Genesis 24:21

And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
man	וְהָאִ֥ישׁ ve.ha.'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
wondering	מִשְׁתָּאֵ֖ה mish.ta.'Eh	H7583	to stun · verb, hithpael active participle, masculine singular construct
peace	מַחֲרִ֕ישׁ ma.cha.Rish	H2790	to scratch · verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
wit	לָדַ֗עַת la.Da.'at	H3045	to know (properly · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
LORD	יְהוָ֛ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
made	הַֽהִצְלִ֧יחַ ha.hitz.Li.ach	H6743	to push forward · interrogative particle + verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
journey	דַּרְכּ֖וֹ dar.Ko	H1870	a road (as trodden) · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
prosperous	צָלַח tsâlach	H6743	to push forward
or	אִם 'im-	H518	used very widely as demonstrative · particle

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 24:12 And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.
Psalms 107:43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
2 Samuel 7:18-20 Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hithert…
Luke 2:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
Luke 2:51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
Psalms 116:1-7 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
Genesis 24:56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.
Psalms 34:1-6 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

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…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 24:15

before he had done speaking . . . behold, Rebekah came out--As he anticipated, a young woman unveiled, as in pastoral regions, appeared with her pitcher on her shoulder. Her comely appearance, her affable manners, her obliging courtesy in going down the steps to fetch water not only to him but to pour it into the trough for his camels, afforded him the most agreeable surprise. She was the very person his imagination had pictured, and he proceeded to reward her civility.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 24:21

The man, wondering at her - And he was so lost in wonder and astonishment at her simplicity, innocence, and benevolence, that he permitted this delicate female to draw water for ten camels, without ever attempting to afford her any kind of assistance! I know not which to admire most, the benevolence and condescension of Rebekah, or the cold and apparently stupid indifference of the servant of Abraham. Surely they are both of an uncommon cast.

John Gill on Genesis 24:21

And the man wondering at her,.... At her affability and courteousness to a stranger; at her humility and condescension to take upon her such a service; at her readiness, diligence, and laboriousness in it; and the quick dispatch she made; and at her expressions and conduct being so exactly agreeable to the token he desired to have; and at the providence of God in bringing him to this place so seasonably; and at the damsel, that she should come just at this time, and every way answer his expectations and desires: held his peace, to wit; or to know, to think and consider further with himself: whether, or "if" the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not; or if not; he was musing and sayi…

The Church Fathers

The dutiful servant therefore now saw God's providence distinctly. "He kept observing her closely," the text goes on, "and remained silent so as to know if the Lord had made his journey successful or not." What is the meaning of "kept observing her closely"? He kept studying the maiden's very words, her gaze, her walk, her appearance, everything else about her, and waited to see "if the Lord had successfully conducted his journey or not." You see, what had happened so far, the text is saying, showed the maiden's great virtue that exceeded ordinary limits. Hence, to reward her for her response and the offer of water, the text goes on, he pressed upon her "golden earrings and two bracelets." He carefully made enquiries about her, asking, "Whose daughter are you?" and "Is there room in your father's house for us to rest?"
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 48.17

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,…
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.…
Prayer, Answers To · Exemplified: Abraham’s servant — Exemplified: Abraham’s servant
Rebekah (Rebecca) · Becomes — Becomes
Servants · Good — Exemplified: Eliezer — Good — Exemplified: Eliezer

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).

Genesis 24:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 24:10-28

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 24:15

Adam Clarke on Genesis 24:21

John Gill on Genesis 24:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 24:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 24:10-28

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 24:15

Adam Clarke on Genesis 24:21

John Gill on Genesis 24:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 24:21

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 24:21

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 24:15-22

Rashi on Genesis 24:16