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A Bride for Isaac
Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.
Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.
A Wife for Isaac
Abraham was now a very old man, and the LORD had blessed him in every way.
Abraham was now a very old man, and the LORD had blessed him in every way.
So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh,
One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.
Swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.
but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”
And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?”
The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”
But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there.
“No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there.
And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.”
If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath of mine. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there.”
So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions.
Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.
Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled.
And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water.
He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water.
Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham.
“O LORD, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham.
Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.
See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water.
Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’ — let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’ — let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.”
Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah.
Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up.
Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again.
And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”
Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.”
So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink.
“Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink.
And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”
When she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink.”
Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
So she quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw water for all his camels.
And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether or not the LORD had given him success in his mission.
So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold,
“Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And please tell me, would your father have any room to put us up for the night?”
So she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.”
“I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied. “My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah.
Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”
Yes, we have plenty of straw and feed for the camels, and we have room for guests.”
Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord.
The man bowed low and worshiped the LORD.
And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”
“Praise the LORD, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The LORD has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.”
So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things.
The young woman ran home to tell her family everything that had happened.
Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well.
Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, who ran out to meet the man at the spring.
So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well.
He had seen the nose-ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man had said. So he rushed out to the spring, where the man was still standing beside his camels.
And he said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.”
Laban said to him, “Come and stay with us, you who are blessed by the LORD! Why are you standing here outside the town when I have a room all ready for you and a place prepared for the camels?”
Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
So the man went home with Laban, and Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw for their bedding, fed them, and provided water for the man and the camel drivers to wash their feet.
Food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told about my errand.”
And he said, “Speak on.”
And he said, “Speak on.”
Then food was served. But Abraham’s servant said, “I don’t want to eat until I have told you why I have come.”
“All right,” Laban said, “tell us.”
“All right,” Laban said, “tell us.”
The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.
“And the LORD has greatly blessed my master; he has become a wealthy man. The LORD has given him flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many male and female servants and camels and donkeys.
And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and to him he has given all that he has.
“When Sarah, my master’s wife, was very old, she gave birth to my master’s son, and my master has given him everything he owns.
Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell;
And my master made me take an oath. He said, ‘Do not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.
but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’
Go instead to my father’s house, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son.’
And I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’
“But I said to my master, ‘What if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to go back with me?’
He responded, ‘The LORD, in whose presence I have lived, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful. Yes, you must find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family.
You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’
Then you will have fulfilled your obligation. But if you go to my relatives and they refuse to let her go with you, you will be free from my oath.’
“And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go,
“So today when I came to the spring, I prayed this prayer: ‘O LORD, God of my master, Abraham, please give me success on this mission.
behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,”
See, I am standing here beside this spring. This is my request. When a young woman comes to draw water, I will say to her, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.”
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.’
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.’
“But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’
“Before I had finished praying in my heart, I saw Rebekah coming out 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.’
And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also.
She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’ So I drank, and then she watered the camels.
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.
“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.
And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son.
“Then I bowed low and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight to my master’s niece to be his son’s wife.
Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
So tell me — will you or won’t you show unfailing love and faithfulness to my master? Please tell me yes or no, and then I’ll know what to do next.”
Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good.
Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The LORD has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say.
Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.”
Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has directed.”
And it came to pass, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, that he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth.
When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the ground and worshiped the LORD.
Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.
Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and presented them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother.
And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, “Send me away to my master.”
Then they ate their meal, and the servant and the men with him stayed there overnight.
But early the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.”
But early the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.”
But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.”
“But we want Rebekah to stay with us at least ten days,” her brother and mother said. “Then she can go.”
But he said, “Don’t delay me. The LORD has made my mission successful; now send me back so I can return to my master.”
So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.”
“Well,” they said, “we’ll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks.”
Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”
And she said, “I will go.”
And she said, “I will go.”
So they called Rebekah. “Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked her.
And she replied, “Yes, I will go.”
And she replied, “Yes, I will go.”
So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men.
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.
And they blessed Rebekah and said to her:
“Our sister, may you become
The mother of thousands of ten thousands;
And may your descendants possess
The gates of those who hate them.”
“Our sister, may you become
The mother of thousands of ten thousands;
And may your descendants possess
The gates of those who hate them.”
They gave her this blessing as she parted:
“Our sister, may you become
the mother of many millions!
May your descendants be strong
and conquer the cities of their enemies.”
“Our sister, may you become
the mother of many millions!
May your descendants be strong
and conquer the cities of their enemies.”
Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.
Then Rebekah and her servant girls mounted the camels and followed the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and went on his way.
Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South.
Meanwhile, Isaac, whose home was in the Negev, had returned from Beer-lahai-roi.
And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming.
One evening as he was walking and meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming.
Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel;
When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel.
for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”
The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.
The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.
“Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant.
And he replied, “It is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil.
And he replied, “It is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil.
And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.
Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.