But thou shalt go unto my country,.... Not Canaan, which though his by promise, yet not in possession, but Mesopotamia, as appears from Genesis 24:10; which taken largely included the Chaldea, see Acts 7:2, the country where Abraham was born, and from whence he came: and to my kindred; the family of Nahor his brother, which now dwelt at Haran in...
But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? The servant was very careful. Those that swear too readily they know not what, will...
And the servant said unto him,.... Before he would take the oath, being cautious of it, and desirous of knowing how far it reached, and what it would or would not oblige him to, which was prudently done: peradventure the woman will not be to follow me into this land; supposing this should be the case, as it is not unlikely that the woman would...
And Abraham said unto him,.... Not blaming him for putting such a question, nor charging him with impertinence, but plainly seeing the propriety of it: and in order to clear up this matter to him, gives the following instructions, beware thou, that thou bring not my son thither again; for the command to come out of the land of Chaldea, never to...
And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. He knew that God had called him and his kindred to inherit the land of Canaan, and, therefore, he was not willing that they should go back to their former dwelling-places.
The Lord God of heaven, which took from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred,.... Jarchi distinguishes between his father's house, and the land of his kindred; the former he takes to be Haran, in which he seems to be right; for his father and his family came with him from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran, and there stayed, from whence...
The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. What simple faith! This was the very glory of Abraham’s faith; it was...
And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee,.... Or "but" if (m), which is said by Abraham, not as doubting she would be willing, of which he was satisfied, being persuaded that that God that had made him willing to leave his own country, and his father's house, would make her willing to do the like, and come and settle with his son in the...
And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master...
And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master,.... Or "then" or "therefore the servant", c. (n) being satisfied of the nature and extent of his oath, and thoroughly understanding how he was to act upon it, readily took it by using this rite, [See comments on Genesis 24:2] and sware to him concerning that matter; of taking a...
And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed,.... Camels were much in use in the eastern countries; where, as Pliny (o) says, they were brought up among their herds of cattle, and their riches much consisted in them. Arabia abounded with them; Job had three thousand of them, Job 1:3; how many Abraham had is not said,...
And he made his camels to kneel down,.... Which these creatures are used to do when they are loaded and unloaded, and also when they take rest, and it was for the sake of the latter they were now made to kneel. It seems that this is what is not natural to them, but what they are learned to do: it is said (r), "as soon as a camel is born they tie...
And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham,.... He does not call the Lord his God, though no doubt he was, since he appears throughout the whole to be a good man; but the God of Abraham, because God had often manifested and renewed his covenant with Abraham in an eminent manner, and had bestowed many favours upon him, and admitted him to much...
And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may...
Behold, I stand [here] by the well of water,.... Wishing, hoping, and expecting that something would turn out that would direct and instruct what further to do, and that would lead on to the business he came about: and the daughters of the men of the city came out to draw water; which was the usual custom in those parts about that time. So Homer...
And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink,.... The pitcher of water she should have upon her shoulder, after she had drawn it out of the well: and she shall say, drink, and I will give thy camels drink also; not only very readily and courteously invite him to drink himself but...
And it came to pass, before he had done speaking,.... In his heart, Genesis 24:45; for his prayer was mental; while the last words were dropping from him, that very moment, as the Targum of Jonathan; so soon were his prayers heard and answered, Isaiah 65:24; that behold Rebekah came out; out of Haran, the city of Nahor: who was born to Bethuel,...
And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, Ay, he did not know that promise, “While they are yet speaking I will hear”; but God keeps his promises before he makes them, and, therefore, I am sure he will keep them after he has made them.
That, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And so on; I need not read the rest of the story,...
And the damsel [was] very fair to look upon,.... Of a good countenance and beautiful aspect: a virgin, neither had any man known her; not only was reckoned a virgin, but was really one, pure and incorrupt: and she went down to the well and filled her pitcher, and came up; by which it appears the well lay low, there was a descent unto it, and an...