And Abraham was old, well stricken in age; and Hashem had blessed Abraham in all things.
verse value 1471
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. The shortest word is "advanced" (בָּ֖א, 2 letters) and the longest is "Abraham" (אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֖ם, 7 letters). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "advanced" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "and·Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis); "in·all" (root כל, 127x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·days', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְאַבְרָהָ֣ם [and·Abraham] (254) + זָקֵ֔ן [old] (157) + בָּ֖א [advanced] (3) + בַּיָּמִ֑ים [in·the·days] (102) + וַֽיהֹוָ֛ה [and·Hashem] (32) + בֵּרַ֥ךְ [blessed] (222) + אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֖ם [Abraham] (649) + בַּכֹּֽל [in·all] (52) = 1471.
Onkelos
Abraham was old, advanced in days, and Hashem had blessed Abraham in everything.
Rashi
ברך את אברהם בכל [THE LORD HAD] BLESSED ABRAHAM IN ALL THINGS — The numerical value of the word בכל is equal to that of בן (a son) — suggesting that God had blessed Abraham with a son and since he had a son he had to find him a wife.
Ramban
AND ABRAHAM WAS OLD, WELL STRICKEN IN AGE. Scripture reiterates [Abraham’s old age although it has already mentioned it] in order to inform us of the reason that he adjured his servant. Thus Scripture says that because Abraham saw himself to be very old and he thought that if he will send the servant to the land of his origin, perhaps before the messenger would return, he will have gone to his long home, he therefore adjured his servant — whose counsel Isaac would follow since he ruled over all that he had here. — that he should not take for him a wife from the daughters of Canaan. In Bereshith Rabbah,6048:19. the Rabbis said: “Here it was old age combined with vitality; further on it was old age without vitality.” By this the Rabbis wanted to explain that ba’im [literally: “coming” in days — mentioned above] — means the beginning of the days of old age, as the word ba’im indicates the present, just as, ‘Haba’im’ (those that come) in at these gates. But here it says that he was very old for already he was ba bayamim [literally: “he had come in days” — past tense], just as: Thy brother ‘ba’ (came) with subtlety. AND THE ETERNAL HAD BLESSED ABRAHAM IN ALL THINGS. I.e., with riches, possessions, honor, longevity and children, which are all the treasures of man. Scripture mentions this in order to say that Abraham was perfect in every detail, lacking in no respect save seeing his son have children who would inherit his superior position and his honor. This was why he desired it. Now our Rabbis have a wonderful insight into this verse. They said: “And the Eternal had blessed Abraham ‘bakol’ (in all things). Rabbi Meir said that Abraham was blessed in that he did not have a daughter. Rabbi Yehudah said that he did have a daughter. Acheirim Rabbi Meir is sometimes called by this name. Here, however, it could not refer to him since his opinion has already been stated. Acheirim here refers to anonymous authorities or to the opinion of Rabbi Meir’s master, Elisha ben Abuyah, who was also known as Acheir. See Chagigah 15a. say that he did have a daughter and her name was Bakol.” Rabbi Meir thus explained that Abraham did not have a daughter. This was a blessing for Abraham for he could not have married her except to the cursed sons of Canaan. If he were to send her to his country, she would also worship the idols as they did because a woman is subject to the authority of her husband. Indeed, Abraham did not want his worthy children from his wife Sarah to go outside the Land, and surely not that they worship the idols. Rabbi Yehudah, however, explained that Abraham did have a daughter since the Merciful One did not even cause him to lack a daughter, and that was the blessing implied by the expression, in all things, for he had everything that people desire, completely without exception. Then came Acheirim and mentioned the name of the daughter. Now truthfully, the intent of Acheirim and their controversy with Rabbi Yehudah were not merely to inform us of the name of this daughter. Far it be from them to expend the great and generalized blessing of Abraham on this matter, i.e., that Scripture is saying that G-d blessed him with one daughter with that name. However, Acheirim established a new interpretation on this verse, a very profound matter, and they explained with it one of the secrets of the Torah. Thus they said that the word bakol hints at a great matter, namely, that the Holy One, blessed be He, has an attribute called Kol (All), so called because it is the foundation of everything. It is with reference to this attribute that it says, I am the Eternal that maketh ‘Kol’ (all). And this is also what Scripture says, And the profit of the earth is ‘bakol’ (in all), that is to say, the profit of the earth and the abundant goodness that is bestowed upon all that come into the world is on account of this attribute Kol. It is the eighth attribute of the thirteen attributes. And there is another attribute called bath [literally “daughter”] that emanates from it, and with it He moves everything. This is “the Court of the Holy One, blessed be He,” that is hinted at in the word, Vahashem (And the Eternal), in all places. It is called kalah (bride) in the book of The Song of Songs because it is comprised of hakol (the All), and it is this attribute which the Sages have surnamed Knesseth Yisrael (the assembly of Israel) in many places because it is the gathering of hakol (the All). It was this attribute which was to Abraham as a bath because he was the man of kindness, and he conducted himself in accordance with it. This was why Acheirim said that this blessing with which Abraham had been blessed in all things does not allude either to his having begotten a daughter from his wife Sarah, as Rabbi Yehudah said, or not, as Rabbi Meir claimed, but instead it hints at a great matter, i.e., that he was blessed with an attribute called bath which is contained in the attribute Kol, and is therefore also called Kol, being analogous to the expression, For My name is in him. Thus Abraham was blessed in heaven and on earth. This is why he said, By the Eternal, the G-d of heaven and the G-d of the earth. here. This matter is to be found hinted at in the traditions of our Rabbis in many places. Thus they said in the Midrash Chazita: The name Chazita is derived from the first word in the verse with which this Midrash opens. ‘Chazita’ (Seest thou) a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings. (Proverbs 22:29.) The Midrash quoted is found ibid., 3:21. “Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai asked Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Yosi, ‘Have you possibly heard from your father of the meaning of the verse, The crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him?’ He said to him, ‘Yes.’ He asked, ‘How?’ He replied, ‘It is like a king who had an only daughter whom he loved very much, and he would call her “my daughter.” This did not completely express his love for her until he called her “my sister.” Still he was not satisfied until he called her “my mother.” In the same way, the Holy One, blessed be He, loved Israel in the beginning and called them “My daughter.” It is this which Scripture says, Hearken, O daughter, and consider. This did not completely express His love for them until He called them “My sister,” as it is said, Open to me, my sister, my love. Still He was not satisfied until He called them “My mother,” as it is said, Attend unto Me, O My people, ‘ule’umi’ (O My nation). The word is written le’imi (O My mother).’ Then Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai arose and kissed him on his head, and he said to him, ‘Had I come to listen to this word of yours it would have been sufficient.’…”Now, had the commentator who prides himself on his knowledge of the Torah’s secrets ” known this, his lips would be dumb and not deride the words of our Rabbis. Therefore, I have written this in order to silence those who speak arrogantly against the righteous one.
Ibn Ezra
"And they rode upon the camels" — those that the servant had brought. "And he went" (וַיֵּלַךְ) — [the vowel under the lamed] is a patah, even though it falls at the end of a verse, and it does not take a qamatz, because its original vowel was a small patah [segol], and a vowel cannot rise two degrees. Similarly, every instance of "וַיֹּאמַר" [follows the same rule]. The meaning of "the servant took Rebekah and went" is that he was going along with Rebekah, and he did not notice [Isaac] until Isaac came.
Sforno
Avraham was old. He was concerned that he might die without seeing his son married off; therefore he resolved to seek a wife for him without delay. Place your hand. Because of his wealth Avraham was concerned that someone unworthy might bribe Eliezer into taking his daughter for Yitzchok. For this reason he made him swear not to take a Canaanite woman.
Or HaChaim
ואברהם זקן, And Abraham was old, etc. Inasmuch as Abraham felt that he had aged and also in view of the fact that G'd had greatly blessed him, he worried that the servant who was in charge of all this wealth while his master was visibly aging would develop notions of marrying his daughter to Isaac. Eliezer might want to secure Abraham's wealth for himself through the marriage of his daughter to Abraham's son. This is the reason Abraham made Eliezer swear an oath concerning the fact that his son was not to marry someone of Canaanite descent. Eliezer would thus get the message that his daughter was not suitable marriage material for a son of Abraham who was blessed whereas the Canaanites were cursed (compare Bereshit Rabbah 59,9).
Chizkuni
ואברהם זקן, “and by now Avraham had visibly aged;” he could no longer move around easily, and that is why he sent his servant (to select a bride for Yitzchok).
Rabbeinu Bahya
ואברהם זקן בא בימים, “Avraham was old, getting on in years, etc.” The meaning of the verse is 1) seeing Avraham felt that he had aged he was afraid that he might die before Yitzchak had married. He did not want to send off his servant without an oath in the event he would not return from his mission before he, Avraham, had died. By making Eliezer swear he assured himself that Yitzchak would do what he wanted as Yitzchak was in the habit of listening to Eliezer’s advice. The reason Avraham did not impose an oath on Yitzchak instead was so that the servant would not be able to fool Yitzchak by presenting any number of arguments seeing hat he was not under oath to Avraham. Avraham considered the Canaanite as captive to deceitful practices as we know from Hoseah 12,8: כנען בידו מאזני מרמה לעשוק אהב, “A Canaanite uses false weights, loves to overreach.” He made the servant swear to reinforce Eliezer’s obligation in the matter. Tanchuma Chayey Sarah 2 claims that there are four possible causes why premature old age suddenly settles on a person. 1) because he lives in fear of something; 2) because he is angry at his children; 3) because he is married to an evil person; 4) because of being involved in waging wars. The respective verses from Scripture quoted by that Midrash to support its claim are 1) Chronicles 1 21,30 “and David was unable to go to it to worship the Lord because he was terrified by the sword of the angel of the Lord.” We also have a verse in Kings I, 1,1 “and King David was old, advanced in years.” As to the anger caused to a person by his children aging him, we read in Samuel I 2,22: now Eli was very old. When he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, etc.” We have proof that being engaged in constant warfare ages a person from Joshua 13,1: “Joshua was old, advanced in years.” Concerning a husband’s aging prematurely due to being married to bad women, we find a verse in Kings I 11,4 “it was when Solomon grew old because his wives had turned his heart, etc.” On the other hand, we know that Avraham’s wife had always honoured him and not caused him any grief, for even when she referred to him as old (Genesis 18,12), she still called him אדוני, “my lord.” וה' ברך את אברהם בכל, “and G’d had blessed Avraham with everything.” The plain meaning of the word בכל is Avraham was blessed in every undertaking; he had all types of properties, enjoyed honour both locally and amongst distant countries. He enjoyed old age. He had not been denied any of the things the average person hopes for. The only thing he had not yet achieved was to be blessed with grandchildren. Seeing that he was anxious to become a grandfather, Avraham made his servant take an oath that he would secure a suitable wife for Yitzchak. A Midrashic approach (Baba Batra 16): Concerning the words וה' ברך את אברהם בכל, Rabbi Meir said that seeing Avraham did not have a daughter, this was a blessing. Rabbi Yehudah said that Avraham did have a daughter. A third (anonymous) view quoted in the Talmud is that the name of that daughter was בכל, hence this was part of the blessings the Torah speaks about Avraham enjoying. Rabbi Meir meant that if Avraham had had a daughter he would have faced the difficulty of finding a husband for her. He most certainly would not have chosen a son-in-law from amongst the local Canaanites, and even if such a daughter would have married someone in Charan, the people there were also idolaters and a woman who is subservient to her husband would have had an untenable position if she had been loyal to her father Avraham’s teachings in the home of her pagan husband. Rabbi Yehudah simply felt that one cannot describe someone as enjoying “all of G’d’s blessings,” unless such a person had also been blessed with having a daughter. The unnamed scholars (אחרים) who claim that Avraham’s daughter was called בכל, revealed a profound mystical dimension to us. When they said that Avraham’s daughter was called בכל, they did not refer to a biological daughter. They referred to a spiritual dimension called בת, “daughter.” Their statement is of a kabbalistic nature [elaborated on by Nachmanides in his commentary on this verse]. They meant that Avraham achieved a virtue known as כל. Anyone who attains this virtue will find himself blessed both on earth and in heaven. This is why these sages said that Avraham was blessed בכל, i.e. “with“ the virtue known as kol. The reason why these sages called this virtue “bat,” is that the greatest (hollow) measure known in the Bible (Kings I 7,26) was the so-called ים של שלמה, the copper basin in front of the Temple from which the priests washed their hands and feet. This basin had a capacity of 2000 bat [equal to 225 times the minimum size of a ritual bath. Ed]. The reason these sages used this measure as their terms of reference when alluding to Avraham’s achievement in the spiritual spheres is that the bat is a sub-category of the virtue (מדה) known as כל. Being a sub-category the name בת, “daughter” is appropriate (just as a subsidiary commercial company is called חברת בת in Hebrew; i.e. “daughter-company.”) In kabbalistic parlance this “virtue,” or “emanation,” is known as the “celestial tribunal of G’d.” This is the reason our verse did not commence with the customary ויברך ה' את אברהם, first describing the actvity, i.e. ויברך, but it first described who carried out the activity, i.e. השם. It is important to appreciate this rule, as it is one of the mystical dimensions of understanding a Torah text.
Kli Yakar
“And Abraham was old, advanced in days.” Many commentators were puzzled, as it was already stated previously And Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in days, and there were approximately thirty-seven years between these two time periods. In Genesis Rabbah (48:16), it concludes that the Holy One, Blessed be He, restored both of them to their youth, and while this explanation is sufficient, it lacks support from the biblical text. Some say that the word “ba’im” [coming/advancing] indicates that specific time, because it should have said “ba’u” [came/advanced, past tense]. Rather, “ba’im” implies that at that time they were continuously coming and going in days, but here it says ba [came/advanced, singular], which implies that he had already come into his days, and this is a correct grammatical observation. According to the simple interpretation, we can say that two are better than one, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. This is because a good wife adds life to her husband, as it is said See life with the wife (Ecclesiastes 9:9), and a good son also adds life to his father, for anyone who raises a righteous son is as if he has not died, all the more so while still alive. Therefore, from Isaac’s birth until Sarah’s death, there was a threefold cord, as Abraham received additional vitality both from his wife and from his son Isaac. During all these days, he remained in one steady state without experiencing the typical weakness of the elderly, for these were days of joy and blessing for him. However, before Isaac’s birth, he only had joy from his wife, and after Sarah’s death, he only had joy from his son. Therefore, these two periods were equivalent — just as it was [before] Isaac’s birth, so it became after Sarah’s death. This is why the same expression is used for these two time periods, even though there was a great distance between them. Therefore, he immediately sought to find a wife for Isaac, thinking perhaps his wife would fill Sarah’s place and he would be happy with her just as with his own wife. And so it was — before Sarah’s sun had set, Rebecca’s sun rose, and she became exactly like Sarah, as Rashi explains regarding the verse and he brought her into Sarah his mother’s tent — that she became like his mother, etc. This provides a proper connection between this verse and Isaac’s marriage. Regarding what is written “came into days [ba bayamim],” for apparently it should have said “went out from the days [yatza min hayamim].” However, this is because it is characteristic of the wicked that their days of youth are for them days of light and a bright day, as these are good for them for their physical pleasures, as this is their entire purpose. And the days of old age are for them like night and not day, for the world becomes dark for them since they can no longer taste the honey at the edge of the staff. Therefore, the earlier days are better for them than these [later days], as if they are exiting from days into nights. But for the righteous, the approach is reversed — they come from nights into days, for the days of old age are better for them for acquiring wisdom. This follows what is said: Do not say, “Why were the earlier days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this (Ecclesiastes 7:10). For one who says this does not value wisdom, therefore regarding the righteous it says “came into days” in their old age. And there are those who say, the reason why [the Torah] mentioned advanced in days was to indicate that old age did not befall him due to suffering, but rather because he had naturally advanced in days, for God had blessed him in everything and he had no suffering. And we can say that this is why he called Eliezer the “elder of his household” — because he was elderly due to the responsibilities of the household being placed upon him. And the verse informs us that because Abraham was elderly, he did not have the strength to go himself, and he also did not want to send Isaac because he said “perhaps he will die suddenly, and who will place his hand upon my eyes [in death].”
Tur HaArokh
ואברהם זקן בא בימים, “Avraham had become old, advanced in years.” The Torah writes this comment at this point in order to inform us that as a result of the death of Sarah, symptoms of old age suddenly became manifest in Avraham’s whole demeanour. This is also what the sages had in mind when they said” “a wife’s death primarily affects her husband.” True, the Torah had already described both Avraham and Sarah as זקנים באים בימים, “old, advanced in years” (18,11), the matter has been repeated because as a result of Sarah having become pregnant and given birth to Yitzchok both she and her husband had become rejuvenated. Avraham now reverted to being an old man. It is also possible to justify the mention of Avraham having become an old man at this point in view of what follows, i.e. his empowering Eliezer to choose a wife for his son Yitzchok, seeing G’d’s promise that he would die at an old age בשלום, i.e. having seen his major hopes fulfilled, this could not occur until Yitzchok had been married and had produced an heir. We know from Psalms 128,6 וראה בנים לבניך שלום על ישראל, “and live to see children of your children, peace be unto Israel,” that until one has been blessed with grandchildren one does not consider oneself as having died בשלום. He therefore had concluded that the time was overdue to see to it that Yitzchok would marry. The Torah testifies that Avraham considered himself as blessed in all areas of life, i.e. וה' ברך את אברהם בכול, although he was too old now to undertake a strenuous journey to Aram Naharayim. The word בא in our verse is to be understood as being in the past tense as in Genesis 27,35 בא אחיך במרמה, “your brother has already come, deviously, etc.” וה' ברך את אברהם בכל, “and the Lord had blessed Avraham in every way; material wealth, property, long life, and all the things which man aspires to make his life enjoyable. The only thing missing in Avraham’s life were grandchildren who would become the heirs of his prominent stature. He therefore decided to take a hand in bringing this about.
And Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, that ruled over all that he had: "Put, I pray you, your hand under my thigh.
verse value 3640
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 50 letters. Verse gematria: 3640 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "the·elder·of" (זְקַ֣ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·all·that·was·his" (בְּכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֑וֹ, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "to·his·servant" (אֶל־עַבְדּוֹ֙), "who·had·charge" (הַמֹּשֵׁ֖ל), "in·all·that·was·his" (בְּכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֑וֹ). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "in·all·that·was·his" (root כל, 127x in Genesis); "his·house" (root בית, 121x in Genesis). First appearance of the root ירך ("my·thigh") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·all·that·was·his', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֣אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אַבְרָהָ֗ם [Abraham] (248) + אֶל־עַבְדּוֹ֙ [to·his·servant] (113) + זְקַ֣ן [the·elder·of] (157) + בֵּית֔וֹ [his·house] (418) + הַמֹּשֵׁ֖ל [who·had·charge] (375) + בְּכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֑וֹ [in·all·that·was·his] (589) + שִֽׂים־נָ֥א [put·please] (401) + יָדְךָ֖ [your·hand] (34) + תַּ֥חַת [under] (808) + יְרֵכִֽי [my·thigh] (240) = 3640.
Onkelos
And Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household, who ruled over all that was his: Place your hand now under my thigh.
Rashi
זקן ביתו THE ELDER OF HIS HOUSE — Because the noun is in the construct state the ק is punctuated with a Patach. תחת ירכי UNDER MY THIGH — because whoever takes an oath must take in his hand some sacred object. such as a Scroll of the Law or Tefillin (Shevuot 38b). As circumcision was the first commandment given to him and became his only through much pain it was consequently dear to him and therefore he selected this as the object upon which to take the oath (Genesis Rabbah 59:8).
Ibn Ezra
"Came from coming" (בָּא מִבּוֹא) — this is a place-name, called by two names. Some say that "ba mevo" means from within, explaining likewise "who shuts every house of entry" (Isaiah 24:10). But what seems correct to me is that it is a verbal noun, and the meaning is: he came by way of the approach of Beer-lahai-roi. "And he was dwelling" — for in those days he was living there. It is on the southern edge of the Land of Israel.
Chizkuni
זקן ביתו, “the senior servant of his household;” Eliezer was old enough so that Avraham did not have to worry that he would take advantage of his position to indulge in incestuous conduct. תחת ירכי, according to the plain meaning of the word it has nothing to do with the place where Avraham had circumcised himself, although it was the most sacred symbol of his body. If it had, why did Avraham not make him swear an oath by using it as the focus instead of using Hashem as his focus? It simply was the custom in those days that any person who was subservient to another person would place his had under the thigh of his master as a symbol that he acknowledged him as such. Having done this was equivalent to a promise to carry out his master’s wishes. This custom was still in use in India in our author’s time.
Rabbeinu Bahya
שים נא ידך תחת ירכי, “please place your hand under my thigh, etc.” The plain meaning of the text is hat Avraham demanded two separate matters from Eliezer. 1) that he should make a covenant with him to serve him as a servant serves a master; i.e. to pay homage to Avraham. 2) an oath sworn by Almighty G’d, the G’d of both heaven and earth. Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra also explains the request of Avraham for Eliezer to place his hand under his thigh in a similar fashion. He writes that it was customary in those days to place one’s hand beneath the thigh of one’s master while the master was seated, so that in effect the master “sat” on the hand of his servant at the time he made him take an oath. According to Ibn Ezra this custom continued in his time in India. A Midrashic approach based on Bereshit Rabbah 59,8 cited by Rashi: The words: “place your hand under my thigh so that I can make you swear an oath,” are all a single request [not as we said previously that there were two requests here.] Avraham made Eliezer swear by placing his hand on the place where he had been circumcised, i.e. where he wore the sign of his covenant with the G’d of heaven and earth. This had been a commandment which Avraham had revealed to the world. The reason the Torah mentions that G’d is the G’d of the heaven is to remind us that the entire Torah is an elongated name of G’d. As a result of this truth, any single commandment in the Torah may be viewed as a “portion” of the name of G’d. When G’d endows us with one of His commandments it is as if He endows us with a part of His elongated name. ואלוקי הארץ, “and the Lord of the earth.” Do not be surprised if Avraham spoke about “the G’d of the earth,” seeing that he made Eliezer swear in the land of Canaan, a place where G’d most certainly had not yet been recognised as such. It is customary throughout the Bible to relate the term G’d to a certain country as most nations had “national gods,” deities which supposedly had the interests of the inhabitants of that country at heart. This is why we have such expressions as “the God of Israel,” (Exodus 5,1 and many others), “the G’d of Jerusalem,” (Chronicles II 32,19). The name of our G’d is never associated with other nations or their countries. The reason is that the Holy Land is G’d’s special “inheritance;” when Avraham referred to אלוקי הארץ, he referred to G’d as the especial Patron of the Holy Land, the very land in which he resided. If Avraham had found himself in Egypt at that moment, he would not have referred to G’d at that time as אלוקי הארץ, “the G’d of the land. This is why he added a little while later (verse six) “the G’d of heaven who has taken me out from my father’s house, etc.” Whereas Avraham lists a number of places G’d has taken him away from, he never once refers to G’d as being the G’d of any of these places. The reason was that he did not want the G’d in heaven to be associated in Eliezer’s mind with any country other than the Holy Land. This may help explain the famous statement in Ketuvot 110 that anyone who resides outside the Holy Land is as if he did not have any god at all. They quote as proof Samuel I 26,19 “For they have driven me out today (David speaking), so that I cannot have a share in the Lord’s possession, but am told: ‘go and worship other gods!’” The meaning of the word “as if” in the statement we quoted from Ketuvot is: “such a person is as if he did not belong to the special people who enjoy the protection of the only true G’d, the G’d who is the Lord of the whole universe.” Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra explains the word הארץ to mean that all marriages on earth are the result of divine input. This is what is meant by the Talmud in Sotah 2 that 40 days before the gestation of the fetus a heavenly voice decrees: “the daughter of so-and-so will be married to so-and-so.” These predictions apply even if the parties involved live on opposite sides of the ocean.
Kli Yakar
“The one who ruled over all that he had.” Since he saw him as trustworthy in his entire household, therefore he trusted that he would not take bribes and arrange a marriage for his son with an unsuitable woman. For why would he take what is not appropriate for him when he ruled over all that he had? We can say that the word lo [to him] refers back to Eliezer, because anyone who is obsessed with the desire for wealth — his money rules over him in whatever direction it wishes to pull him, but he has no control over his money at all. As it is written, a man to whom God gives wealth, honor, and possessions… but God does not allow him to enjoy them (Ecclesiastes 6:2). The verse should have said “a man to whom God gave” [past tense] rather than gives [future tense]. This is because the verse speaks of someone who is never satisfied with his portion and constantly anticipates that God will give him more beyond what he already has, as he never has enough. This is the man whom God does not allow to enjoy his wealth, because he views his own possessions with a bad eye. However, earlier in the text it states, also every person to whom God gave wealth and possessions and enabled him to enjoy them… this is a gift from God (Ecclesiastes 5:18). Here it uses gave in the past tense — this refers to one who is content and happy with his portion. This is the man who rules and has dominion over all that he has. Such a person will certainly not take what is not appropriate for him, and it was for this reason that Abraham trusted Eliezer, for he knew that Eliezer ruled over all that he had, and his wealth did not rule over him. Therefore, money would not compel him to do what was inappropriate and improper. This is a precious interpretation. Place your hand under my thigh. He made him swear by the circumcision, because through circumcision a person becomes guarded against sexual immorality. Therefore he said, Do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, for sexual licentiousness was an inheritance among them from Ham, the father of Canaan. For there are those who say that Ham sexually violated Noah (Sanhedrin 70a). Therefore, it is not fitting for one who is circumcised to join with those who are sexually licentious, because through circumcision God blessed Abraham, and through Ham’s violation of Noah, he received the curse of Canaan. And that which is blessed cannot cleave to that which is cursed. And regarding what was said, And I will make you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth — according to what our Sages said (Nedarim 31a), “Great is circumcision, for if not for circumcision, heaven and earth would not continue to exist,” as it is said If not for My covenant day and night, I would not have set the laws of heaven and earth (Jeremiah 33:25). Therefore, he mentioned God of heaven and earth in the oath regarding circumcision. The reason for this is because circumcision completes the name of Shaddai, and it was with this name that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said “Dai” [enough] to His world when the heavens and earth were continuing to expand and stretch, as is found in the chapter Ein Dorshin (Chagigah 12a). This explains what they said that “heaven and earth would not continue to exist” — meaning that after they were created, they could not have continued to exist. And the verse says I would not have set, which implies from the outset. Rather, this refers to the laws of heaven and earth, to the boundary set for them not to expand infinitely, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, rebuked them with the name Shaddai, for with it He said “Dai” [enough] to His world. If not for this, they could not have continued to exist if they had expanded infinitely, and all this comes from circumcision which completes this name. However, when He took me from my father’s house — this was before the circumcision — He was only God of heaven, because the name Shaddai had not yet extended to the lower realms. And some say that the Holy One, Blessed be He, is called “God of the earth” specifically in the Land of Israel, for one who lives outside the Land [is considered as if they have no God] (Ketubot 110b), as it is said They do not know the law of the God of the land (Second Kings 17:26). Therefore, regarding outside the Land of Israel, he said Lord God of heaven who took me from my father’s house, but here, while standing in the Land of Israel, he said by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth.
Tur HaArokh
שים נא ידך תחת ירכי, “please place your hand beneath my hip.” This was a request to swear an oath to his master by placing his hand on the site of the circumcision. Although in Jewish law, someone who needlessly touches his own or someone else’s male organ deserves to have that hand cut off, Avraham explained that in light of his having become an old man there was no chance that touching him there would result in the wasteful ejaculation of his semen. Ibn Ezra writes that in those days servants (slaves) used to place their hands under the hip of their master as a sign of obeisance. The master, by sitting on the servant’s hand signaled the fact that the servant had to do his bidding. The servant, by complying signaled his acknowledgment of his status.
And I will make you swear by Hashem, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.
verse value 4577
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 72 letters. The shortest word is "which" (אֲשֶׁ֨ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·I·will·make·you·swear" (וְאַשְׁבִּ֣יעֲךָ֔, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: which, which. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·I·will·make·you·swear" (וְאַשְׁבִּ֣יעֲךָ֔), "in·whose·midst" (בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ). The root אלה appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "the·earth" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "God·of" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·earth', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 10 words.
Onkelos
I will make you swear by the Word of Hashem, the God of the heavens 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.
Ramban
AND I WILL MAKE THEE SWEAR BY THE ETERNAL. It would have been proper for Abraham to command his son Isaac that he should not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. But since it was his wish to dispatch someone during his lifetime to his country and his family, and he made the servant swear to do so whether in his lifetime or after his death, therefore Abraham found it necessary in any case to make the servant swear to go there. In addition he found it necessary to say to him, “I command you that you should not take a woman for my son of the daughters of Canaan. Instead you are to go to my country and take for him a wife from my father’s house.” Now having required the servant to swear to this, he no longer found it necessary to command Isaac at all for he knew that he would not transgress his father’s wish or the oath which he made his servant swear, as the matter was indeed known to Isaac. It is also possible that the servant Eliezer was the administrator of his possessions, and Abraham commanded him to marry off Isaac in accordance with his will and cause him to inherit his estate on this condition, [namely, that he marry in accordance with his father’s wish]. This is the significance of the expression, that ruled over all that he had. here. THE G-D OF THE HEAVEN, AND THE G-D OF THE LAND.“Of the land.” From Ramban’s commentary it becomes obvious that he understood the word ha’aretz (the land) to mean “the land of Israel.” The Holy One, blessed be He, is called the G-d of the Land of Israel, as it is written, They know not the manner of the G-d of the land, and it is further written, And they spoke of the G-d of Jerusalem, as of the gods of the people of the earth. There is a secret in this matter which I will yet explain with the help of G-d. However [in Verse 7], further on where it says, Who took me from my father’s house, it does not say “the G-d of the land” because he [Abraham] was then in Haran or Ur of the Chaldees. So also the Rabbis have said: “He who lives outside the land of Israel is as if he had no G-d, as it said, For they have driven me out this day that I should not cleave unto the inheritance of the Eternal, saying, Go, serve other gods. But who said to David, Go serve other gods? However this verse teaches you that he who lives outside of the land of Israel is considered as if he worshipped idols. (Ibid.)
