Notes for Gen 24:1LEB
Heb "days."
Heb "Abraham." The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun ("he") for stylistic reasons.
Notes for Gen 24:2LEB
The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).
Put your hand under my thigh. The taking of this oath had to do with the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line. See D. R. Freedman, "Put Your Hand Under My Thigh – the Patriarchal Oath," BAR 2 (1976): 2-4, 42.
Notes for Gen 24:3LEB
Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.
Heb "because you must not take."
Notes for Gen 24:4LEB
Heb "for to my country and my relatives you must go."
Heb "and take."
Notes for Gen 24:5LEB
Heb "to go after me."
In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.
Notes for Gen 24:6LEB
Heb "guard yourself."
The introductory clause "And Abraham said to him" has been moved to the end of the opening sentence of direct discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Notes for Gen 24:7LEB
Or "the land of my birth."
Heb "and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying."
Or "his messenger."
Heb "before you and you will take."
Notes for Gen 24:8LEB
Heb " to go after you."
You will be free. If the prospective bride was not willing to accompany the servant back to Canaan, the servant would be released from his oath to Abraham.
Notes for Gen 24:9LEB
Heb "and he swore to him concerning this matter."
Notes for Gen 24:10LEB
Heb "and every good thing of his master was in his hand." The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, explaining that he took all kinds of gifts to be used at his discretion.
Heb "and he arose and went."
The words "the region of" are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
Aram Naharaim means in Hebrew "Aram of the Two Rivers," a region in northern Mesopotamia.
Notes for Gen 24:11LEB
Heb "well of water."
Heb "at the time of evening."
Notes for Gen 24:12LEB
Heb "make it happen before me today." Although a number of English translations understand this as a request for success in the task (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV) it is more likely that the servant is requesting an omen or sign from Yahweh (v. 14).
Heb "act in loyal love with" or "show kindness to."
Notes for Gen 24:13LEB
Heb "the spring of water."
Heb "the men."
Notes for Gen 24:14LEB
I will also give your camels water. It would be an enormous test for a young woman to water ten camels. The idea is that such a woman would not only be industrious but hospitable and generous.
Heb "And let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Lower your jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I will also give your camels water,’ – her you have appointed for your servant, for Isaac, and by it I will know that you have acted in faithfulness with my master."
Notes for Gen 24:15LEB
Heb "Look, Rebekah was coming out!" Using the participle introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh, "look"), the narrator dramatically transports the audience back into the event and invites them to see Rebekah through the servant’s eyes.
Heb "Look, Rebekah was coming out – [she] who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham – and her jug [was] on her shoulder." The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Notes for Gen 24:16LEB
Heb "And the young woman was very good of appearance, a virgin, and a man she had not known." Some argue that the Hebrew noun translated "virgin" (בְּתוּלָה, bétulah) is better understood in a general sense, "young woman" (see Joel 1:8LEB, where the word appears to refer to one who is married). In this case the circumstantial clause ("and a man she had not known") would be restrictive, rather than descriptive. If the term actually means "virgin," one wonders why the circumstantial clause is necessary (see Judg 21:12LEB as well). Perhaps the repetition emphasizes her sexual purity as a prerequisite for her role as the mother of the covenant community.
Notes for Gen 24:17LEB
Heb "and the servant." The word "Abraham’s" has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Notes for Gen 24:18LEB
Heb "and she hurried and lowered."
Notes for Gen 24:19LEB
Heb "when she had finished giving him a drink." This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Notes for Gen 24:20LEB
Heb "and she hurried and emptied."
Notes for Gen 24:21LEB
Heb "to know."
The Hebrew term צָלָה (tsalah), meaning "to make successful" in the Hiphil verbal stem, is a key term in the story (see vv. Gen 40-56LEB).
Notes for Gen 24:22LEB
A beka weighed about 5–6 grams (0.2 ounce).
A shekel weighed about 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce) although weights varied locally, so these bracelets weighed about 4 ounces (115 grams).
The words "and gave them to her" are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
Notes for Gen 24:23LEB
Heb "and he said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’" The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Notes for Gen 24:24LEB
Heb "whom she bore to Nahor." The referent (Milcah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Notes for Gen 24:25LEB
Heb "and she said, ‘We have plenty of both straw and feed.’" The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Heb The words "for you" are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
Notes for Gen 24:27LEB
Heb "his faithfulness and his commitment."
Heb "As for me – in the way the Yahweh led me."
Here "house" is an adverbial accusative of termination.
Heb "brothers."
Notes for Gen 24:28LEB
Heb "according to."
Notes for Gen 24:29LEB
The parenthetical disjunctive clause introduces the audience to Laban, who will eventually play an important role in the unfolding story.
Notes for Gen 24:30LEB
Heb "And it was when he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on the arms of his sister." The word order is altered in the translation for the sake of clarity.
Heb "and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying."
Heb "and look, he was standing." The disjunctive clause with the participle following the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) invites the audience to view the scene through Laban’s eyes.
Notes for Gen 24:31LEB
Heb "and he said." The referent (Laban) has been specified and the words "to him" supplied in the translation for clarity.
Laban’s obsession with wealth is apparent; to him it represents how one is blessed by the Elohim. Already the author is laying the foundation for subsequent events in the narrative, where Laban’s greed becomes his dominant characteristic.
