How does Abraham’s servant find a wife for Isaac without taking Isaac back to Abraham’s homeland?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

The servant follows Abraham’s oath, prays for guidance at the well, meets Rebecca, and tells her family what happened. Her family agrees to the marriage, Rebecca agrees to leave with him, and he brings her to Isaac.

Chapter breakdown

Abraham is old, and the Lord has blessed him in all things. He tells the elder servant who manages everything in his house to put his hand under Abraham’s thigh and swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth. The servant must not choose a wife for Isaac from the daughters of the Chanaanites among whom Abraham lives. He must go to Abraham’s own country and relatives. The servant asks whether he should take Isaac there if the woman refuses to come. Abraham warns him never to take Isaac back. He says that the Lord, who brought him from his father’s house and homeland and promised this land to his descendants, will send his angel ahead of the servant. Challoner’s note says this shows that the Hebrews believed God gave them guardian angels for protection. Abraham also gives an exception: if the woman will not follow the servant, he is released from the oath, but he must still not take Isaac back there. The servant puts his hand under Abraham’s thigh and swears.

The servant takes ten of his master’s camels and something from all his goods. He travels to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nachor. Outside the town, he makes the camels lie down near a well in the evening, when women come to draw water. He asks the Lord, the God of his master Abraham, to meet him that day and show kindness to Abraham. Standing near the spring where the city’s daughters will come, he asks for this sign: when he requests a drink from a young woman’s pitcher, she will offer him a drink and offer to water his camels too. He asks that she be the woman God has provided for Isaac. Her response will let him know that God has shown kindness to his master.

Before the servant finishes these words within himself, Rebecca arrives with a pitcher on her shoulder. She is the daughter of Bathuel, whose parents are Melcha and Nachor; Nachor is Abraham’s brother. The account describes her as very beautiful and as a virgin who has not had relations with a man. She goes down to the spring, fills her pitcher and comes back. The servant runs to meet her and asks for a little water. She addresses him as her lord, quickly lowers the pitcher onto her arm and gives him a drink. After he drinks, she offers to draw water for the camels until all have drunk. She empties her pitcher into the troughs, runs back to draw more water, and gives water to all the camels. The servant watches silently, considering whether the Lord has made his journey succeed.

After the camels drink, the servant takes out golden earrings weighing two sicles and bracelets of ten sicles in weight. He asks whose daughter Rebecca is and whether there is room to stay in her father’s house. She identifies herself as Bathuel’s daughter and repeats that Melcha bore Bathuel to Nachor. She says they have plenty of straw and hay and a large place to lodge. The servant bows down and worships the Lord. He blesses Abraham’s God for continuing to show his master mercy and truth and for leading him directly to his master’s brother’s house. Rebecca runs to her mother’s house and tells everything she has heard.

Rebecca’s brother Laban hurries to the man at the well. He has seen the earrings and bracelets in his sister’s hands and heard her report of what the man said. He finds the servant standing by the camels near the spring. Laban calls him blessed by the Lord, asks why he is still outside, and says he has prepared the house and a place for the camels. The servant is brought into the lodging. The camels are unharnessed and given straw and hay, and water is provided to wash the feet of the servant and the men with him. Bread is placed before him, but he says he will not eat until he has given his message. He is invited to speak.

The man identifies himself as Abraham’s servant. He says the Lord has greatly blessed his master with sheep and oxen, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels and asses. Sara bore Abraham a son in her old age, and Abraham gave that son all he had. The servant repeats his master’s oath: he must not take a wife from the Chanaanites but must seek one from Abraham’s father’s house and relatives. He also reports his question about a woman refusing to come. In this telling, Abraham says that the Lord, in whose sight he walks, will send his angel with the servant and guide him. The servant will be free from Abraham’s curse once he has gone to the relatives if they will not give him a woman.