Ibn Ezra
"To walk among the shrubs" (לָשׂוּחַ) — to walk among the shrubs. "Toward evening" (לִפְנוֹת עֶרֶב) — near the time of sunset; the opposite is "toward morning" (לִפְנוֹת בֹּקֶר) (Exodus 14:27). I will explain this [phrase] thoroughly in the portion of Ki Tetze.
Sforno
אלוקי השמים ואלוקי הארץ, a veiled warning to Eliezer that if he were to betray his trust, there would be a higher power to hold him accountable for such a betrayal.
Or HaChaim
אשר אנכי יושב בקרבו, "among whom I dwell." Abraham countered Eliezer's assumption that inasmuch as the very proximity of Abraham causes one to be included in the blessing G'd promised to Abraham this did not mean that one's basic status of being cursed (as a result of Noach's curse) had been revoked. Abraham also wanted to dispel the notion that his presence and his status among such people as Aner, Eshkol and Mamre would become endangered if he did not take a wife for Isaac from their families.
Chizkuni
מבנות הכנעני, “from among the daughters of the Canaanite nation.” Avraham did not want that in the future anyone could claim that his claim on the Holy Land was based on intermarriage with the previous owners of that land. It had to be established beyond any shadow of a doubt that the Israelites’ claim to the land was based on G-d having firmly promised it to me.
Rabbeinu Bahya
אשר לא תקח אשה לבני מבנות הכנעני, “that you will not take a wife for my son from amongst the daughters of the Canaanite, etc.” He warned Eliezer not to take a wife from a nation which was cursed. When a woman is predestined for destruction, she is apt to drag her husband in the same general direction. This is precisely what the mother of all human beings did (compare Genesis 3, 20). You are aware that this is what happened to Solomon who married a number of alien women (Kings I 11,1). The prophet testifies there that it was these women who turned his heart from being completely loyal to G-d. This is the reason that it has become the custom of the Jewish people to read this portion (in the presence of the assembled guests) to a bridegroom on the day when he gets married to remind all the people to be very circumspect in their choice of life-partners. (There is a section on this custom in Zunz: “Ritus” page 15). The Avudraham at the end of ברכת נשואין brings the custom as “on the Sabbath of the seven days of the Chuppah one reads this section before the bridegroom, etc.” (apparently in the Synagogue during the regular morning service). The groom is reminded not to marry a woman because of her physical beauty, as Solomon has said in Proverbs 31,30, שקר החן והבל היופי, “grace is deceptive, and beauty is vain.“ He should also not marry a woman because she is wealthy, as money is apt to develop wings and to fly off just like an eagle (compare Proverbs 23,5). The groom should also not marry a woman because she is a member of a powerful, and influential family and he hopes to become powerful and influential himself due to his wife’s connections. If these are a groom’s considerations in the choice of his wife he will be punished and will likely fail on all three counts. The guiding considerations when choosing a wife have to be reverence for G-d, choosing a family which enjoys a good reputation. Seeing that in the majority of cases the daughter‘s character is similar to that of her brothers, one may form some idea about a girl by observing the way her older brothers conduct themselves. (compare Baba Batra 110). Our portion also teaches that it is appropriate to select a bride from amongst one’s family, as did Avraham (compare verse 4) for his son Yitzchak, and as did Amram who married Yocheved (an aunt, Exodus 2,1 something that the Torah forbade later on). Whenever people marry someone to whom they already have a natural affinity, such as members of their own family (excluding incest, of course), the likelihood of harmonious relations not only between husband and wife but between the mutual members of the respective families is enhanced. If someone marries a wife from a lower social strata, there is a chance that he will feel superior to her and this will lead to bad blood and resentment on his wife’s part. The result will be an ongoing friction. Our sages in Pessachim 49, have described families who are cleaving to one another because they are all part of the same social strata as ענבי הגפן בענבי הגפן דבר נאה ומתקבל, “grapevines joining grapevines are something beautiful and acceptable.” The author continues in this vein, concluding with the quotation from Psalms 125,4 הטיבה ה’ לטובים ולישרים בלבותם, “Do good, O Lord to the good, to the upright in their heart.” The psalmist implores G-d to grant His blessing to people whose motivations in their choice of wife are guided by the principles we have just outlined. The psalm goes on by predicting that those who are guided by base motivations will join the path of the evildoers. When such clear lines of distinction are drawn between people who are sincere in their motivations and those who are not, Israel will be at peace (as one will not confuse one group with another).
Kli Yakar
“Do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell.” Did we not already know that he was dwelling among them? Rather, this comes to resolve a difficulty: Presumably, he commanded not to intermarry with the Canaanite daughters lest he learn from their ways, as it is stated in the Torah You shall not intermarry with them… for they will turn your son away from following Me (Deuteronomy 7:3). If so, what would be gained by taking a wife from the daughters of Laban and Bethuel, since they too were idol worshippers like the Canaanites? Therefore, he emphasized among whom I dwell and said lest you return my son there. For he reasoned: Obviously, if my son marries a Canaanite woman, since I dwell among them, presumably my son will also live near them, and then there is concern that he might learn from their ways. And if he marries from the daughters of Laban and Bethuel and lives near them, there is also concern that he might learn from their ways. However, if he takes a wife from there but lives here, then from either perspective there is no concern: He won’t learn from Laban and Bethuel since he won’t live near them, and he won’t learn from the Canaanites because he won’t have interactions with them. On the contrary, they will hate him because he refused to intermarry with them. However, there is another concern, which is that the nature of the parents is passed on to the children. This applies specifically to those sins that come from the physical aspect of human nature, such as gluttony, sexual impropriety, stinginess, jealousy, and all negative character traits that are connected to the physical being. These flaws spread from parents to children, and their offspring are similar to them. But idol worship, which depends on a person’s intellect, does not spread from parents to children. For there are three partners in the creation of a person: The physical body comes from the father and mother, therefore all parental actions connected to the physical are inherited by children. But faith depends on a person’s intellect, and since the Holy One, Blessed be He, gives the soul and intellect, why should this spread from parents to children? Therefore, he distanced himself from the Canaanites who were steeped in sexual impropriety and many types of sins connected to the physical nature of humans apart from idol worship, but did not distance himself from Laban and Bethuel who only had the deficiency of idol worship alone. Another explanation: This is why he said among whom I dwell — meaning, I dwell in the inner chambers of their hearts, and I [can see] all their deeds and thoughts before Me. For perhaps you might judge by what your eyes see, as there are among them hypocrites who act like Zimri but seek the reward like Pinchas, and you might think they are proper and worthy to marry into. Therefore, he said that through my prophetic vision with the holy spirit that is upon Me, I see that there is not even one among them who does good. For I am as if I dwell within their hearts and know their inner nature as well as their outer appearance. This is why Eliezer changed [the wording] and said in whose land I dwell, so that Laban and Bethuel would not say, “If so, he is a prophet who examines hearts, and we are deceivers — but our deception will not benefit us because He knows everything in our hearts.” Perhaps because of this they would refuse to arrange the marriage. Therefore, he changed [the wording] and said that Abraham had said in whose land I dwell. And there are those who say that when he said among whom I dwell, it was to exclude even the daughters of Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre, among whom he was dwelling, because ultimately they are from cursed seed. However, Eliezer thought that if he would say this explicitly, they would become arrogant and say, “He has no choice but to arrange a marriage with us, as he has no way to turn right or left,” and they would force him to come to them. Therefore, he [Eliezer] said among whom I dwell in his land referring to the Canaanites in general, but implying that those among whom he dwells [Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre] would be permitted for marriage. Through this, their minds would not become haughty. This is why he said and I will turn to the right or to the left, indicating that there were options of right and left before him. But the truth was that he did not permit marriage with the daughters of Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre, and so explains the Ramban.
Tur HaArokh
ואשביעך, “so that I make you swear, etc.” Avraham anticipates Eliezer’s concern that no woman in her right mind would a follow someone’s servant to a distant country on the servant’s say so that he had been empowered to select her as a wife for the son of his master. Therefore, Avraham told Eliezer that he would give him irrevocable documents, oath-like, to prove to the girl’s family that if she were to come she would indeed become the wife of Avraham’s son Yitzchok. Eliezer would have the widest possible latitude in using his good judgment. אשר לא תקח אשה לבני מבנות הכנעני, “that you will not take a wife for my son from among the girls who are of Canaanite origin.” Actually, Avraham should have made Yitzchok swear an oath that he would not marry a Canaanite girl. The reason Avraham did not proceed in this fashion was that he wanted to send someone to his family in Charan or thereabouts, but he wanted to make his servant swear that he would perform the task either while he, Avraham, was still alive, or if necessary, even after his death. To this end he had to make Eliezer take an oath anyway. Seeing that he made Eliezer swear there was no longer any need to make Yitzchok swear to the same effect. He knew that Yitzchok would not violate the wishes of his father in this matter. Alternatively, Avraham actually appointed Eliezer to be his executor, ordering him to see that Yitzchok would get married and restricting his choices only by excluding women of Canaanite descent. To make this point quite clear to the reader, the Torah added the words המושל בכל אשר לו, describing Eliezer as having complete power of attorney concerning the affairs of Avraham. Some commentators believe that that at the time in question Yitzchok was simply not at hand, a view supported by the Torah when it described the chance meeting of Yitzchok and Eliezer when the former just returned from the well named by Hagar באר לחי רואי, (compare both 24,18 and 16,14) According to a Midrash (Yalkut), Yitzchok returned from Gan Eden at that time where the wounds inflicted upon him by his father when he had been lying bound on the altar had been healed. ואשביעך בה' אלוקי השמים ואלוקי הארץ, “I will make you swear in the name of the Lord of heaven and earth.” The simile was apt as marriages are made in heaven before they are consummated on earth.
But you shall go to my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son, even for Isaac."
verse value 2519
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "that" (כִּ֧י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·to·my·native·land" (וְאֶל־מוֹלַדְתִּ֖י, 9 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "to·my·land" (אֶל־אַרְצִ֛י), "and·to·my·native·land" (וְאֶל־מוֹלַדְתִּ֖י). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·my·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "for·my·son" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "that" (root כי, 167x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·will·go', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: כִּ֧י [that] (30) + אֶל־אַרְצִ֛י [to·my·land] (332) + וְאֶל־מוֹלַדְתִּ֖י [and·to·my·native·land] (527) + תֵּלֵ֑ךְ [you·will·go] (450) + וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ [and·you·will·take] (544) + אִשָּׁ֖ה [wife] (306) + לִבְנִ֥י [for·my·son] (92) + לְיִצְחָֽק [to·Isaac] (238) = 2519.
Onkelos
But to my land and to my kindred you shall go, and take a wife for my son Isaac.
Ibn Ezra
The meaning of "and she fell from the camel" is that she dismounted of her own will, as [we find] "and he fell upon his face" (Numbers 16:4). The verse that follows is actually earlier in sequence, for "she said to the servant" (Genesis 24:65) — she had already spoken to the servant [before dismounting].
Or HaChaim
כי אל ארצי ואל מולדתי תלך, "rather you shall go to my country and to my birthplace, etc." This was part of the oath also; Eliezer was to secure a wife for Isaac in Abraham's birthplace. This is why Eliezer is described as immediately taking the camels, etc.
Chizkuni
אל ארצי, “to my homeland;” i.e. to Charan. ואל מולדתי, “to my birthplace;” i.e. Ur Casdim. Avraham told Eliezer that he did not want any gentile woman to have a share in his ancestral portion.
Rashbam
כי אם אל ארצי, not to members of any nation which does not dwell physically close to the region from which I originate. This is where you shall go to conduct your search.
And the servant said to him: "Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land; must I needs bring your son back to the land from where you came?"
verse value 5428
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 74 letters. The shortest word is "from·there" (מִשָּֽׁם, 3 letters) and the longest is "which·you·left" (אֲשֶׁר־יָצָ֥אתָ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 327: to·the·land, to·the·land. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "is·not·willing" (לֹא־תֹאבֶ֣ה), "shall·I·indeed" (הֶֽהָשֵׁ֤ב), "I·will·bring·back" (אָשִׁיב֙). The root ארץ appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "to·the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "your·son" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 6 words.
Onkelos
The servant said to him: Perhaps the woman will not be willing to come after me to this land; shall I then bring your son back to the land from which you departed?
Ramban
PERADVENTURE THE WOMAN WILL NOT BE WILLING. The meaning [of the definite article in the word ha’ishah] is that it refers to “the woman to whom I will speak of all the women there”, or it may mean the woman who is fit for Isaac.
Ibn Ezra
"And she covered herself" (וַתִּתְכַּס) — it is in the hitpa'el binyan; the first tav marks the feminine subject that is not independently present [in the root], and the second tav is the hitpa'el marker.
Sforno
אשר יצאת משם, a place which you had despised. If I now swear to you to take a wife from there and the girl I choose refuses to come here, my betrothing her to your son will obligate him to fulfill his conjugal duties including living with her as husband and wife. If he refuses to join her there he will have become guilty of betrayal of his bride. Shall I really bring him back there?
Chizkuni
ההשיב אשיב את בנך, “shall I really take back your son there? This is a peculiar question by Eliezer, as Yitzchok had never been out of the land of Canaan. Seeing that Eliezer had been sent back there on behalf of Yitzchok, his question was perfectly in order. We find a similar verse in Ruth 1,22 where Naomi is described as “returning” to the land of Israel with her daughterinlaw, although the daughter inlaw, Ruth, had never set foot in that land.
Tur HaArokh
אולי לא תאבה, “perhaps the woman does not want, etc.” He was referring to what might happen after he had located a girl he considered suitable as a future wife for Yitzchok.
And Abraham said to him: "Beware that you bring not my son back there.
verse value 2797
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. The shortest word is "to·you" (לְךָ֔, 2 letters) and the longest is "lest·you·return" (פֶּן־תָּשִׁ֥יב, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "lest·you·return" (פֶּן־תָּשִׁ֥יב). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "my·son" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "to·him" (root אל, 242x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Abraham', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֥אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אֵלָ֖יו [to·him] (47) + אַבְרָהָ֑ם [Abraham] (248) + הִשָּׁ֣מֶר [beware] (545) + לְךָ֔ [to·you] (50) + פֶּן־תָּשִׁ֥יב [lest·you·return] (842) + אֶת־בְּנִ֖י [my·son] (463) + שָֽׁמָּה [there] (345) = 2797.
Onkelos
Abraham said to him: Take care that you do not bring my son back there.
Ibn Ezra
Every instance of הִשָּׁמֵר with the accent on the penultimate syllable (mil'eil) carries the sense of "guarding" [i.e., the imperative: take heed]. But whichever [instance has] the accent on the final syllable (mil'ra) carries the sense of sediment [שְׁמָרִים], as in: "Take heed and be quiet" (Isaiah 7:4) — like the sense of "he settles on his lees" (Jeremiah 48:11).
Rabbeinu Bahya
פן תשיב את בני שמה, “lest you bring my son back there.” The meaning is “do not lead him back to there.” Avraham did not want Yitzchak to leave the boundaries of the Holy Land. This was because he had once been designated as a sacred offering, and something sacred must not be desecrated by reverting to a secular status.
Hashem, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my nativity, and who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying: To your seed will I give this land; He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
verse value 8308 — יְהֹוָ֣ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 26 words, 112 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "which" (אֲשֶׁ֨ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "my·native·land" (מֽוֹלַדְתִּי֒, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 507: and·which, and·which. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "took·me" (לְקָחַ֜נִי), "my·native·land" (מֽוֹלַדְתִּי֒), "spoke·to·me" (דִּבֶּר־לִ֜י). The root אשר appears 3 times in this verse. 22 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "and·from·the·land·of" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 18 and 8 words.
Onkelos
Hashem, the God of the heavens, who led me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants I will give this land' — He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
Rashi
'ה אלהי השמים אשר לקחני מבית אבי THE LORD, GOD OF HEAVEN, WHO TOOK ME FROM MY FATHER'S HOUSE — Here he did not say “[The God of heaven] and the God of the earth”, whereas above (v. 3) he said, “And I will make thee swear etc. … [and the God of the earth]’’. But, in effect, Abraham said to him: Now He is the God of heaven and the God of the earth, because I have made him (i. e. His Name) a familiar one in peoples’ mouths: but at the time when He took me from my father’s house He was God of heaven only and not God of the earth for people did not acknowledge Him and His Name was not commonly known on earth (Genesis Rabbah 59:7). מבית אבי FROM MY FATHER S HOUSE — from Haran. ומארץ מולדתי AND FROM THE LAND OF MY NATIVITY — from Ur-Kasdim. ואשר דבר לי AND WHO SPOKE לי—The word לי means “in my interest”, just as (1 Kings 2:4) “which He spake concerning me (עלי)”. In the same way, in every case where לי or לו or להם follow after the verb דבר they must be explained in the sense of על “concerning” — and in the Targum they should be rendered by עלי or עלוהי or עליהון regarding me etc. — for with this verb דבר in the sense of speaking to a person, the expressions לי and לו and להם are not the appropriate ones, but אלי and אליו and אליהן, and their renderings in the Targum should be עמי and עמיה and עמהן i. e., to speak with me or him or them. In the case of the verb אמר, however, the expressions לי and לו and להם are the appropriate ones. ואשר נשבע לי AND WHO SWORE UNTO ME at the Covenant between the Pieces (Genesis Rabbah 59:10).
Ramban
FROM MY FATHER’s HOUSE, ‘UMEI’ERETZ MOLAD’TI’ (AND FROM THE LAND OF MY NATIVITY). Rashi comments: “From my father’s house — from Haran. And from the land of my nativity — from Ur of the Chaldees.” If this is so, the expression, Unto my country and to ‘molad’ti’ thou shalt go, here. must also refer to Ur of the Chaldees. But Heaven forbid that the sacred seed should mix with the sons of Ham, See Ramban, above, 11:28. the sinful one! -24. Even if one would say that Abraham had some family there from the seed of Shem, the fact is however that the servant went to Haran as his master said! Now perhaps the Rabbi [Rashi] thinks that eretz molad’to here.(the land of his birth) was Ur of the Chaldees, but molad’ti here. means “my family,” and my country here. means the land wherein he lived. But all these are futile words since here, in the verse before us, he said, And thou shalt take a wife for my son from there, [and according to Rashi, who explained ume’eretz molad’ti, mentioned in this verse, as meaning Ur of the Chaldees, it would follow that Abraham commanded Eliezer to go there to get a wife from the children of Ham]! Moreover, Abraham stayed in the land of Canaan for a longer period than he did in Haran, and so why should Haran be called his country simply because he lived there for some time? Instead, the meaning of the expression, unto my country and to ‘molad’ti’, here. is “unto my country in which I was born,” [namely, Haran in Mesopotamia], for there he stayed and from there his ancestors came, as was already explained. In Bereshith Rabbah we find:13. “From my father’s house — this is the house of his father. And from the land of my birth — this is the environs [of his father’s house].”It is possible that unto my country and unto ‘molad’ti’ means “Unto my country and unto my family,” for he did not want a wife to be taken for Isaac even from the people of his country but only from his family. Similarly in the verse, And thou shalt take a wife for my son from there, [the word misham (from there)] alludes to the expression, from my father’s house, mentioned at the beginning of the verse. And so did the servant say when quoting Abraham, And thou shalt take a wife for my son of my family, and of my father’s house, and again he said, quoting his master. Then shalt thou be clear from my oath when thou comest to my family. These words were said by the servant to honor them so that they would listen to him. AND WHO SPOKE ‘LI’ (UNTO ME). Rashi comments: “The word li means ‘in my interest,’ just as in the verse, which He spoke ‘alai’ (concerning me). In the same way, in every case where li and lo and lahem follow the word dibur (speaking), they are to be explained in the sense of al (concerning). For proper usage of the verb dibur [in the sense of speaking to a person, the pronouns li and lo and lahem are not appropriate, and] only eilai and eilav and aleihem are appropriate, and their renderings in the Targum are imi and imei and imhon. In the case of the word amirah, however, the expressions li and lo and lahem are appropriate.”In the section of Vayeitzei Yaakov, Rashi brought [proof of his above mentioned principle which states that li or lecha, etc., following the word dibur, must be explained in the sense of al (concerning)] from that which is written there, that which ‘dibarti’ (I have spoken) ‘lach,’ [which must be interpreted to mean “in thy interest and concerning thee”] since He had never spoken to Jacob before this occasion. But this difference is not valid for we find: And now go, lead the people unto the place of which ‘dibarti’ (I have spoken) ‘lach’; Here the word dibur is found in connection with lach, and yet it means “to you,” and not “concerning you,” as Rashi claimed. And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic; This too is a case similar to the above. And thou shalt drive them out, and make them to perish quickly, as the Eternal hath spoken unto thee. This too is similar to the above. Similarly the verb amirah is used with both li and eilai: And they shall say ‘li’ (to me), What is His name? What shall I say ‘aleihem’ (to them)? And as for [the verse which Rashi mentioned as his proof], that which ‘dibarti’ (I have spoken) ‘lach,’ [which must mean, as Rashi said, “concerning thee,” since He had never spoken to Jacob before this occasion], its interpretation is as follows: “that which I have said to you now that I will give the land to you and to your seed, and I will bless you.” [Thus the word lach (to you) follows the understood verb “give” and is not related to dibarti.]
Ibn Ezra
"To the tent of Sarah his mother" (הָאֹהֱלָה שָׂרָה אִמּוֹ) — this is an abbreviated expression for: to the tent, to Sarah's tent, his mother's tent. Similarly: "the prophecy of Oded the prophet" (2 Chronicles 15:8); "your throne, O God" (Psalms 45:7).
Sforno
אלוקי השמים... ישלח מלאכו, may it be the will of the Lord that He will send His angel from the celestial regions. Seeing that it was he Who had taken me from there, and all events are under His constant supervision, He will not arrange matters in such a way that my son would be legally obligated to migrate to that land. ואשר דבר לי, furthermore, I remember that he assured me specifically that my offspring will become known as offspring of Avraham though my son Yitzchok. ואשר נשבע לי, seeing that He made me this promise reinforced by an oath, I am certain that He will not renege on it. [even if I were to fall out of favour in His eyes due to my own fault. Ed.] He will see to it that my son will be able to marry a suitable soul-mate and thus make His oath come true.
Chizkuni
ה' אלוקי השמים, “the Lord, the G-d of heaven;” Rashi comments that Avraham did not add that this “G-d” was also the “G-d” of the earth. The reason was that the time frame Avraham spoke about was before he had preached monotheism to his peers, none of whom had until then recognised Him as their G-d. If that approach to G-d’s stature were correct, we would have to ask how G-d could have been referred to as the G-d of heaven in Genesis 1,1, when, according to tradition the heaven as we understand it was created only on the second day of the six days of creation? [In our daily prayers, אדון עולם, we commence by stating that that the Master of the universe was “king” before any creature had been created? In other words, the title “King” is not dependent on this King already having subjects over whom to rule. Ed.] The same point has been made by Isaiah 43,10: “before Me no god was formed and after Me none shall exist.” The point that the prophet makes is that G-d’s existence is dependent on His having loyal subjects. Only He is eternal. This is also the reason why the first blessing in our thrice daily amidah, שמונה עשרה, does not contain a reference to G-d as “king,” as do other blessings. It would be inappropriate to commence with the sequence: מלך העולם אלוקי אברהם וגו', “the King of the universe, the G-d of Avraham, etc.” seeing that in the chapter of the Torah where Avraham is introduced He could not truthfully have been described as the “King” of the whole universe. When Avraham in our verse credited G-d with having taken him out of his father’s house, etc., he thereby “crowned” G-d as “king” also on earth, he being His first subject. Nonetheless this was a far cry from being recognised as king of mankind. אשר לקחני מבית אבי, “Who has taken me out of my father’s house;” He removed me from my relatives in order to give me this land, and He certainly would not want me to return my descendants to the land which He had taken me out of. This is why I am so certain that He will send His angel before you to make your mission successful. Why else would He have brought me to this country, if not in order to be able to fulfill His promise to give this country to my descendants. ולקחת אשה לבני, “you will take a wife for my son.” This is not a commandment or a prayer, but a prophecy. We find confirmation for this interpretation in the words: 'כאשר דבר ה “as the Lord has said,” in verse 51 of this chapter.
Tur HaArokh
אלוקי השמים, “the Lord of the heavens.” In this verse Avraham did not refer to G’d as the “Lord of the earth,” according to Rashi, because when Avraham describes the state of mankind when he left Charan, G’d had not had a foothold on earth that could justify us in describing him as “the Lord of the earth.” Nachmanides says simply that the time frame described by Avraham in that verse refers to when he had resided outside the Holy Land, and we have a tradition that anyone residing outside the Holy Land is considered as if he did not have a G’d (protecting him individually) אשר לקחני מבית אבי, “the One Who has taken me out of my father’s house, etc.” according to Rashi, the words מבית אבי refer to Charan, and the words מארץ מולדתי refer to Ur Casdim. Nachmanides considers this explanation flawed as if true, when Avraham instructed Eliezer to proceed to אל ארצי ואל מולדתי, he would in fact have instructed him to go to Ur Casdim, something Eliezer did not do. Avraham’s birthplace was Aram Naharayim and not Ur Casdim. G’d forbid that the seed of Avraham should become fused to a girl stemming from that region of the most blatant idolatry. Furthermore, why did Avraham call Charan ארצו, “his homeland,” when he did not even refer to the land of Canaan as “my homeland,” but described himself as a stranger there. He had lived in Canaan for over 60 years at that time, far longer than he and his father had stayed in Charan. Avraham’s birthplace had been Aram Naharayim, and this is where his family had resided from the earliest time. This is also how the matter is explained in Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer, the most ancient of our Midrashic texts where we read: “and take a wife from my family.” אשר לקחני מבית אבי, “Who has taken me from my father’s house;” the meaning of these words which sound as if Avraham had been removed from his father’s house against his will, is that it was G’d’s promise which had been instrumental in Avraham moving to a land where he had no family, to whose members he could marry off his son. ואשר נשבע לי לאמור לזרעך אתן הארץ הזאת, “and Who has sworn to me; ‘to your descendants I will give this land, etc.” It is also written concerning the heir of Avraham:כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע, “for your descendants will be named after Yitzchok,” so that it is quite clear that this G’d will send his angel with you to make your mission successful. Therefore I can tell you without reservation that under no circumstances are you to allow my son to move back there, seeing it was G’d Who had taken me away from there.
And if the woman be not willing to follow you, then you shall be clear from this my oath; only you shall not bring my son back there."
verse value 5153
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 51 letters. The shortest word is "only" (רַ֣ק, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·my·oath" (מִשְּׁבֻעָתִ֖י, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 408: consent, this. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "consent" (תֹאבֶ֤ה), "and·you·shall·be·clear" (וְנִקִּ֕יתָ), "from·my·oath" (מִשְּׁבֻעָתִ֖י). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "my·son" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "there" (root שם, 180x in Genesis); "the·woman" (root אשה, 148x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְאִם־לֹ֨א [and·if·not] (78) + תֹאבֶ֤ה [consent] (408) + הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ [the·woman] (311) + לָלֶ֣כֶת [to·follow] (480) + אַחֲרֶ֔יךָ [after·you] (239) + וְנִקִּ֕יתָ [and·you·shall·be·clear] (566) + מִשְּׁבֻעָתִ֖י [from·my·oath] (822) + זֹ֑את [this] (408) + רַ֣ק [only] (300) + אֶת־בְּנִ֔י [my·son] (463) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + תָשֵׁ֖ב [you·shall·bring·back] (702) + שָֽׁמָּה [there] (345) = 5153.
Onkelos
But if the woman is not willing to come after you, you shall be free of this oath of mine; only do not bring my son back there.
Rashi
'ונקית משבעתי וגו THEN SHALT THOU BE CLEAR FROM THIS MY OATH etc. — and take a wife for him from the daughters of Aner or Eshcol or Mamre. רק את בני וגו ONLY [BRING NOT] MY SON [THITHER] etc. — The word רק narrows and limits (מעוט) the sense: it is only my son who may not go back there, but Jacob, my son’s son, in the end will go back there to find a wife (Genesis Rabbah 59:10).
