to kneel · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
camels
הַגְּמַלִּ֛יםha.ge.ma.Lim
H1581
a camel · definite article + noun, common both genders plural absolute
down
בָרַךְbârak
H1288
to kneel
without
מִח֥וּץmi.Chutz
H2351
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
city
לָעִ֖ירla.'Ir
H5892
a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
by
אֶל'el-
H413
near · preposition
well
בְּאֵ֣רbe.'Er
H875
a pit · noun, common feminine singular construct
water
הַמָּ֑יִםha.Ma.yim
H4325
water · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
time
לְעֵ֣תle.'Et
H6256
time · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
evening
עֶ֔רֶב'E.rev
H6153
dusk · noun, common masculine singular absolute
time
לְעֵ֖תle.'Et
H6256
time · preposition + noun, common both genders singular absolute
out
צֵ֥אתtzet
H3318
to go (causatively · verb, qal infinitive construct
draw
הַשֹּׁאֲבֹֽתha.sho.'a.Vot
H7579
to bale up water · definite article + verb, qal active participle, feminine plural absolute
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
1 Samuel 9:11 And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here?
Exodus 2:16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
John 4:7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
Genesis 24:13-20 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
Genesis 33:13-14 And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overd…
Proverbs 12:10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
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…
He made his camels to kneel down - To rest themselves, or lie down, as the Septuagint has very properly expressed it, Και εκοιμισε τας καμηλους.
The time that women go out to draw water - In Bengal it is the universal practice for the women to go to pools and rivers to fetch water. Companies of four, six, ten, or more, may be seen in every town daily going to fetch water, with the pitchers resting upon their sides; and, on their return from bathing, women frequently bring water home - Ward.
The Church Fathers
"In the evening," then, she came to the waters. Concerning the evening we have already spoken above. But observe the prudence of the servant: he does not wish to take a bride for his lord Isaac unless he finds one comely and beautiful of face, a virgin — and not only a virgin, but one whom no man has touched — and unless he finds one drawing water; he does not wish to betroth any other to his lord. He does not give her ornaments unless she is such a one; he does not give "earrings," he does not give "bracelets"; she remains unadorned, untaught, uncombed. Do we suppose that Rebekah's father, a rich man, did not have bracelets and earrings to place upon his daughter? Was there such negligence or avarice in him that he would not give ornaments to his daughter? But Rebekah does not wish to be adorned with the gold of Bethuel. The ornaments of a barbarous and unskilled man are not worthy of her; she seeks necklaces from the house of Abraham, because patience is adorned from the house of the wise. Therefore Rebekah's ears could not receive their proper adornment unless Abraham's servant came and himself adorned them; nor do her hands receive ornaments except those which Isaac has sent. For she wishes to receive golden words in her ears and to have golden deeds in her hands. But these she could not first receive nor deserve, unless she had come to the wells to draw waters. You who do not wish to come to the waters, who do not wish to receive in your ears the golden words of the prophets, how will you be able to be adorned in doctrine, adorned in deeds, adorned in character?
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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.…
Camel · Docility of — Docility of
John Gill on Genesis 24:11
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 his four feet under his belly, put a carpet over his back, and stones upon the borders of it, that he may not be able to rise for twenty days together; thus they teach him the habit of bending his knees to rest himself, or when he is to be loaded or unloaded.''This was done
without the city; the city of Nahor, Haran, near to which the servant was now…
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).
Woman · Often engaged in: Drawing and carrying water — Often engaged in: Drawing and carrying water
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).
