2 And Abraham said to his chief servant, the manager of all his property, Come now, put your hand under my leg: 3 And take an oath by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not get a wife for my son Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living; 4 But that you will go into my country and to my relations and get a wife there for my son Isaac. 5 And the servant said, If by chance the woman will not come with me into this land, am I to take your son back again to the land from which you came? 6 And Abraham said, Take care that you do not let my son go back to that land. 7 The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, and made an oath to me, saying, To your seed I will give this land: he will send his angel before you and give you a wife for my son in that land. 8 And if the woman will not come with you, then you are free from this oath; only do not take my son back there. 9 And the servant put his hand under Abraham's leg, and gave him his oath about this thing.
10 And the servant took ten of his master's camels, and all sorts of good things of his master's, and went to Mesopotamia, to the town of Nahor. 11 And he made the camels take their rest outside the town by the water-spring in the evening, at the time when the women came to get water. 12 And he said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, let me do well in what I have undertaken this day, and give your mercy to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am waiting here by the water-spring; and the daughters of the town are coming out to get water: 14 Now, may the girl to whom I say, Let down your vessel and give me a drink, and who says in answer, Here is a drink for you and let me give water to your camels: may she be the one marked out by you for your servant Isaac: so may I be certain that you have been good to my master Abraham. 15 And even before his words were ended, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, who was the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water-vessel on her arm. 16 She was a very beautiful girl, a virgin, who had never been touched by a man: and she went down to the spring to get water in her vessel. 17 And the servant came running to her and said, Give me a little water from your vessel. 18 And she said, Take a drink, my lord: and quickly letting down her vessel onto her hand, she gave him a drink. 19 And having done so, she said, I will get water for your camels till they have had enough. 20 And after putting the water from her vessel into the animals' drinking-place, she went quickly back to the spring and got water for all the camels. 21 And the man, looking at her, said nothing, waiting to see if the Lord had given his journey a good outcome. 22 And when the camels had had enough, the man took a gold nose-ring, half a shekel in weight, and two ornaments for her arms of ten shekels weight of gold; 23 And said to her, Whose daughter are you? is there room in your father's house for us? 24 And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, Nahor's wife. 25 And she said, We have a great store of dry grass and cattle-food, and there is room for you. 26 And with bent head the man gave worship to the Lord; 27 And said, Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has given a sign that he is good and true to my master, by guiding me straight to the house of my master's family. 28 So the girl went running and took the news of these things to her mother's house
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 24:2-28
Commentary on Genesis 24:1-9
(Read Genesis 24:1-9)
The effect of good example, good teaching, and the worship of God in a family, will generally appear in the piety, faithfulness, prudence, and affection of the servants. To live in such families, or to have such servants, both are blessings from God which should be highly valued, and thankfully acknowledged. But no concern in life is of greater importance to ourselves, to others, or to the church of God, than marriage. It therefore ought always to be undertaken with much care and prudence, especially with reference to the will of God, and with prayer for his direction and blessing. Where good parents are not consulted and regarded, the blessing of God cannot be expected. Parents, in disposing of their children, should carefully consult the welfare of their souls, and their furtherance in the way to heaven. Observe the charge Abraham gave to a good servant, one whose conduct, faithfulness, and affection, to him and his family, he had long known. Observe also, that Abraham remembers that God had wonderfully brought him out of the land of his birth, by the call of his grace; and therefore doubts not but He will prosper his care, not to bring his son thither again. God will cause that to end in our comfort, in which we sincerely aim at his glory.
Commentary on Genesis 24:10-28
(Read Genesis 24:10-28)
Abraham's servant devoutly acknowledged God. We have leave to be particular in recommending our affairs to the care of Divine providence. He proposes a sign, not that he intended to proceed no further, if not gratified in it; but it is a prayer that God would provide a good wife for his young master; and that was a good prayer. She should be simple, industrious, humble, cheerful, serviceable, and hospitable. Whatever may be the fashion, common sense, as well as piety, tells us, these are the proper qualifications for a wife and mother; for one who is to be a companion to her husband, the manager of domestic concerns, and trusted to form the minds of children. When the steward came to seek a wife for his master, he did not go to places of amusement and sinful pleasure, and pray that he might meet one there, but to the well of water, expecting to find one there employed aright. He prayed that God would please to make his way in this matter plain and clear before him. Our times are in God's hand; not only events themselves, but the times of them. We must take heed of being over-bold in urging what God should do, lest the event should weaken our faith, rather than strengthen it. But God owned him by making his way clear. Rebekah, in all respects, answered the characters he sought for in the woman that was to be his master's wife. When she came to the well, she went down and filled her pitcher, and came up to go home with it. She did not stand to gaze upon the strange man his camels, but minded her business, and would not have been diverted from it but by an opportunity of doing good. She did not curiously or confidently enter into discourse with him, but answered him modestly. Being satisfied that the Lord had heard his prayer, he gave the damsel some ornaments worn in eastern countries; asking at the same time respecting her kindred. On learning that she was of his master's relations, he bowed down his head and worshipped, blessing God. His words were addressed to the Lord, but being spoken in the hearing of Rebekah, she could perceive who he was, and whence he came.