The servant then retells the meeting at the well. He says he arrived that day and prayed that, if the Lord had prospered his journey, the virgin who answered his request for water by also offering to water the camels would be the woman prepared for his master’s son. While he was considering this secretly, Rebecca arrived with the pitcher on her shoulder, drew water, gave him a drink and watered the camels. He repeats her answer about being Bathuel’s daughter, with Nachor and Melcha as Bathuel’s parents. In his report he describes asking about her family before putting the earrings on her to adorn her face and the bracelets on her hands. The earlier narration describes him taking out the jewellery before asking. He recalls bowing down to worship and bless the Lord for guiding him to his master’s brother’s daughter for Isaac. He asks the family to tell him whether they will act with mercy and truth towards Abraham. If they will not, they should also say so, so that he can turn to the right or left.

Laban and Bathuel answer that the matter has come from the Lord and that they can say only what agrees with his pleasure. They tell the servant to take Rebecca and let her become his master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken. On hearing this, Abraham’s servant falls to the ground and worships the Lord. He gives Rebecca vessels of silver and gold and garments, and also offers gifts to her brothers and mother. They eat and drink together at a banquet and stay overnight. In the morning the servant asks to leave for his master.

Rebecca’s brother and mother ask for her to remain with them for at least ten days before leaving. The servant asks them not to delay him, because the Lord has made his journey succeed, and to send him back to his master. They decide to call Rebecca and ask her will. Challoner’s note explains that this question concerns leaving her parents and going to her husband, rather than consent to marriage, which the note says she has already given. They ask whether she will go with this man. Rebecca answers that she will go.

The family sends Rebecca away with her nurse, Abraham’s servant and his company. Calling her their sister, they wish her prosperity: may she increase to thousands of thousands, and may her descendants possess the gates of their enemies. Rebecca and her maids ride camels and follow the servant, who returns quickly to his master.

Meanwhile Isaac is walking along the way to the well called Of the living and the seeing; he lives in the south country. He has gone out to meditate in the field when the day is well advanced. Looking up, he sees camels coming from far away. Rebecca sees Isaac and gets down from her camel. She asks the servant who the man approaching through the field is. He answers that the man is his master. Rebecca quickly takes her cloak and covers herself.

The servant tells Isaac everything he has done. Isaac brings Rebecca into his mother Sara’s tent and takes her as his wife. He loves her so much that his sorrow over his mother’s death is eased.

The story inside

Abraham’s instructions set the problem: a wife must come from his own relatives, and Isaac must not be taken back to Abraham’s homeland. The servant prays for a response he can recognise, but he does not finish the mission by seeing Rebecca water the camels. He asks about her family, tells the household why he has come, and asks for a clear answer. Laban and Bathuel agree to the marriage. When departure becomes the remaining issue, Rebecca agrees to go. The servant returns, reports to Isaac, and the marriage takes place. The long retelling inside the chapter matters because Rebecca’s family hears the servant’s account before giving its answer. The two Challoner notes explain angelic protection and the question about departure; they are distinct from the narrated events.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The mission has a clear limit and a real refusal exception. Abraham asks for a wife from his relatives and says Isaac must never be brought back there. If the woman will not come, the servant is released from the oath. The chapter keeps the required action separate from an outcome the servant cannot force.
2
The servant’s prayer is followed by questions and a report. Rebecca gives him and the camels water, but he still asks about her family and lodging and explains the mission to her household. He gives thanks to God at the well and again after the family’s answer. These recorded steps show how he moves from the requested sign to a completed journey.
3
Rebecca’s answer concerns going with the servant. Her brother and mother request at least ten days, the servant asks to leave, and Rebecca says she will go. Challoner specifically distinguishes this question from her earlier consent to marriage. The journey ends with Isaac’s love easing his grief, rather than the account saying his mother’s death is forgotten.

Test your recall

Why can the servant finish his mission without taking Isaac away, and what remains to happen after the meeting at the well?

Show answer

Abraham forbids taking Isaac back and allows release from the oath if the woman refuses to come. After meeting Rebecca, the servant confirms her family, reports to the household and receives its agreement. Rebecca agrees to depart, so he brings her to Isaac, who marries her.

Quotes from Scripture

Exact Scripture quotations from the Douay–Rheims Bible, revised by Bishop Richard Challoner (1749–1752), the same edition used for these chapters. Source: Project Gutenberg no. 1581.

