Genesis 24:10 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 24:10
And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
a servant · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
took
וַיִּקַּ֣חvai.yi.Kach
H3947
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
ten
עֲשָׂרָ֨ה'a.sa.Rah
H6235
ten (as an accumulation to the extent of the digits) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
camels
גְמַלִּ֜יםge.ma.Lim
H1581
a camel · noun, common both genders plural absolute
camels
מִגְּמַלֵּ֤יmi.ge.ma.Lei
H1581
a camel · preposition + noun, common both genders plural construct
master
אֲדֹנָיו֙'a.do.Nav
H113
sovereign · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
departed
יָלַךְyâlak
H3212
to walk (literally or figuratively)
goods
ט֥וּבtuv
H2898
good (as a noun) · noun, common masculine singular construct
master
אֲדֹנָ֖יו'a.do.Nav
H113
sovereign · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
hand
בְּיָד֑וֹbe.ya.Do
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
arose
וַיָּ֗קָםvai.Ya.kom
H6965
to rise (in various applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
went
יָלַךְyâlak
H3212
to walk (literally or figuratively)
Mesopotamia
אֲרַ֥ם'a.Ram
H763
Aram of (the) two rivers (Euphrates and Tigris) or Meso… · proper noun, a place name
city
עִ֥יר'ir
H5892
a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · noun, common feminine singular construct
Nahor
נָחֽוֹרna.Chor
H5152
Nochor · proper noun, a man's name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 11:31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went for…
Deuteronomy 23:4 Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam t…
Genesis 24:2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
Genesis 27:43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
Genesis 29:1 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.
Genesis 29:4-5 And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.
Genesis 39:4-6 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
Genesis 39:8-9 But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 24:10-28
Abraham's servant now begins to make a figure in this story; and, though he is not named, yet much is here recorded to his honour, and for an example to all servants, who shall be honoured if, by faithfully serving God and their masters, they adorn the doctrine of Christ (compare Pro 27:18 with Tit 2:10); for there is no respect of persons with God, Col 3:24, Col 3:25. A good servant that makes conscience of the duty of his place, and does it in the fear of God, though he make not a figure in the world nor have praise of men, yet shall be owned and accepted of God and have praise of him. Observe here,
I. How faithful Abraham's servant approved himself to his master. Having received his charg…
THE JOURNEY. (Gen. 24:10-67)
the servant took ten camels, &c.--So great an equipage was to give the embassy an appearance worthy of the rank and wealth of Abraham; to carry provisions; to bear the marriage presents, which as usual would be distributed over several beasts; besides one or two spare camels in case of emergency.
went to Mesopotamia, &c.--A stranger in those regions, who wishes to obtain information, stations himself at one of the wells in the neighborhood of a town, and he is sure to learn all the news of the place from the women who frequent them every morning and evening. Eliezer followed this course, and letting his camels rest, he waited till the evening time of water d…
Took ten camels - It appears that Abraham had left the whole management of this business to the discretion of his servant, to take with him what retinue and what dowry he pleased; for it is added, All the goods of his master were in his hand; and in those times it was customary to give a dowry for a wife, and not to receive one with her.
John Gill on Genesis 24:10
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, only ten of them his servant took, being sufficient for his present purpose, and which he took with his master's leave, and by his order. These creatures are very strong and fit for carrying great burdens, even a thousand pound weight, as is affirmed; and for riding, especially such as have two humps on their backs, for some have but one; and for l…
The Church Fathers
Do you see how from the outset the servant showed his regard for his master? See him now showing the benefit of the patriarch's instruction by imitating the good man's godliness. "The servant took ten camels," the text relates, "and a selection of all his master's goods; he set out and traveled into Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor, where he rested the camels outside the city at the well toward evening when the women come out to draw water. He said, 'Lord, the God of my master Abraham.' " See the servant's dutifulness: he names the Lord of the world after the patriarch, saying, "Lord, the God of my master Abraham," who has given evidence of so many kindnesses to him. Why are you surprised if the servant calls him the God of Abraham in this way? The God of all shows how he sets great store by the virtue of good people and says, "I am the God of Jacob, the God of Isaac and the God of Abraham."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Abraham — Father of a multitude, son of Terah, named (Gen. 11:27) before his older brothers Nahor and Haran, because he was the heir of the promises. Till the age of seventy, Abram sojourned among his kindred…