Ramban
THEN THOU SHALT BE CLEAR FROM THIS MY OATH. Abraham did not permit him to take a wife for Isaac from the daughters of Canaan, but he would be free [from the oath if Isaac were to do it on his own] and the Eternal do that which is good in His sight. But Rashi wrote, “And take a wife for him from the daughters of Aner, Eshkol or Mamre.” Now if they were Canaanites, far be it from him! And in truth they were of the seed of Canaan for Scripture says, Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshkol, and brother of Aner. And in Bereshith Rabbah, the Rabbis have said:11. “That thou shalt not take a wife, etc. here. He warned him against the daughters of Canaan, Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre.” For it was with reference to Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre that Abraham said, Among whom I dwell, here. since he did not dwell among all the Canaanites as they were many nations. But he warned him against these his confederates, and all the more against the others. But the verse, Then thou shalt be clear from this my oath, means that the servant would be free from the oath if Isaac would want to do it on his own, and Abraham relied on his knowledge that his righteous son Isaac would listen to his father and that he would beware of them and go instead to Ishmael or to Lot and the other nations. It is possible that from this my oath is a hint to that which he said, And thou shalt take a wife unto my son from there, here. since perhaps the oath was for everything, [meaning that the oath covered two points: a) that he should not take for him a wife from the daughters of Canaan, and b) that he should go to his family. In case they refused, he would be free from the second oath, while the first oath would always remain in effect]. Accordingly, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath does not allude to that which Abraham told him, Thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, here. [since he never freed him from this oath]. This explains the word zoth (this) — [thou shalt be clear from ‘this’ my oath — implying there was another oath from which he was not freed]. Therefore, the servant said, That I may turn to the right hand, or to the left, and he did not say, “I would return [to the land of Canaan,” since he was not freed from the oath not to take a wife from the daughters of Canaan].
Ibn Ezra
"You shall not take him back there" — meaning that [Isaac] must remain in the Land of Israel. The reason it says "you shall not take him back" is on Abraham's account, since he is the principal party.
Or HaChaim
ונקית משבועתי זאת, "and you will be relieved of this oath of mine." This means that Eliezer will be relieved of the duty to take a wife for Isaac from Abraham's birthplace; the oath not to take a wife for Isaac from the local Canaanites would remain in force, however, seeing it was something under his control. רק את בני לא תשב שמה; "only do not bring my son back there." Abraham did not make Eliezer take an oath concerning this part of his instructions. This was only an answer to Eliezer's question how to act if the bride to be refused to come to the land of Canaan.
Chizkuni
רק את בני, “only my son etc.;” according to Rashi the restriction applied only to Avraham’s son Yitzchok, as he had been a offered as an Elevation Offering on G-d’s altar on the Holy Mountain of Moriah. It is therefore not appropriate for him to leave the Holy Land for any purpose. לא תשב שמה, “do not cause to go back there.” Avraham says that he does not want his son to leave the ancestral earth G-d had promised him.
Tur HaArokh
ונקית משבועתי זאת, “and you will be absolved from this oath to me.” According to Rashi, this implied that under the circumstances just described, Eliezer would be free to take one of the daughters of Oner, Eshkol, or Mamre, Avraham’s closest allies I the land of Canaan. Nachmanides is appalled at the thought that Avraham would have given his consent for Yitzchok to marry a daughter of these Canaanites, the Torah having described Mamre specifically as an Emorite (Genesis 14,13). In fact, according to Bereshit Rabbah, the warning not to marry Canaanite girls was aimed especially at these girls of Oner Eshkol and Mamre as Avraham had specifically described himself as dwelling in their land. (quoting from Eliezer’s speech at the house of Bethuel). Therefore, Avraham’s warning was directed specifically at girls from Yitzchok’s immediate environment. Seeing that Avraham entertained covenantal relations with these three Emorites it would have seemed natural to reinforce such ties by intermarriage between these families. It is quite possible that Eliezer’s oath applied to all Canaanites, and that although Eliezer would be released from the part of the oath directing him to find a wife for Yitzchok from Avraham’s family, but he would not be released from the part forbidding him to select a Canaanite wife for him. This is why Avraha, m did not say (comprehensively) “you will then be released from your oath,” but משבועתי זאת, “from this (part) oath.” Eliezer had also threatened to “turn right or left,” he had not threatened to return to Canaan to look further. He could have had in mind either Ishmael, or the family of Lot.
And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
verse value 2967 — ל֔וֹ = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 45 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֔וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֔וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "concerning·the·matter" (עַל־הַדָּבָ֖ר, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·thigh·of" (יֶ֥רֶךְ), "concerning·the·matter" (עַל־הַדָּבָ֖ר). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "concerning·the·matter" (root דבר, 133x in Genesis); "and·swore" (root שבע, 117x in Genesis); "the·servant" (root עבד, 109x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·lord', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיָּ֤שֶׂם [and·put] (356) + הָעֶ֙בֶד֙ [the·servant] (81) + אֶת־יָד֔וֹ [his·hand] (421) + תַּ֛חַת [under] (808) + יֶ֥רֶךְ [the·thigh·of] (230) + אַבְרָהָ֖ם [Abraham] (248) + אֲדֹנָ֑יו [his·lord] (71) + וַיִּשָּׁ֣בַֽע [and·swore] (388) + ל֔וֹ [to·him] (36) + עַל־הַדָּבָ֖ר [concerning·the·matter] (311) + הַזֶּֽה [this] (17) = 2967.
Onkelos
The servant placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
Sforno
וישבע לו על הדבר הזה, he accepted all of Avraham’s conditions as part of his oath.
Or HaChaim
וישבע לו על הדבר. He swore to him concerning the matter. An absolute oath concerning a Canaanite girl, and a conditional oath concerning the need to find the girl in Abraham's birthplace should the girl refuse to move to the land of Canaan.
Chizkuni
תחת ירך אברהם, “under the thigh of Avraham.” Joseph, when asked by his father to swear that he would not bury him in Egypt but with his father and grandfather in Machpelah, did not do so, as he considered such behavior not respectful toward his father, even though he had requested him to swear. (Compare Genesis 47,2931)
And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed; having all goodly things of his master's in his hand; and he arose, and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor.
verse value 2703
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 73 letters. The shortest word is "and·took" (וַיִּקַּ֣ח, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·all·the·bounty·of" (וְכׇל־ט֥וּב, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 123: camels, of·the·camels·of. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "of·the·camels·of" (מִגְּמַלֵּ֤י), "and·all·the·bounty·of" (וְכׇל־ט֥וּב), "to·Aram" (אֶל־אֲרַ֥ם). The root גמל appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·took" (root לקח, 142x in Genesis); "and·went" (root הלך, 113x in Genesis); "the·servant" (root עבד, 109x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·his·hand', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 6 words.
Onkelos
The servant took ten camels from his master's camels and departed, with all manner of his master's finest goods in his hand; he arose and went to Aram which is on the Euphrates, to the city of Nahor.
Rashi
מגמלי אדניו OF HIS MASTER’S CAMELS — These were distinguished from other camels by going out muzzled to avoid robbery — i.e. that they should not graze in other peoples’ fields (Genesis Rabbah 59:11). וכל טוב אדניו בידו AND ALL THE GOODS OF HIS MASTER WERE IN HIS HAND — He wrote a deed of gift of all his possessions in favour of Isaac so that they would be eager to send him their daughter (Genesis Rabbah 59:11). ארם נהרים MESOPOTAMIA (literally, ARAM OF THE TWO RIVERS) — it was situated between the two rivers, Euphrates and Tigris.
Ramban
AND ALL THE GOODS OF HIS MASTER BEING IN HIS HAND. Rashi comments: “This refers to a deed of gift of all his possessions which he wrote in favor of Isaac so that they would be eager to send him their daughter.” And so it is also stated in Bereshith Rabbah,10659:15. “He carried with him a disposition of property.”According to this opinion, the verse stating, And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac, means that he caused him to take possession of the belonging at the time of his death so that the other children would not contest his ownership, just as it is said, And he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived. If so, the word “taking” applies also to the second part of the verse, And the servant ‘took’ ten camels, and departed, and all the goods of his master he took in his hand. Perhaps [the words of the verse are to be transposed as follows]: “And the servant took ten camels and all the goods of his master in his hand, and departed.”Others explain the sense of the verse as meaning that immediately upon being sworn, the servant himself went and took many camels from his master’s camels because all his master’s goods were in his hand, he being the officer and captain over all and authorized to take from him whatever he desired, just as the verse says, that ruled over all that he had. here. The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the meaning of this verse is similar to that of the verse concerning Hazael, general of Aram, And Hazael went to meet him [Elisha the prophet], and took a present with him, and every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, [which means “and ‘of’ every good thing of Damascus].” Here too Scripture states that he took in his hand of all his master’s goods ten camels’ burden. The sense of the verse concerning Hazael is that the camels carried all that was good and excellent among those species of fruits and precious things that were found in Damascus or in his master’s house, and in addition they carried a present with them. In a similar sense is the verse, ten asses laden with the good of Egypt, [which means laden with the good and excellent fruits of Egypt]. The verses, however, shorten expressions when the subjects are understood.
Sforno
ויקח העבד עשרה גמלים מדמלי אדוניו וילך. He took permission from his master to set out on the way after he made prepared the camels for the journey. וכל טוב אדוניו בידו, he took with him many silver and golden trinkets. He did not need to ask for permission to do this seeing that all of these items were under his authority on an all year round basis in his capacity of being Avraham’s general manager. ויקם וילך, on his way.
Or HaChaim
עשרה גמלים, Ten camels, etc. One reason that Eliezer took ten camels was that relative to Abraham's wealth this was equivalent to an ordinary person taking one single camel loaded with gifts. Another reason is that the number ten simply means "many," as we find in Samuel I 1,8, where Elkanan asks Channah if he was not worth more to her than "ten sons?" The meaning there is clearly not the number ten, but "ten" as indicative of a large number. The reason the Torah adds that the camels belonged to his master (something we would have assumed even without it being mentioned) is that these camels were specially trained to answer Abraham's specific needs. They were capable of carrying especially heavy loads. The Torah adds: וכל טוב אדוניו, "and all the good things of his master," to tell us that Eliezer took the choicest of all the precious possessions of Abraham. This was in order to persuade the girl in the event that she would initially refuse to move away from her parental home. Seeing that her husband-to-be possessed such wealth might change her mind. The word בידו means the same as שבידו, something that was under Eliezer's control (inasmuch as he was in charge of all of Abraham's possessions).
Chizkuni
ויקח העבד, “the servant took, etc;” Eliezer was able to do so, as the Torah tells us that Avraham had entrusted all his most treasured possessions to his care, וכל.טוב אדוניו בידו עשרה גמלים, “ten camels” to be ridden by ten men who would form the necessary quorum at the engagement and (marriage ceremony). [The bracket is to tell the reader that different manuscripts either have or do not have that word. Ed.] מגמלי אדוניו, “from the camels owned by his master;” from the choicest, raised in his own home. וכל טוב אדוניו בידו, “there are opinions according to whom the letter מ as a prefix to the word מגמלי should be placed in front of the letter כ in the word: וכל, so that that word is read as ומכל, “and samples of all,“ etc. These “samples” are what the Torah speaks about in reporting Eliezer as sharing out all kinds of goodies in verse 53 of our chapter.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וכל טוב אדניו בידו, “and with all the bounty of his master in his hand.” Actually, for the sake of accuracy, the Torah should have written ומטוב אדניו, “and with (samples of) all the bounty of his master,” just as it goes on to say מגמלי אדניו from amongst the camels of his master,” (where the Torah also did not write that Eliezer took all the camels.) According to the plain meaning of the text the verse describes the greatness and superior loyalty of Avraham’s servant. The Torah reveals that Avraham had entrusted all his wealth to be administered by Eliezer, everything was “left in his hand.” Eliezer was in full control. We may understand this verse as similar to Numbers 21,26 ויקח את כל ארצו מידו, “he took his entire land from his hand.” (The reference is to Sichon having taken all of Moav’s land) Clearly, the meaning of the verse is a figure of speech. Here too the Torah employs a figure of speech to describe the status Eliezer enjoyed in Avraham’s household. A Midrashic (Bereshit Rabbah 59,11) approach: the words וכל טוב אדוניו בידו, “all the bounty of his master in his hand,” refer to a document which Eliezer carried in his hand in which Avraham had appointed Yitzchak as his sole heir. Avraham had done this in order to encourage the parents of any bride Eliezer would choose to allow their daughter to marry out of the country. The Torah writes: “in his hand,” to inform us of this. The word וילך, “he went,” is also meant to draw attention to this, as obviously, Eliezer did not “walk” all that way but rode on one of the camels. The combined words וילך וכל טוב אדוניו בידו, are a clear hint that Eliezer walked while holding something in his hand. What did he hold in his hand? “The gift-certificate donating all of Avraham’s wealth to his son Yitzchak,” in the event that he would not be alive when the servant returned. The word וילך appears a second time in the same verse to show that Eliezer set out armed with such a document which was going to be helpful to his mission. According to this interpretation, the words ויתן אברהם את כל אשר לו ליצחק, “Avraham (now) gave all that was his to Yitzchak,” a verse we find only in 25,5 have been repeated there only in order to forestall any claims by any other children of Avraham to part of his estate. The fact is he had already given his accumulated wealth to Yitzchak before the sons of Keturah had been born. They only shared in possessions Avraham acquired after he had remarried.
Kli Yakar
And all the goodness of his master was in his hand. Since the verse does not specify what was in his hand, it is reasonable to interpret this as referring to what we [later] find that he took in his hand — namely, a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two bracelets weighing 10 [shekels of] gold. These are called all the goodness of his master because Abraham made them symbolic of the shekels and of the 10 Commandments that were on the two tablets. Since there is no true good except Torah, therefore he called them all the goodness of his master, as this is the true good. This is why it doesn’t say “all the wealth of his master.” All these allusions will be explained, God willing, shortly.
Tur HaArokh
וכל טוב אדוניו בידו, “with all the good things of his master in his hand.” Rashi explains that the word כל טוב refers to a document bequeathing all of Avraham’s wealth to his son Yitzchok. Although we already know (25,5) that Yitzchok had been appointed the sole heir, Avraham gave this document to Eliezer in order to encourage the family of the girl Eliezer would choose as Yitzchok’s bride to allow her to leave home and move to a distant land. Some commentators feel that when the servant (Eliezer) had sworn to his master, he took 10 camels and loaded them with all of Avraham’s portable treasures as he had been instructed to do just that Nachmanides explains the verse in line with the plain meaning of the text, i.e. that Eliezer took 10 of his master’s camels and loaded them with all the valuable chattels including exotic fruit which Avraham possessed.
And he made the camels to kneel down without the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water.
verse value 3620
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "at·the·time·of" (לְעֵ֣ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·camels" (הַגְּמַלִּ֛ים, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 500: at·the·time·of, at·the·time·of. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·going·out·of" (צֵ֥את), "the·water-drawers" (הַשֹּׁאֲבֹֽת). The root עת appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·going·out·of" (root יצא, 77x in Genesis); "and·made·kneel" (root ברך, 71x in Genesis); "the·waters" (root מים, 50x in Genesis). First appearance of the root שאב ("the·water-drawers") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·waters', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיַּבְרֵ֧ךְ [and·made·kneel] (238) + הַגְּמַלִּ֛ים [the·camels] (128) + מִח֥וּץ [outside] (144) + לָעִ֖יר [the·town] (310) + אֶל־בְּאֵ֣ר [to·well] (234) + הַמָּ֑יִם [the·waters] (95) + לְעֵ֣ת [at·the·time·of] (500) + עֶ֔רֶב [evening] (272) + לְעֵ֖ת [at·the·time·of] (500) + צֵ֥את [the·going·out·of] (491) + הַשֹּׁאֲבֹֽת [the·water-drawers] (708) = 3620.
Onkelos
He made the camels kneel down outside the city, by the well of water, at the time of evening, the time when the women who draw water go out.
Rashi
ויברך הגמלים means HE MADE THEM KNEEL (Genesis Rabbah 59:11).
Ibn Ezra
"And he made the camels kneel" (וַיַּבְרֵךְ הַגְּמַלִּים) — he caused them to crouch upon their knees.
Chizkuni
ויברך הגמלים, “he made the camels kneel down.” Camels have two sets of knees. They therefore have to perform two acts of kneeling, before being able to drink. We have learned more details in the Talmud Chulin 76.
Rashbam
ויברך הגמלים, a camel has two knees one above the other; therefore it needs two motions to go down on its knees and because of its height it cannot drink before having thus lowered itself to the level of the trough. This is what the sages referred to in Chulin 76 when they said וכנגדו בגמל ניכר, that a spot known as the ארכובה in cattle is clearly recognisable on the foreleg of a camel.
And he said: "O Hashem, God of my master Abraham, please arrange a providential meeting for me today, and deal kindly with my master Abraham."
verse value 2110 — יְהֹוָ֗ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 54 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "with" (עִ֖ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·deal·graciously" (וַעֲשֵׂה־חֶ֕סֶד, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 248: Abraham, Abraham. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "arrange·providentially·please" (הַקְרֵה־נָ֥א), "and·deal·graciously" (וַעֲשֵׂה־חֶ֕סֶד). The root אדון appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "God·of" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis). First appearance of the root קרה ("arrange·providentially·please") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·day', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּאמַ֓ר [and·said] (257) + יְהֹוָ֗ה [Hashem] (26) + אֱלֹהֵי֙ [God·of] (46) + אֲדֹנִ֣י [my·lord] (65) + אַבְרָהָ֔ם [Abraham] (248) + הַקְרֵה־נָ֥א [arrange·providentially·please] (361) + לְפָנַ֖י [before·me] (170) + הַיּ֑וֹם [the·day] (61) + וַעֲשֵׂה־חֶ֕סֶד [and·deal·graciously] (453) + עִ֖ם [with] (110) + אֲדֹנִ֥י [my·lord] (65) + אַבְרָהָֽם [Abraham] (248) = 2110.
Onkelos
He said: Hashem, God of my master Abraham, arrange things before me today, and deal kindly with my master Abraham.
Ibn Ezra
"Please cause to happen before me" (הַקְרֵה נָא לְפָנַי) — the sense is: "arrange my desire before me." Similarly: "for Hashem your God caused it to happen" (Genesis 27:20).
Or HaChaim
ויאמר: ה׳ הקרה נא, He said: "G'd! please make it happen, etc." Eliezer was certain that his master's prayer that G'd would send His angel ahead of Eliezer to facilitate his mission would be fulfilled. He added a prayer expressing the hope that he would be found worthy to be the instrument through which Abraham's prayer would be fulfilled. It happens on occasion that the prayer of the original petitioner goes unanswered due to the unworthiness of the petitioner's messenger. The reason Eliezer had to proceed in this order was that he feared Abraham's family might deceive him and try to palm off one of their maidservants on him, claiming that she was their family. He therefore stipulated that the girl to be regarded as suitable for Isaac should proceed to do more than he asked of her by also offering to water his camels. This would be characteristic of a girl who was related to Abraham. In fact Rebeccah described herself immediately as a daughter of Bethuel (verse 24).
Rabbeinu Bahya
ועשה חסד, “and perform a kindness!” The servant implored G-d’s attribute at the beginning of his prayer as well as at its conclusion when he said ובה אדע כי עשית חסד עם אדוני, “and through her I will know that You have indeed performed a kindness for my master.” Seeing that Eliezer was aware that the outstanding characteristic of his master Avraham was the quality of חסד, this was the attribute of G-d he addressed when he prayed to the Ineffable Name, י-ה-ו-ה.
Kli Yakar
“Please make happen [hakreh] before me today.” Some say that he [Eliezer] was asking God to arrange for him [to meet] an important young woman who normally never goes out at all, and that just for this moment she should happen [bemikreh] to come out now, specifically before him, so that she would not be among the women who frequently go out [implying immodesty]. This is why the Torah states no man had known her, meaning that no one recognized her because she had never gone out except for this one time. This is why he needed to ask her whose daughter are you?, and why didn’t he ask the other young women who were there — for undoubtedly she didn’t go alone — but rather [he asked her] because no man had known her, meaning no one recognized her.
Behold, I stand by the fountain of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water.
verse value 2642
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "behold" (הִנֵּ֛ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "by·the·spring" (עַל־עֵ֣ין, 5 letters). The root מים appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "men·of" (root איש, 153x in Genesis); "and·daughters·of" (root בת, 92x in Genesis); "behold" (root הן, 90x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·waters', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: הִנֵּ֛ה [behold] (60) + אָנֹכִ֥י [I] (81) + נִצָּ֖ב [standing] (142) + עַל־עֵ֣ין [by·the·spring] (230) + הַמָּ֑יִם [the·waters] (95) + וּבְנוֹת֙ [and·daughters·of] (464) + אַנְשֵׁ֣י [men·of] (361) + הָעִ֔יר [the·town] (285) + יֹצְאֹ֖ת [coming·out] (501) + לִשְׁאֹ֥ב [to·draw·water] (333) + מָֽיִם [water] (90) = 2642.
Onkelos
Here I stand by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.
Chizkuni
הנה אנכי נצב, “I am standing;” Eliezer meant that he had come to a critical juncture in his journey, and had to make some decisions. על עין המים, “at the town’s water fountain.” This is where I can test a potentially eligible girl on her suitability as Yitzchok’s wife to be. When such a girl is away from her home, whatever she decides to do has not been what she had been told to do by her mother or father, but reflects her true personality.
Rabbeinu Bahya
הנה אנכי נצב על עין המים, ”here I am standing at a fountain of water, etc.” We have to be alert to the fact that this whole paragraph appears to be merely a repetition of what the Torah already told us. Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 60,8 have explained that this teaches that the small talk of the servants of the patriarchs was dearer to G-d than some of the profound Torah insights of the children of the patriarchs. We can prove this from the fact that the Torah was very expansive in reporting everything the servant did, whereas it was most concise in relating some very basic legislation which applies to the Jewish people throughout the ages. Sometimes, such legislation is merely hinted at in the text so that if it had not been revealed to Moses orally we would never have found it in the written text. The whole matter is further proof that the patriarchs were carriers of G-d’s “chariot,” i.e. that their stature exceeded that of the angels who had preceded them as the carriers. There can be no doubt that the Torah did not repeat this whole report of Eliezer’s prayer and his dialogue with Rivkah without an ulterior motive. I will explain this as we proceed with the text of this entire paragraph. I advise you the reader to keep your eyes open as all these matters were directly related to the success of Eliezer’s mission. For instance: the Torah speaks of the עין המים, the well (fountain) of water three times, each time varying the syntax somewhat. In our verse here the well is simply described as עין המים, “a fountain of water.” In 24,42 the servant is reported as saying: ואבא היום אל העין, “I arrived this day at the well.” in 24,16 the Torah says of Rivkah: ותרד העינה, “she descended to the well.” In other words, the Torah speaks of the same well in three slightly different versions, עין, העין, העינה. We need to understand the precise reason for each of these nuances. [The author leaves it there, but Rabbi Chavell quotes that according to תורת חיים the combination of the word עין (numerical value 70) plus two more times the same word equals an allusion to the name of G-d consisting of 72 letters. The additional letters ה, either at the beginning of the word or at the end, allude to the last letter ה in the Ineffable Name, a reference to G-d’s attribute of חסד. Eliezer invoked this attribute in order to secure for Yitzchak the mate who was appropriate for him.]
Tur HaArokh
הנה אנכי נצב על עין המים, “here I am standing at the well of water, etc.” He meant that at this site he could conduct the kind of experiment which should show him if his mission would be successful as he could examine any prospective girl regarding her personal virtues, such as her attitude to unknown strangers making uncalled for requests. His reasoning was that if a girl behaves in a modest manner at home this was a reflection on her mother, whereas if she behaved modestly away from home she displayed her own virtue thereby, and not fear of being reprimanded by her mother.
So let it come to pass, that the young woman to whom I shall say: Let down your pitcher, I pray you, that I may drink; and she shall say: Drink, and I will give your camels drink also; let the same be she that You have appointed for Your servant, even for Isaac; and thereby shall I know that You have shown kindness to my master."
verse value 5833 — וְהָיָ֣ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 89 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "which" (אֲשֶׁ֨ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·also·your·camels" (וְגַם־גְּמַלֶּ֖יךָ, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 406: I·will·give·drink, her. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "lower·please" (הַטִּי־נָ֤א), "your·jar" (כַדֵּךְ֙), "that·I·may·drink" (וְאֶשְׁתֶּ֔ה). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "I·shall·say" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis). First appearance of the root כד ("your·jar") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·will·give·drink', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 9 words.
Onkelos
Let it be that the maiden to whom I say, 'Lower your pitcher, please, that I may drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I will also water your camels' — she is the one You have appointed for Your servant, for Isaac; and by this I will know that You have dealt kindly with my master.
Rashi
אתה הכחת HER THOU HAST APPOINTED — She is fit for him since she will be charitable and will therefore be worthy of admission into the house of Abraham. The word הכחת means selected; old French approuvest; English thou hast selected. ובה אדע This is a petition: “Let me know through her”. כי עשית חסד THAT THOU HAST SHOWN KINDNESS — if she is of his family and a fit companion for him I shall know that thou hast shown kindness to my master.
Ramban
HER THOU HAST APPOINTED FOR THY SERVANT, EVEN FOR ISAAC. Rashi comments: “She is fit for him since she is charitable and worthy of admission into the house of Abraham. And thereby shall I know — this is a petition: ‘Let me know through her that Thou hast shown kindness unto my master.’” If so, Eliezer is saying, “I know for certain that You have appointed her for Your servant Isaac.” But in that case [his petition, which still indicates a doubt as to whether she was the appointed one,] does not connect well. Its interpretation however is as follows: “Make it happen to me this day that the girl to whom I will speak be the one that You have appointed for Your servant Isaac, and with this, show kindness to my master Abraham for with this I will know that You have shown kindness to him if she be of his family and of good mind and of beautiful appearance.” And so he said [when recounting the events of the day]: And let it come to pass, that the maiden, etc., let the same be the woman whom the Eternal hath appointed.
Ibn Ezra
"Her You have designated" (אֹתָהּ הֹכַחְתָּ) — the servant relied on the prayer of the prophet [Abraham], that Hashem had answered him and designated [the match] through a dream by means of the angel, who is Hashem's messenger sent to assist him. The servant reasoned in his heart that there was no people as generous as his master's family. Many wonder, saying that he did not ask properly. I do not know why they say this, for had another maiden given him water and watered his camels and she turned out to be from a different family, he would have left her and lost nothing — for "he said, whose daughter are you?" (Genesis 24:23) means that he had already asked her before giving her anything; and so it says: "I asked her and I placed the ring" (Genesis 24:47). The upshot is that he prayed to Hashem that He would designate a woman from his master's family, and the sign of designation was that she would conduct herself in the manner of a nobleman's daughter; and Hashem heard his prayer. The approach of Jonathan [ben Uzziel, in the Targum] is different.
Sforno
והיה הנערה אשר אמר אליה, this was not a statement but a prayer that things should develop in this fashion. He did not rely on any magic, i.e. that the signs he stipulated would determine his actions. We find a similar occurrence with Yonathan son of King Sha-ul in Samuel I 14,10, where he does not rely on the אות which he had stipulated, but where he asked G’d in prayer for help, saying that if certain things were to happen he would regard this as a sign that his prayer had been answered favourably (compare Ibn Ezra there) When the Talmud Chulin 95 כל נחש שאינו כאליעזר עבד אברהם ויהונתן בן שאול אינו נחש, the meaning is that “any divination which is not like that of Eliezer or that of Yonatan ben Sha-ul is not a divination,” i.e. is not permissible, but is akin to relying on witchcraft [Unless the person requesting a sign does so as a prayer directed to G’d it is forbidden. Ed.]. I will also water your camels. A supplicant should ask for less than his needs and the giver should provide him with all his needs or more. Whom You have determined. Hochachta in Hebrew can also be rendered “whom You have rebuked” — You admonished and instructed her until she was worthy of marrying Yitzchok.
Chizkuni
והיה הנערה, Eliezer now refers to how he will test a girl who at first glance appears to him as a suitable prospect, seeing that he cannot ask all the girls to draw water his camels; The use by Eliezer of the masculine mode in connection with the word נערה, is most puzzling. The word therefore must refer to some word or subject the Torah has omitted. This is not as unusual as it sounds, as we have another example of something like this in Deuteronomy 22,23: כי יהיה נער בתולה מאורשה לאיש, “when there will be a young girl who is a virgin betrothed to a man, etc;” in that line also the word יהיה, which is in the masculine mode, cannot refer to the girl in question but to the subject matter. In our verse here, Eliezer addresses a subject matter he has not spelled out, such as such, his examination of the girl’s character. ואמרה שתה, and she says: “go ahead and drink!” Eliezer is not engaging in ניחוש, divination, but he was looking for an omen, something permitted by Jewish law. He did not rely on this as a reason to give Rivkah the jewelry as he had first enquired about her immediate family history and it had turned out that she was a member of Avraham’s family. He had only made the jewelry ready in the event that it turned out that the girl offering him water to drink should turn out to be a member of Avraham’s family.