The disjunctive clause is circumstantial.
Notes for Gen 24:32LEB
Heb "the man"; the referent (Abraham’s servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Some translations (e.g., NEB, NASB, NRSV) understand Laban to be the subject of this and the following verbs or take the subject of this and the following verbs as indefinite (referring to an unnamed servant; e.g., NAB, NIV).
Heb "and [one] gave." The verb without an expressed subject may be translated as passive.
Heb "and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him."
Notes for Gen 24:33LEB
Heb "and food was placed before him."
Heb "my words."
Some ancient textual witnesses have a plural verb, "and they said."
Heb "and he said, ‘Speak.’" The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Notes for Gen 24:35LEB
Heb "great." In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.
Heb "and he." The referent (the Yahweh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Notes for Gen 24:36LEB
Heb "to my master." This has been replaced by the pronoun "him" in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Heb "after her old age."
Heb "and he." The referent (the servant’s master, Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Notes for Gen 24:38LEB
Heb "but to the house of my father you must go and to my family and you must take a wife for my son."
Notes for Gen 24:39LEB
The imperfect is used here in a modal sense to indicate desire.
Heb "after me."
Notes for Gen 24:40LEB
The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning "live one’s life" (see Gen 17:1LEB). The statement may simply refer to serving the Yahweh or it may have a more positive moral connotation ("serve faithfully").
Notes for Gen 24:41LEB
Heb "my oath" (twice in this verse). From the Hebrew perspective the oath belonged to the person to whom it was sworn (Abraham), although in contemporary English an oath is typically viewed as belonging to the person who swears it (the servant).
Notes for Gen 24:42LEB
Heb "if you are making successful my way on which I am going."
The words "may events unfold as follows" are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
Notes for Gen 24:43LEB
Heb "the spring of water."
Heb "and it will be."
Notes for Gen 24:45LEB
Heb "As for me, before I finished speaking to my heart." The adverb טֶרֶם (terem) indicates the verb is a preterite; the infinitive that follows is the direct object.
Heb "Look, Rebekah was coming out." As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, "look") is used here for dramatic effect.
Notes for Gen 24:47LEB
Heb "whom Milcah bore to him." The referent (Nahor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Notes for Gen 24:48LEB
Heb "daughter." Rebekah was actually the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. One can either translate the Hebrew term בַּת (bat) as "daughter," in which case the term אָח (’akh) must be translated more generally as "relative" rather than "brother" (cf. NASB, NRSV) or one can translate בַּת as "granddaughter," in which case אָח may be translated "brother" (cf. NIV).
Notes for Gen 24:49LEB
Heb "and I will turn to the right or to the left." The expression apparently means that Abraham’s servant will know where he should go if there is no further business here.
Notes for Gen 24:50LEB
Heb "From the Yahweh the matter has gone out."
Heb "We are not able to speak to you bad or good." This means that Laban and Bethuel could not say one way or the other what they wanted, for they viewed it as Yahweh's will.
Notes for Gen 24:51LEB
Following the imperatives, the jussive with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
Heb "as the Yahweh has spoken."
Notes for Gen 24:53LEB
Heb "the servant"; the noun has been replaced by the pronoun ("he") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Notes for Gen 24:54LEB
Heb "And they ate and drank, he and the men who [were] with him and they spent the night."
Heb "Send me away to my master."
Notes for Gen 24:55LEB
Heb "her"; the referent (Rebekah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Notes for Gen 24:56LEB
The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, indicating a reason for the preceding request.
After the preceding imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
Notes for Gen 24:57LEB
Heb "and we will ask her mouth."
Notes for Gen 24:58LEB
The imperfect verbal form here has a modal nuance, expressing desire.
Notes for Gen 24:60LEB
Heb "and said to her."
Heb "become thousands of ten thousands."
May you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands. The blessing expresses their prayer that she produce children and start a family line that will greatly increase (cf. Gen 17:16LEB).
Heb "gate," which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation "stronghold"). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17LEB.
Notes for Gen 24:61LEB
Heb "And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after."
Heb "the servant"; the word "Abraham’s" has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Notes for Gen 24:62LEB
The disjunctive clause switches the audience’s attention to Isaac and signals a new episode in the story.
Heb "from the way of."
The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bé’er lakhay ro’i) means "The well of the Living One who sees me." See Gen 16:14LEB.
This disjunctive clause is explanatory.
Or "the South [country]."
Negev is the name for the southern desert region in the land of Canaan.
Notes for Gen 24:63LEB
Heb "Isaac"; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun ("he") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain (cf. NASB, NIV "to meditate"; NRSV "to walk").
Heb "at the turning of the evening."
Heb "And he lifted up his eyes." This idiom emphasizes the careful look Isaac had at the approaching caravan.
Heb "and look." The clause introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, "look") invites the audience to view the scene through Isaac’s eyes.
Notes for Gen 24:64LEB
Heb "lifted up her eyes."
Notes for Gen 24:65LEB
Heb "and she said to."
Heb "the servant." The word "Abraham’s" has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
Heb "and the servant said." The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Notes for Gen 24:67LEB
Heb "her"; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.
Heb "Rebekah"; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun ("her") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Heb "and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her."
Heb "after his mother." This must refer to Sarah’s death.