Genesis 24:65

For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
said	וַתֹּ֣אמֶר va.To.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
servant	הָעֶ֗בֶד ha.'E.ved	H5650	a servant · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
What	מִֽי mi-	H4310	who? (occasionally · interrogative pronoun
man	הָאִ֤ישׁ ha.'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
this	הַלָּזֶה֙ ha.la.Zeh	H1976	this very · demonstrative particle
walketh	הַהֹלֵ֤ךְ ha.ho.Lekh	H1980	to walk (in a great variety of applications · definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
field	בַּשָּׂדֶה֙ ba.sa.Deh	H7704	a field (as flat) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
us	קִרְאָה qirʼâh	H7125	an encountering
servant	הָעֶ֖בֶד ha.'E.ved	H5650	a servant · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
said	וַיֹּ֥אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
master	אֲדֹנִ֑י 'a.do.Ni	H113	sovereign · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
took	וַתִּקַּ֥ח va.ti.Kach	H3947	to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
vail	הַצָּעִ֖יף ha.tza.'If	H6809	a veil · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
herself	וַתִּתְכָּֽס va.tit.Kas	H3680	properly · conjunction + verb, hithpael sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular

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 Timothy 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pea…
1 Corinthians 11:5-6 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
1 Corinthians 11:10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
Genesis 20:16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 24:62–end

Isaac and Rebekah are, at length, happily brought together. Observe, I. Isaac was well employed when he met Rebekah: He went out to meditate, or pray, in the field, at the even-tide, Gen 24:62, Gen 24:63. Some think he expected the return of his servants about this time, and went out on purpose to meet them. But, it should seem, he went out on another errand, to take the advantage of a silent evening and a solitary field for meditation and prayer, those divine exercises by which we converse with God and our own hearts. Note, 1. Holy souls love retirement. It will do us good to be often left alone, walking alone and sitting alone; and, if we have the art of improving solitude, we shall find w…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 24:65

she took a veil, and covered herself--The veil is an essential part of female dress. In country places it is often thrown aside, but on the appearance of a stranger, it is drawn over the face, as to conceal all but the eyes. In a bride it was a token of her reverence and subjection to her husband.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 24:65

She took a veil - הצעיף hatstsaaif. This is the first time this word occurs, and it is of doubtful signification; but most agree to render it a veil or a cloak. The former is the most likely, as it was generally used by women in the east as a sign of chastity, modesty, and subjection.

John Gill on Genesis 24:65

For she had said unto the servant,.... As soon as she saw a man walking towards them, who she thought with herself might be Isaac: what man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? for by the course he steered, she perceived that he was coming towards them, and so concluded it must be one of the family, and probably the person she was to be married to; for otherwise, had he not by his look and motion discovered that he knew the servant, and was coming towards them, she would have took no notice of him and the servant had said, it is my master: meaning not Abraham, but his son, who also was his master: therefore she took a veil, and covered herself; both out of modesty, and as a token…

The Church Fathers

(Verse 65.) And he took a theristrum, and covered himself. Theristrum is called a cloak, also a type of Arabian garment, with which the women of that province are veiled.
— Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis

Like Rebecca, who, upon learning that Isaac was coming towards her, descended from the camel and covered herself with a cloak (Genesis 24:65): so too this bridal soul anticipated the marriage insignia, lest she be rejected as not having the bridal garment; or lest she veil her head because of the angels.
— Ambrose of Milan, On Isaac and the Soul

However, in regard to those who are betrothed, I can declare and avow this with more than my usual firmness: their heads should be covered from the day when they first trembled at the kiss and handclasp of their future husband. For in these symbols they have pledged every bit of themselves—their life throughout its full development, their flesh throughout their lifetime, their spirit through their understanding [of the contract], their modesty through the exchange of a kiss, their hope through their expectation and their mind through their willingness. For us, Rebekah stands as sufficient example; when her future husband had been pointed out to her, she covered her head with her veil merely because she knew she was to marry him.
— Tertullian, ON PRAYER 22.10

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…
Dress — (1.) Materials used. The earliest and simplest an apron of fig-leaves sewed together (Gen. 3:7); then skins of animals (3:21). Elijah’s dress was probably the skin of a sheep (2 Kings 1:8). The…
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…
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,…
Marriage — Was instituted in Paradise when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:18-24). Here we have its original charter, which was confirmed by our Lord, as the basis on which all regulations are to be framed (Matt.…
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.…
Veil — With regard to the use of the veil, it is important to observe that it was by no means so general in ancient as in modern times. Much of the scrupulousness in respect of the use of the veil dates…
Veil, vail — (1.) Heb. mitpahath (Ruth 3:15; marg., “sheet” or “apron;” R.V., “mantle”). In Isa. 3:22 this word is plural, rendered “wimples;” R.V., “shawls” i.e., wraps. (2.) Massekah (Isa. 25:7; in Isa. 28:20…

Genesis 24:65

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 24:62–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 24:65

Adam Clarke on Genesis 24:65

John Gill on Genesis 24:65

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 24:65

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 24:62–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 24:65

Adam Clarke on Genesis 24:65

John Gill on Genesis 24:65

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 24:64-66

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 24:61–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 24:62

Rashi on Genesis 24:16