Rabbeinu Bahya
והיה הנערה אשר אומר אליה הטי נא כדך, “let it be that the maiden to whom I shall say: ‘please lower your jug so that I may drink,’ etc.” We have learned in Taanit 4 that there were three people who did not phrase a request to G-d in an appropriate manner. The three were: Eliezer, the servant of Avraham, Saul, son of Kish; and Yiftach from Gilead. Concerning Eliezer the Torah writes: (quoting our verses) “the criteria Eliezer listed to enable him to choose a bride for Yitzchak could have been met by a blind or lame girl.” [Eliezer surely did not mean for a girl with either one of such a handicap to become the bride of Yitzchak. Ed.]. Nonetheless, G-d arranged for the girl whom Eliezer met to be Rivkah, i.e. an eminently suitable choice. Saul, son of Kish requested victory over Goliath the Philistine blasphemer, promising the man who would kill Goliath his daughter as well as material wealth (Samuel I 17,28). If a slave or a bastard had taken up the challenge and succeeded, Saul would have been bound by a promise so carelessly formulated. G-d was kind enough to send him David who took up the challenge. In the case of Yiftach, we are told (Judges 11,31) that he foolishly vowed to offer as a sacrifice to G-d the first living creature which would come to meet him when he returned victoriously from battle. As it happened, his only daughter came out to welcome him. He had laid himself open to having to sacrifice any animal that was not even permitted to be offered as a sacrifice. G-d arranged that his daughter should meet him instead of what he had had in mind. This was the mystical dimension of Jeremiah 8,22 הצרי אין בגלעד אם רופא אין שם? “is there no balm in Gilead, no physician either?” The prophet points out that Yiftach could have had his vow annulled by the High Priest Pinchas or even by someone else had he not been too proud to do so. This thought [that there is not the slightest reason to honour a vow when it involves human sacrifice. Ed.] is underlined by the same prophet in Jeremiah 19,5 אשר לא ציויתי ולא דברתי, ולא עלתה על לבי, “which I have not commanded, nor spoken about, nor even thought about.” In other words, it was not G-d’s fault, or the fault of G-d’s legislation about honouring one’s vows which led to the death of Yiftach’s daughter. אותה הוכחת לעבדך ליצחק, “her you have designated for your servant, for Yitzchak.” She is fit for him as she performs deeds of loving kindness and she therefore is suitable to enter the household of an Avraham. ובה אדע, “and by means of her (actions) I will know, etc.” this was an appeal to G-d to let him know that G-d had performed an act of kindness for Avraham (compare Rashi).
Kli Yakar
“You have designated her for Your servant, for Isaac.” Rashi explains that she is suitable for him as she performs acts of kindness. This passage is juxtaposed with the story of Ephron the Hittite because he too was from the seed of Canaan, as it is said And Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth (Genesis 10:15). And Ephron was evil-eyed [stingy]; therefore [Abraham] commanded to distance themselves from the Canaanites who are possessors of the evil eye, for money answers and testifies to everything, and every person is recognized by his pocket [financial dealings] whether his actions are pure and upright. There is no better crucible and test for a person than silver and gold, as Solomon said The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold (Proverbs 17:3). For one who wishes to test and examine a person should look to [their] money and see what their nature is, and similarly the furnace to test a person — go to gold and see how the person conducts themselves with it. For if one maintains their righteousness in monetary matters, in all wisdom it will be revealed that they are complete, and vice versa. From here Eliezer learned to test Rebecca only in this quality — whether she has a good eye [generosity] and performs acts of kindness. Therefore he said, “I will only ask her for a drink, and if she responds ‘drink, and I will also water your camels,’ then surely she is one who performs acts of kindness as she will give more than what I ask for.” And if so, You have designated her for Your servant, for Isaac, for his entire household is clothed in garments of salvation for others [i.e., dedicated to helping others]. On the level of allusion, he mentioned “your camels” [gemalekha] — the word relates to acts of kindness [gemilut chesed], as it is linguistically similar to “your camels.” Thus our Sages interpreted (Tanchuma Shemini 8) “the camel” as referring to Babylon, as it says your recompense that You dealt to us (Psalms 137:8). His intention here was that if she adds saying “and I will also water your camels,” it would be a meaningful sign — that she so loves the attribute of performing acts of kindness that she loves anything associated with this trait, as this is natural behavior. Our Sages interpreted (Chullin 63a) the stork [chasidah] as being called such because it performs acts of kindness [chasidut] with its fellows. Therefore, it is not far-fetched to similarly interpret the word “camel” [gamal], as perhaps it is in their nature to perform kindness with one another. Thus she increases her love for them by saying and I will also water your camels, as all this indicates that she loves the attribute of performing kindness. Our Sages said (Taanit 24a) “Any bride whose eyes are beautiful requires no further examination of her entire body.” This seems to contradict what we observe, as there are many unattractive women who have beautiful eyes. Furthermore, it is difficult to understand why our Sages would give advice to examine external beauty, when “charm is deceptive and beauty is vain.” Rather, they must have been giving advice to examine her deeds, and this is the advised strategy: to check if she has a “good eye” [meaning generosity] and performs acts of kindness. For if she has “beautiful eyes” towards others [meaning she views them kindly], then she is undoubtedly complete in all virtuous traits. Our Sages learned this from Eliezer, who examined Rebecca only regarding this trait, as this characteristic serves as the archetypal model for all other virtuous traits. According to its simple interpretation, it appears that Eliezer took this sign for himself, saying, “I will only ask her Please tilt your jug so I may drink, and I will not mention the camels to her nor make any request regarding them. And if she replies and says Drink, and I will also water your camels, showing more concern for the camels than I do, surely it is the spirit of God speaking through her, [indicating] that the camels will be hers when Isaac marries her. This is why she shows more concern for the camels than I do, because they are not mine but will eventually be hers, and she shows concern for them because they will be her property.” And regarding what it says that he waited silently to know whether God had made his journey successful or not, this is because there are people who make promises but don’t fulfill them and boast with false gifts. Therefore, he was not confident in this sign until they finished drinking; only then did he rely on the sign and gave her the nose ring and the bracelets.
Tur HaArokh
אותה הוכחת לעבדך ליצחק, “her You have designated for Your servant, for Yitzchok.” Rashi understands the word הוכחת here as meaning “suitable.” Eliezer meant that a girl who would not only agree to draw water for him, the stranger, but would volunteer to also water his camels (although he was an able-bodied man capable of doing this by himself) had proven a fit successor for Yitzchok’s mother Sarah. Nachmanides explains that the words אותה הוכחת וגו' are all still part of Eliezer’s prayer which started with the words הקרה נא, (verse 12) He would consider what appeared like a coincidence מקרה not as such but as a sign from G’d that this was indeed the girl he had been searching for. This sign would prove that G’d had shown an special kindness to his master. If the girl were to be a member of Avraham’s family, this would be an additional sign. If you were to object, pointing out that even non Jews are forbidden to practice any kind of witchcraft or reliance on omens, so that Eliezer’s having given the jewelry to Rivkah before she had told him whose family she belonged to, you would have to answer that he did not give her the bracelets and nose-ring until he knew whose family she belonged to. We have a rule that the Torah is not obligated to report events in their chronological order, hence the fact that here the Torah has chosen to report Eliezer as giving jewelry to Rivkah on the strength of her having helped him, even before reporting who she was, is not so surprising. Another approach could be the fact that actually the Torah describes Eliezer only as ויקח נזם זהב וגו', “He took a golden nose-ring, etc.,” i.e. it does not state that he had already handed over the jewelry or put it on her hands as we hear in verse 47 when the servant recounted his experiences at the well, when he describes this as something he had done after having identified her as a member of Avraham’s family. Maybe, at this stage he showed the jewelry to Rivkah and asked her about her family before giving it to her and placing the bracelets on her hands. The words על ידיה would then describe the function of the צמידים, the bracelets. A third possibility is that the whole question of ניחוש, reliance on magical devices, omens, subjective criteria, etc.’ to establish the truth of something, is not an issue either with Eliezer or with Yonathan, David’s friend. It is only when one bases one’s course of action exclusively on coincidences, magic formulas, etc., that one violates the Torah’s commandment not to do so. Eliezer used the criteria he had set himself to examine the character of the girl as a guideline, but not as determining the issue to the extent of abandoning his own evaluation as to her suitability. Similarly, Yonathan used the arrows to encourage the lad to search further not to determine David’s course of action a fateful course. (Samuel I chapter 20) Ibn Ezra wrote that many people are astounded at Eliezer’s conduct, considering it as inappropriate. He does not understand how these people’s minds work. After all, it is quite clear that if the first girl who had agreed to Eliezer’s request and beyond that had turned out not to be a member of Avraham’s family, he would look further.
And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
verse value 4355
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 73 letters. Verse gematria: 4355 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "scarcely" (טֶ֘רֶם֮, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·was·he" (וַֽיְהִי־ה֗וּא, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: coming·out, which. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·was·he" (וַֽיְהִי־ה֗וּא), "to·Bethuel" (לִבְתוּאֵ֣ל). 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "to·Bethuel" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "was·born" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Abraham', dividing the verse into phrases of 15 and 2 words.
Onkelos
He had not yet finished speaking, and behold, Rebekah was coming out — she who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham — with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
Ramban
WHO WAS BORN TO BETHUEL THE SON OF MILCAH THE WIFE OF NAHOR, ABRAHAM’s BROTHER. Because Nahor also had children from his concubine Reumah, they always described the lineage of Bethuel by saying that he was the son of Milcah who was the mistress of the household. And because the girl mentioned her father’s mother first, as it says, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah — for such was customary among the girls, analogous to the verse, And she told her mother’s house here. — therefore Scripture mentions in the verse before us that he [Bethuel] was the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor. But the servant later said, And she said, The daughter of Bethuel Nahor’s son, here. for he corrected the matter as is ethically proper. However, he did say, whom Milcah bore unto him, here. in order to state that Bethuel was the son of the mistress and not the concubine.
Sforno
טרם כלה, he had not yet finished. This is what Isaiah 65,24 had in mind when he said that G’d answers a prayer before it has been articulated. אשר ילדה לבתואל בן מלכה, he was not a son of Re-umah the concubine. [if the Torah had not wanted to make this point, it could simply have written Betuel, son of Nachor.]
Or HaChaim
טרם כלה לדנר, Before he had finished speaking, etc. This means that Eliezer was still addressing G'd when Rebeccah materialised. He realised immediately that she was slated to become Isaac's wife. רבקה יוצאת, Rebeccah was coming out. G'd timed her appearance to coincide exactly with Eliezer's prayer so that he would not meet another girl by mistake while Rebeccah, who had been born to Bethuel, was the intended mate for Isaac. I have explained this in connection with 22,20 where the Torah mentions that Abraham had received word of her birth.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויהי הוא טרם כלה לדבר, “and it was before he had finished speaking, etc.” We need to understand the need for the apparently extraneous word הוא in this verse. All the Torah had to write to tell us that Rivkah appeared before Eliezer had completed his prayer was ויהי ככלותו לדברו, “as soon as he had finished speaking, etc.” Actually, the word הוא in this verse is not a personal pronoun, i.e. “he,” but a name of G-d. (compare Genesis 19,33 where we encountered this word in that context) We have numerous examples of the word הוא being a reference to a name of G-d, such as Psalms 100, 3 הוא עשנו ולו אנחנו, “He has made us and we belong to Him;” Numbers 18,23 ועבד הלוי הוא, ”and the Levite will serve G-d, etc.;” the word הוא in that verse means that Eliezer enjoyed G-d’s special assistance in his mission by means of the angel concerning whom Avraham had prayed to G-d that He should make Eliezer’s mission successful (verse 7). The angel, was at hand already before Eliezer had completed praying and he arranged for Rivkah to be the maiden whom Eliezer would address first with his request for water. This is why the Torah wrote: והנה רבקה יוצאת, “and here Rivkah was already in the process of coming out, etc.” The word והנה means that what follows was the result of a special arrangement, invitation. If the servant immediately ran towards her (verse 17) it was because he had noticed the water of the well rising to meet Rivkah on her descent. This is what our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 60,5 have derived from the wording in our verses here. At that moment Eliezer already understood what Avraham had meant when he had said to him that G-d would send His angel ahead. This is also what he related once he was in Bethuel’s house when he told the family that Avraham had assured him already before he set out on his journey that G-d would send His angel ahead and that he would succeed (verse 40). In view of this it is easy to understand that from the moment that Eliezer had become aware that the angel was supporting him the Torah refers to him no longer as עבד, servant, but as איש, a man of stature. Up until then we read about וישם העבד, “the servant placed;” ויקח העבד, “the servant took;” וירץ העבד, “the servant ran.” From this point on the Torah keeps referring to Eliezer as האיש until he leaves the house of Bethuel with Rivkah. The expression האיש is applied to the angel Gavriel in Daniel 9,21. It is also applied to the angel who told Joseph that his brothers had moved away from Shechem, (Genesis 37,17) and that they had been overheard as planning to move to Dothan. In other words, as of the time the angel joined Eliezer in his quest, he himself assumed the role of the angel in an executive manner. The words והאיש משתאה לה (verse 21) which appear to be somewhat problematical if we assume Eliezer and the angel to have become as one, must be understood as “he was waiting for her;” he did so as he had become aware that his mission was about to be crowned with success. Having done so, the Torah from now on refers to him constantly as האיש, such as when we read (verse 22) ויקח האש, or (verse 26) ויקוד האיש, or (verse 30) כה דבר אלי האיש, etc. When, a little while later, Lavan and Bethuel gave their consent for Eliezer to take Rivkah (verse 51) and they said הנה רבקה לפניך קח ולך, “here Rivkah is in your presence, take her and go,” at which point Eliezer’s mission had been completed, the Torah reverts to describe Eliezer as עבד instead of as האיש. In verse 53 when Eliezer is reported as sharing out gifts, as well as in every subsequent move of his, the Torah speaks of העבד, “the servant,” seeing that the angel’s assistance was no longer required for that part of his activity. Avraham’s prayer which invoked the assistance of an angel had been answered in full. If you were to ask that when Lavan and his mother asked Rivkah if she were willing to go עם האיש הזה, “with this man,” and this occurred only in verse 58, after verse 51 which we described as the point at which Eliezer’s mission had basically been completed, the answer is simple. The words reported in verse 58 were not spoken by the Torah but by Lavan and his mother. They certainly were not bound by the considerations we described before. How could they be expected to refer to someone as “this slave,” when the person in question was distributing lavish gifts to every member of their household, not to mention to Rivkah herself? Would it not have been a gross insult to their sister to ask her is she were willing to leave her parental home in order to travel to a distant land “with this slave?” Concerning verse 61 in which both Rivkah and her maids are reported as traveling אחרי האיש, which appears to contradict the explanation I have offered that Eliezer had reverted to being an עבד the moment consent had been obtained for her to become Yitzchak’s bride, this wording was chosen by the Torah in honour of Rivkah. It would not have looked respectful if she had been described as riding “behind the slave.” Another approach to the words והאיש משתאה לה. It is an allusion to the angel who had tarried and waited at the well until the arrival there of Rivkah. From that moment on Eliezer took over the task of the angel; hence he is referred to as האיש from that moment on. Support for this theory is found in the text near the end of the episode where the Torah said (verse 61) “they walked behind האיש, “and the עבד took Rivkah and he went.” This verse makes it crystal clear that the subjects איש and עבד respectively could not have been one and the same.
And the young woman was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her; and she went down to the fountain, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
verse value 3675
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 51 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·the·maiden" (וְהַֽנַּעֲרָ֗, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "virgin" (בְּתוּלָ֕ה), "had·known·her" (יְדָעָ֑הּ), "and·came·up" (וַתָּֽעַל). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 153x in Genesis); "not" (root לא, 127x in Genesis); "to·the·spring" (root עין, 79x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'had·known·her', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְהַֽנַּעֲרָ֗ [and·the·maiden] (331) + טֹבַ֤ת [beautiful·of] (411) + מַרְאֶה֙ [appearance] (246) + מְאֹ֔ד [very] (45) + בְּתוּלָ֕ה [virgin] (443) + וְאִ֖ישׁ [man] (317) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + יְדָעָ֑הּ [had·known·her] (89) + וַתֵּ֣רֶד [and·went·down] (610) + הָעַ֔יְנָה [to·the·spring] (140) + וַתְּמַלֵּ֥א [and·filled] (477) + כַדָּ֖הּ [her·jar] (29) + וַתָּֽעַל [and·came·up] (506) = 3675.
Onkelos
The maiden was very beautiful in appearance, a virgin whom no man had known; she went down to the spring and filled her pitcher and came back up.
Rashi
בתולה A VIRGIN — from the place of her hymen. ואיש לא ידעה AND A MAN DID NOT KNOW HER — not in its way (meaning, anally). Because the daughters of the nations would guard the place of their hymens, but abandon themselves from another place. It testifies about this one that she was clean from all [of this] (Genesis Rabbah 60:5).
Ibn Ezra
"And no man had known her" — it is far-fetched to say that Scripture is speaking of intercourse outside the normal manner; rather, the meaning is that it is possible for a maiden to be a virgin, and yet a man could lie with her and she could even conceive. For it is not appropriate to reveal such a matter of sexual indecency openly.
Sforno
טובת מראה, she had beautiful skin colouring.
Chizkuni
בתולה, “a virgin;” according to the view that Rivkah was only three years old, why the Torah needed to add that she was “a virgin”? since the Talmud (Niddah 44) says that any three years old girl that had been violated by someone, her hymen will grow again! (something that was known to people in those days).
Rabbeinu Bahya
ותרד העינה ותמלא כדה ותעל. “She descended to the well, filled her jug, and she came up.” The crucial word “she drew water,” is missing in this verse. On the second occasion when Rivkah again descended (verse 20) to provide water for Eliezer’s camels the Torah does insert the words ותרץ עוד אל הבאר לשאב, ותשאב וגו’, “she ran to the well once more in order to draw water; she drew water, etc.” These fine differences in the text prompted our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 60,6 to say: “all the women go down to the well to fill (their jugs). This one, as soon as the waters saw her they rose up to meet her.” G-d said to her: “just as the waters have seen fit to rise in your honour so other waters will rise in honour of your children.” [The reference is to Numbers 21,17 אז ישיר ישראל את השירה הזאת עלי באר, “then the Israelites broke out in song: “rise up, O well,- sing to it, etc.”] This also explains the unusual verse 17 “the servant ran towards her, etc.” As soon as Eliezer had noticed the strange phenomenon that the waters rose to meet this girl, (verse 16) he hastened to meet her. You ought to realise that here we encounter for the first time that the 72-lettered version of the 4-lettered Ineffable Name is alluded to. The first letters in the words כדה ותעל spell 26 in numerical value. The numerical value of the 4-lettered Ineffable name י-ה-ו-ה when spelled in letters only equals 26. When these four letters are spelled out as words i.e. יוד הי ויו הי, the result is 72. Such permutations of the holy name of G-d exert their influence on water and the waters which responded to the arrival of Rivkah did so as a result of being sensitive to such considerations. At a later time, when the Israelites were on the edge of the sea of reeds the water was able to rise in the form of walls to let the Israelites pass through in response to Moses’ staff which had this name of G-d (72 letters) inscribed on it. A similar consideration enabled Moses to strike the rock and to bring forth water from it (Exodus 17,6). [Rabbi Chavell cites Targum Yonathan on Exodus 14,21 as the source of our author.]
Tur HaArokh
בתולה ואיש לא ידעה, “a virgin, with whom no man had been intimate.” Rashi explains the apparent duplication to mean that no man had even had abnormal sexual relations with her. Besides, if she had been sexually violated while being younger than three years of age, her hymen would have regenerated itself and left no visible marks of such penetration.
And the servant ran to meet her, and said: "Give me to drink, I pray you, a little water of your pitcher."
verse value 1853
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 39 letters. The shortest word is "please" (נָ֛א, 2 letters) and the longest is "let·me·sip" (הַגְמִיאִ֥ינִי, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "to·meet·her" (לִקְרָאתָ֑הּ), "let·me·sip" (הַגְמִיאִ֥ינִי). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "to·meet·her" (root קרא, 123x in Genesis); "the·servant" (root עבד, 109x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·meet·her', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיָּ֥רׇץ [and·ran] (306) + הָעֶ֖בֶד [the·servant] (81) + לִקְרָאתָ֑הּ [to·meet·her] (736) + וַיֹּ֕אמֶר [and·said] (257) + הַגְמִיאִ֥ינִי [let·me·sip] (129) + נָ֛א [please] (51) + מְעַט־מַ֖יִם [a·little·water] (209) + מִכַּדֵּֽךְ [from·your·jar] (84) = 1853.
Onkelos
The servant ran toward her and said: Give me to drink, please, a little water from your pitcher.
Rashi
וירץ העבד לקראתה AND THE SERVANT RAN TOWARDS HER — because he saw that the waters rose in the well when she approached it (Genesis Rabbah 60:5). הגמיאיני נא GIVE ME TO DRINK, I PRAY THEE — the word means sipping; old French humer.
Ramban
AND THE SERVANT RAN TO MEET HER. Rashi comments: “Because he saw that the waters rose in the well when she approached it.” In Bereshith Rabbah the Rabbis said,11760:6. “And she filled her pitcher, and came up. here. All the women went down and filled their pitchers from the well. But this one, as the waters saw her they immediately rose. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her, ‘You are a sign of blessing to your children.’” See Numbers 21:17 and Midrash Rabbah, ibid. It would appear that the Rabbis derived this interpretation upon observing the language, And she filled her pitcher, and came up, here. for it does not say, “and she drew water and filled [the pitcher].” Now this miracle happened to her only the first time for afterwards it is written, and she drew. here. The servant, when recounting the day’s events to them, said: And she went down unto the well, and drew water. here. That was because he thought that perhaps they would not believe in the miracle.
Or HaChaim
הגמיאיני נא מעט מים, "let me please sip a little water, etc." Eliezer actually asked for less than he had originally stipulated, seeing he meant to ask her "to incline her jug in order to let him drink (extensively)." Not only did he only ask to take a sip, but he stressed that he wanted only a little water. He also failed to ask her to incline her jug in order to give him to drink. Our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 60,5) explain that Eliezer saw that the waters rose towards Rebeccah. This is when he realised that she was not a Canaanite girl and that she was destined for Isaac. He became afraid that he might forfeit an opportunity by insisting on the conditions he had made in his prayer, and proceeded to ask for the minimum possible. He wanted to make it easy for the girl to meet his request.
Tur HaArokh
וירץ העבד לקראתה, “the servant ran towards her.” He did so after witnessing that the waters in the well had risen in response to her approach. Our sages derive this from the wording of our verse ותמלא כדה ותעל, “she filled the jug and ascended.” There is no mention here of her having “drawn water,” ותשאב, something the Torah emphasis in verse 20 when she descended again in order to draw water for Eliezer’s camels. No miracle occurred in order to facilitate the watering of the camels. The first time the miracle occurred in order that Eliezer focus on the unusual speed with which this girl came up from the well, her jug already filled with water. Although, when Eliezer recounts the events at the table of Bethuel and Lavan he did not mention the miracle which had occurred, but described Rivkah as having drawn the water normally, (verse 45) he omitted mention of the miracle as he was afraid Lavan and Bethuel would not believe him and would consider his having fabricated that event in order to enhance his chances of obtaining their consent for Rivkah to travel back with him to the land of Canaan.
And she said: "Drink, my lord"; and she hastened, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
verse value 3643
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 35 letters. The shortest word is "drink" (שְׁתֵ֣ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·let·him·drink" (וַתַּשְׁקֵֽהוּ, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "upon·her·hand" (עַל־יָדָ֖הּ), "and·let·him·drink" (וַתַּשְׁקֵֽהוּ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "upon·her·hand" (root יד, 88x in Genesis); "my·lord" (root אדון, 68x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·lord', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַתֹּ֖אמֶר [and·she·said] (647) + שְׁתֵ֣ה [drink] (705) + אֲדֹנִ֑י [my·lord] (65) + וַתְּמַהֵ֗ר [and·hastened] (651) + וַתֹּ֧רֶד [and·lowered] (610) + כַּדָּ֛הּ [her·jar] (29) + עַל־יָדָ֖הּ [upon·her·hand] (119) + וַתַּשְׁקֵֽהוּ [and·let·him·drink] (817) = 3643.
Onkelos
She said: Drink, my lord; and she quickly lowered her pitcher onto her hand and gave him drink.
Rashi
ותרד כדה SHE LET DOWN HER PITCHER from off her shoulder.
Or HaChaim
ותאמר שתה אדוני, She said: "drink my lord, etc." Instead of letting Eliezer merely sip a little water, the girl offered that he drink freely, as much as he wanted. She did not want him to have to use his hand to drink out of, but she lowered the jug to make it more convenient for him. The word ותשקהו, means that not only did Eliezer not have to lift the jug to his lips but she placed it so that he did not even have to tilt it. She brought the jug to the level of his mouth. Rebeccah purposely did not add the words: "I will also water your camels" immediately. Had she added the words immediately, before Eliezer had finished drinking, the latter might have cut short his own drinking knowing that Rebeccah would still have to go to the trouble of watering the camels. As long as she had not offered this, Eliezer had no reason to entertain such considerations.
And when she had done giving him drink, she said: "I will draw for your camels also, until they have done drinking."
verse value 3725
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "even" (גַּ֤ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·let·him·drink" (לְהַשְׁקֹת֑וֹ, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·finished" (וַתְּכַ֖ל), "to·let·him·drink" (לְהַשְׁקֹת֑וֹ), "until·they·finish" (אִם־כִּלּ֖וּ). The root כלה appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "even" (root גם, 50x in Genesis); "for·your·camels" (root גמל, 29x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·let·him·drink', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַתְּכַ֖ל [and·finished] (456) + לְהַשְׁקֹת֑וֹ [to·let·him·drink] (841) + וַתֹּ֗אמֶר [and·she·said] (647) + גַּ֤ם [even] (43) + לִגְמַלֶּ֙יךָ֙ [for·your·camels] (133) + אֶשְׁאָ֔ב [I·will·draw] (304) + עַ֥ד [until] (74) + אִם־כִּלּ֖וּ [until·they·finish] (97) + לִשְׁתֹּֽת [to·drink] (1130) = 3725.
Onkelos
When she had finished giving him drink, she said: I will also draw for your camels, until they have had enough to drink.
Rashi
עד אם כלו literally, UNTIL THAT THEY HAVE FINISHED [DRINKING] — Here the word אם is used in the sense of אשר “that”. The words אם כלו the Targum renders by "That they have done enough drinking”. Though the verb כלה signifies to finish, to end, the Targum is right in translating it thus for this is the end of their drinking when they have drunk as much as they wanted (cf. Rashi on Genesis 43:2).
Sforno
ותכל להשקותו ותאמר, she waited with speaking until Eliezer had finished drinking his fill. She followed the dictum of our sages that one should not engage in conversation while eating (during the meal) (Taanit 5)
Or HaChaim
ותכל להשקותו, When she completed giving him to drink, etc. Seeing that the Torah does not describe Eliezer as having finished drinking, it is clear the Torah wants us to know that she kept bringing him water until he stopped drinking. It is also possible that Rebeccah judged when Eliezer should stop drinking, seeing that weary travellers who have gone without water for a long time are not the best judges of when they may be drinking more than is good for their health. We may view the matter also in light of what the Talmud teaches in Berachot 40, based on Deuteronomy 11,15 that one must feed one's animals before eating oneself. This ruling applies only when there is no danger to the life of the person involved. If his life is in danger, concern for his own health takes precedence over the wellbeing of his animals. When Rebeccah heard Eliezer ask for some water she concluded that she faced a man whose need for water was immediate. This is why she said to him: "drink!" As soon as she had given him sufficient water to ensure he was not in danger of dehydrating she suggested giving water to his camels, the ones which normally should have been looked after first. This is why the Torah phrases Rebeccah's action in such a way that we understand that as soon as was practicable she turned her attention to the camels, giving them to drink. She added that she would continue until the camels had finished drinking, meaning that in the case of the camels she was not going to rely on her personal judgment of when the animals had had enough to drink. She kept drawing water for the camels until they stopped drinking.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ותאמר גם לגמליך אשאב, she said: “I will also draw water for your camels.” The physical strength required for Rivkah to draw water for all of Eliezer’s camels could only be explained if she enjoyed divine assistance. This is all the more so if we accept the opinion of the sages in the Seder Olam that at that time Rivkah was only three years old. The whole matter can be viewed only as part of the success of which Avraham had assured Eliezer at the outset when he told him: “He will send His angel ahead of you and make your mission successful.” (24,7) This is the reason you find an allusion to G-d’s great name in our verse the name we have discussed in the previous paragraph. The fact that the letter ג in the word גמליך has a dagesh is additional evidence of an allusion to the attribute of גבורה being involved in what transpired at this well.
And she hastened, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.
verse value 4418
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "her·jar" (כַּדָּהּ֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "for·all·his·camels" (לְכׇל־גְּמַלָּֽיו, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·emptied" (וַתְּעַ֤ר), "to·the·trough" (אֶל־הַשֹּׁ֔קֶת), "to·the·well" (אֶֽל־הַבְּאֵ֖ר). The root שאב appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "again" (root עוד, 51x in Genesis); "to·the·well" (root באר, 37x in Genesis); "for·all·his·camels" (root גמל, 29x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·draw·water', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַתְּמַהֵ֗ר [and·hastened] (651) + וַתְּעַ֤ר [and·emptied] (676) + כַּדָּהּ֙ [her·jar] (29) + אֶל־הַשֹּׁ֔קֶת [to·the·trough] (836) + וַתָּ֥רׇץ [and·ran] (696) + ע֛וֹד [again] (80) + אֶֽל־הַבְּאֵ֖ר [to·the·well] (239) + לִשְׁאֹ֑ב [to·draw·water] (333) + וַתִּשְׁאַ֖ב [and·drew] (709) + לְכׇל־גְּמַלָּֽיו [for·all·his·camels] (169) = 4418.
Onkelos
She quickly emptied her pitcher into the watering trough and ran again to the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.
Rashi
ותער AND SHE EMPTIED — It means “pouring out”. It occurs in this sense many times in the Mishna; e. g., (Avodah Zarah 72a), “He who pours (הטערה) from one vessel into another”, and we find it again in a similar sense in Biblical Hebrew: (Psalms 141:8) “O pour not out (תער) my soul”, and (Isaiah 53:12) “Because he poured forth (הערה) his soul unto death” השקת THE TROUGH — a hollowed-out stone from which the camels drink.
