10Ephron was present among the Hittites; so Ephron the Hittite an- swered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, all who entered the gate of his town,a saying, 11“No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and I give you the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.” 12Then Abraham bowed low before the people of the land, 13and spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If only you would hear me out! Let me pay the price of the land; accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” 14And Ephron replied to Abraham, saying to him, 15“My lord, do hear me! A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between you and me? Go and bury your dead.” 16Abraham accepted Ephron’s terms. Abraham paid out to Ephron the money that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites—four hundred shekels of silver at the going mer- chants’ rate.
17So Ephron’s land in Machpelah, near Mamre—the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the confines of that field—passed 18to Abraham as his possession, in the presence of the Hittites, of all who entered the gate of his town.a 19And then Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre—now Hebron—in the land of Canaan. 20Thus the field with its cave passed from the Hittites to Abraham, as a burial site.
24 Abraham was now old, advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 2And Abraham said to the senior servant of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, “Put your hand under my thigh 3and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell, 4but will go to the land of my birth and get a wife for my son Isaac.” 5And the servant said to him, “What if the woman does not consent to follow me to this land, shall I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6Abraham answered him, “On no account must you take my son back there! 7The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from my native land, who promised me on oath, saying, ‘I will assign this land to your offspring’—He will send His angel before you, and you will get a wife for my son from there. 8And if the woman does not consent to follow you, you shall then be clear of this oath to me; but do not take my son back there.” 9So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore to him as bidden.a
10Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and set out, taking with him all the bounty of his master; and he made his way to Aram- naharaim, to the city of Nahor. 11He made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city, at evening time, the time when women come out to draw water. 12And he said, “O LORD, God of my master Abraham, grant me good fortune this day, and deal graciously with my master Abraham: 13Here I stand by the spring as the daughters of the townsmen come out to draw water; 14let the maiden to whom I say, ‘Please, lower your jar that I may drink,’ and who replies, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels’—let her be the one whom You have decreed for Your servant Isaac. Thereby shall I know that You have dealt graciously with my mas- ter.”
15He had scarcely finished speaking, when Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. 16The maiden was very beautiful, a virgin whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. 17The servant ran toward her and said, “Please, let me sip a little water from your jar.” 18“Drink, my lord,” she said, and she quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and let him drink. 19When she had let him drink his fill, she said, “I will also draw for your camels, until they finish drinking.” 20Quickly emptying her jar into the trough, she ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels.
21The man, meanwhile, stood gazing at her, silently wondering whether the LORD had made his errand successful or not. 22When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing a half-shekel,b and two gold bands for her arms, ten shekels in weight. 23“Pray tell me,” he said, “whose daughter are you? Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24She replied, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25And she went on, “There is plenty of strawc and feed at home, and also room to spend the night.” 26The man bowed low in homage to the LORD 27and said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His steadfast faithfulness from my master. For I have been guided on my errand by the LORD, to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”
28The maiden ran and told all this to her mother’s household. 29Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man at the spring—30when he saw the nose-ring and the bands on his sister’s arms, and when he heard his sister Rebekah say, “Thus the man spoke to me.” He went up to the man, who was still standing beside the camels at the spring. 31“Come in, O blessed of the LORD,” he said, “why do you remain outside, when I have made ready the house and a place for the camels?” 32So the man entered the house, and the camels were unloaded. The camels were given straw and feed, and water was brought to bathe his feet and the feet of the men with him. 33But when food was set before him, he said, “I will not eat until I have told my tale.” He said, “Speak, then.”
34“I am Abraham’s servant,” he began. 35“The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich: He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and asses. 36And Sarah, my master’s wife, bore my master a son in her old age, and he has assigned to him everything he owns. 37Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell; 38but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’ 39And I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not follow me?’ 40He replied to me, ‘The LORD, whose ways I have followed, will send His angel with you and make your errand successful; and you will get a wife for my son from my kindred, from my father’s house. 41Thus only shall you be freed from my adjuration: if, when you come to my kindred, they refuse you—only then shall you be freed from my adjuration.’
42“I came today to the spring, and I said: O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if You would indeed grant success to the errand on which I am engaged! 43As I stand by the spring of water, let the young woman who comes out to draw and to whom I say, ‘Please, let me drink a little water from your jar,’ 44and who answers, ‘You may drink, and I will also draw for your camels’—let her be the wife whom the LORD has decreed for my master’s son.’ 45I had scarcely finished praying in my heart, when Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew. And I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46She quickly lowered her jar and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. 47I inquired of her, ‘Whose daugh- ter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ And I put the ring on her nose and the bands on her arms. 48Then I bowed low in homage to the LORD and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right way to get the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49And now, if you mean to treat my master with true kindness, tell me; and if not, tell me also, that I may turn right or left.”
50Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The matter was decreed by the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be a wife to your master’s son, as the LORD has spoken.” 52When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed low to the ground before the LORD. 53The servant brought out objects of silver
