Genesis 24:1-33

Isaac and Rebekah

1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord m had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 And Abraham said to his servant, n the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, o "Put your hand under my thigh, 3 that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that p you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, 4 q but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac." 5 The servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?" 6 Abraham said to him, "See to it that you do not take my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, r who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, s 'To your offspring I will give this land,' t he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then u you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there." 9 So the servant v put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.

10 Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to w Mesopotamia 1 to the city of Nahor. 11 And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when x women go out to draw water. 12 And he said, "O Lord, y God of my master Abraham, z please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, a I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, 'Please let down your jar that I may drink,' and who shall say, 'Drink, and I will water your camels' - let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. b By this 2 I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master."

15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of c Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman d was very attractive in appearance, a maiden 3 whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water to drink from your jar." 18 She said, "Drink, my lord." And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. 21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.

22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, 4 and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, 23 and said, "Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" 24 She said to him, e "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor." 25 She added, "We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night." 26 f The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, "Blessed be the Lord, g the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken h his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord i has led me in the way to the house of my master's kinsmen." 28 Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things.

29 Rebekah had a brother whose name was j Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring. 30 As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, "Thus the man spoke to me," he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31 He said, "Come in, k O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels." 32 So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave l straw and fodder to the camels, and there was m water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to say." He said, "Speak on."

  1. Cross References
    Genesis 24:35
    The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys.
    Genesis 13:2
    Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
  2. Cross References
    Genesis 15:2
    But Abram said, "O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?
  3. Cross References
    Genesis 24:9
    So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
    Genesis 47:29
    And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, "If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt.
  4. Cross References
    Genesis 26:34 - 35
    When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
    Genesis 27:46
    Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?
    Deuteronomy 7:3
    You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons.
    2 Corinthians 6:14
    Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
  5. Cross References
    Genesis 28:2
    Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.
  6. Cross References
    Genesis 12:1
    Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.
  7. Cross References
    Genesis 12:7
    Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
  8. Cross References
    Exodus 23:20
    Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.
    Exodus 23:23
    When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out.
    Exodus 33:2
    I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
    Hebrews 1:14
    Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
  9. Cross References
    Joshua 2:17 - 20
    The men said to her, "We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear.
  10. Cross References
    Genesis 24:2
    And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh.
  11. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 23:4
    Because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
    Judges 3:8
    Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
  12. Cross References
    1 Samuel 9:11
    As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, "Is the seer here?
    John 4:7
    A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink.
  13. Cross References
    Genesis 24:27
    And said, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master's kinsmen.
    Genesis 24:42
    I came today to the spring and said, 'O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go.
    Genesis 24:48
    Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son.
  14. Cross References
    Genesis 27:20
    But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He answered, "Because the Lord your God granted me success.
  15. Cross References
    Genesis 24:43
    Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, "Please give me a little water from your jar to drink.
  16. Cross References
    Genesis 15:8
    But he said, "O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?
  17. Cross References
    Genesis 11:29
    And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah.
    Genesis 22:23
    ( Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.
  18. Cross References
    Genesis 26:7
    When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," for he feared to say, "My wife," thinking, "lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah," because she was attractive in appearance.
  19. Cross References
    Genesis 24:15
    Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder.
    Genesis 22:23
    ( Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.
  20. Cross References
    Genesis 24:48
    Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son.
    Genesis 24:52
    When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the Lord.
    Exodus 4:31
    And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.
  21. Cross References
    Genesis 24:12
    And he said, "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.
    Genesis 24:42
    I came today to the spring and said, 'O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go.
    Genesis 24:48
    Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son.
  22. Cross References
    Genesis 32:10
    I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.
    Psalms 98:3
    He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
  23. Cross References
    Genesis 24:48
    Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son.
  24. Cross References
    Genesis 25:20
    And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.
    Genesis 28:2
    Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.
    Genesis 29:5
    He said to them, "Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?" They said, "We know him.
  25. Cross References
    Genesis 26:29
    That you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.
    Judges 17:2
    And he said to his mother, "The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it." And his mother said, "Blessed be my son by the Lord.
    Ruth 3:10
    And he said, "May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.
  26. Cross References
    Genesis 43:24
    And when the man had brought the men into Joseph's house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder.
    Judges 19:21
    So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys feed. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.
  27. Cross References
    Genesis 18:4
    Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.