Sforno
ותמהר, by being quick in what one does, a person performing a service indicates that the one whom she serves is someone esteemed highly in his eyes. Rivkah expressed this by the speed with which she went about her tasks. ותרץ עוד אל הבאר, the one in front of the well ((מעיין which was designed for the beasts to drink from.
Chizkuni
ותער כדה אל השוקת, “she poured the water in her jug into the trough (for the animals).” She observed the rule of not wasting water by pouring surplus water that Eliezer had not drunk into the trough meant for the camels to drink from, instead of pouring it back into the well.
Targum Yonatan
And she hastened and emptied the pitcher into the canal, the place of drinking, and ran again to the well to fill; and she filled for all his camels.
And the man looked stedfastly on her; holding his peace, to know whether Hashem had made his journey prosperous or not.
verse value 2641 — יְהֹוָ֛ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 39 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֛ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "to·her" (לָ֑הּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "made·successful" (הַֽהִצְלִ֧יחַ, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·the·man" (וְהָאִ֥ישׁ), "gazing" (מִשְׁתָּאֵ֖ה), "keeping·silent" (מַחֲרִ֕ישׁ). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis); "and·the·man" (root איש, 153x in Genesis); "to·know" (root ידע, 58x in Genesis). First appearance of the root צלח ("made·successful") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·her', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְהָאִ֥ישׁ [and·the·man] (322) + מִשְׁתָּאֵ֖ה [gazing] (746) + לָ֑הּ [to·her] (35) + מַחֲרִ֕ישׁ [keeping·silent] (558) + לָדַ֗עַת [to·know] (504) + הַֽהִצְלִ֧יחַ [made·successful] (148) + יְהֹוָ֛ה [Hashem] (26) + דַּרְכּ֖וֹ [his·errand] (230) + אִם־לֹֽא [if·not] (72) = 2641.
Onkelos
The man was astonished at her, gazing silently, to know whether Hashem had made his journey successful or not.
Rashi
משתאה WAS WONDERING — The word really has the idea of being waste and desolate, as (Isaiah 6:11) “Until cities be waste (שאו) and the land become utterly desolate תשאה. משתאה means he was astonished and perplexed, because he saw that what he had said was nearly successful only that he did not know whether she belonged to Abraham’s family or not. Do not be puzzled by the ת in the word משתאה for you will find no word (verb) whose first root letter is ש where, when it is used in the Hithpael, the ת of the Hithpael-prefix does not come between the first two letters of the root, as e.g. משתאה (here) and (Isaiah 59:15) משתולל of the same root as שולל, and (Isaiah 59:16) וישתומם of the same root as שממה and (Micha 6:16) “For the statutes of Omri are kept (וישתמר)” from the same root as וישמר —so, also, here משתאה is of the same root as תשאה. Now, just as you find the expression שמם (which really means waste and desolate) applied to a person who is perplexed and speechless (with amazement) and sunk in deep thought (about what is happening) — e. g., (Job 18:20) “They that come after shall be astonished (נשמו) at his day”, and (Jeremiah 2:12) “Be astonished (שומו) ye heavens”, and (Daniel 4:16) “He was appalled אשתומם for a time” — so too you may explain the expression שאה (which also really means waste and desolate) in all its verbal or noun forms as referring to a person who is perplexed and sunk deep in thought. Onkelos translates it in the sense of lingering — “the man lingered” — i. e. he wailed, standing on one spot, to see “whether God had made his journey prosperous”. But one should not read in the Targum שתי in place of שהי, as the Targum of משתאה, (as evidently some versions of the Targum read), for the word משתאה certainly does not mean drinking, for א has no place in the Hebrew words which mean drinking root (שתה). משתאה לה means he was wondering about her, just as the ל has the meaning “about” in (20:13) “Say of me (לי), he is my brother”, and (26:7) “And the men of the place asked about his wife.
Ibn Ezra
"And the man was astonished" (וְהָאִישׁ מִשְׁתָּאֵה) — it is like מִשְׁתּוֹמֵם, "was stunned," derived from "cities shall be laid waste" (שׁאוּ עָרִים, Isaiah 6:11); "desolation shall be made waste" (תְּשֹׁאָה שְׁמָמָה, ibid.). The word לָהּ ["at her"] carries the sense of "on her account." Similarly: "he was stunned for one hour" (Daniel 4:16). The tav is part of the hitpa'el binyan, as in "let us look one another in the face" (2 Kings 14:8), and it cannot derive from the root ש.ת.ה.
Sforno
Wondering at her. He was amazed at her zeal. Remained silent. He did not try to dissuade her from troubling herself. Waiting to determine. The way she performed her good deeds was to be the test. Whether Ad-noy had made. If she acted out of pure kindness he would know that his mission was successful. Or not. If she expected payment she was not the right one.
Or HaChaim
והאיש משתאה לה מחריש, And the man was amazed at her, remaining silent, etc. The Torah explains here that though Eliezer had no longer any reason to await Rebeccah's completing her task of watering the camels seeing she had already done much more than he had stipulated in his prayer, he kept his peace. One of the reasons he waited before enquiring from her about who she was may have been that he wanted to test whether she would indeed complete the onerous task of drawing water for all the ten camels as she had promised to do, or if she would tire in the process and carry out less than she had promised. As soon as she completed watering all the camels he gave her the jewelry intended for Isaac's bride.
Chizkuni
משתאה לה, although literally “at her,” the word לה here is to be understood as if the Torah had written: עליה, “about her.” We find a similar formulation in Numbers 23,23: כעת יאמר ליעקב ולישראל, “at that time it is reported about Israel, etc.”
And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;
verse value 4859
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 72 letters. The shortest word is "completed" (כִּלּ֤וּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·camels" (הַגְּמַלִּים֙, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 14: gold, gold. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "a·ring·of" (נֶ֣זֶם), "a·half-shekel" (בֶּ֖קַע), "its·weight" (מִשְׁקָל֑וֹ). The root זהב appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "as" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "the·man" (root איש, 153x in Genesis). First appearance of the root נזם ("a·ring·of") in Genesis. First appearance of the root משקל ("its·weight") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'its·weight', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 6 words.
Onkelos
When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a golden nose-ring of a shekel's weight, and two bracelets for her hands, ten shekels' weight of gold.
Rashi
בקע BEKA (half a Shekel) — a symbol of the Shekels of the Israelites of which it is said (Exodus 38:26) “a Beka (half a Shekel) a head” (cf. Targum Jon). ושני צמידים AND TWO BRACELETS (the word for bracelet signifies something joined or united) — a symbol of the two Tablets of stone, joined one to another (Genesis Rabbah 60:6). עשרה זהב משקלם TEN SHEKELS OF GOLD WAS THEIR WEIGHT —a symbol of the Ten Commandments written on them (the Tablets) (Genesis Rabbah 60:6).
Ramban
AND THE MAN TOOK A GOLDEN RING… AND TWO BRACELETS UPON HER HANDS. This verse omits the deed for it should have said: “And the man took a golden ring and put it upon her nose and two bracelets upon her hands.” Therefore I say that the interpretation of the verse is as follows: And the man took a golden ring and two bracelets which would be upon her hands, and he said to her, Whose daughter art thou? here. And after she had told him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, here. he put the ring upon her nose and the bracelets upon her hands, as he told them. He first asked her who she was, and then he gave her the presents. This interpretation differs from Rashi (in Verse 23) who says that after he had given her the presents, he asked her whose daughter she was, for he was confident that, on account of Abraham’s merit, G-d would make his journey successful. Later, however, in Verse 47, when he recounted the story, he changed the sequence of the two events so that they should not sense the inconsistency and say, “How could you give her anything when you did not know who she was?” Here, however, Scripture omits the actual giving, and similarly in many places.
Ibn Ezra
"A ring" (נֶזֶם) — there is a ring worn in the nose and also one worn in the ear. The one worn on the nose hangs down by a thread tied to the forehead. "A beka" (בֶּקַע) — half a shekel, derived from the root of "split" (נִבְקַע, Job 26:9). "And bracelets" (צְמִידִים) — derived from "a tightly bound cover" (צָמִיד פָּתִיל, Numbers 19:15), for upon each hand there was one bracelet — that is, a pair. Their form is well known.
Sforno
When the camels had finished. He did not give her the jewelry immediately after she finished drawing the water because he was waiting to see if she would ask for remuneration. ושני צמידים על ידיה, according to the size that fitted her wrists; this is similar to Exodus 28,22 ועשית עלי החושן שרשות גבלות, “you shall construct around it plaited chains of beaten gold,” or Exodus 25,11 ועשית עליו זר זהב, “you shall construct around it a golden border.” In each of these instances the measurements of the chains or border had to fit the pricipal artifact.
Or HaChaim
על ידיה, on her hands. This means that the bracelets fitted her as if made to fit her specific measurements. Eliezer placed this jewelry on Rebeccah's hands as a sign of acknowledging G'd's personal guidance in his mission thus far.
Chizkuni
ויקח האיש, literally: “the man took;” the reason why the Torah did not write simply: “the man gave, etc,” is that he searched among the jewelry he had with him the kind which was the appropriate size for someone her age. He would give it to her in the event she met the conditions Eliezer had made as the Torah had previously outlined. בקע משקלו, the word בקע means “split,” as we know from Exodus 14,16 ובקעהו, “and he split it;” (the waters of the sea of reeds) a half shekel each (for each arm).
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויקח האיש נזם זהב בקע משקלו ושני צמידים, “the man took a golden nose-ring weighing a beka and two bracelets, etc.” Why did the Torah need to tell us the weight of these pieces of jewelry? We are dealing with an allusion to the fact that eventually Rivkah’s descendants, i.e. the generation who would contribute to the building of the Tabernacle in terms of shekalim. In Exodus 35,26 the Torah speaks of the weight of these shekalim also in terms of בקע לגולגולת, one “beka per person.” When the Jewish people received the two tablets with the Ten Commandments you will find that these comprised 172 words. This corresponds to the numerical value of the letters in the word בקע. This corresponds to what we read here ושני צמידים על ידיה עשרה זהב משקלם. The words עשרה זהב are an allusion to the Ten Commandments. We may also perceive the word שקל as an acronym describing אש קול, i.e. the ingredients most prominent during the revelation of G-d at Mount Sinai. We were told that on that occasion מן השמים השמיעך את קולו ליסרך ועל הארץ הראך את אשו הגדולה, “from the Heavens he let you hear His powerful voice, and on earth He showed you His great fire“ (Deut. 4,36). This also leads us to examine the amount of shekels offered by Haman in order to secure permission from King Achashverosh to do to the Jewish people as he saw fit. He offered 10,000 talents of silver, or 600,000 shekels. (compare Esther 3,9) It was his plan to neutralise the 600,000 shekels the Jews had contributed at the time for the sockets of the Holy Tabernacle and to deprive them of any merit they might have accumulated due to that donation. In short, Haman wanted to neutralise the accumulated merit of the people who had embraced the Torah at Mount Sinai. He wanted to annul what had been acquired with fire and sound. This is what has been hinted at here in Eliezer’s prayer (verse 27) when he said: 'אנכי בדרך נחני ה’, “I was on the way when G-d guided me, etc.” He meant that the merit of the “אנכי” which the Jewish people would accept in the future was active on his behalf at the time he stood by the well. All the details of what was happening with Rivkah at this time foreshadowed events of the future involving her offspring. Similarly, all that happened to the servant of Avraham on this mission foreshadowed events in Jewish history of the future when that people was in the desert. Just as an angel had been at his side through the efficacy of Avraham’s prayer who had said that “G-d will send His angel ahead,” so it happened to Avraham’s descendants in the desert. Seeing that the angel in question was not a regular natural phenomenon but one of the disembodied spiritual creatures, so the angel who accompanied the Jewish people was such a disembodied spiritual force who had been emanated by the merit of Avraham. This was whom the Torah had in mind when it quoted G-d as telling Moses in Exodus 23,20 הנה אנכי שולח מלאך לפניך. “Here I am about to send an angel ahead of you.” Just as Avraham in our chapter referred to this divine force as מלאכו, “His angel,” so G-d referred to the same divine force as מלאכי, “My angel,” (not just any מלאך, angel, in Exodus 23,23). Just as the waters had risen towards Rivkah, so the waters rose towards her “children” in the desert as we explained. The servant also alluded to such future developments when presenting her with the jewelry mentioned in our chapter. This mission was carried out by a trusted servant, i.e. Eliezer. The Jewish people in the desert were led by G-d’s trusted servant Moses. When the Torah wrote in this chapter that Eliezer had been equipped with all the “good” of his master Avraham, the Torah, in a parallel reference, tells us that G-d equipped Moses for his task by equipping him with all ‘His goodness.” This is what is meant by Exodus 33,19 “אני אעביר כל טובי על פניך, “I will let all My goodness pass before you.” Just as Eliezer gave gifts to Rivkah not only at the well but also in her father’s house (verse 53), so the Jewish people who received the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai again received the gift of a covenant shortly before they entered the Holy Land (Deut. 28,69). At that time many commandments which were applicable in Eretz Yisrael were revealed for the first time in detail. This reflects the statement of our sages in Gittin 60 that “the Torah was given to the Jewish people in individual scrolls.” The sages meant that although Moses had received all 613 commandments while he was on Mount Sinai in the first year of their wanderings, he did not teach all of these commandments to the people at once. Just as the story of Rivkah and Eliezer at the well has been repeated in the Torah and the servant relates all that happened to him at the well, so Moses repeated many parts of the events the Jewish people experienced during their trek through the desert once more in the Book of Deuteronomy. Also, the Jewish people received both the first and the second set of Tablets.
Kli Yakar
And the man took a golden nose ring weighing a beka, and two bracelets, etc. Rashi explains that “beka” alludes to the shekels of Israel, which were a beka per head, and the “two bracelets” allude to the Two Tablets, “ten [shekels] of gold was their weight” corresponding to the Ten Commandments that were on them. All these matters require sufficient explanation as to what connection the shekels and the tablets have to each other. Perhaps he foresaw through Divine inspiration that the Tablets were destined to be broken because the evil eye had power over the first Tablets, as they were given publicly and with great fanfare. Perhaps those who cast the evil eye on the Tablets would be punished measure for measure, meaning through the evil eye. Therefore, the shekels were alluded to her, as they protect against the evil eye. Since Eliezer tested Rebecca to see if she possessed a good eye [generous nature] and found her to be so, he therefore gave her the beka which atones for and protects against the evil eye. For anyone who has a generous eye is saved from the evil eye, as evidenced by Joseph who had a generous eye, and from there he became the shepherd of the Stone of Israel. Therefore, he was blessed with the blessing “Ben Porat Alei Ayin” [a fruitful son by the eye] - read it as “Olei Ayin” [those who rise above the eye], meaning they rise above the evil eye, for the evil eye had no power over anyone who came from Joseph’s descendants. Similarly, Rebecca, by virtue of having a good eye, would merit the commandment of the shekels, whose purpose is to save from the evil eye at the time of counting. Furthermore, she is worthy of receiving the Ten Commandments, as established by the liturgical poet of Shavuot who wrote: “These commandments are all included in ‘Do not covet,’” because anyone with a good eye who gives from their own possessions obviously does not covet taking from others. And you need to understand how all the commandments are included in ‘Do not covet.’ For while it’s understandable regarding the latter commandments from “Do not murder” onward - as we see with Ahab in the story of Naboth the Jezreelite, where he coveted, and also murdered, and hired false witnesses, and deceived the court, and “Do not commit adultery” is equivalent to “Do not covet your neighbor’s wife” - but how do the first commandments relate to “Do not covet”? It seems to me that since the commandment of “Honor your father” concludes all five of the first commandments and encompasses them together [as they all speak about honoring Heaven, and from the end of the matter we can recognize that its beginning is true, because honoring Heaven comes from a fortiori reasoning from honoring parents], and the tablets were arranged five opposite five, therefore just as the five latter commandments are included in “Do not covet,” so too are they all included in it, since all the commandments were arranged parallel to each other. However, according to this assumption, the commandment of “Do not covet” only includes them all together through the connection of the two tablets. Therefore it says “and two bracelets on her hands” - meaning specifically ‘paired’ [tzmudim] - because through the connection of the tablets, five opposite five, all the commandments are included in “Do not covet.” If you examine carefully the terminology of ‘tzmidim’ [bracelets] and ‘beka’ [half-shekel], you will find that they are opposites, for ‘beka’ is one thing split into two, while ‘two tzmidim’ refers to two separate things that become joined and connected. This alludes to how [Torah’s] commerce is better than the commerce of silver and more desirable, for monetary acquisitions are always split in half, as no person leaves this world with even half his desires fulfilled — if one has a hundred, he desires 200. This is why it’s called ‘mamon’ [money], for the revealed is half of the hidden, as when you write Mem-Mem-Vav-Nun [spelling מָמוֹן]: it hints that if one has 40 zuz, he desires another 40, and so on. However, the acquisition of Torah is entirely bound and connected, increasing peace by joining separate entities, as it is written Great peace have they who love Your Torah (Psalms 119:165). At the time of one’s passing, nothing accompanies a person except Torah and good deeds — and the term ‘accompanying’ implies connection and binding. Thus, money is alluded to in ‘beka’ because one always has only half, while the commandment is represented by ‘two bracelets’ because, on the contrary, one mitzvah draws another complete mitzvah. Money breeds all strife and affliction and separates between brothers, while the Torah’s paths are all peace. Money becomes separated and split from the person and does not accompany him, while the acquisition of Torah accompanies him in all his toil.
and said: "Whose daughter are you? tell me, I pray you. Is there room in your father's house for us to lodge in?"
verse value 2385 — לָ֖נוּ = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 41 letters. Notable word values: "to·us" (לָ֖נוּ) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "please" (נָ֖א, 2 letters) and the longest is "tell·me" (אַ֔תְּ הַגִּ֥ידִי, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "tell·me" (אַ֔תְּ הַגִּ֥ידִי), "to·spend·the·night" (לָלִֽין). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "the·house·of·your·father" (root בית, 121x in Genesis); "whose·daughter" (root בת, 92x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ [and·said] (257) + בַּת־מִ֣י [whose·daughter] (452) + אַ֔תְּ הַגִּ֥ידִי [tell·me] (433) + נָ֖א [please] (51) + לִ֑י [to·me] (40) + הֲיֵ֧שׁ [is·there] (315) + בֵּית־אָבִ֛יךְ [the·house·of·your·father] (445) + מָק֥וֹם [place] (186) + לָ֖נוּ [to·us] (86) + לָלִֽין [to·spend·the·night] (120) = 2385.
Onkelos
He said: Whose daughter are you? Tell me now: is there a proper place in your father's house for us to lodge?
Rashi
ויאמר בת מי את AND HE SAID, WHOSE DAUGHTER ART THOU? — He asked her this after he had given her these presents, for he was confident that, on account of the merit of Abraham, the Holy One blessed be He, had made his journey successful. ללין TO LODGE IN — the word means one night’s lodging. The word לין is a noun (of the same form as גיל, שיר). She however said (Genesis 24:25) ללון (a verb, “to lodge” generally) meaning many nights’ lodging (Genesis Rabbah 60:6).
Ibn Ezra
"To lodge" (לָלִין) — it is in the hif'il binyan (the augmented binyan), whereas "לָלוּן" (Genesis 24:25) is from the qal binyan.
Sforno
היש בית אביך מקום, are they prepared to welcome strangers as guests as was customary in that time? ללין, so that both we and our camels can stay the night there?
Or HaChaim
בת מי את, הגידי, "Whose daughter are you? Tell me, etc." The Torah lumps both these questions together to show that Eliezer did not entertain any doubts that the girl must belong to Abraham's family. Had he entertained such doubts he could not have enquired immediately about the chance of lodging in her parents' home until he had clarified who her parents were. He merely wanted to know her father's name. He added his enquiry about staying at her parents' overnight to emphasise that this had nothing to do with her father's name, that he was convinced G'd had guided him to the right family.
Chizkuni
ויאמר, בת מי את, he said: “whose daughter are you?” He had asked this question before giving her anything, as is clear from when he repeats what took place before sharing any food with her family in verse 47 of this chapter. An alternate interpretation: the line: “the man took out a golden nose ring,” is to be understood literally; he did something completely appropriate as a reward for the girl’s having let him and his camels to drink, a task which had consumed time and effort. He also meant to show that he was a servant of a wealthy man. When telling her family at the dinner table what had transpired at the well, he added that he had first enquired from her about her family status; he did so in order to flatter the family, suggesting that he would not have given her such gifts before knowing that she was a member of Avraham’s family. נזם זהב, the translation of this word by the Targum here is different from the same word in Exodus 35,22. This word sometimes means a ring worn in the ear, other times a ring worn in the nose. ושני צמידים על ידיה, “and two bracelets on her hands.” The word: שם, “he placed,” has been omitted in this verse. ללין, this is a noun meaning: “a place that serves as shelter for the night.” He asked whether there was nearby an inn for travelers. (He did not ask for accommodation for his ten men and camels as a favour). The formulation ללין is parallel to the formulation לדין, and the noun ריב “quarrel,” from the root רוב, “to fight.” When used as a verb we find the formulation: וילן, “he stayed overnight.”
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויאמר בת מי את, “he said: ’whose daughter are you?‘“ The true meaning of this verse is that the servant had asked this question already before he gave Rivkah the jewelry. It is quite inconceivable that Eliezer should have been handing out such expensive jewelry to a stranger he knew nothing about. This is not the only time that you find in this story that the Torah did not report it in the exact sequence in which the events occurred. You find proof that when Eliezer recounted in Bethuel’s house what had occurred, (24,47) he related that he gave her the jewelry after having ascertained who she was. In Leviticus 9,22 the Torah writes that Aaron raised his hands and they (Moses and Aaron) blessed the people, after which he (Aaron) descended from having performed the sin-offering.” The meaning there is clearly that Moses and Aaron blessed the people after Aaron had descended from the altar. Nonetheless, the Torah saw fit to describe this in a manner which could lead us to receive the wrong impression. ללין, ”for an overnight stay.” The word is a noun, as opposed to ללון which would be the verb from the same root. The meaning is that there is accommodation for a single night’s lodging. This is the way our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 60,6 interpret this word. Rivkah had changed the word and had said ללון, implying that Eliezer would be welcome for a more extended stay although he had inquired only if he could stay for a single night. She used the word in its infinitive which does not carry any connotation of a limited time. The correct interpretation is that the word ללין is a transitive form of the verb, i.e. Eliezer asked whether lodging overnight could be provided in her father’s house. Whereas Eliezer had asked whether he and his entourage could be assigned a place in her father’s house to spend the night, Rivkah replied that he did not need to be assigned such a place but that he could choose where in her father’s house he wished to spend the night. By saying ללון, i.e. using the intransitive form of the word, Rivkah indicated that Eliezer would have the choice of a number of accommodations in her father’s house.
Tur HaArokh
מקום לנו ללין,”we have enough room to offer guests to stay overnight.” He meant “enough room to accommodate animals overnight?” She replied מקום לנו ללון, We have enough room to accommodate visiting strangers overnight. (including their beasts).” Although Eliezer had not enquired about fodder for his camels, she volunteered that all this was included in the invitation. He was not to think that he had to pay for it. She made it plain that her father would be offended if he offered to pay for the accommodation or the fodder.
And she said to him: "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor."
verse value 2607
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "which" (אֲשֶׁ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "daughter·of·Bethuel" (בַּת־בְּתוּאֵ֖ל, 7 letters). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "to·him" (root אל, 242x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַתֹּ֣אמֶר [and·she·said] (647) + אֵלָ֔יו [to·him] (47) + בַּת־בְּתוּאֵ֖ל [daughter·of·Bethuel] (841) + אָנֹ֑כִי [I] (81) + בֶּן־מִלְכָּ֕ה [son·of·Milcah] (147) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [which] (501) + יָלְדָ֖ה [bore] (49) + לְנָחֽוֹר [to·Nahor] (294) = 2607.
Onkelos
She said to him: I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah whom she bore to Nahor.
Rashi
בת בתואל DAUGHTER OF BETHUEL — She answered his first question first and his last last (cf. Avot 5:9).
Or HaChaim
בת בתואל.אשר ילדה לנחור. The daughter of Bethuel whom Milkah bore for Nachor. Rebeccah emphasised that she was not the daughter or granddaughter of a concubine, but of the ranking wife.
Chizkuni
בת בתואל אנכי בן מלכה אשר ילדה לנחור, “I am adaughter of Betuel, who is a son of Milkah whom the latter bore for Nachor (Avraham’s brother). The reason she gave him all these details was that she did not want Eliezer to think that Betuel had been born by a concubine, but that he was the son of Milkah.
Tur HaArokh
בת בתואל אנכי בן מלכה אשר ילדה לנחור, “I am a daughter of Bethuel, who is a son of Milkah she had born for Nachor.” She was so explicit because Nachor also had a concubine named Re-umah, and she wanted it understood that her father was not the son of a concubine. It was the custom in those days to enumerate the father’s genealogy before that of the mother. When it came to other matters, girls tended to keep company and share intimacies with their mothers, as in verse 28 where Rivkah relates her encounter with Eliezer to her mother. [If she had not suddenly worn costly jewelry Lavan might not have become aware that something unusual had happened at the well. Ed.]
She said moreover to him: "We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in."
verse value 2132
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 37 letters. Verse gematria: 2132 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "plenty" (רַ֣ב, 2 letters) and the longest is "also·fodder" (גַּם־מִסְפּ֖וֹא, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "also·straw" (גַּם־תֶּ֥בֶן), "also·fodder" (גַּם־מִסְפּ֖וֹא), "also·room" (גַּם־מָק֖וֹם). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "to·him" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "with·us" (root עם, 87x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·us', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַתֹּ֣אמֶר [and·she·said] (647) + אֵלָ֔יו [to·him] (47) + גַּם־תֶּ֥בֶן [also·straw] (495) + גַּם־מִסְפּ֖וֹא [also·fodder] (230) + רַ֣ב [plenty] (202) + עִמָּ֑נוּ [with·us] (166) + גַּם־מָק֖וֹם [also·room] (229) + לָלֽוּן [to·spend·the·night] (116) = 2132.
Onkelos
She said to him: We have both straw and fodder in abundance, and also a proper place to lodge.
Rashi
מספוא PROVENDER — All kinds of camels’ food is called מספוא e. g., straw and barley.
Ibn Ezra
"And fodder" (מִסְפּוֹא) — a term for animal feed; it is a general term [literally: a noun of encompassing class], under which "barley" is included.
Sforno
גם תבן גם מספוא, not only do we have room for the camels but we also have feed for them. גם מקום ללון, both for yourself and the men with you.
Chizkuni
גם תבן גם מספוא רב עמנו, “we also have plenty of straw and fodder.” She volunteered additional information that Eliezer had not enquired about, so as to indicate that his entourage would also be welcome as guests in her father’s house. ללון, “for you all as well as your beasts to spend the night.” The formulation is parallel to: לדון, to judge, or לשוב, to come back. She implied that there was no inn for travelers nearby but that there was no need for this.
Rashbam
גם תבן, also straw, something which you did not inquire about as well as lodging, something which you did inquire about. It is a habit of Scriptures to use the word גם, “also,” repeatedly, even if this is not strictly necessary in order to correctly understand the text.
And the man bowed his head, and prostrated himself before Hashem.
verse value 1222
Insights
Verse structure: 4 words, 19 letters. Verse gematria: 1222 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "and·bowed·down" (וַיִּקֹּ֣ד, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·bowed·down" (וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·bowed·down" (וַיִּקֹּ֣ד). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis); "the·man" (root איש, 153x in Genesis). First appearance of the root קדד ("and·bowed·down") in Genesis. Full calculation: וַיִּקֹּ֣ד [and·bowed·down] (120) + הָאִ֔ישׁ [the·man] (316) + וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ [and·bowed·down] (730) + לַֽיהֹוָֽה [to·Hashem] (56) = 1222.
Onkelos
The man bowed down and prostrated himself before Hashem.
And he said: "Blessed be Hashem, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master; as for me, Hashem has led me in the way to the house of my master's brothers."
verse value 3174 — יְהֹוָה֙ = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 76 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "which" (אֲ֠שֶׁ֠ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·said" (וַיֹּ֗אמֶר, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 65: my·lord, my·lord, my·lord. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "has·not·forsaken" (לֹֽא־עָזַ֥ב), "His·kindness" (חַסְדּ֛וֹ), "and·His·faithfulness" (וַאֲמִתּ֖וֹ). The root אדון appears 3 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "God·of" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis). First appearance of the root אמת ("and·His·faithfulness") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·lord', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 7 words.
Onkelos
He said: Blessed is Hashem, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and His truth from my master. As for me, Hashem has led me on the right road to the house of my master's brother.
Rashi
בדרך [I BEING] IN THE WAY — The way i.e. the designated way — the right way — that way which I really required. In the same manner wherever ב or ל or ה are prefixed to a word and are punctuated with a Patach, they speak of some object that is quite definite in sense, having been already mentioned in another passage, or of some object where it is quite clear and evident about what one is speaking.
Chizkuni
ברוך ה, “blessed be the Lord, etc.;” wherever we encounter the formula: 'ברוך ה in connection with G-d, be it in the Holy Scriptures, the oral Torah, Mishnah, or in our prayers, or in connection with nature’s products, it is to be understood as either a greeting or praise.
Rabbeinu Bahya
אנכי בדרך נחני ה’ בית אחי אדוני, “I was on the way when G-d guided me to the house of my master’s brothers.” It is possible to read into this wording that Eliezer had experienced that the earth miraculously telescoped beneath him while he was travelling, thus shortening his trip considerably, as our sages have explained in Sanhedrin 73. We would then have to understand the word בדרך, as if he had said: “I was on this long and tedious journey, and here G-d brought me to this well in one fell swoop when I had only just set out.” This would also be the reason he emphasized his arrival היום in verse 42, as if to say: “I started out today and I arrived today.”
