Abraham: The Covenant

But if the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are released from your obligation under my oath. Just don't bring my son back there."

The servant put his hand under the thigh of Avraham his master and swore to him concerning the matter.

Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and all kinds of gifts from his master, got up and went to Aram-Naharayim, to Nachor's city.

Toward evening, when the women go out to draw water, he had the camels kneel down outside the city by the well.

He said, "ADONAI, God of my master Avraham, please let me succeed today; and show your grace to my master Avraham.

Here I am, standing by the spring, as the daughters of the townsfolk come out to draw water.

I will say to one of the girls, 'Please lower your jug, so that I can drink.' If she answers, 'Yes, drink; and I will water your camels as well,' then let her be the one you intend for your servant Yitz'chak. This is how I will know that you have shown grace to my master."

Before he had finished speaking, Rivkah the daughter of B'tu'el son of Milkah the wife of Nachor Avraham's brother, came out with her jug on her shoulder.

The girl was very beautiful, a virgin, never having had sexual relations with any man. She went down to the spring, filled her jug and came up.

The servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a sip of water from your jug to drink."

"Drink, my lord," she replied, and immediately lowered her jug onto her arm and let him drink.

When she was through letting him drink, she said, "I will also draw water for your camels until they have drunk their fill."

She quickly emptied her jug into the trough, then ran again to the well to draw water, and kept on drawing water for all his camels.

The man gazed at her in silence, waiting to find out whether ADONAI had made his trip successful or not.

When the camels were done drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing one-fifth of an ounce and two gold bracelets weighing four ounces

and asked, "Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"

She answered, "I am the daughter of B'tu'el the son Milkah bore to Nachor,"

adding, "We have plenty of straw and fodder, and room for staying overnight."

The man bowed his head and prostrated himself before ADONAI.

Then he said, "Blessed be ADONAI, God of my master Avraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love for my master; because ADONAI has guided me to the house of my master's kinsmen."

The girl ran off and told her mother's household what had happened.

Rivkah had a brother named Lavan. When he saw the nose-ring, and the bracelets on his sister's wrists besides, and when he heard his sister Rivkah's report of what the man had said to her, he ran out to the spring and found the man standing there by the camels.

And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.

"Come on in," he said, "you whom ADONAI has blessed! Why are you standing outside when I have made room in the house and prepared a place for the camels?"

So the man went inside, and while the camels were being unloaded and provided straw and fodder, water was brought for him to wash his feet and the feet of the men with him.