24
1 And Avraham was zaken (old), and well stricken in age; and Hashem berach (had blessed) Avraham in all things. 2 And Avraham said unto his eved zekan of his bais, hamoshel (that ruled) over all that he had, Put, now, thy yad under my thigh; 3 And I will make thee swear by Hashem Elohei HaShomayim and Elohei Ha'Aretz, that thou shalt not take an isha unto beni of the Banot HaKena'ani, among whom I dwell: 4 But thou shalt go unto my eretz, and to my moledet, and take an isha unto beni Yitzchak.
5 And the eved said unto him, What if the isha will not be willing to follow me unto HaAretz Hazot: must I needs bring binecha back unto ha'aretz from where thou camest?
6 And Avraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not beni to there! 7 Hashem Elohei HaShomayim, which took me from bais avi, and from the eretz of my moledet, and which spoke unto me, and that swore unto me, saying, Unto thy zera will I give HaAretz Hazot; He shall send His Malach before thee, and thou shalt take an isha unto beni from there. 8 But if the isha will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be released from this my shevu'ah (oath): only do not bring back beni there.
9 And the eved put his yad under yerech Avraham adonav, and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 And the eved took asarah gemalim of the gemalei adonav, and departed; for all the goods of adonav were in his yad: and he arose, and went to Aram Naharayim (Mesopotamia), unto the Ir Nachor. 11 And he made his gemalim to kneel down outside the Ir near a be'er hamayim at the time of erev, at the time that women go out to draw mayim. 12 And he said Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, now, send me success this yom, and show chesed unto adoni Avraham. 13 Hinei, I stand here by the ayin hamayim; and the banot anshei haIr come out to draw mayim; 14 And let it come to pass, that the na'arah to whom I shall say, Let down thy jug, now, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy gemalim drink also; let the same be she that Thou hast appointed for Thy eved Yitzchak; and thereby shall I know that Thou hast showed chesed unto adoni.
15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, hinei, Rivkah came out, who was born to Betuel Ben Milcah, eshet Nachor, achi Avraham, with her jug upon her shoulder. 16 And the na'arah was tovat mareh me'od, a betulah, neither had any ish known her: and she went down to haayenah (the spring), and filled her jug, and came up. 17 And the eved hurried to meet her, and said, Let me, now, drink a little mayim of thy jug. 18 And she said, Drink, adoni: and she hasted, and let down her jug upon her yad, and gave him drink. 19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw for thy gemalim also, until they have done drinking.
20 And she hasted, and emptied her jug into the trough, and ran back unto the be'er to draw, and drew for all his gemalim. 21 And the ish gazed at her and held his peace, so as to have da'as whether Hashem had made his derech prosperous or not. 22 And it came to pass, just as the gemalim had done drinking, that the ish took a nezem zahav (gold ring) by weight a beka, and two tzemidim (bracelets) by weight ten [shekels of] gold for her wrists; 23 And said, Whose bat art thou? Tell me, now: is there makom in the bais of thy av for us to spend the night?
24 And she said unto him, I am Bat Betuel Ben Milcah, the ben which she bore unto Nachor. 25 She said moreover unto him, We have both teven (straw) and mispo (fodder) enough, and makom (room) to spend the night.
26 And the ish bowed his head, worshiped Hashem. 27 And he said, Baruch Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, who hath not left destitute of His chesed and His emes; I being on the derech, Hashem led me to the bais achei adoni.
28 And the na'arah ran, and told them of her bais em these things. 29 And Rivkah had an ach, shmo Lavan; Lavan ran out unto the ish, unto the ayin. 30 And it came to pass, when he saw the nezem and tzemidim upon the wrists of his achot, and when he heard the words of Rivkah his achot, saying, Thus spoke the ish unto me; that he came unto the ish; and, hinei, he stood by the gemalim at the ayin. 31 And he said, Come in, Gebentshter fun Hashem; why standest thou outside? for I have prepared the bais, and makom for the gemalim.
32 And the ish came into the bais; and he unloaded his gemalim, and gave teven (straw) and mispo (fodder) for the camels, and mayim to wash his raglayim, and the raglei haanashim that were with him. 33 And there was set ochel before him to eat; but he said, I will not eat, until I have stated my business. And he said, Speak on.
