him when she was old, and my master has given him everything he owns.  [[#Verse 37.]] My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living,  [[#Verse 38.]] but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find a wife for my son.’  [[#Verse 39.]] But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go with me?’ [[#Verse 40.]] He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. [[#Verse 41.]] You will be free from your oath if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’  [[#Verse 42.]] When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, may events unfold as follows: [[#Verse 43.]] Here I am, standing by the spring. When the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jug.”  [[#Verse 44.]] Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’ [[#Verse 45.]] “Before I finished praying in my heart, along came Rebekah with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’  [[#Verse 46.]] She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water.  [[#Verse 47.]] Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.  [[#Verse 48.]] Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.  [[#Verse 49.]] Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” [[#Verse 50.]] Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. Our wishes are of no concern.  [[#Verse 51.]] Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” [[#Verse 52.]] When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord.  [[#Verse 53.]] Then he brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother.  [[#Verse 54.]] After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.”  [[#Verse 55.]] But Rebekah’s brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.”  [[#Verse 56.]] But he said to them, “Don’t detain me—the Lord has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return to my master.”  [[#Verse 57.]] Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.”  [[#Verse 58.]] So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.” [[#Verse 59.]] So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men.  [[#Verse 60.]] They blessed Rebekah with these words: “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands! May your descendants possess the strongholds of their enemies.” [[#Verse 61.]] Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and left. [[#Verse 62.]] Now Isaac came from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev.  [[#Verse 63.]] Hewent out to relax in the field in the early evening. Then he looked up and saw that there were camels approaching. [[#Verse 64.]] Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel  [[#Verse 65.]] and asked Abraham’s servant, “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied.So she took her veil and covered herself. [[#Verse 66.]] The servant told Isaac everything that had happened.  [[#Verse 67.]] Then Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her as his wife and loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24. ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. ###### Verse 27. ###### Verse 28. ###### Verse 29. ###### Verse 30. ###### Verse 31. ###### Verse 32. ###### Verse 33. ###### Verse 34. ###### Verse 35. ###### Verse 36. ###### Verse 37. ###### Verse 38. ###### Verse 39. ###### Verse 40. ###### Verse 41. ###### Verse 42. ###### Verse 43. ###### Verse 44. ###### Verse 45. ###### Verse 46. ###### Verse 47. ###### Verse 48. ###### Verse 49. ###### Verse 50. ###### Verse 51. ###### Verse 52. ###### Verse 53. ###### Verse 54. ###### Verse 55. ###### Verse 56. ###### Verse 57. ###### Verse 58. ###### Verse 59. ###### Verse 60. ###### Verse 61. ###### Verse 62. ###### Verse 63. ###### Verse 64. ###### Verse 65. ###### Verse 66. ###### Verse 67. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. This is the longest chapter in Genesis, with 67 verses. 2. The servant is not named. Many think he was Eliezer (15:2). 3. Placing a hand under the thigh (24:2) was a solemn way to take an oath. 4. Aram Naharaim (24:10) means "Aram of the two rivers," in northern Mesopotamia. 5. A thirsty camel can drink more than 20 gallons, so watering ten camels was a huge task (24:19-20). 6. Rebekah was the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham's brother (24:15). 7. The servant gave Rebekah a gold nose ring and two gold bracelets (24:22). 8. Laban, Rebekah's brother, first appears here (24:29) and later deals with Jacob. 9. Rebekah's family asked for her consent before she left (24:57-58). 10. Isaac was 40 when he married Rebekah (25:20). ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the Bridegroom who sends for His bride. The servant traveled far to bring Rebekah to Isaac (24:4), and Jesus is gathering His church to Himself (Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 19:7). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. The servant prayed specifically, and God answered before he finished praying (24:12-15). What does this teach about prayer? 2. Rebekah said, "I will go" (24:58). What does wholehearted obedience look like for you right now? 3. The servant worshiped as soon as he saw God's guidance (24:26-27). How do you respond when God guides you? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 12: The servant prays for success and faithful love from the Lord. - 📖 verse 27: The servant praises God for His faithful love. - 📖 verse 58: Rebekah says, "I will go." ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[Ephesians 05#Verse 25.|Ephesians 5:25-27]] - Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. - 🔗 [[Revelation 19#Verse 07.|Revelation 19:7-9]] - The wedding of the Lamb. - 🔗 [[Proverbs 03#Verse 05.|Proverbs 3:5-6]] - He will make your paths straight. - 🔗 [[Philippians 04#Verse 06.|Philippians 4:6]] - Bring your requests to God in prayer. - 🔗 [[Matthew 06#Verse 33.|Matthew 6:33]] - Seek first His kingdom. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Genesis 24- SOAP|The Lord Guides Our Path]] ## 📂 Internal Notes