And the young woman ran, and told her mother's house according to these words.
verse value 2239
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "her·mother" (אִמָּ֑הּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "as·the·words" (כַּדְּבָרִ֖ים, 6 letters). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "these" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "as·the·words" (root דבר, 133x in Genesis); "to·the·house·of" (root בית, 121x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'her·mother', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַתָּ֙רׇץ֙ [and·ran] (696) + הַֽנַּעֲרָ֔ [the·girl] (325) + וַתַּגֵּ֖ד [and·told] (413) + לְבֵ֣ית [to·the·house·of] (442) + אִמָּ֑הּ [her·mother] (46) + כַּדְּבָרִ֖ים [as·the·words] (276) + הָאֵֽלֶּה [these] (41) = 2239.
Onkelos
The maiden ran and told her mother's household about these matters.
Rashi
לבית אמה [AND TOLD IT] TO THEM OF HER MOTHER’S HOUSE — It was customary for the women to have their own apartments to sit in at their work — and a daughter, of course, confides only in her mother (Genesis Rabbah 60:7).
And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban; and Laban ran out to the man, to the fountain.
verse value 1801
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 39 letters. The shortest word is "brother" (אָ֖ח, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·to·Rebekah" (וּלְרִבְקָ֥ה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 82: Laban, Laban. The root לבן appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·his·name" (root שם, 180x in Genesis); "brother" (root אח, 164x in Genesis); "to·the·man" (root איש, 153x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Laban', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: וּלְרִבְקָ֥ה [and·to·Rebekah] (343) + אָ֖ח [brother] (9) + וּשְׁמ֣וֹ [and·his·name] (352) + לָבָ֑ן [Laban] (82) + וַיָּ֨רׇץ [and·ran] (306) + לָבָ֧ן [Laban] (82) + אֶל־הָאִ֛ישׁ [to·the·man] (347) + הַח֖וּצָה [outside] (114) + אֶל־הָעָֽיִן [to·the·spring] (166) = 1801.
Onkelos
Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man, outside, to the spring.
Rashi
וירץ AND HE RAN — Why did he run and what did he run for? (The next verse explains why). ויהי כראות הנזם AND IT CAME TO PASS WHEN HE SAW THE RING —he said, “This must be a rich man ״, and he had an eye to his money.
Sforno
וירץ לבן אל האיש, to take a look at the wealthy visitor that had come to town, not to invite him to his own home.
Or HaChaim
ולרבקה אח ושמו לבן, Rebeccah had a brother called Laban. Our sages observe that whenever the Bible mentions righteous people, their name precedes them, whereas the reverse is the case when the Bible mentions wicked people (Esther Rabbah 6,3). Examples are Ruth 2,1; 1,2. Samuel I 25,3. It is puzzling then that Laban is introduced here in the manner of the righteous. In order to understand this we must pay attention to the verse describing Laban as running. Our sages in Yalkut Shimoni 109 state that as soon as Laban saw the nose-ring on Rebeccah he became greedy for money. This does not throw any light on our problem. The Torah should have written: "As soon as he saw the nose-ring, etc., Laban ran," instead of mentioning the fact that Laban saw the nose-ring after he had already commenced to run towards Eliezer. Besides, why did the Torah repeat the words: "to the man outside at the well" in verse 29 and then again in verse 30? The fact is that Laban was sincerely concerned about his sister's innocence, suspecting that the gifts to her of the jewelry by a total stranger could have been the beginning of an immoral relationship between them. The Torah here describes Laban as if he were a righteous person because it acknowledges his concern for his sister's chastity. When the Torah states: "it was when he saw," this shows that Laban reacted first to what he saw and subsequently to what he heard. As long as he had not yet heard what transpired between the two he put an ugly intepretation on the manner in which he thought his sister had obtained the jewelry, suspecting Eliezer of seducing Rebeccah. Laban nevertheless continued on his way to meet Eliezer and to offer him hospitality.
Tur HaArokh
וירץ לבן, “Lavan ran;” some scholars ask what prompted Lavan to run to meet Eliezer even before he had seen the jewelry on the hands of his sister? They explain the sequence of what happened as follows: when Lavan realized that his sister took unusually long to return with her jug of water from the well, he ran to find out if anything had happened to her. He was afraid she might have been violated by some male. Instead of taking the normal route, he ran across orchards etc., in order to reach the well faster. When he did not find Rivkah at the well, seeing she was on the way home by her regular route, and had told her mother who had given her the jewelry, he returned home When Lavan on his return home not only heard the unlikely story of how Rivkah had come into possession of these trinkets, he turned back to confront the man she said had given her such precious gifts. There is no need for such a convoluted explanation. The words ויהי כראות את הנזם ואת הצמידים, “as soon as he saw the nose ring and the bracelets,” merely tell us the reason why וירץ לבן, “Lavan took off in a rush,” to meet this generous stranger.
And it came to pass, when he saw the ring, and the bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying: "Thus spoke the man to me," that he came to the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the fountain.
verse value 5939
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 99 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (אֵלַ֖י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·bracelets" (וְֽאֶת־הַצְּמִדִים֮, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 415: sister, sister. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "nose-ring" (אֶת־הַנֶּ֗זֶם), "and·the·bracelets" (וְֽאֶת־הַצְּמִדִים֮), "and·when·he·heard" (וּכְשׇׁמְע֗וֹ). The root אחות appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "and·it·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "to·me" (root אל, 242x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·man', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 6 words.
Onkelos
When he saw the nose-ring and the bracelets on his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, 'Thus the man spoke to me,' he came to the man, and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.
Rashi
על הגמלים [HE WAS STANDING] BY THE CAMELS — to look after them. The phrase is the same as (18:8) “And he (Abraham) stood by them עומד עליהם"— to wait on them.
Sforno
When he had seen. He felt obliged to show gratitude for the gifts. And heard the words. That Eliezer had asked for lodgings. He came to the man. To bring him to his home. Standing beside the camels. He did not show any expectation of being granted lodgings until Lavan offered.
Or HaChaim
ויבא אל האיש והנה עומד על הגמלים, he came to the man who was still standing by the camels. What do the words: "he was still standing, etc." teach us? According to Yalkut Shimoni 109, Eliezer interpreted Laban's running as an hostile act and he invoked the holy name of G'd as a result of which the camels stood over the well in the air. This is why the Torah describes the camels as "הגמלים על העין." Eliezer himself stood on top of the camels. He called out to Laban from an elevated position whereupon Laban addressed him with the words: "come in blessed one of the Lord!" If nothing unusual had occurred Laban would have reversed the wording of his invitation saying: "Why should you remain outside, come in blessed one of the Lord!" Another reason why Eliezer is reported as remaining standing by the camels maybe that the Torah wants us to know that the mere fact that Rebeccah had indicated that there was lots of room in her father's home for Eliezer to spend the night together with his entourage was not enough reason for him to follow her to her home. The wording of Laban's invitiation, prefaced by his description of Eliezer as a man blessed by the Lord, indicates that Laban did not invite him wholeheartedly but merely to save him the disgrace of having to remain outdoors, i.e. למה תעמוד בחוץ? Even when the wicked perform an act of graciousness such an act reflects a degree of their basic reluctance to do good.
And he said: "Come in, you blessed of Hashem; why do you stand without? for I have cleared the house, and made room for the camels."
verse value 2614 — יְהֹוָ֑ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 52 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "come" (בּ֖וֹא, 3 letters) and the longest is "for·the·camels" (לַגְּמַלִּֽים, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "come" (בּ֖וֹא), "do·you·stand" (תַעֲמֹד֙), "I·have·cleared" (פִּנִּ֣יתִי). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "come" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 8 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֕אמֶר [and·said] (257) + בּ֖וֹא [come] (9) + בְּר֣וּךְ [blessed] (228) + יְהֹוָ֑ה [Hashem] (26) + לָ֤מָּה [why] (75) + תַעֲמֹד֙ [do·you·stand] (514) + בַּח֔וּץ [outside] (106) + וְאָנֹכִי֙ [and·I] (87) + פִּנִּ֣יתִי [I·have·cleared] (550) + הַבַּ֔יִת [the·house] (417) + וּמָק֖וֹם [and·a·place] (192) + לַגְּמַלִּֽים [for·the·camels] (153) = 2614.
Onkelos
He said: Come in, you who are blessed of Hashem; why do you stand outside? I have prepared the house, and there is a proper place for the camels.
Rashi
פניתי הבית I HAVE CLEARED THE HOUSE of idols (Genesis Rabbah 60:7).
Sforno
?למה תעמוד בחוץ, why did you only ask about spending the night? Why would you and your men stand around on the outside? ואנכי פניתי הבית, for you and your men, ומקום לגמלים, I also cleared space to accommodate the camels.
Chizkuni
Our Rabbis they said, he was made free and he went out from cursed to come to blessed through that he served Abhraham the righteous with faithfulness.
Targum Yonatan
And Laban thought that this was Abraham, and said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord: wherefore standest thou without, when I have purified the house from strange worship, and have prepared a place for the camels?
And the man came into the house, and he ungirded the camels; and he gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men that were with him.
verse value 4889
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 73 letters. The shortest word is "straw" (תֶּ֤בֶן, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·camels" (הַגְּמַלִּ֑ים, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 249: his·feet, and·the·feet·of. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "straw" (תֶּ֤בֶן), "and·fodder" (וּמִסְפּוֹא֙), "and·water" (וּמַ֙יִם֙). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "and·came" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "the·man" (root איש, 153x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·camels', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 11 words.
Onkelos
The man came into the house, and he unloaded the camels and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
Rashi
ויפתח HE UNGIRDED — He removed their muzzles, for he had closed their mouths by them so that on the journey they might not graze in other peoples’ fields (Genesis Rabbah 60:8).
Ramban
AND THE MAN CAME INTO THE HOUSE. Eliezer is the man who entered the house. And he ungirded the camels — this refers to Laban who acted ethically towards his guests, unharnessed their camels and gave them straw and fodder, and he also gave water to wash the feet of Eliezer and the feet of the men that were with him. It must refer to Laban for it would be unlikely that it was Eliezer who gave water to wash his own feet and those of his men. A similar case is the verse, And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit. The words, and they drew, refer back to the brothers of Joseph mentioned in the preceding verse, and not to the Midianites. And so in the verse, Then said Ziba unto the king [David]: According to all that my lord the king commandeth his servant, so shall thy servant do; but Mephibosheth eateth at my table as one of the king’s sons. [The concluding words, but Mephibosheth eateth], are the words of David and not Ziba. There are many such verses. Now the purport of the expression, and he ungirded the camels, is that he unloosened the bands on their necks, as it was customary to lead them knotted, or perhaps they travelled with saddles girded upon them, just as is expressed in the verses: Let not him that girdeth on his armor boast himself as he that putteth it off, Loose thyself from the band of thy neck. Now Rashi wrote, “He removed their muzzles for he had closed their mouths so that they might not graze in other peoples’ fields.” And in the words of Bereshith Rabbah,13060:1. “He removed their muzzles. Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yirmiyah asked Rabbi Chiya the son of Rabbi Aba, ‘Were not the camels of our father Abraham like the ass of Rabbi Pinchas ben Ya’ir, He was a son-in-law of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai. He was celebrated for his great piety; even his ass refused to eat untithed corn. etc.?’” This question is intended to contradict [the interpretation which maintains that the ungirding refers to] the removing of the muzzles for it is impossible that the piety in the house of Rabbi Pinchas been Ya’ir should have been greater than that in the house of our father Abraham, and just as the ass of Rabbi Pinchas ben Ya’ir did not have to be guarded against eating things which its master was forbidden to feed it, all the more so were the camels of our father Abraham. There was thus no need to muzzle them for no injustice befalleth the righteous.
Chizkuni
לרחוץ רגליו ורגלי האנשים, “to wash his feet as well as the feet of the men accompanying him;” even though Rivkah’s brother was an idolater he knew about the customs in Avraham’s house. When he said that he had “cleaned the house already,” he referred to the removal of idolatrous images. At any rate, he respected other people’s religious convictions and did not wish to offend their sensitivities.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויפתח הגמלים, “he unmuzzled the camels.” Rashi comments that he unmuzzled the camels which he had muzzled before so that they would not graze in land owned by others. This is taken from Bereshit Rabbah 60,8. Rabbi Yirmiyah there asked whether the camels of Avraham were not as pious as the donkey of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair who would not eat grass in another’s field even without being muzzled. [In fact these donkeys were reported once to have remained without fodder for three days due to their piety.] The matter is raised in the Midrash as it was difficult for people at that time to imagine that the piety in the house of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair should have exceeded that in the household of Avraham. Keeping this in mind, Rabbi Yirmiyah interpreted the word ויפתח to mean that Eliezer loosened the yokes that these camels normally wore around their necks, and from which the bags they carried were suspended. A parallel of this expression is found in Isaiah 52,2 התפתחי מוסרי צוארך, “loosen the bonds from your necks!” The word ויפתח actually refers to Lavan who performed this task and provided the camels with straw to lie on, fodder to feed, and water to wash the feet of the men traveling with Eliezer.
Tur HaArokh
ויבא האיש הביתה, “As soon as the man entered the house,” the man referred to was Eliezer. ויפתח הגמלים ויתן תבן ומספוא לגמלים, “he untied the camels and provided them with fodder and straw to lie on.” Here the verse reverts to activities performed by Lavan who displayed concern for the well being of his guests and their beasts. Apparently, the camels had been tied to one another while they had been wandering. He also gave water for Eliezer and his men to wash their feet after what had been a lengthy journey.
And there was set food before him to eat; but he said: "I will not eat, until I have told my errand." And he said: "Speak on."
verse value 2368
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "if·I·have·spoken" (אִם־דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 257: and·said, and·said. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·was·set" (וַיּוּשַׂ֤ם), "if·I·have·spoken" (אִם־דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי), "my·words" (דְּבָרָ֑י). The root דבר appears 3 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "and·was·set" (root שם, 180x in Genesis); "before·him" (root פנים, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·words', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיּוּשַׂ֤ם [and·was·set] (362) + לְפָנָיו֙ [before·him] (176) + לֶאֱכֹ֔ל [to·eat] (81) + וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ [and·said] (257) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + אֹכַ֔ל [will·eat] (51) + עַ֥ד [until] (74) + אִם־דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי [if·I·have·spoken] (657) + דְּבָרָ֑י [my·words] (216) + וַיֹּ֖אמֶר [and·said] (257) + דַּבֵּֽר [speak] (206) = 2368.
Onkelos
Food was set before him to eat, but he said: I will not eat until I have spoken my words. He said: Speak.
Rashi
עד אם דברתי UNTIL THAT I HAVE SPOKEN — This is the same as עד אשר, so that you see that אם has the meaning of both אשר and כי, an example of the latter usage being (49:10) “Until that (עד כי) men come to Shiloh” (where עד כי is equivalent to עד אם in our verse). That is what our Sages, of blessed memory, have said (Rosh Hashanah 3a): The word כי is used in four meanings. One of these they say, is אי which is the Aramaic for the Hebrew word "im".
Ibn Ezra
"And it was set" (וַיּוּשַׂם) — it is in the binyan in which the agent is not named [i.e., the passive], as [we find] "and Moses was brought back" (וַיּוּשַׁב אֶת מֹשֶׁה, Exodus 10:8).
Chizkuni
ויישם, “it was placed before him;” although this word is spelled here with two letters י, it is meant to be read and understood as if it had been written: ויושם. (Compare also Rashi).
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויושם לפניו לאכול, “food was placed before him.” There is a difference between the spelling and the reading of the word ויישם, which is read as if it had been spelled ויושם. According to ancient sources, including Yonathan ben Uziel, some poison had been placed in Eliezer’s food so that he would die and Bethuel and Lavan would appropriate to themselves all the riches he had brought with him. The attempt ended in failure, as a mistake was made and the plate with the poisoned food was placed in front of Bethuel. This is why the word was spelled with two letters י, the equivalent of the name of G-d. [When you combine the two letters י which are part of the written text, and you add the letter ו, which is read, you obtain the number 26, the same as the numerical value of the four-lettered ineffable name י-ה-ו-ה. Ed.] According to Psalms 124,2 [the psalmist reputedly had this incident in mind when he composed that hymn, Ed.] this was a hint that had it not been for the merit of Avraham Eliezer would have eaten the poisoned food. While he waited with eating until he had spelled out why he had come there, this afforded the angel the opportunity to switch plates. When the Torah says at the end of that paragraph ויאכלו וישתו הוא והאנשים אשר עמו, “they ate and they drank, he and the men who were with him,” this is to draw our attention to the fact that the members of Bethuel’s household did not eat as they were mourning the sudden death of Bethuel caused by his eating the poison he had prepared for Eliezer. This also accounts for the fact that in verse 55 only Rivkah’s brother and mother are mentioned as requesting a delay in her departure. Her father had died and thus could not offer an opinion.
Verse structure: 4 words, 17 letters. The shortest word is "servant" (עֶ֥בֶד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·said" (וַיֹּאמַ֑ר, 5 letters). 3 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "servant" (root עבד, 109x in Genesis); "I" (root אנכי, 56x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·said', dividing the verse into phrases of 1 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּאמַ֑ר [and·said] (257) + עֶ֥בֶד [servant] (76) + אַבְרָהָ֖ם [Abraham] (248) + אָנֹֽכִי [I] (81) = 662.
Onkelos
He said: I am the servant of Abraham.
Ibn Ezra
Some say that the phrase "I am Abraham's servant" connects with the matter of the food — meaning that there are foods forbidden to us. But the correct interpretation is that his words mean exactly what they say.
And Hashem has blessed my master greatly; and he is become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and men-servants and maid-servants, and camels and asses.
verse value 3304
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 65 letters. The shortest word is "blessed" (בֵּרַ֧ךְ, 3 letters) and the longest is "my·master" (אֶת־אֲדֹנִ֛י, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·male·slaves" (וַעֲבָדִם֙). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis); "and·gave·him" (root נתן, 150x in Genesis); "and·male·slaves" (root עבד, 109x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·grew·great', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 9 words. 10 of the verse's 14 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: וַיהֹוָ֞ה [and·Hashem] (32) + בֵּרַ֧ךְ [blessed] (222) + אֶת־אֲדֹנִ֛י [my·master] (466) + מְאֹ֖ד [very] (45) + וַיִּגְדָּ֑ל [and·grew·great] (53) + וַיִּתֶּן־ל֞וֹ [and·gave·him] (502) + צֹ֤אן [flock] (141) + וּבָקָר֙ [and·cattle] (308) + וְכֶ֣סֶף [and·silver] (166) + וְזָהָ֔ב [and·gold] (20) + וַעֲבָדִם֙ [and·male·slaves] (122) + וּשְׁפָחֹ֔ת [and·female·slaves] (794) + וּגְמַלִּ֖ים [and·camels] (129) + וַחֲמֹרִֽים [and·donkeys] (304) = 3304.
Onkelos
Hashem has blessed my master exceedingly, and he has become great; He has given him flocks and cattle, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys.
Sforno
ברך את אדוני, there is no question that many notable families in our own land would want their daughters to become the wife my master’s son.
Chizkuni
ועבדם, “and menservants.” The letter י indicating the plural mode before the final letter ם is missing here; it suggests that Avraham had only a single manservant, i.e. himself. Eliezer performed so many tasks for Avraham that it seemed as if he had numerous menservants [If so, it is not clear who the ten men were who had accompanied Eliezer. Perhaps those other assistants, especially the 318 men who accompanied him went he went to liberate Lot from captivity. (Genesis 14,14) Perhaps he gave them their freedom after they had become circumcised? Ed.]
Rashbam
ברך את אדוני, this is why the Torah wrote at the beginning of the chapter that “The Lord had blessed Avraham in everything.” ויגדל, all leading political figures in the country were anxious to become related to him through marriage.
And my master made me swear, saying: You shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell.
verse value 3617
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 53 letters. The shortest word is "woman" (אִשָּׁה֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·made·me·swear" (וַיַּשְׁבִּעֵ֥נִי, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·made·me·swear" (וַיַּשְׁבִּעֵ֥נִי), "in·his·land" (בְּאַרְצֽוֹ). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "in·his·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'saying', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 9 words. Full calculation: וַיַּשְׁבִּעֵ֥נִי [and·made·me·swear] (448) + אֲדֹנִ֖י [my·lord] (65) + לֵאמֹ֑ר [saying] (271) + לֹא־תִקַּ֤ח [you·shall·not·take] (539) + אִשָּׁה֙ [woman] (306) + לִבְנִ֔י [for·my·son] (92) + מִבְּנוֹת֙ [from·the·daughters·of] (498) + הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י [the·Canaanite] (205) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [which] (501) + אָנֹכִ֖י [I] (81) + יֹשֵׁ֥ב [dwell] (312) + בְּאַרְצֽוֹ [in·his·land] (299) = 3617.
Onkelos
My master made me swear, saying: You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell.
Rashi
לא תקח אשה לבני מבנות הכנעני THOU SHALT NOT TAKE A WIFE FOR MY SON FROM THE DAUGHTERS OF THE CANAANITES if you do not first go to my father’s house and to my family that thou mayest take a wife to my son and she will not be willing to follow you.
Sforno
וישביעני אדוני, seeing that my master despises the people in his own land and has chosen you to become his in-laws, he has sent me on this errand.
But you shall go to my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son.
verse value 2795
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 36 letters. Verse gematria: 2795 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "shall·go" (תֵּלֵ֖ךְ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·to·my·kindred" (וְאֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתִּ֑י, 9 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "to·the·house·of" (אֶל־בֵּית־אָבִ֛י), "and·to·my·kindred" (וְאֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתִּ֑י). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for·my·son" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "wife" (root אשה, 148x in Genesis); "and·you·shall·take" (root לקח, 142x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·to·my·kindred', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: אִם־לֹ֧א [if·not] (72) + אֶל־בֵּית־אָבִ֛י [to·the·house·of] (456) + תֵּלֵ֖ךְ [shall·go] (450) + וְאֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתִּ֑י [and·to·my·kindred] (875) + וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ [and·you·shall·take] (544) + אִשָּׁ֖ה [wife] (306) + לִבְנִֽי [for·my·son] (92) = 2795.
Onkelos
But to my father's house you shall go and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son.
And I said to my master: Perhaps the woman will not follow me.
verse value 1395
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 26 letters. The shortest word is "perhaps" (אֻלַ֛י, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·my·master" (אֶל־אֲדֹנִ֑י, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "will·not·go" (לֹא־תֵלֵ֥ךְ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·I·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "perhaps" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "the·woman" (root אשה, 148x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·my·master', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 4 words. Full calculation: וָאֹמַ֖ר [and·I·said] (247) + אֶל־אֲדֹנִ֑י [to·my·master] (96) + אֻלַ֛י [perhaps] (41) + לֹא־תֵלֵ֥ךְ [will·not·go] (481) + הָאִשָּׁ֖ה [the·woman] (311) + אַחֲרָֽי [after·me] (219) = 1395.
Onkelos
I said to my master: Perhaps the woman will not come after me.
Rashi
אלי לא תלך האשה PERADVENTURE THE WOMAN WILL NOT FOLLOW ME —The word אולי perhaps is written without ו so that it may be read אֵלַי unto me. Eliezer had a daughter and he was endeavouring to find some reason why Abraham should say that he must appeal to him (Eliezer) that he should give his daughter in marriage to Isaac. Abraham said to him, “My son is blessed and you are subject to a curse. One who is under a curse cannot unite with one who is blessed” (Genesis Rabbah 59:9).
Chizkuni
אלי, “perhaps;” the word is spelled defective with the letter ו missing after the first letter. It suggests that Eliezer was using a certain amount of flattery for his hosts, indicating that if he had wanted to he could have prevented this union and his master might have chosen his own daughter as his daughterinlaw.
Kli Yakar
“And I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’” Rashi explains that [the word “ulai” [maybe]] is written, “elai” [to me], without the letter ‘vav’, because Eliezer had a daughter, etc. Critics question why the word “ulai” [perhaps] isn’t written in its defective form [without the ‘vav’] when Eliezer initially speaks with Abraham. I suggest that if it had been written there [in the first instance], I would have said that it was written in its defective form because Eliezer was saying “to me she will not consent” — meaning “because of me,” as she wouldn’t want to go with a servant like me, but rather with princes and dignitaries. However, now that it’s written in its defective form in Eliezer’s conversation with Laban and Bethuel, it cannot be interpreted this way, for how could he mention his own lowly status before them and give them reason to object that indeed she wouldn’t want to go with someone of such low standing as himself? Furthermore, why would he mention to them that he said this to Abraham? Rather, it must be that he said this because he had a daughter, and he mentioned this to pressure them — that if she [Rebecca] wouldn’t go with him, Abraham might agree to his daughter after not finding someone suitable from there [Haran]. As for Abraham’s response to Eliezer, Beware that you do not [take my son back there], which implies that even if she wouldn’t follow him, Abraham still wouldn’t agree to marry him to Eliezer’s daughter — it’s possible that Abraham said this so that Eliezer wouldn’t become lax in his mission by relying on this backup plan.
Tur HaArokh
אלי לא תלך, “maybe she is not willing to go, etc.” the word “perhaps,” אולי, is spelled here without the customary letter ו, which prompts Rashi to suggest that Eliezer had a daughter whom he would have liked to be married to Yitzchok. Since he did not dare suggest this to Avraham, the first time the word אולי appears in this connection it is spelled in the ordinary manner; only now when Avraham was not present, and the whole matter was hanging in the balance, did the Torah hint to the reader about Eliezer’s secret aspirations.
And he said to me: Hashem, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you, and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house;
verse value 5421 — יְהֹוָ֞ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 76 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֞ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 5421 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "to·me" (אֵלָ֑י, 3 letters) and the longest is "which·I·walked" (אֲשֶׁר־הִתְהַלַּ֣כְתִּי, 10 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "which·I·walked" (אֲשֶׁר־הִתְהַלַּ֣כְתִּי), "and·make·successful" (וְהִצְלִ֣יחַ), "your·way" (דַּרְכֶּ֔ךָ). 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "for·my·son" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "to·me" (root אל, 242x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 14 words.
Onkelos
He said to me: Hashem, before whom I have served, will send His angel with you and make your journey successful, and you shall take a wife for my son from my kindred and from my father's house.
Tur HaArokh
ישלח מלאכו, “He will send His angel, etc.” Avraham had been referring to a specific angel, as in כי ילך מלאכי לפניך, “for My angel will travel in front of you” (Exodus 23,23) [where G’d speaks of an angel that will represent Him specifically during the conquest of the land of Canaan. Ed.] He did not refer to the angel described in Exodus 33,2 ושלחתי לפניך מלאך, “I will send an angel ahead of you.” [In that instance G’d’s benevolent providence had been reduced to a more indirect level, as evidenced by the absence of the suffix ו, “His” at the end of the word מלאך. Here the word מלאכו appears twice, indicating that there were two angels active to ensure the success of Eliezer’s mission. (compare 24,7) The first angel’s mission was to keep harm from befalling Eliezer and his men; the second angel was to ensure the arrival of the right girl at the right place at the right time.
then shall you be clear from my oath, when you come to my kindred; and if they give her not to you, you shall be clear from my oath.
verse value 4018
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "then" (אָ֤ז, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·my·kindred" (אֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתִּ֑י, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 481: from·my·adjuration, from·my·adjuration. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "you·shall·be·freed" (תִּנָּקֶה֙), "to·my·kindred" (אֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתִּ֑י), "they·give" (יִתְּנוּ֙). The root אלה appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·you·shall·be" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "from·my·adjuration" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "you·come" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·my·kindred', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: אָ֤ז [then] (8) + תִּנָּקֶה֙ [you·shall·be·freed] (555) + מֵאָ֣לָתִ֔י [from·my·adjuration] (481) + כִּ֥י [that] (30) + תָב֖וֹא [you·come] (409) + אֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתִּ֑י [to·my·kindred] (869) + וְאִם־לֹ֤א [if·not] (78) + יִתְּנוּ֙ [they·give] (466) + לָ֔ךְ [to·you] (50) + וְהָיִ֥יתָ [and·you·shall·be] (431) + נָקִ֖י [innocent] (160) + מֵאָלָתִֽי [from·my·adjuration] (481) = 4018.
Onkelos
Then you will be clear of my oath when you come to my kindred; and if they will not give her to you, you will be clear of my oath.
Ibn Ezra
"Then you shall be clear of my oath" (אָז תִּנָּקֶה מֵאָלָתִי) — he did not say "from my oath" [שְׁבוּעָתִי] but rather "from my curse" [אָלָתִי]. The meaning is: I fear my master and his curse.
And I came this day to the fountain, and said: O Hashem, the God of my master Abraham, if now You do prosper my way which I go:
verse value 2455 — יְהֹוָה֙ = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 65 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "which" (אֲשֶׁ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "if·you·would·please" (אִם־יֶשְׁךָ־נָּא֙, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·I·came" (וָאָבֹ֥א), "if·you·would·please" (אִם־יֶשְׁךָ־נָּא֙). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "God·of" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·the·spring', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 12 words.
