to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD
יְהוָ֗הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God
אֱלֹהֵי֙'e.lo.Hei
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct
master
אֲדֹנִ֣י'a.do.Ni
H113
sovereign · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
Abraham
אַבְרָהָ֔ם'av.ra.Ham
H85
Abraham · proper noun, a man's name
me
לְפָנַ֖יle.fa.Nai
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
speed
הַקְרֵהhak.reh-
H7136
to light upon (chiefly by accident) · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
day
הַיּ֑וֹםhai.Yom
H3117
a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
shew
וַעֲשֵׂהva.'a.seh-
H6213
to do or make · conjunction + verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
kindness
חֶ֕סֶדChe.sed
H2617
kindness · noun, common masculine singular absolute
unto
עִ֖ם'im
H5973
adverb or preposition · preposition
master
אֲדֹנִ֥י'a.do.Ni
H113
sovereign · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
Abraham
אַבְרָהָֽם'av.ra.Ham
H85
Abraham · 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 24:27 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the…
Exodus 3:6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was…
Genesis 26:24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless th…
Genesis 24:42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:
Genesis 24:48 And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take…
Exodus 3:15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God…
2 Kings 2:14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had s…
Psalms 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
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…
And he said, O Lord God of my master--The servant appears worthy of the master he served. He resolves to follow the leading of Providence; and while he shows good sense in the tokens he fixes upon of ascertaining the temper and character of the future bride, he never doubts but that in such a case God will direct him.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 24:12
And he said, O Lord God, etc. - "The conduct of this servant," says Dr. Dodd, "appears no less pious than rational. By supplicating for a sign, he acknowledges God to be the great superintendent and director of the universe, and of that event in particular; and at the same time, by asking a natural sign, such as betokened humanity, condescension, and other qualities which promised a discreet and virtuous wife, he puts his prayer upon such a discreet, rational footing, as to be a proper example for all to imitate who would not tempt the providence of God, by expecting extraordinary signs to be given them for the determination of cases which they are capable of deciding by a proper use of thei…
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 nearness and communion with him; and it was not on his own account, but on his master's business he now was:
I pray thee, send me good speed this day; or "cause something to happen before me this day" (u); some extraordinary event, which depends not upon the will, or skill, or contrivance of men, but upon the pleasure of God; and which, with respect…
The Church Fathers
Consider, in fact, I ask you, dearly beloved, how important it was that a tender maiden while drawing water not only did not decline the request but also took down the water jar from her shoulders and gave the petitioner his fill, stranger though he was and quite unknown to her. She gave water not only to him but also to all the camels, thus betraying by her behavior indications of her nobility of soul. Did she not realize that many, men included, often decline such requests? Why do I refer to the gift of water? Sometimes, when people holding torches are asked by those approaching them to wait a while so as to allow a lamp to be lit, they refuse even to do this, despite the fire's suffering no diminution even should those intending to light their torch be beyond count. In this case, on the contrary, a woman, a maiden, carrying a water jar on her shoulders, not only did not object to the request but even was more generous than the request in supplying the drink, hurrying of her own volition to water the camels as well.
"Lord," he says, "the God of my master Abraham, be my guide today, and have compassion on my master Abraham," as if to say, "Bring his wishes to effect, and conduct everything according to his intention." "Have compassion on my master Abraham": what does "have compassion" mean? Fulfill his desire. Then he said, "Lo, I am standing at the spring, and the daughters of the inhabitants of the city are coming out to draw water. Whichever maiden to whom I say, 'Lower your water jar that I may drink,' and she says, 'Drink and I shall water your camels till they all stop drinking'—let her be the one you have prepared for your servant Isaac, and in this I shall know that you have had compassion on my master Abraham." Note the servant's sagacity. He was aware of the patriarch's hospitality and the fact that the maiden destined to be brought there should have similar qualities to those of the good man. So, far from looking for any other indication, he was anxious to distinguish the maiden's hospitality from her attitude. He said, "If, in response to my request to her for water, she lowers her water jar and not only heeds my request but also gives evidence of the generosity of her own attitude by saying, 'I will water your camels as well,' she will have given me sufficient demonstration of the mildness of her manners by the offer of water."
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…
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.…
Loving-Kindness Of God, The · Pray for the: Extension of — Pray for the: Extension of
Prayer, Intercessory · Should be offered up for: Masters — Should be offered up for: Masters
O lord God of my master Abraham. The servant, being destitute of counsel, retakes himself to prayers. Yet he does not simply ask counsel of the Lord; but he also prays that the maid appointed to be the wife of Isaac should be brought to him with a certain sign, from which he might gather that she was divinely presented to him. It is an evidence of his piety and faith, that in a matter of such perplexity he is not bewildered, as one astonished; but breaks forth into prayer with a collected mind. But the method which he uses [4] seems scarcely consistent with the true rule of prayer. For, first, we know that no one prays aright unless he subjects his own wishes to God. Wherefore there is nothi…
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).
Providence Of God, The · Saints should: Pray to be guided by — Saints should: Pray to be guided by
Servants · Duties of, to masters: To pray for them — Duties of, to masters: To pray for them
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).