Aram — The son of Shem (Gen. 10:22); according to Gen. 22:21, a grandson of Nahor. In Matt. 1:3, 4, and Luke 3:33, this word is the Greek form of Ram, the father of Amminadab (1 Chr. 2:10). The word means…
Aram-naharaim — Aram of the two rivers, is Mesopotamia (as it is rendered in Gen. 24:10), the country enclosed between the Tigris on the east and the Euphrates on the west (Ps. 60, title); called also the “field of…
Camel — From the Hebrew gamal, “to repay” or “requite,” as the camel does the care of its master. There are two distinct species of camels, having, however, the common characteristics of being “ruminants…
Dromedary — (Isa. 60:6), an African or Arabian species of camel having only one hump, while the Bactrian camel has two. It is distinguished from the camel only as a trained saddle-horse is distinguished from a…
Eliezer — God his help. (1.) “Of Damascus,” the “steward” (R.V., “possessor”) of Abraham’s house (Gen. 15:2, 3). It was probably he who headed the embassy sent by Abraham to the old home of his family in…
Gate — (1.) Of cities, as of Jerusalem (Jer. 37:13; Neh. 1:3; 2:3; 3:3), of Sodom (Gen. 19:1), of Gaza (Judg. 16:3). (2.) Of royal palaces (Neh. 2:8). (3.) Of the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 6:34, 35; 2…
Haran — (1.) Heb. haran; i.e., “mountaineer.” The eldest son of Terah, brother of Abraham and Nahor, and father of Lot, Milcah, and Iscah. He died before his father (Gen. 11:27), in Ur of the Chaldees. (2.)…
Hivites — One of the original tribes scattered over Palestine, from Hermon to Gibeon in the south. The name is interpreted as “midlanders” or “villagers” (Gen. 10:17; 1 Chr. 1:15). They were probably a branch…
Isaac — Laughter. (1) Israel, or the kingdom of the ten tribes (Amos 7:9, 16). (2.) The only son of Abraham by Sarah. He was the longest lived of the three patriarchs (Gen. 21:1-3). He was circumcised when…
And the servant took ten camels. He takes the camels with him, to prove that Abraham is a man of great wealth, in order that he may the more easily obtain what he desires. For even an open-hearted girl would not easily suffer herself to be drawn away to a distant region, unless on the proposed condition of being supplied with the conveniences of life. Exile itself is sad enough, without poverty as its attendant. Therefore, that the maid might not be deterred by the apprehension of want, but rather invited by the prospect of affluence, he ladens ten camels with presents, to give sufficient proof to the inhabitants of Chaldea of the domestic opulence of Abraham. What follows, namely, that "all…
The servant then went, with ten camels and things of every description belonging to his master, into Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor, i.e., Haran, where Nahor dwelt (Gen 11:31, and Gen 12:4). On his arrival there, he made the camels kneel down, or rest, without the city by the well, "at the time of evening, the time at which the women come out to draw water," and at which, now as then, women and girls are in the habit of fetching the water required for the house (vid., Robinson's Palestine ii. 368ff.). He then prayed to Jehovah, the God of Abraham, "Let there come to meet me to-day," sc., the person desired, the object of my mission. He then fixed upon a sign connected with the custom of th…
The servant faithfully carried out the mission, and he glorified God in displaying faithful covenant love for Abraham’s family by bringing all the details together. God sovereignly worked behind the scenes to accomplish his will through the circumstances of those acting responsibly in faith.
24:10-27 The servant obeyed his master’s instructions and trusted God to lead him to the right woman.
24:10 Aram-naharaim (“Aram of the two rivers”) was also called Paddan-aram (“the field of Aram,” cp. 25:20). It was a two-week journey in each direction, so the servant had ten . . . camels for provisions and gifts (24:22, 53).
Laban — White. (1.) The son of Bethuel, who was the son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. He lived at Haran in Mesopotamia. His sister Rebekah was Isaac’s wife (Gen. 24). Jacob, one of the sons of this marriage,…
Mesopotamia — The country between the two rivers (Heb. Aram-naharaim; i.e., “Syria of the two rivers”), the name given by the Greeks and Romans to the region between the Euphrates and the Tigris (Gen. 24:10; Deut.…
Padanaram — By this name, which signifies the table-land of Aram, i.e. Syriac, the Hebrews designated the tract of country which they otherwise called the Aram-naharaim, “Aram of the two of rivers,” the Greek…
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Rebekah — A noose, the daughter of Bethuel, and the wife of Isaac (Gen. 22:23; 24:67). The circumstances under which Abraham’s “steward” found her at the “city of Nahor,” in Padan-aram, are narrated in Gen.…
Syria — (Heb. Aram), the name in the Old Testament given to the whole country which lay to the north-east of Phoenicia, extending to beyond the Euphrates and the Tigris. Mesopotamia is called (Gen. 24:10;…
Camel · .For riding — .For riding
Mesopotamia · Nahor lived in — Nahor lived in
Servants · When Good: Deserve the confidence of their masters — When Good: Deserve the confidence of their masters
Syria · between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River — between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