Onkelos
I came today to the spring and said: Hashem, God of my master Abraham, if there is now favor before You for making my journey successful, upon which I am going —
Rashi
ואבא היום AND I CAME THIS DAY — Today I started on my journey and today I have arrived here. Hence we may infer that the earth (the road) shrunk for him (i. e. that the journey was shortened in a miraculous manner) (Sanhedrin 95a). R. Acha said: The ordinary conversation of the patriarchs' servants is more pleasing to God than even the Torah (religious discourse) of their children, for the chapter of Eliezer (the account of his journey) is repeated in the Torah (i. e. it is written once as a narrative and again repeated as part of the conversation of the patriarch’s servant) whereas many important principles of the Law are derived only from slight indications given in the Text (Genesis Rabbah 60:8).
Chizkuni
“when I arrived today;” on these words Rashi comments that Eliezer’s story has been repeated twice, whereas many other stories have not even been spelled out completely once but have only been hinted at. It is the Torah’s compliment for Eliezer by G-d Himself. According to the plain meaning the reason for the repetition is that the Torah wished to describe Eliezer’s oath to Avraham as one part of the story and his prayer to G-d to help him find a girl such as Rivkah as his own initiative, for how else would he meet a blood relation of his master as the very first girl that came out to draw water. His hosts were suitably impressed, so that they agreed that this match must reflect the will of G-d. (verse 50)
behold, I stand by the fountain of water; and let it come to pass, that the maiden that comes forth to draw, to whom I shall say: Give me, I pray you, a little water from your pitcher to drink;
verse value 3145 — וְהָיָ֤ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 65 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֤ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "behold" (הִנֵּ֛ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "give·me·drink·please" (הַשְׁקִֽינִי־נָ֥א, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·young·woman" (הָֽעַלְמָה֙), "who·comes·out" (הַיֹּצֵ֣את), "and·I·say" (וְאָמַרְתִּ֣י). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·I·say" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "to·her" (root אל, 242x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·waters', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 9 words. Full calculation: הִנֵּ֛ה [behold] (60) + אָנֹכִ֥י [I] (81) + נִצָּ֖ב [standing] (142) + עַל־עֵ֣ין [by·the·spring·of] (230) + הַמָּ֑יִם [the·waters] (95) + וְהָיָ֤ה [and·it·shall·be] (26) + הָֽעַלְמָה֙ [the·young·woman] (150) + הַיֹּצֵ֣את [who·comes·out] (506) + לִשְׁאֹ֔ב [to·draw·water] (333) + וְאָמַרְתִּ֣י [and·I·say] (657) + אֵלֶ֔יהָ [to·her] (46) + הַשְׁקִֽינִי־נָ֥א [give·me·drink·please] (526) + מְעַט־מַ֖יִם [a·little·water] (209) + מִכַּדֵּֽךְ [from·your·jar] (84) = 3145.
Onkelos
here I stand by the spring of water; let the maiden who comes out to draw, to whom I say, 'Give me a little water to drink from your pitcher,'
Chizkuni
והיה העלמה, earlier (in verse 16) Eliezer had referred to the as yet unknown to him girl as הנער. He had thought previously that the inhabitants of Aram Naharayim only spoke and understood the local language, Aramaic. However, it turned out that they also understood Hebrew, as we know from when they said: תשב הנערה, “let the girl remain for a while.” (verse 55)
and she shall say to me: Both drink, and I will also draw for your camels; let the same be the woman whom Hashem has appointed for my master's son.
verse value 2973 — יְהֹוָ֖ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 54 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "to·me" (אֵלַי֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "whom·He·has·appointed" (אֲשֶׁר־הֹכִ֥יחַ, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "whom·He·has·appointed" (אֲשֶׁר־הֹכִ֥יחַ), "for·the·son·of·my·lord" (לְבֶן־אֲדֹנִֽי). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·shall·say" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "to·me" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·will·draw', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְאָמְרָ֤ה [and·she·shall·say] (252) + אֵלַי֙ [to·me] (41) + גַּם־אַתָּ֣ה [also·you] (449) + שְׁתֵ֔ה [drink] (705) + וְגַ֥ם [and·even] (49) + לִגְמַלֶּ֖יךָ [for·your·camels] (133) + אֶשְׁאָ֑ב [I·will·draw] (304) + הִ֣וא [she] (12) + הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה [the·woman] (311) + אֲשֶׁר־הֹכִ֥יחַ [whom·He·has·appointed] (544) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + לְבֶן־אֲדֹנִֽי [for·the·son·of·my·lord] (147) = 2973.
Onkelos
and she says to me, 'You drink, and I will also draw for your camels' — she is the woman whom Hashem has appointed for my master's son.
Rashi
גם אתה DRINK THOU ALSO — Her use of the word גם, also suggests that she intended to include the men who accompanied him. הכיח means selected and designated. So, too, wherever this word (the Hiphil of יכח) occurs in the Scriptures it signifies “making something clear”.
Sforno
היא האשה אשר הוכיח, she is the woman whom He has appointed. This recalls the statement in the Talmud Sotah 2 that already prior to birth a heavenly voice proclaims which girl is destined to marry which young man.
And before I had done speaking to my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the fountain, and drew. And I said to her: Let me drink, I pray you.
verse value 4327
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 71 letters. The shortest word is "please" (נָֽא, 2 letters) and the longest is "upon·the·shoulder·of" (עַל־שִׁכְמָ֔הּ, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "I·finished" (אֲכַלֶּ֜ה), "to·my·heart" (אֶל־לִבִּ֗י), "give·me·drink" (הַשְׁקִ֥ינִי). 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "to·her" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "to·speak" (root דבר, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·drew', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 4 words.
Onkelos
Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her pitcher on her shoulder; she went down to the spring and drew, and I said to her: Give me to drink, please.
Rashi
טרם אכלה means I WAS NOT YET FINISHING. Similarly in the case of every word that expresses an action contemporaneous with another Scripture sometimes uses the past tense — so that it might have written here טרם כִּלִיתִי — and sometimes it uses the future tense. Examples are: (Job I. 5) “For Job was saying (אמר)” — here it is past tense and (ib.) “Thus was Job doing (יעשה)” — here it is future tense. But the meaning of both of them is contemporaneous action: “for Job was saying (whilst he sacrificed) “Perhaps my sons have sinned etc." “and he was doing this" (whenever his sons feasted).
Ramban
BEHOLD, REBEKAH CAME FORTH WITH HER PITCHER ON HER SHOULDER. This indicates that while he was in her house he heard her name, or perhaps she told him her name at the beginning even though it is not mentioned in Scripture.
Sforno
אני טרם אכלה לדבר, this was proof to me that all of this has been planned so by G’d.
Or HaChaim
אני טרם אכלה לדבר אל לבי, "I had not yet finished speaking (praying)." Eliezer said this so no one should think that Rebeccah's actions had been prompted by what she had overheard Eliezer saying.
Tur HaArokh
והנה רבקה יוצאת, “and lo, Rivkah was coming out, etc.” Eliezer had heard while in Lavan’s house that the girl whom he had met was called Rivkah. Alternatively, she might have told him her personal name already while at the well.
And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said: Drink, and I will give your camels drink also. So I drank, and she made the camels drink also.
verse value 5055
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "her·jar" (כַּדָּהּ֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·also·your·camels" (וְגַם־גְּמַלֶּ֖יךָ, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·lowered" (וַתּ֤וֹרֶד), "she·watered" (הִשְׁקָֽתָה). The root שתה appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "from·upon·herself" (root על, 90x in Genesis); "and·even" (root גם, 50x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·will·give·drink', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַתְּמַהֵ֗ר [and·hastened] (651) + וַתּ֤וֹרֶד [and·lowered] (616) + כַּדָּהּ֙ [her·jar] (29) + מֵֽעָלֶ֔יהָ [from·upon·herself] (155) + וַתֹּ֣אמֶר [and·she·said] (647) + שְׁתֵ֔ה [drink] (705) + וְגַם־גְּמַלֶּ֖יךָ [and·also·your·camels] (152) + אַשְׁקֶ֑ה [I·will·give·drink] (406) + וָאֵ֕שְׁתְּ [and·I·drank] (707) + וְגַ֥ם [and·even] (49) + הַגְּמַלִּ֖ים [the·camels] (128) + הִשְׁקָֽתָה [she·watered] (810) = 5055.
Onkelos
She quickly lowered her pitcher from upon her and said: Drink, and I will also water your camels. So I drank, and she also watered the camels.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ותאמר שתה, “she said: ‘drink!’” This is the version of Eliezer when he recounted what had happened at the well. Actually, for the sake of accuracy, he should have repeated Rivkah’s exact words which had been “drink my lord!” The reason he did not repeat that version in the house of Bethuel was one of etiquette. [I believe Eliezer, who was a slave, did not want to repeat that he had been addressed as “my lord.” Ed.]
And I asked her, and said: Whose daughter are you? And she said: The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him. And I put the ring upon her nose, and the bracelets upon her hands.
verse value 5298
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 76 letters. The shortest word is "her" (אֹתָ֗הּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·bands" (וְהַצְּמִידִ֖ים, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·I·inquired" (וָאֶשְׁאַ֣ל), "you·and·she·said" (אַתְּ֒ וַתֹּ֗אמֶר), "and·I·put" (וָאָשִׂ֤ם). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·I·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "bore·to·him" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Milcah', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Onkelos
I asked her and said: Whose daughter are you? She said: The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him. I placed the ring on her face and the bracelets on her hands.
Rashi
ואשאל... ואשם AND I ASKED HER... AND I PUT THE RING —He changed the order of proceedings for in fact he had first given the presents and afterwards questioned her. But he did this in order that they should not catch him by his own words and say, "How could you give her anything when you did not yet know who she was!"
Or HaChaim
ואשאל אותה…ואשים הנזם על אפה. "I asked her….and put the ring on her nose." He changed the sequence of events in his report so that Laban and his father in their craftiness should not be able to claim these trinkets as belonging to Bethuel since Rebeccah had obtained them as reward for services rendered. If, however, Rebeccah had obtained the jewelry only after she had identified herself as the daughter of Bethuel, it was clear that they were meant to effect the betrothal between her and Isaac, her father not being able to claim them as belonging to him.
And I bowed my head, and prostrated myself before Hashem, and blessed Hashem, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son.
verse value 4712
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 74 letters. The shortest word is "which" (אֲשֶׁ֤ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·prostrated·myself" (וָֽאֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֖ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 65: my·lord, my·lord. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·I·bowed" (וָאֶקֹּ֥ד), "and·prostrated·myself" (וָֽאֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֖ה), "and·I·blessed" (וָאֲבָרֵ֗ךְ). The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "God·of" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "for·his·son" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 13 words.
Onkelos
I bowed and prostrated myself before Hashem and blessed Hashem, God of my master Abraham, who led me on the true road to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.
Chizkuni
את בת אחי אדוני לבנו, “the daughter of my master’s brother for his son”. In verse 27 Eliezer had referred to the family of Betuel as “the house of my master’s brothers,”(plural) whereas here he speaks of my master’s brother (singular mode. Why the sudden change? It was a hint that he was to take only one of his master’s relatives as a bride for Yitzchok.
And now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left."
verse value 3341
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 65 letters. Verse gematria: 3341 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "to·me" (לִ֑י, 2 letters) and the longest is "if·you·mean" (אִם־יֶשְׁכֶ֨ם, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 40: to·me, to·me. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "if·you·mean" (אִם־יֶשְׁכֶ֨ם), "and·I·may·turn" (וְאֶפְנֶ֥ה), "to·the·right" (עַל־יָמִ֖ין). The root אם appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "doing" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis); "with·my·master" (root אדון, 68x in Genesis); "if·you·mean" (root אם, 47x in Genesis). First appearance of the root או ("or") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 7 words.
Onkelos
And now, if you are going to deal with kindness and truth toward my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn to the right or to the left.
Rashi
על ימין TO THE RIGHT HAND — to take a wife of the daughters of Ishmael. על שמאל TO THE LEFT — to take a wife of the daughters of Lot who dwelt at the left of Abraham (Genesis Rabbah 60:9).
Ibn Ezra
"Kindness" (חֶסֶד) — something one is not obligated to do; "and truth" (אֱמֶת) — to fulfill the act of kindness [once pledged]. The word is derived from the root of אֱמוּנָה [faithfulness], and the tav is the feminine ending.
Sforno
"And now if ye will deal kindly" - that in order to satisfy my master, nullify your desires and agree to send your daughter to a faraway land, and don't be concerned about acquiring relatives in your own land through her. "And truly" - that you desire results and the honor of your daughter, like which is fitting for you, and this will come with her entry into the house of Abraham.
Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said: "The thing proceeds from Hashem; we cannot speak to you bad or good.
verse value 2002
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 51 letters. Verse gematria: 2002 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Bethuel" (וּבְתוּאֵל֙, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "or·good" (אוֹ־טֽוֹב). The root אל appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "and·Bethuel" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "from·Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'word', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֨עַן [and·answered] (136) + לָבָ֤ן [Laban] (82) + וּבְתוּאֵל֙ [and·Bethuel] (445) + וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ [and·they·said] (263) + מֵיְהֹוָ֖ה [from·Hashem] (66) + יָצָ֣א [came·forth] (101) + הַדָּבָ֑ר [word] (211) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + נוּכַ֛ל [we·can] (106) + דַּבֵּ֥ר [speak] (206) + אֵלֶ֖יךָ [to·you] (61) + רַ֥ע [evil] (270) + אוֹ־טֽוֹב [or·good] (24) = 2002.
Onkelos
Laban and Bethuel answered and said: This matter has come forth from before Hashem; we are not able to speak to you either bad or good.
Rashi
ויען לבן ובתואל THEN LABAN AND BETHUEL ANSWERED —He (Laban) was a wicked person and so rushed in to answer before his father. לא נוכל דבר אליך WE CANNOT SPEAK UNTO THEE — refusing this proposition either by answering you with unpleasant words (i. e. a flat refusal) or by giving you a reasoned reply, for it is evident that the matter proceedeth from the Lord since, according to your statement, He brought her and you together.
Sforno
לא נוכל דבר אליך רע, in order to neutralise His decree. או טוב, to make His decree come true, seeing that He does not need our help in this respect.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויען לבן ובתואל, “and Lavan and Bethuel responded, etc.” The fact that Lavan spoke before his father already indicated that he was wicked (based on Rashi). Another indication that Lavan was evil is discernible from the fact that in his remarks he first alluded to the negative when he said (regretfully) “we cannot speak to you negatively or positively.” A righteous individual would have reversed the order saying: “positively or negatively.” מה’ יצא הדבר, “the matter originated with G-d.” Lavan meant that it was evident from the order in which matters had occurred that a higher power was involved here. They acknowledged that matchmaking was a preserve of celestial forces. Sotah 2. states that forty days prior to the development of the fetus a heavenly voice proclaims that the “daughter of X will be married to Y, even if the two people involved live on opposite sides of the ocean.” Solomon referred to this in Proverbs 19,14 בית והון נחלת אבות, ומה’ אשה משכלת, “whereas wealth may be determined by what one inherits from one’s father, an intelligent woman is a gift from heaven.” Clearly, parents are only able to bequeath you material riches whereas only G-d can provide you with the soul-mate you crave. Parents are unable to bequeath you the proper wife. In a manner of speaking, such sentiments are also reflected in Solomon’s famous poem about the woman of valour (second half of Proverbs chapter 31). In Midrash Tehillim the author writes: “come and note how difficult it is to match the proper people to each other in marriage, seeing G-d refers to this problem both in the Torah, the Books of the Prophets, and the Hagiographa. In the Torah we have our reference here when even a pagan such as Lavan acknowledged that bringing about optimal marriages was a task only G-d knows how to solve. In the Books of the Prophets, concerning the unfortunate choice of wives or female companions made by Samson, we read in Judges 14,4 ואביו ואמו לא ידעו כי מה’ היא, “and neither his father nor his mother were aware that this matter originated with a plan by G-d. We have just quoted the verse in Proverbs 19,14 to show that also in the Hagiographa the problem is referred to. We have another verse concerning this problem in Proverbs 18,22, where Solomon writes: מצא אשה מצא טוב ויפק רצון מה’, “he who found a wife has found a good thing; he will obtain favour from the Lord.” Some scholars interpret Isaiah 46,3 העמוסים מני בטן הנשואים מני רחם, to mean that even if the respective partners grow up on opposite sides of the universe, G-d arranges for them to meet in order that they can get married. [The verse refers to the passive role man plays in the matter of זווג, matchmaking, though he may fancy himself as totally active and the result as due to is own initiative. Ed.] This is what the Talmud meant when saying that long before the birth of an individual plans had been made in heaven who would become her partner in marriage. A kabbalistic approach to the statement בת פלוני לפלוני, “the daughter of X will be married to Y.” The word בת in the statement בת פלוני לפלוני, is an allusion to the י (the tenth emanation), whereas the male, i.e. פלוני is a reference] to the ו, and the word לפלוני is an allusion to the א, (G-d) who is beyond the ocean of the emanation חכמה, wisdom. The reason the Talmud did not phrase this statement simply as פלוני ישא את פלונית, “X will marry Y,” was to show us hat the statement is not to be taken literally but that it applies to the relationships between different spiritual concepts. Such concepts too have to exist in a form of “marriage” to one another. This is also why the sages in the Talmud mentioned the female before the male in that statement [The “tenth”, i.e “lowest” emanation, is “lower,” hence female, when compared to the fifth emanation represented by the word פלוני. This emanation in turn is inferior to the emanation א which is deemed as “beyond” even the highest of the ten emanations. Ed.] The sages in that statement in Sotah paraphrased the meaning of Genesis 2,8 גן בעדן מקדם, that G-d had “planted” something in advance of creating a physical universe.
Behold, Rebekah is before you, take her, and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as Hashem has spoken."
verse value 2368 — יְהֹוָֽה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 43 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָֽה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "take" (קַ֣ח, 2 letters) and the longest is "for·the·son·of·your·lord" (לְבֶן־אֲדֹנֶ֔יךָ, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "behold·Rebekah" (הִנֵּֽה־רִבְקָ֥ה), "for·the·son·of·your·lord" (לְבֶן־אֲדֹנֶ֔יךָ). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·let·her·be" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "as" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·go', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: הִנֵּֽה־רִבְקָ֥ה [behold·Rebekah] (367) + לְפָנֶ֖יךָ [before·you] (190) + קַ֣ח [take] (108) + וָלֵ֑ךְ [and·go] (56) + וּתְהִ֤י [and·let·her·be] (421) + אִשָּׁה֙ [woman] (306) + לְבֶן־אֲדֹנֶ֔יךָ [for·the·son·of·your·lord] (167) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר [as] (521) + דִּבֶּ֥ר [spoke] (206) + יְהֹוָֽה [Hashem] (26) = 2368.
Onkelos
Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be a wife for your master's son, as Hashem has spoken.
Ibn Ezra
"The word of Hashem" (דְּבַר ה') — meaning: the decree; so likewise: "By the word of Hashem the heavens were made" (Psalms 33:6). Or [it means] He designated [the match] through a dream.
Sforno
Take her and go. Since it is Hashem’s will, you are able to take her even without our permission. As Hashem has spoken. Hashem declares who a person will marry and in this case He has given a clear sign of what He has decreed.
And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah; he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.
verse value 2501
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "gold" (זָהָב֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "objects·of·silver" (כְּלֵי־כֶ֨סֶף, 6 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "objects·of·silver" (כְּלֵי־כֶ֨סֶף), "and·objects·of" (וּכְלֵ֤י), "and·garments" (וּבְגָדִ֔ים). The root כלי appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·her·brother" (root אח, 164x in Genesis); "and·gave" (root נתן, 150x in Genesis); "the·servant" (root עבד, 109x in Genesis). First appearance of the root כלי ("objects·of·silver") in Genesis. First appearance of the root בגד ("and·garments") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Rebekah', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיּוֹצֵ֨א [and·brought·out] (113) + הָעֶ֜בֶד [the·servant] (81) + כְּלֵי־כֶ֨סֶף [objects·of·silver] (220) + וּכְלֵ֤י [and·objects·of] (66) + זָהָב֙ [gold] (14) + וּבְגָדִ֔ים [and·garments] (65) + וַיִּתֵּ֖ן [and·gave] (466) + לְרִבְקָ֑ה [Rebekah] (337) + וּמִ֨גְדָּנֹ֔ת [and·presents] (503) + נָתַ֥ן [gave] (500) + לְאָחִ֖יהָ [to·her·brother] (54) + וּלְאִמָּֽהּ [and·to·her·mother] (82) = 2501.
Onkelos
The servant brought out vessels of silver and vessels of gold and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; and he gave gifts to her brother and to her mother.
Rashi
ומגדנות PRECIOUS THINGS — it has the same meaning as מגדים (cf. Song 7:14) “precious fruits ״, for he had brought with him various kinds of fruit from the land of Israel (Genesis Rabbah 60:11).
Ibn Ezra
"And precious things" (וּמִגְדָּנוֹת) — derived from מְגָדִים, "delicacies" (Song of Songs 4:13). Or its meaning is precious garments, in which case the nun is part of the root, as in מִטְפָּחוֹת, "cloaks" (Isaiah 3:22).
Chizkuni
ויוצא העבד כלי כסף, “the servant brought out silver trinkets, etc.” The trinkets mentioned here were intended as gifts accompanying the betrothal, whereas the ones mentioned earlier were gifts for his hosts. Betrothal is viewed as the first step of the wedding. (Kidushin 50) According to the plain meaning of the verse, Eliezer gave the valuable gifts to Rivkah, seeing that he was certain she would take them with her to her new home, whereas he gave relatively inexpensive gifts to various members of her family. Rivkah’s father, Betuel, did not require to be “bribed” by gifts; he was happy that his daughter had been chosen to become the wife of Yitzchok, his cousin. This is reflected in the text when the Torah wrote: “ ויאמר אחיה ואמה וגו', “her brother and her mother said, etc.; (used delaying tactics) Betuel was not in favour of any delay, as he was overjoyed that she married within the family. According to the plain meaning of the text, he allowed his son and wife to speak first, seeing that they had been the recipients of gifts, or because in that household it was Lavan who was the “senior” voice seeing that he was very astute. We have read in an aggadic text that Betuel tried to poison Eliezer’s food in order to prevent the marriage and that due to an angel’s switching plates he ate the poisoned food himself and died. This is supposedly why his name no longer appears in the rest of the story. A third version. The reason that Betuel, בתואל, was known by that name was that seeing that he was the nominal chief in Aram, he had reserved the right for himself to sleep with every virgin before she became married. His peers therefore demanded that he also sleep with Rivkah before she became married, otherwise they threatened to kill him. He agreed, and that it why the angel Gavriel killed him before he could carry out his intention.
Tur HaArokh
ויוצא העבד כלי כסף וכלי זהב ובגדים ויתן לרבקה. “The servant unpacked silver and golden trinkets and garments, and gave all of them to Rivkah.” These she was to take with them back to the home of Yitzchok. To Rivkah’s brother and mother he only gave exotic fruit and other condiments. If he had handed the silver and golden trinkets to her family, they surely would have remained in their possession.
And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said: "Send me away to my master."
verse value 3170
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 58 letters. The shortest word is "he" (ה֛וּא, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·men" (וְהָאֲנָשִׁ֥ים, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·they·arose" (וַיָּק֣וּמוּ). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "and·the·men" (root איש, 153x in Genesis); "he" (root הוא, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·lodged', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּאכְל֣וּ [and·ate] (73) + וַיִּשְׁתּ֗וּ [and·they·drank] (722) + ה֛וּא [he] (12) + וְהָאֲנָשִׁ֥ים [and·the·men] (412) + אֲשֶׁר־עִמּ֖וֹ [who·were·with·him] (617) + וַיָּלִ֑ינוּ [and·lodged] (112) + וַיָּק֣וּמוּ [and·they·arose] (168) + בַבֹּ֔קֶר [in·the·morning] (304) + וַיֹּ֖אמֶר [and·said] (257) + שַׁלְּחֻ֥נִי [send·me] (398) + לַֽאדֹנִֽי [to·my·lord] (95) = 3170.
Onkelos
They ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and they lodged the night; they rose in the morning, and he said: Send me on my way to my master.
Rashi
וילינו AND LODGED OVER NIGHT — wherever the root לין occurs in Scripture it signifies staying for only one night.
And her brother and her mother said: "Let the maiden remain with us a year or ten [months]; after that she may go."
verse value 3159
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 40 letters. Verse gematria: 3159 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "or" (א֣וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·said" (וַיֹּ֤אמֶר, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "her·brother" (אָחִ֙יהָ֙), "and·her·mother" (וְאִמָּ֔הּ), "ten" (עָשׂ֑וֹר). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "her·brother" (root אח, 164x in Genesis); "you·may·go" (root הלך, 113x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'ten', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֤אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אָחִ֙יהָ֙ [her·brother] (24) + וְאִמָּ֔הּ [and·her·mother] (52) + תֵּשֵׁ֨ב [let·remain] (702) + הַנַּעֲרָ֥ [the·maiden] (325) + אִתָּ֛נוּ [with·us] (457) + יָמִ֖ים [days] (100) + א֣וֹ [or] (7) + עָשׂ֑וֹר [ten] (576) + אַחַ֖ר [after] (209) + תֵּלֵֽךְ [you·may·go] (450) = 3159.
Onkelos
Her brother and her mother said: Let the maiden remain with us a year or ten months; afterward she may go.
Rashi
ויאמר אחיה ואמה AND HER BROTHER AND HER MOTHER SAID —But where was Bethuel? He wished to prevent the marriage therefore an angel came and killed him (Genesis Rabbah 60:12). ימים (literally, days) means a year — just as (Leviticus 25:29) “For a whole year (ימים) shall he have the right of redemption” — for the custom was to give a maiden twelve months to provide herself with a trousseau (literally, ornaments) (Genesis Rabbah 60:12). או עשור OR TEN — i. e. ten months. But if you say that it does really mean “days” (“a few days”, and that it does not mean a year) I reply that it is not usual for people who make a request to ask for a little and to say “If you do not agree to this, then give us even more” (Ketubot 57b).
Ibn Ezra
"Her brother and mother said" — they were the ones who had received the gifts, while the father remained silent. It is plausible that Laban was greater than his father in wisdom and standing, for so we find: "And Laban and Bethuel answered" (Genesis 24:50).
Sforno
A year. Give her time to adjust to the idea of moving to another country.
Chizkuni
תשב הנערה אתנו, “let the girl stay with us, etc.;” if you were to ask how they could have asked for a delay after having already agreed to the match and having declared the match as having been made in heaven? They had even said: “take Rivkah and be on your way!” (verse 51) At the beginning they had thought that Eliezer had been authorized only to arrange for the betrothal which would take place in Yitzchok’s hometown. The matter therefore had appeared as very urgent. Now that they saw that Eliezer had already performed (through the gifts) the rites of betrothal, they no longer saw any reason for the hurry. They therefore asked that an engaged girl be given the customary 12 months to prepare herself for her nuptials. (Compare Talmud, Ketuvot 57)י ימים או עשור, the word: ימים does not refer to a few days, but to the days making up 12 months, i.e. a year. (Compare Esther 2,12)
Tur HaArokh
ויאמר אחיה תשב הנערה, “her brother said: let the girl stay here (for a while).” According to the plain meaning of the text, Rivkah’s father Bethuel was the one who had said: הנה רבקה לפניך קח ולך, “here is Rivkah at your command, take her and go.” When they heard this, Lavan and his mother said that she should not leave for a while, a year or at least ten months. Ibn Ezra claims that the ones who spoke were the ones who had received the gifts from Eliezer, whereas the father kept silent on the subject. It is possible that Lavan was a more prominent and distinguished person than his father, and this accounts for his speaking up first. This would be supported by the Torah writing ויען לבן ובתואל, instead of ויען בתואל ולבן.
And he said to them: "Delay me not, seeing Hashem has prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master."
verse value 2360
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "me" (אֹתִ֔י, 3 letters) and the longest is "do·not·delay" (אַל־תְּאַחֲר֣וּ, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "do·not·delay" (אַל־תְּאַחֲר֣וּ), "has·made·successful" (הִצְלִ֣יחַ), "send·me" (שַׁלְּח֕וּנִי). The root אל appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "to·them" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "and·Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·way', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֤אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אֲלֵהֶם֙ [to·them] (76) + אַל־תְּאַחֲר֣וּ [do·not·delay] (646) + אֹתִ֔י [me] (411) + וַֽיהֹוָ֖ה [and·Hashem] (32) + הִצְלִ֣יחַ [has·made·successful] (143) + דַּרְכִּ֑י [my·way] (234) + שַׁלְּח֕וּנִי [send·me] (404) + וְאֵלְכָ֖ה [that·I·may·go] (62) + לַֽאדֹנִֽי [to·my·lord] (95) = 2360.
Onkelos
He said to them: Do not delay me, for Hashem has made my journey successful; send me off that I may go to my master.
Rashbam
וה' הצליח דרכי, clearly G’d does not want that the matter suffer any delay seeing that something which experiences delay, obstacles, cannot truly be considered as being successful.
And they said: "We will call the young woman, and inquire at her mouth."
verse value 1852
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 25 letters. The shortest word is "let·us·call" (נִקְרָ֣א, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·they·said" (וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "let·us·call" (נִקְרָ֣א), "the·maiden" (לַֽנַּעֲרָ֑), "and·let·us·ask" (וְנִשְׁאֲלָ֖ה). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "let·us·call" (root קרא, 123x in Genesis); "her·mouth" (root פה, 22x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·maiden', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ [and·they·said] (263) + נִקְרָ֣א [let·us·call] (351) + לַֽנַּעֲרָ֑ [the·maiden] (350) + וְנִשְׁאֲלָ֖ה [and·let·us·ask] (392) + אֶת־פִּֽיהָ [her·mouth] (496) = 1852.