The Lord God of heaven, who took me out of my father’s house, and out of my native country, who spoke to me, and swore to me, saying: To thy seed will I give this land: he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my son.

Genesis 24:7 · Douay–Rheims / Challonerpg1581.txt · lines 2467–2470

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 2442–2479
Genesis Chapter 24 Abraham’s servant, sent by him into Mesopotamia, bringeth from thence Rebecca, who is married to Isaac. 24:1. Now Abraham was old, and advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed him in all things. 24:2. And he said to the elder servant of his house, who was ruler over all he had: Put thy hand under my thigh, 24:3. That I may make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that thou take not a wife for my son, of the daughters of the Chanaanites, among whom I dwell: 24:4. But that thou go to my own country and kindred, and take a wife from thence for my son Isaac. 24:5. The servant answered: If the woman will not come with me into this land, must I bring thy son back again to the place from whence thou camest out? 24:6. And Abraham said: Beware thou never bring my son back again thither. 24:7. The Lord God of heaven, who took me out of my father’s house, and out of my native country, who spoke to me, and swore to me, saying: To thy seed will I give this land: he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my son. He will send his angel before thee.... This shows that the Hebrews believed that God gave them guardian angels for their protection. 24:8. But if the woman will not follow thee, thou shalt not be bound by the oath: only bring not my son back thither again. 24:9. The servant, therefore, put his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his lord, and swore to him upon his word.
Lines 2480–2499
24:10. And he took ten camels of his master’s herd, and departed, carrying something of all his goods with him, and he set forward and went on to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nachor. 24:11. And when he had made the camels lie down without the town, near a well of water, in the evening, at the time when women are wont to come out to draw water, he said: 24:12. O Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, meet me today, I beseech thee, and shew kindness to my master, Abraham. 24:13. Behold, I stand nigh the spring of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of this city will come out to draw water: 24:14. Now, therefore, the maid to whom I shall say: Let down thy pitcher that I may drink: and she shall answer, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let it be the same whom thou hast provided for thy servant Isaac: and by this, I shall understand that thou hast shewn kindness to my master.
Lines 2500–2522
24:15. He had not yet ended these words within himself, and behold Rebecca came out, the daughter of Bathuel, son of Melcha, wife to Nachor the brother of Abraham, having a pitcher on her shoulder: 24:16. An exceeding comely maid, and a most beautiful virgin, and not known to man: and she went down to the spring, and filled her pitcher, and was coming back. 24:17. And the servant ran to meet her, and said: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher. 24:18. And she answered: Drink, my lord. And quickly she let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him drink. 24:19. And when he had drunk, she said: I will draw water for thy camels also, till they all drink. 24:20. And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back to the well to draw water; and having drawn, she gave to all the camels. 24:21. But he musing, beheld her with silence, desirous to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
Lines 2523–2544
24:22. And after that the camels had drunk, the man took out golden earrings, weighing two sicles; and as many bracelets, of ten sicles weight. 24:23. And he said to her: Whose daughter art thou? tell me: is there any place in thy father’s house to lodge? 24:24. And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor. 24:25. And she said, moreover, to him: We have good store of both straw and hay, and a large place to lodge in. 24:26. The man bowed himself down, and adored the Lord, 24:27. Saying: Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not taken away his mercy and truth from my master, and hath brought me the straight way into the house of my master’s brother. 24:28. Then the maid ran, and told in her mother’s house all that she had heard.
Lines 2545–2562
24:29. And Rebecca had a brother, named Laban, who went out in haste to the man, to the well. 24:30. And when he had seen the earrings and bracelets in his sister’s hands, and had heard all that she related, saying, Thus and thus the man spoke to me: he came to the man who stood by the camels, and near to the spring of water, 24:31. And said to him: Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; why standest thou without? I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels. 24:32. And he brought him into his lodging; and he unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and hay, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were come with him. 24:33. And bread was set before him. But he said: I will not eat, till I tell my message. He answered him: Speak.
