Genèse 24

¹Abraham had grown old; he was far on in years, and the LORD had given him blessing in every part of his life. ²Abraham said to the slave who was the elder of his household and steward of all he possessed, “Place your hand under my thigh, ³so that I can bind you by an oath in the name of the LORD, God of heaven and God of earth. You must not get a wife for my son from the Canaanite women of the land where I am living. ⁴Instead, travel to the land I come from, to my own people, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.” ⁵The slave asked him, “Suppose the woman refuses to follow me here. Am I then to take your son back to the land you came out of?” ⁶“On no account take my son back there,” Abraham answered. ⁷The LORD, the God of heaven, took me from my father’s family and the land of my birth. He spoke to me and swore to me, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ He will send his angel ahead of you, and you will find a wife there for my son. ⁸If the woman refuses to come, this oath will no longer bind you. Only, my son must never be taken back there.” ⁹So the slave placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and took the oath he asked for. ¹⁰The slave took ten camels from his master’s herd and set off, carrying with him all sorts of fine things from his master. He made the journey to Aram-naharaim, to the town where Nahor lived. ¹¹He brought the camels to their knees beside the well outside the town at evening, the hour when the women went out for water. ¹²Then he prayed: “the LORD, God of my master Abraham, let things go well for me today. Show your faithful love to my master Abraham. ¹³Here I stand at the spring, while the young women of the town come out for water. ¹⁴I will say to one of the girls, ‘Please tip your jar so that I can have a drink.’ If she answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels as well,’ may she prove to be the girl you have picked out for your servant Isaac. That is how I will know that you have kept faith with my master.” ¹⁵The words were hardly out of his mouth when Rebekah appeared, carrying her jar on her shoulder. Her father was Bethuel, son of Milcah and of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. ¹⁶The girl was strikingly beautiful and a virgin, untouched by any man. Down to the spring she went, filled her jar, and climbed up again. ¹⁷The slave ran to meet her. “Please,” he said, “let me have a sip of water from your jar.” ¹⁸“Drink, sir,” she said, and at once she let her jar down onto her hands and held it for him to drink. ¹⁹When he had drunk enough, she said, “I will fetch water for your camels as well, until they have had all they want.” ²⁰Without delay she tipped out her jar into the trough and ran back to the well, drawing water again and again until every one of his camels had drunk. ²¹The man stood gazing at her without a word, waiting to see whether the LORD had blessed his journey with success or not. ²²Once the camels had drunk their fill, the man brought out a gold ring for her nose, about a fifth of an ounce in weight, and two bracelets of gold for her arms, weighing about 4 ounces. ²³“Tell me, please, whose daughter you are,” he said. “And would your father’s household have space for us to stay the night?” ²⁴“My father is Bethuel,” she told him, “Milcah’s son by Nahor.” ²⁵“There is straw and feed in plenty at our place,” she went on, “and a place for you to sleep as well.” ²⁶The man knelt low and worshiped the LORD. ²⁷“May the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, be praised!” he said. “He has not stopped being kind and true to my master. The LORD has guided me on my way straight to the home of my master’s relatives.” ²⁸The girl ran home and told her mother’s household everything that had happened. ²⁹Rebekah’s brother, whose name was Laban, ran out to the spring to meet the man. ³⁰He had seen the nose ring and the bracelets his sister was wearing, and heard her tell what the man had said to her. So out he went, and there was the man, still standing with the camels by the spring. ³¹“Come in, blessed of the LORD!” he said. “Why stay out here? The house is ready for you, and I have made room for the camels.” ³²So the man went into the house. Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and feed, and brought water for him and the men with him to wash their feet. ³³A meal was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat before I have stated my errand.” “Go ahead,” said Laban.^{a 34}“I am a slave of Abraham,” he began. ³⁵The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become a rich and powerful man. The LORD has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, slaves both male and female, camels and donkeys. ³⁶Sarah, my master’s wife, gave him a son when she was already old, and my master has handed over to him everything he owns. ³⁷My master put me under oath: ‘You are not to find a wife for my son among the women of the Canaanites, whose land I live in. ³⁸No, you must travel to my father’s house, to my own kin, and bring back a wife for my son from there.’ ³⁹‘But suppose the woman will not follow me?’ I asked my master. ⁴⁰He answered, ‘The LORD, in whose presence I have lived my life, will send his angel with you and give your journey success. You will get a wife for my son from my clan, from my father’s family. ⁴¹You will be free of the oath you swore me once you have gone to my family. Even if they refuse to give her to you, you will be free of it.’ ⁴²Today, when I reached the spring, I prayed: ‘the LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you mean to prosper the errand I have come on, ⁴³here I stand at the spring. Let it be like this: a young woman comes out for water, and I ask her, “Will you give me a little water from your jar to drink?” ⁴⁴and she answers, “Drink, and I will fetch water for your camels too.” May she be the woman the LORD has marked out for my master’s son.’ ⁴⁵Before my silent prayer was finished, out came Rebekah, her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I asked her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ ⁴⁶At once she lowered the jar from her shoulder. ‘Drink,’ she said, ‘and I will give your camels water as well.’ I drank, and she gave water to the camels too. ⁴⁷I asked her whose daughter she was, and she told me, ‘Bethuel’s, the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I fitted the ring to her nose and put the bracelets on her arms. ⁴⁸Then I knelt and worshiped the LORD. I blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, for guiding me along the true road, to take my master’s kinswoman, his brother’s granddaughter, as a wife for his son. ⁴⁹Now then, if you are willing to act in faithful kindness toward my master, tell me. If not, say so, and I will turn elsewhere, to the right hand or the left.” ⁵⁰Laban and Bethuel replied, “This has come from the LORD. It is not for us to say anything for it or against it. ⁵¹Rebekah is here in front of you. Take her with you and go; she shall be your master’s son’s wife, as the LORD has declared.” ⁵²At their answer, Abraham’s slave bowed low to the ground before the LORD. ⁵³Next the slave brought out silver and gold ornaments and garments as gifts for Rebekah, and he presented rich gifts to her brother and her mother as well. ⁵⁴Only then did he and his companions eat and drink, and they stayed overnight. In the morning, when they were up, he said, “Let me return to my master.” ⁵⁵Her brother and mother, though, wanted a delay: “Let the girl stay with us some days, perhaps ten. After that she may go.” ⁵⁶“Do not keep me waiting,” he said, “since the LORD has made my journey succeed. Let me leave and go back to my master.” ⁵⁷“Let us call the girl,” they said, “and hear what she says.” ⁵⁸They called Rebekah in. “Are you willing to go now with this man?” they asked. “I will go,” she answered. ⁵⁹So they said goodbye to their sister Rebekah and her nurse, and sent them off with Abraham’s slave and his men. ⁶⁰They gave Rebekah their blessing: “Sister, may you become the mother of countless thousands. May your descendants take the cities of their enemies.” ⁶¹Rebekah and her young women set out, riding on the camels behind the man. So the slave took Rebekah and began the journey home. ⁶²Meanwhile Isaac had come back from Beer-lahai-roi; he was living in the Negev at the time.^{b 63}Toward evening Isaac had gone out into the countryside to reflect, and raising his eyes he saw camels on their way.^{c 64}Rebekah, for her part, raised her eyes, and at the sight of Isaac she got down quickly from the camel. ⁶⁵“Who is that man walking through the field toward us?” she asked the slave. “It is my master,” he replied. So she drew her veil over her face. ⁶⁶The slave reported to Isaac everything he had done. ⁶⁷Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent that had been his mother Sarah’s. He took her as his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was consoled for the loss of his mother.