Hands-On Bible Sampler - Flipbook - Page 54
Genesis 24 ... page 24
from you. Let me pay the full price for the field so
I can bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “My lord,
please listen to me. The land is worth 400 pieces
of silver, but what is that between friends? Go
ahead and bury your dead.”
16So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price and
paid the amount he had suggested—400 pieces
of silver, weighed according to the market standard. The Hittite elders witnessed the transaction.
17So Abraham bought the plot of land belonging to Ephron at Machpelah, near Mamre. This
included the field itself, the cave that was in it,
and all the surrounding trees. 18It was transferred to Abraham as his permanent possession
in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city
gate. 19 Then Abraham buried his wife, Sarah,
there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near
Mamre (also called Hebron). 20So the field and
the cave were transferred from the Hittites to
Abraham for use as a permanent burial place.
CHAPTER
24
A Wife for Isaac
Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord
had blessed him in every way. 2One day Abraham
said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of
his household, “Take an oath by putting your
hand under my thigh. 3 Swear by the Lord, the
God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow
my son to marry one of these local Canaanite
women. 4Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a
young woman who is willing to travel so far from
home? Should I then take Isaac there to live
among your relatives in the land you came
from?”
6“No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never
to take my son there. 7 For the Lord, the God of
heaven, who took me from my father’s house and
my native land, solemnly promised to give this
land to my descendants. He will send his angel
ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a
wife there for my son. 8If she is unwilling to
come back with you, then you are free from this
oath of mine. But under no circumstances are
you to take my son there.”
9 So the servant took an oath by putting his
hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He
swore to follow Abraham’s instructions. 10Then
he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds
of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to
the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had
settled. 11He made the camels kneel beside a
well just outside the town. It was evening, and
the women were coming out to draw water.
12 “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he
prayed. “Please give me success today, and show
unfailing love to my master, Abraham. 13 See, I
am standing here beside this spring, and the
young women of the town are coming out to
draw water. 14 This is my request. I will ask one of
them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If
she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your
camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that
you have shown unfailing love to my master.”
15Before he had finished praying, he saw a
young woman named Rebekah coming out with
her water jug on her shoulder. She was the
daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. 16Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be
married, but she was still a virgin. She went down
to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again.
17Running over to her, the servant said, “Please
give me a little drink of water from your jug.”
18 “Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.”
And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink. 19 When she had given
him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your
camels, too, until they have had enough to
drink.” 20So she quickly emptied her jug into the
watering trough and ran back to the well to draw
water for all his camels.
21 The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether or not the Lord had given him success in his mission. 22 Then at last, when the
camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold
ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for
her wrists.
23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And
please tell me, would your father have any room
to put us up for the night?”
24“I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied.
“My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah. 25 Yes,
we have plenty of straw and feed for the camels,
and we have room for guests.”
26The man bowed low and worshiped the
Lord. 27 “Praise the Lord, the God of my master,
Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has
led me straight to my master’s relatives.”
28The young woman ran home to tell her family everything that had happened. 29Now Rebekah
had a brother named Laban, who ran out to meet
the man at the spring. 30He had seen the nose-
