Kejadian 24:44-53

24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, ¹  along came Rebekah ²  with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ ³  I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter ⁴  of my master’s brother for his son. 24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” ⁵ 

24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. ⁶  Our wishes are of no concern. ⁷  24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become ⁸  the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” ⁹ 

24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he ¹⁰  brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother.

[24:45]  ¹ tn Heb “As for me, before I finished speaking to my heart.” The adverb טֶרֶם (terem) indicates the verb is a preterite; the infinitive that follows is the direct object.

[24:45]  ² tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out.” As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is used here for dramatic effect.

[24:47]  ³ tn Heb “whom Milcah bore to him.” The referent (Nahor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:48]  ⁴ tn Heb “daughter.” Rebekah was actually the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. One can either translate the Hebrew term בַּת (bat) as “daughter,” in which case the term אָח (’akh) must be translated more generally as “relative” rather than “brother” (cf. NASB, NRSV) or one can translate בַּת as “granddaughter,” in which case אָח may be translated “brother” (cf. NIV).

[24:49]  ⁵ tn Heb “and I will turn to the right or to the left.” The expression apparently means that Abraham’s servant will know where he should go if there is no further business here.

[24:50]  ⁶ tn Heb “From the Lord the matter has gone out.”

[24:50]  ⁷ tn Heb “We are not able to speak to you bad or good.” This means that Laban and Bethuel could not say one way or the other what they wanted, for they viewed it as God’s will.

[24:51]  ⁸ tn Following the imperatives, the jussive with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[24:51]  ⁹ tn Heb “as the Lord has spoken.”

[24:53]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the servant”; the noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.