34 And he said, I am eved Avraham. 35 And Hashem hath blessed adoni me'od; and he is become prospered: and He hath given him tzon, and bakar, and kesef, and zahav, and avadim, and shefachot, and gemalim, and chamorim. 36 And Sarah eshet adoni bore ben to adoni when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. 37 And adoni made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take an isha for beni of the Banot HaKena'ani, in whose land I dwell; 38 But thou shalt go unto bais avi, to my mishpokhot, and take an isha unto beni. 39 And I said unto adoni, What if the isha will not follow me. 40 And he said unto me, Hashem, before Whom I walk, will send His Malach with thee, and prosper thy derech; and thou shalt take an isha for beni of my mishpokhot, and of my bais avi; 41 Then shalt thou be released from this my oath, when thou comest to my mishpokhot; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be released from my oath. 42 And I came this day unto the ayin, and said, Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, if now Thou do prosper my derech which I go; 43 Hinei, I stand by the ayin hamayim; and it shall come to pass, that when haAlmah* cometh forth to draw mayim, and I say to her, Give me, now, a little mayim of thy jar to drink; 44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy gemalim; let the same be the isha whom Hashem hath appointed for ben adoni. 45 And before I had done davening in mine lev, hinei, Rivkah came forth with her jar on her shoulder; and she went down unto ha'ayenah, and drew: and I said unto her, Let me drink, now. 46 And she made haste, and let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy gemalim drink also: so I drank, and she made the gemalim drink also. 47 And I asked her, and said, Whose bat art thou? And she said, Bat Betuel Ben Nachor, the ben whom Milcah bore unto him: and I put the nezem upon her face, and the tzemidim upon her wrists. 48 And I bowed down my head, and worshiped Hashem, and I said a brocha to Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, which had led me on the derech emes to take bat achi adoni for bno. 49 And now if ye will do chesed and emes to adoni, tell me; and if not, tell me; that I may turn to yamin, or to smol.
50 Then Lavan and Betuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from Hashem; we cannot speak unto thee rah or tov. 51 Hinei, Rivkah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be isha for ben adoneicha, just as Hashem hath spoken.
52 And it came to pass, that, when eved Avraham heard their words, he worshiped Hashem, bowing himself to the ground. 53 And the eved brought forth kelei kesef, and kelei zahav, and begadim, and gave them to Rivkah; he gave also to her ach and to her em migdanot (costly gifts). 54 And they did eat and drink, he and the anashim that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the boker, and he said, Send me away unto adoni.
55 And her ach and her em said, Let the na'arah abide with us ten days or so; after that she shall go. 56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing Hashem hath prospered my derech; send me away that I may go to adoni. 57 And they said, We will call the na'arah, and inquire at her mouth. 58 And they called Rivkah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this ish? And she said, I will go.
59 And they sent away Rivkah their achot, and her nurse, and eved Avraham, and his anashim. 60 And they said a brocha over Rivkah, and said unto her, Thou art achoteinu, may thou be increased to thousands upon thousands and may thy zera possess the sha'ar of those which hate them. 61 And Rivkah arose, and her na'arot, and they rode upon the gemalim, and followed the ish: and the eved took Rivkah, and went his way.
62 And Yitzchak had come from Be'er Lachai Roi; for he dwelt in the eretz hanegev. 63 And Yitzchak went out to meditate in the sadeh at erev: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, hinei, the gemalim (camels) were coming. 64 And Rivkah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Yitzchak, she got down from the gamal. 65 For she had said unto the eved, Who is that ish that walketh in the sadeh to meet us? And the eved had said, He is adoni: therefore she took a veil, and covered herself.
66 And the eved told Yitzchak all things that he had done. 67 And Yitzchak brought her into the ohel of Sarah immo, and took Rivkah, and she became his isha; and he loved her: and Yitzchak was comforted after the [mot] immo.
* 24:43 haAlmah used here as synonym for na'arah-betulah, Gn 24:16; see Isa 7:14, Introduction