Lines 2563–2587
24:34. And he said: I am the servant of Abraham: 24:35. And the Lord hath blessed my master wonderfully, and he is become great: and he hath given him sheep and oxen, silver and gold, men servants and women servants, camels and asses. 24:36. And Sara, my master’s wife, hath borne my master a son in her old age, and he hath given him all that he had. 24:37. And my master made me swear, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the Chanaanites, in whose land I dwell: 24:38. But thou shalt go to my father’s house, and shalt take a wife of my own kindred for my son: 24:39. But I answered my master: What if the woman will not come with me? 24:40. The Lord, said he, in whose sight I walk, will send his angel with thee, and will direct thy way: and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my own kindred, and of my father’s house. 24:41. But thou shalt be clear from my curse, when thou shalt come to my kindred, if they will not give thee one.
Lines 2588–2620
24:42. And I came today to the well of water, and said: O Lord God of my master, Abraham, if thou hast prospered my way, wherein I now walk, 24:43. Behold, I stand by the well of water, and the virgin, that shall come out to draw water, who shall hear me say: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher: 24:44. And shall say to me: Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman, whom the Lord hath prepared for my master’s son. 24:45. And whilst I pondered these things secretly with myself, Rebecca appeared, coming with a pitcher, which she carried on her shoulder: and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her: Give me a little to drink. 24:46. And she speedily let down the pitcher from her shoulder, and said to me: Both drink thou, and to thy camels I will give drink. I drank, and she watered the camels. 24:47. And I asked her, and said: Whose daughter art thou? And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Nachor, whom Melcha bore to him. So I put earrings on her to adorn her face, and I put bracelets on her hands. 24:48. And falling down, I adored the Lord, blessing the Lord God of my master, Abraham, who hath brought me the straight way to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. 24:49. Wherefore, if you do according to mercy and truth with my master, tell me: but if it please you otherwise, tell me that also, that I may go to the right hand, or to the left.
Lines 2621–2637
24:50. And Laban and Bathuel answered: The word hath proceeded from the Lord: we cannot speak any other thing to thee but his pleasure. 24:51. Behold, Rebecca is before thee, take her and go thy way, and let her be the wife of thy master’s son, as the Lord hath spoken. 24:52. Which when Abraham’s servant heard, falling down to the ground, he adored the Lord. 24:53. And bringing forth vessels of silver and gold, and garments, he gave them to Rebecca, for a present. He offered gifts also to her brothers, and to her mother. 24:54. And a banquet was made, and they ate and drank together, and lodged there. And in the morning, the servant arose, and said: Let me depart, that I may go to my master.
Lines 2638–2652
24:55. And her brother and mother answered: Let the maid stay, at least, ten days with us, and afterwards she shall depart. 24:56. Stay me not, said he, because the Lord hath prospered my way: send me away, that I may go to my master. 24:57. And they said: Let us call the maid, and ask her will. Let us call the maid, and ask her will.... Not as to her marriage, as she had already consented, but of her quitting her parents and going to her husband. 24:58. And they called her, and when she was come, they asked: Wilt thou go with this man? She said: I will go.
Lines 2653–2662
24:59. So they sent her away, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his company. 24:60. Wishing prosperity to their sister, and saying: Thou art our sister, mayst thou increase to thousands of thousands; and may thy seed possess the gates of their enemies. 24:61. So Rebecca and her maids, being set upon camels, followed the man: who with speed returned to his master.
Lines 2663–2676
24:62. At the same time, Isaac was walking along the way to the well which is called Of the living and the seeing: for he dwelt in the south country: 24:63. And he was gone forth to meditate in the field, the day being now well spent: and when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw camels coming afar off. 24:64. Rebecca also, when she saw Isaac, lighted off the camel, 24:65. And said to the servant: Who is that man who cometh towards us along the field? And he said to her: That man is my master. But she quickly took her cloak, and covered herself.
Lines 2677–2684
24:66. And the servant told Isaac all that he had done. 24:67. Who brought her into the tent of Sara his mother, and took her to wife: and he loved her so much, that it moderated the sorrow which was occasioned by his mother’s death.