World English Bible · The patriarchs
Genesis 24
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was old, and well advanced in age. had in all things. said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please put your hand under my thigh. I will make you by , the of and the of the earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of , among whom I live. But you shall go to my country, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son ." The servant said to him, "What if the woman isn't willing to follow me to this land? Must I bring your son again to the land you came from?" said to him, "Beware that you don't bring my son there again. , the of —who took me from house, and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me, and who to me, saying, 'I will give this land to —he will send his before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. If the woman isn't willing to follow you, then you shall be clear from this to me. Only you shall not bring my son there again." The servant put his hand under the thigh of his master, and to him concerning this matter. The servant took ten of his master's camels, and departed, having a variety of good things of his master's with him. He arose, and went to , to the city of . He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water. He said, ", the of my master , please give me success today, and show kindness to my master . Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. The daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let it happen, that the young lady to whom I will say, 'Please let down your pitcher, that I may drink,' then she says, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink,'—let her be the one you have appointed for . By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master." Before he had finished speaking, behold, came out, who was born to the son of , the wife of , brother, with her pitcher on her shoulder. The young lady was very beautiful to look at, a virgin. No man had known her. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher, and came up. The servant ran to meet her, and said, "Please give me a drink, a little water from your pitcher." She said, "Drink, my ." She hurried, and let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him a drink. When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will also draw for your camels, until they have finished drinking." 20She hurried, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw, and drew for all his camels. The man looked steadfastly at her, remaining silent, to know whether had made his journey prosperous or not. As the camels had finished drinking, the man took a golden ring of half a weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten weight of gold, 23and said, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room in your house for us to stay?" She said to him, "I am the daughter of the son of , whom she bore to ." She said moreover to him, "We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge in." The man bowed his head, and . He said, " be , the of my master , who has not forsaken his and his truth toward my master. As for me, has led me on to the house of my master's relatives." The young lady ran, and told her mother's house about these words. had a brother, and his name was . ran out to the man, to the spring. 30When he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of his sister, saying, "This is what the man said to me," he came to the man. Behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. He said, "Come in, you of . Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and room for the camels." The man came into the house, and he unloaded the camels. He gave straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. Food was set before him to eat, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told my message." said, "Speak on." 34He said, "I am servant. has my master greatly. He has become great. has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, and camels and donkeys. , my master's wife, bore a son to my master when she was old. He has given all that he has to him. My master made me , saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of , in whose land I live, but you shall go to house, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.' I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not follow me?' He said to me, ', before whom I walk, will send his with you, and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my relatives, and of house. Then you will be clear from my , when you come to my relatives. If they don't give her to you, you shall be clear from my .' I came today to the spring, and said, ', the of my master , if now you do prosper my way which I go— behold, I am standing by this spring of water. Let it happen, that the maiden who comes out to draw, to whom I will say, "Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink," then she tells me, "Drink, and I will also draw for your camels,"—let her be the woman whom has appointed for my master's son.' Before I had finished speaking in , behold, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. She went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, 'Please let me drink.' She hurried and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink.' So I drank, and she also gave the camels a drink. I asked her, and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of , son, whom bore to him.' I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her hands. I bowed my head, and , and , the of my master , who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. If not, tell me, that I may turn to , or to the left." Then and answered, "The thing proceeds from . We can't speak to you bad or good. Behold, is before you. Take her, and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as has spoken." When servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth to . The servant brought out jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing, and gave them to . He also gave precious things to her brother and her mother. They ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and stayed all night. They rose up in the morning, and he said, "Send me away to my master." Her brother and her mother said, "Let the young lady stay with us days, at least ten. After that she will go." He said to them, "Don't hinder me, since has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master." 57They said, "We will call the young lady, and ask her." They called , and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "I will go." They sent away , their sister, with her nurse, servant, and his men. They , and said to her, "Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let possess the of those who hate them." arose with her ladies. They rode on the camels, and followed the man. The servant took , and went his way. came from of Beer Lahai Roi, for he lived in the land of the South. went out to in the field at the evening. He lifted up his eyes and looked. Behold, there were camels coming. lifted up her eyes, and when she saw , she got off the camel. She said to the servant, "Who is the man who is walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." She took her , and covered herself. The servant told all the things that he had done. brought her into his mother tent, and took , and she became his wife. He loved her. So was comforted after his mother's .
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The patriarchs, 2000 BC to 1600 BC ›
Abraham's family as herdsmen among settled Canaanite city-states, in a world where Egypt and Mesopotamia are the great powers and Canaan is the corridor between them.
- Mesopotamia
- Abraham's own century is Hammurabi's. The great empire of Ur has already fallen, and Babylon rises under a king who published a law code on a stone pillar for everyone to see. Reading Genesis alongside Hammurabi's laws is illuminating in both directions: some provisions are strikingly similar, and the places where Israel's later law diverges are the places worth stopping at.
- Egypt
- The Middle Kingdom, wealthy, bureaucratic, and organised around the Nile flood. Egyptian tomb paintings from this period show Semitic traders arriving with donkeys and striped cloaks, which is more or less the picture Genesis gives of a family going down to Egypt in a famine. Toward the end of the era the Hyksos, rulers of Semitic origin, take the delta.
- Anatolia and the Aegean
- Assyrian merchants run a long-distance trading colony at Kanesh in Anatolia, leaving thousands of clay letters about copper, tin, and debt. On Crete the Minoan palaces are at their height, with plumbing, frescoes, and a script nobody has yet read.
- Further afield
- The Indus Valley cities are in decline after centuries of grid-planned streets and drains. In China the Erlitou culture is building the first palace complexes. Stonehenge is standing and already old.
All of Genesis