Onkelos
They said: Let us call the maiden and ask what she herself says.
Rashi
ונשאלה את פיה AND ASK HER MOUTH — From this we may infer that a woman should not be given in marriage except with her own consent (Genesis Rabbah 60:12).
Sforno
ונשאלה את פיה, if she is willing and able to travel with you at this time.
Tur HaArokh
ויאמרו: נקרא לנערה, “They said: ‘let us call the girl herself and ask her.” This was a challenge to Eliezer who had represented her as already having agreed to come with him. Hence they asked her openly: “do you really want to go with this man?” Alternately, the question posed to Rivkah meant: “do you prefer to travel with this man, or would you prefer that one of us comes with you to the land of Canaan?” Her answer when she said; “I will go,” meant that she considered the man as trustworthy and that it would be unfair to delay him on account of the expensive jewelry she had already accepted from him.”
Rashbam
נקרא לנערה, to find out if she wants to delay her move to your master’s country by a year or ten months, or if she wants to go now as you have said.
And they called Rebekah, and said to her: "Will you go with this man?" And she said: "I will go."
verse value 2575
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "this" (הַזֶּ֑ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·called" (וַיִּקְרְא֤וּ, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "will·you·go" (הֲתֵלְכִ֖י), "with·the·man" (עִם־הָאִ֣ישׁ), "I·will·go" (אֵלֵֽךְ). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "to·her" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "with·the·man" (root איש, 153x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיִּקְרְא֤וּ [and·called] (323) + לְרִבְקָה֙ [Rebekah] (337) + וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ [and·they·said] (263) + אֵלֶ֔יהָ [to·her] (46) + הֲתֵלְכִ֖י [will·you·go] (465) + עִם־הָאִ֣ישׁ [with·the·man] (426) + הַזֶּ֑ה [this] (17) + וַתֹּ֖אמֶר [and·she·said] (647) + אֵלֵֽךְ [I·will·go] (51) = 2575.
Onkelos
They called Rebekah and said to her: Will you go with this man? She said: I will go.
Rashi
ותאמר אלך AND SHE SAID, I WILL GO — of my own accord even though you do not consent (Genesis Rabbah 60:12).
Rashbam
ויקראו לרבקה, a matter of common courtesy. Even though G’d had already, made clear what His wishes were in the matter, tell us what your own wishes are in this matter, if you want to go immediately. עם האיש הזה, with this man or with someone else as your guide after the lapse of 10 months or a year. The question was relevant, seeing that we had explained that it was customary to give a bride (virgin) 12 months to prepare herself for such a radical adjustment as moving from her parents’ home to that of her husband. ותאמר אלך, I do not need all this time in order to prepare my trousseau.
And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.
verse value 4024
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "their·sister" (אֲחֹתָ֖ם, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·her·nurse" (וְאֶת־מֵנִקְתָּ֑הּ, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·her·nurse" (וְאֶת־מֵנִקְתָּ֑הּ), "and·the·servant·of" (וְאֶת־עֶ֥בֶד), "and·his·men" (וְאֶת־אֲנָשָֽׁיו). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·his·men" (root איש, 153x in Genesis); "and·the·servant·of" (root עבד, 109x in Genesis); "and·sent" (root שלח, 72x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·her·nurse', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַֽיְשַׁלְּח֛וּ [and·sent] (360) + אֶת־רִבְקָ֥ה [Rebekah] (708) + אֲחֹתָ֖ם [their·sister] (449) + וְאֶת־מֵנִקְתָּ֑הּ [and·her·nurse] (1002) + וְאֶת־עֶ֥בֶד [and·the·servant·of] (483) + אַבְרָהָ֖ם [Abraham] (248) + וְאֶת־אֲנָשָֽׁיו [and·his·men] (774) = 4024.
Onkelos
They sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men.
Ibn Ezra
"Her nurse" (מֵנִקְתָּהּ) — [she had served Rebekah] in earlier days.
Chizkuni
ואת מנקתה, “and her nursemaid.” She was used to her as she was still so young. The reason that the Torah mentions this is that otherwise we would not have understood why her death, while Yaakov was on the way back to the land of Canaan, had been mentioned [on that occasion with her name. (Genesis 35,8) Ed.])
And they blessed Rebekah, and said to her: "Our sister, be you the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let your seed possess the gate of those that hate them."
verse value 4662
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 58 letters. Verse gematria: 4662 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "to·her" (לָ֔הּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·blessed" (וַיְבָרְכ֤וּ, 6 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·blessed" (וַיְבָרְכ֤וּ), "our·sister" (אֲחֹתֵ֕נוּ), "may·you·become" (אַ֥תְּ הֲיִ֖י). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "may·you·become" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "and·blessed" (root ברך, 71x in Genesis). First appearance of the root שנא ("his·foes") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'myriads', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיְבָרְכ֤וּ [and·blessed] (244) + אֶת־רִבְקָה֙ [Rebekah] (708) + וַיֹּ֣אמְרוּ [and·they·said] (263) + לָ֔הּ [to·her] (35) + אֲחֹתֵ֕נוּ [our·sister] (465) + אַ֥תְּ הֲיִ֖י [may·you·become] (426) + לְאַלְפֵ֣י [into·thousands·of] (151) + רְבָבָ֑ה [myriads] (209) + וְיִירַ֣שׁ [and·may·possess] (526) + זַרְעֵ֔ךְ [your·offspring] (297) + אֵ֖ת שַׁ֥עַר [the·gate·of] (971) + שֹׂנְאָֽיו [his·foes] (367) = 4662.
Onkelos
They blessed Rebekah and said to her: Our sister, may you become thousands upon ten thousands, and may your descendants possess the cities of those who hate them.
Rashi
את היי לאלפי רבבה MAYEST THOU BECOME THOUSANDS OF MYRIADS —May you and your seed receive that blessing which was promised to Abraham on Mount Moriah, (Genesis 22:17) “I will greatly multiply thy seed … [and let thy seed possess the gates of their enemies]”. May it be God’s will that that seed may proceed from you and not from another woman”.
Sforno
May you become. May you so please your husband that all his offspring will come through you and your descendants will inherit Hashem’s vow to Avraham לאלפי רבבה ויירש זרעך, as the G’d in heaven has blessed the descendants of Avraham.
Or HaChaim
את היי לאלפי רבבה. "May you become thousands and myriads." The reason Laban stressed the word "you" was that he was aware that Isaac would continue the Abrahamitic tradition and found great nations. Although this fact itself was anathema to wicked people such as Laban, they preferred that Rebeccah would be the founding mother than any other wife Isaac might marry. We must accept the psychological fact that the wicked hate the righteous even if the latter are their own flesh and blood.
Kli Yakar
“And may your offspring inherit the gate of those who hate him.” This same language was also said to Abraham — your offspring shall inherit the gate of his enemies — because this is the nature of all who perform acts of kindness: they have many friends, as it is written Many will entreat the favor of the generous person, and everyone is a friend to one who gives gifts (Proverbs 19:6). Abraham performed acts of kindness to all, both to those close and those distant, and so did Rebecca. Therefore, naturally, they will inherit the gate of their enemies, for they have many friends who stand by them in times of trouble. As our Sages said (Bava Kamma 17a), “Anyone who engages in Torah study and acts of kindness merits the inheritance of two tribes, etc.” And it concludes there that some say their enemies fall before them as casualties, like Joseph, as it is said His firstborn bull has majesty, and his horns are the horns of a wild ox, etc. (Deuteronomy 33:17). For Joseph too performed acts of kindness with his father’s entire household and with strangers during the years of famine. Similarly, David said Good is the man who is gracious and lends… his heart is firm, he will not fear, until he sees his desire upon his adversaries. He has distributed freely to the poor; his horn is exalted in honor (Psalms 112:5). For with his horn he will gore nations like Joseph. Therefore, they said to her, May you become thousands of myriads. Did they set a limit to their blessing? What is remarkable about this — any person who has children will, over time, produce this number and more? Rather, they certainly weren’t speaking about her direct descendants, as they were already confident in the power of the elder Abraham, who had already been blessed that his offspring would be like the sand of the sea. So what did they mean by saying to thousands of myriads — what is the purpose of the ‘lamed’ [to] in to thousands? They were saying, “May it be God’s will that you merit to do good and perform kindness for thousands of myriads, for you shall have great wealth, and through this you will have many friends, and because of this your offspring will inherit the gate of their enemies, for many will stand to help you when you go to war.” It’s possible they were giving her this as advice, and this explains the precise language of become to thousands of myriads. And from the use of the word “inherit,” we can learn that they were telling her, “Don’t worry about the expenses, but rather cast your bread upon the waters for thousands of myriads of people, and in the end you will receive a double inheritance in the gate of your enemies, for there are those who scatter yet end up increasing even more.”
And Rebekah arose, and her young women, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man. And the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
verse value 4530
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "and·arose" (וַתָּ֨קׇם, 4 letters) and the longest is "on·the·camels" (עַל־הַגְּמַלִּ֔ים, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·her·maids" (וְנַעֲרֹתֶ֗יהָ), "and·they·mounted" (וַתִּרְכַּ֙בְנָה֙), "and·went" (וַתֵּלַ֖כְנָה). The root רבקה appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·man" (root איש, 153x in Genesis); "and·took" (root לקח, 142x in Genesis); "and·went" (root הלך, 113x in Genesis). First appearance of the root רכב ("and·they·mounted") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·man', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַתָּ֨קׇם [and·arose] (546) + רִבְקָ֜ה [Rebekah] (307) + וְנַעֲרֹתֶ֗יהָ [and·her·maids] (741) + וַתִּרְכַּ֙בְנָה֙ [and·they·mounted] (683) + עַל־הַגְּמַלִּ֔ים [on·the·camels] (228) + וַתֵּלַ֖כְנָה [and·went] (511) + אַחֲרֵ֣י [after] (219) + הָאִ֑ישׁ [the·man] (316) + וַיִּקַּ֥ח [and·took] (124) + הָעֶ֛בֶד [the·servant] (81) + אֶת־רִבְקָ֖ה [Rebekah] (708) + וַיֵּלַֽךְ [and·went] (66) = 4530.
Onkelos
Rebekah arose with her maidens, and they rode upon the camels and followed the man; the servant took Rebekah and went.
Ramban
AND REBEKAH AROSE, AND HER MAIDS. Scripture relates that after they gave permission for Rebekah and her nurse to go, as well as for Abraham’s servant and his men, Rebekah rose and called her maids. And they rode upon the camels, and followed the man because he led them on the way. AND THE SERVANT TOOK REBEKAH, AND WENT HIS WAY. The purpose of this is to tell of his zealousness for after having left the city with all the women following him, the servant took Rebekah to him and did not part from her in order to guard her against any mishap along the way. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that it means that he walked with Rebekah and never felt the weariness of the journey until Isaac came and met him.
Sforno
ויקח העבד את רבקה, this describes the transfer from the father’s emissaries to those of the husband, as described in Ketuvot 48. Once the marriage became consummated she became the mistress, and Eliezer became her servant also.
Tur HaArokh
ויקח העבד את רבקה וילך, “The servant took Rivkah and he went.” The Torah here describes the servant’s desire to quickly complete his mission, after all the women had first accompanied Rivkah to the outskirts of the town, now Eliezer personally took over the task of watching over her to protect her against any possible mishap. Alternatively, seeing that the entire entourage of Rivkah and her family and friends had delayed the orderly departure as they had difficulty in parting from her, Eliezer now told the locals to turn back and let him get on with his task; i.e. ויקח, he now took matters in hand, etc. Ibn Ezra opines that the meaning of the apparently repeated mention of Eliezer taking Rivkah is that he personally walked along side her until they eventually met Yitzchok, and that he did not mind the inconvenience of walking (instead of riding on a camel).
And Isaac came from the way of Beer-lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the land of the South.
verse value 1417 — וְה֥וּא = 18 (chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 36 letters. Notable word values: "and·he" (וְה֥וּא) = 18, chai, 'life'. Verse gematria: 1417 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "came" (בָּ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Isaac" (וְיִצְחָק֙, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "from·the·vicinity·of" (מִבּ֔וֹא). The root בוא appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "came" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "and·he" (root הוא, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'roi', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְיִצְחָק֙ [and·Isaac] (214) + בָּ֣א [came] (3) + מִבּ֔וֹא [from·the·vicinity·of] (49) + בְּאֵ֥ר [Beer] (203) + לַחַ֖י [lahai] (48) + רֹאִ֑י [roi] (211) + וְה֥וּא [and·he] (18) + יוֹשֵׁ֖ב [was·settled] (318) + בְּאֶ֥רֶץ [in·the·land] (293) + הַנֶּֽגֶב [the·Negeb] (60) = 1417.
Onkelos
Isaac had come from his going to the well upon which the Ever-Living Angel had appeared, and he was dwelling in the southland.
Rashi
מבוא באר לחי ראי HE HAD JUST COME FROM THE WELL LACHAI-ROI— For he had gone there to bring Hagar back to Abraham that he might take her again as his wife (Genesis Rabbah 60:14). יושב בארץ הנגב FOR HE DWELT IN THE LAND OF THE SOUTH, near to that well, as it is said, (Genesis 20:1) “And Abraham journeyed from thence towards the land of the South and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur”, and the well was there, as is said, (Genesis 16:14) “behold it is between Kadesh and Bered’’.
Ramban
AND ISAAC ‘BA MIBO’ (HAD JUST COME) FROM THE WELL LAHAI-ROI. Scripture states that Isaac had just now come from the well Lahai-roi, having returned from the well of Lahai-roi to which he had previously come. Had the verse stated, “Ba (he came) from the well of Lahai,” it would have appeared as if he lived there. Therefore, it was necessary to explain ba mibo as meaning that he returned to his city from the temporary visit that he had made to the well of Lahai-roi, for he abode in the south country and he was returning to his city. It is possible that since the word mibo is an infinitive, it indicates that Isaac constantly went to that place since it was a place of prayer for him because of the revelation of the angel there, and he abode in the south country near there. And so did Onkelos translate it, “He came from his coming,” [thus indicating that he was in the habit of so doing]. In Onkelos’ opinion this was Beer-sheba for he translated both between Kadesh and Shur and between Kadesh and Bered as “Rekem and Chagra.” Now Shur is in Gerar (above, 20:1), and Beer-sheba is in the land of the Philistines near Gerar (see Ramban, above, 21:32). The well of Lahai-roi, which is between Kadesh and Bered (above, 16:14), is thus near Beer-sheba. If so, that place — the place of the tamarisk-tree of Abraham — was suitable for prayer. Now Isaac came from that well while he was on his way to another city which was on the same road as his city, and he went out towards eventide to converse in the field with his companions and friends who were there. He met the servant and Rebekah, whereupon they all walked together to the city, and Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. here.
Sforno
בא מבוא לחי ראי, to articulate a prayer at the spot where the prayer of his mother’s servant maid Hagar had been answered. והוא יושב בארץ הנגב, Yitzchok personally resided to the south of that location; he had gone there only to attend to his business affairs, not to establish a new residence.
Chizkuni
בא מבא באר לחי רואי, “he had returned from visiting b’eerlachay roi;” he did not literally return from that well but from the region’s outer boundary. The formulation in our verse is similar to Kings I 8,65: מלבא חמת, or from Genesis 25,18: בואכה אשורה, “all the way to Ashur.” It is as if the Torah had written: מן בא. The word בא is used here in the same sense as in Judges 1,24: הראנו נא את מבא כניסת העיר, “please show us the way to the entrance of the city.” The letter מ in the word: מבא is to be understood like the letter מ in Psalms 38,5: מתום which means תום, from תמים, pure, unadulterated, (in the spiritual sense. Ed.]
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויצחק בא מבוא, “and Yitzchak was in the process of coming from Be-er lachay Ro-i.” The plain meaning of the text is precisely what the sages wrote in Bereshit Rabbah 60,14 in answer to the rhetorical question where Yitzchak was coming from, that he came to bring Hagar who dwelled near the well mentioned in order for her to become the wife of his father. Hagar had named this well to acknowledge that G’d had seen her disgrace and had helped her regain her dignity. This verse and the words בא מבוא may be a reference to the spiritual equivalent of the Jewish people, i.e Mount Moriah. Yitzchak had only now returned from a three-year stay at that holy site. He had been shown by G’d that this was the spiritual well of the Jewish people, the source from which they receive the water (i.e. Torah) which keeps them alive. During all this time when Yitzchak had lived in solitude his whole thinking had concentrated on the concept and eventual realisation of what the Jewish people are supposed to stand for in G’d’s scheme of things. We may view the words עם באר לחי רואי as support for our interpretation as otherwise the Torah should have written ב-באר לחי רואי, “at the well of Lachay Ro-i.”
Tur HaArokh
ויצחק בא מבוא לחי רואי, “Yitzchok was just returning from having visited the well named E-lohay ro-I by the angel who had predicted Ishmael’s birth to Hagar.” According to Ibn Ezra מבוא is the name of a place which was also known as באר לחי רואי. Nachmanides explains that Yitzchok only now returned from the place known as באר לחי רואי. If the Torah had not added the word מבוא but had written בא מבאר לחי רואי, we would have thought that this was where Yitzchok resided permanently. By adding the word מבוא it becomes clear that Yitzchok at this point was on the way home to the city where he resided permanently. His stay at באר לחי רואי had been strictly temporary. It is possible that he would go there for the purpose of offering up prayers seeing that it had been at that location that he had seen the angel (when he lay bound) but that he had a permanent residence far more to the south of Moriah He had reached another town situated on the route to his home town, and there he went out towards evening to have a chat with a friend who lived there. While on route, he encountered Eliezer and Rivkah. And they walked all together to his home town.
And Isaac went out to pray in the field toward evening; and he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, camels were coming.
verse value 2730
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 50 letters. Verse gematria: 2730 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "evening" (עָ֑רֶב, 3 letters) and the longest is "at·the·turn·of" (לִפְנ֣וֹת, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "to·pray" (לָשׂ֥וּחַ), "at·the·turn·of" (לִפְנ֣וֹת). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "approaching" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "and·saw" (root ראה, 140x in Genesis); "his·eyes" (root עין, 79x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'evening', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּצֵ֥א [and·went·out] (107) + יִצְחָ֛ק [Isaac] (208) + לָשׂ֥וּחַ [to·pray] (344) + בַּשָּׂדֶ֖ה [in·the·field] (311) + לִפְנ֣וֹת [at·the·turn·of] (566) + עָ֑רֶב [evening] (272) + וַיִּשָּׂ֤א [and·lifted] (317) + עֵינָיו֙ [his·eyes] (146) + וַיַּ֔רְא [and·saw] (217) + וְהִנֵּ֥ה [and·behold] (66) + גְמַלִּ֖ים [camels] (123) + בָּאִֽים [approaching] (53) = 2730.
Onkelos
Isaac went out to pray in the field toward evening, and he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming.
Rashi
לשוח TO MEDITATE — this means “to pray” (Genesis Rabbah 60:14), as we find (Psalms 102:1) “[A prayer of the afflicted …] when he poureth forth his plaint.
Sforno
ויצא יצחק לשוח, he had detoured from his regular path to the field in order to pour out his heart to G’d in prayer. He did not want to be interrupted in his devotion by passing travelers whom he would have to greet. This was in spite of the fact that he had already prayed in Beer lachay Ro-i. His prayer had been answered already, in accordance with Daniel 10,12 מן היום אשר נתת את לבך להבין ולהענות... נשמעו דבריך, “for from the first day you set your mind to get understanding, practicing abstinence before your G’d, your prayer was heard and I have come because of your prayer.” והנה גמלים באים, when he had gone out to pray, the camels were already headed in his direction. This is what Rivkah referred to when she asked about the man walking “toward us?” (verse 65) This is because when Yitzchok returned from Beer lachay Ro-i to his house he was walking from the north to the south. People coming from Charan (Aram Naharaym) headed for Avraham’s house would be traveling from the east to the west. This is why after having deviated from his route which would have taken him from north to south, and walking in an easterly direction instead, Yitzchok would be walking in the direction from which the camels were approaching, from the land known also as ארץ בני קדם the land belonging to the people of the East. He had reason to believe that Rivkah would come from that direction.
Chizkuni
ויצא יצחק, “Yitzchok went forth;” (he left his house) seeing that the Torah does not specify from where “Yitzchok went out,” our sages have understood it to mean that he left Gan Eden, where he had spent the last three years after undergoing the akeydah on Mount Moriah. (Compare our comments page 164 on Genesis 22,19) לשוח בשדה, “to the shrubs in the field.” The word is familiar to us from Genesis 2,5: שיח השדה, “vegetation of the field,” it is also familiar to us from Genesis 21,15: תחת אחת השיחים, “under one of the bushes” where Hagar abandoned her son Yishmael who was about to die. An alternate exegesis: it is related to the word: שיחה, “conversation;” it then means that Yitzchok went into the field to converse with G-d (pray).
Rabbeinu Bahya
לשוח בשדה, “to meditate in the field.” According to both Ibn Ezra and David Kimchi these words mean: “to stroll amongst the shrubs.” Yitzchak had gone for a stroll to enjoy nature. A Midrashic interpretation based on Bereshit Rabbah 60,14. The word לשוח means “to pray,” as it does in all instances where it occurs. Well known examples are Psalms 102,1 תפלה לעני כי-יעטוף ולפני ה’ ישפוך שיחו, “A prayer of the lowly man when he is faint and pours forth his plea before the Lord.” Our sages in Berachot 26 have derived their view that Yitzchak inaugurated the daily Minchah prayer from this verse. A kabbalistic approach: The words לשוח בשדה teach that when someone prays to the One and only G’d he employs a כנוי, “a pronoun” of G’d’s name. In other words, one is not to enunciate the four-lettered name of G’d י-ה-ו-ה. Having used a substitute name for G’d (out of reverence for the “real” name), one will “find” G’d. This is the mystical dimension of the words לשוח בשדה. We find something similar with Yaakov in Genesis 28,11 where the Torah describes such a prayer as occurring in the evening, ויפגע במקום, the word במקום being the substitution for the real name of G’d. We employ this substitute in the Haggadah of Pesach when we recite ברוך המקום, meaning “blessed be the Lord.” Whenever the verb פגע appears it occurs with the preposition ב such as in Jeremiah 7,16 ואל תפגע בי, or in Job 21,15 ומה נועיל כי נפגע בו. All the activities of G’d are ascribed to such substitute names, כנויים, when they are still in the theoretical stage, whereas they are ascribed to the “real” name of G’d when they have reached the operative stage. We find confirmation of this in Jeremiah 8,14 כי ה’ אלוקינו הדמנו וישקנו מי ראש כי חטאנו לה', “for the Lord our G’d has doomed us, He has made us drink a bitter draft, for we have sinned against G’d.” Significantly, the verse does not end with “for we have sinned against Him,” as we would have expected but the prophet says “against G’d.” This means that up until the moment G’d actually executed His judgment on us, a “substitute” attribute rather than His Essence was involved. It is worth reflecting on this.
Kli Yakar
And Isaac went out to meditate in the field towards evening. Our Sages (Berachot 26b) learned from here that Isaac established the mincha prayer, which is towards evening near sunset. From here there is support for what our Sages said (Berachot 6a) that a person should always be careful with the mincha prayer, for even Elijah was only answered during the mincha prayer. And even though Abraham and Jacob also established the morning and evening prayers, nevertheless we don’t find that they were answered immediately and instantly, but with the mincha prayer we find that Isaac was answered right away. For presumably Isaac prayed about finding his match while Eliezer was still on the way, because regarding this “every pious one should pray at a favorable time — this refers to [finding] a wife” (Berachot 8a). Therefore he went to pray this prayer in the field. For if God gave him a field prepared for sowing more abundantly than all other fields, as it is written And Isaac sowed in that land and found a hundredfold (Genesis 26:12), how much more so would He give him a wife — the foundation of the world — who would produce good and upright offspring in God’s eyes. And immediately after he prayed for this it is written He lifted his eyes and saw camels approaching, for during prayer he kept his eyes lowered, and immediately after finishing the prayer he raised his eyes upward and saw that he was answered right away — behold camels were coming carrying his destined partner. From this they learned that a person is more readily answered during the mincha prayer. The reason for this is that the attribute of strict judgment prosecutes specifically at night, and therefore the evening prayer which is close to night [is more difficult to be answered], and similarly the morning prayer is also close to the night that just passed, but the mincha prayer is distant from both nights — therefore this prayer has no prosecutor. Another explanation: The reason this prayer was [performed] close to sunset was because before Sarah’s sun had set, Rebecca’s sun had already risen. Therefore, the verse informs us that Rebecca arrived close to sunset, to teach us that before Sarah’s sun set, Rebecca’s sun had already risen. [This was] so that the world would not be lacking these righteous women who are like the sun’s orb to the world, and so that there would not be missing [from the tent] a lit candle, a cloud tied above it, and the blessing in the dough. And this is easy to understand.
Tur HaArokh
לשוח בשדה, “to pray in the field.” The expression שיח means “prayer.” Although the sages have said that it is bad manners for someone to pray in the outdoors, this case was special seeing the location was Mount Moriah, as our sages are on record that Yitzchok referred to G’d as שדה, “field.” [the field being the source of all nutrition for man and beast on earth. Ed.] Alternately, what the sages disapproved of was prayer in the בקעה an open area frequented by travelers who would be a distraction to the person concentrating on his prayer. A שדה, an open field not frequented by people would not be a source of distraction, and offering one’s prayers there would be approved by the sages.
And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she alighted from the camel.
verse value 3510
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 36 letters. Verse gematria: 3510 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "from·upon" (מֵעַ֥ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "her·eyes" (אֶת־עֵינֶ֔יהָ, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·fell" (וַתִּפֹּ֖ל). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·saw" (root ראה, 140x in Genesis); "from·upon" (root על, 90x in Genesis); "her·eyes" (root עין, 79x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Isaac', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַתִּשָּׂ֤א [and·lifted] (707) + רִבְקָה֙ [Rebekah] (307) + אֶת־עֵינֶ֔יהָ [her·eyes] (546) + וַתֵּ֖רֶא [and·saw] (607) + אֶת־יִצְחָ֑ק [Isaac] (609) + וַתִּפֹּ֖ל [and·fell] (516) + מֵעַ֥ל [from·upon] (140) + הַגָּמָֽל [the·camel] (78) = 3510.
Onkelos
Rebekah lifted her eyes and saw Isaac, and she alighted from the camel.
Rashi
ותרא את יצחק AND SHE SAW ISAAC — She saw his lordly appearance and gazed at him in astonishment (Genesis Rabbah 60:15). ותפל SHE ALIGHTED (literally, she fell) — She let herself slide towards the ground; as the Targum renders it וארכינת —she inclined herself towards the earth, but did not actually reach the ground. Similarly in (Genesis 24:14) “let down thy pitcher, I pray thee”, the word הטי let down, Onkelos translates by ארכיני “incline”, and (Psalm 18:10) “He bowed (ויט) the heavens” he translates by וארכין which means “He bent them towards the ground”. A similar idea is (Psalms 37:24) “Though he fall (יפול) he shall not be utterly cast down” which is as much as to say, “though he bends himself towards the earth yet he shall not touch the ground (i. e. shall not fall entirely)” (Genesis Rabbah 60:15).
Ramban
AND SHE SAW ISAAC. Rashi comments: “She saw his lordly appearance and felt abashed139“Abashed.” In our Rashi: “and she gazed at him in astonishment.” of him.” And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that the latter verse, [namely, Verse 65, And she said unto the servant, What man is this], preceded Verse 64. Thus the expression, And she said unto the servant, means “And she had already said to the servant.” In Ibn Ezra’s opinion there are many such verses in the Torah. This is truly so, but here it is not correct, for in this case you would have to mix the verses and transpose their parts as follows: And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and she saw Isaac [Verse 64] — and she said unto the servant: What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant said: It is my master [Verse 65] — and she alighted from the camel [Verse 64] — and she took her veil, and covered herself [Verse 65]. In my opinion [we need not mix the verses, but the sense thereof is as follows]: When Rebekah saw a man walking in the field towards her, hastening on the road and walking in the field towards them, she knew that he had come to see them and greet them or to bring them into his house for lodging, and so she did as was ethically proper for women, and she stood modestly. AND SHE ALIGHTED (‘VATIPOL’) FROM THE CAMEL. Rashi comments: “She let herself slide towards the ground, as the Targum renders it, ‘She inclined herself [towards the earth but did not actually reach the ground]. Similarly, Let down thy pitcher was translated by Onkelos to mean ‘incline.’ And He bowed down the heavens — the Targum translates: ‘and He bent.’ A similar case is the verse, Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, which means though he bends himself towards the earth, yet he shall not touch the ground.”But Onkelos’ opinion is not that she let herself slide off the camel to the earth, for if so, she actually fell off the camel and did not just incline herself. Similarly, all expressions of “inclining” merely mean a bending towards one side. Onkelos’ opinion, however, is that on the camel upon which she was riding she bent herself towards one side in order to turn her face away from him. A similar case, in my opinion, is the verse: And when Naaman saw one running after him, ‘vayipol’ from upon the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? The word vayipol here only means that he bent himself in the chariot towards the runner who was on the ground to ask of him whether all is well. And so indeed it is said there, When the man turned back from his chariot to meet thee. It is possible that as far as Onkelos is concerned, the expression, from on the camel, is like “on the camel,” [the letter mem in the word mei’al (from on) being redundant]. A similar case is the verse, For great ‘mei’al’ the heavens is Thy mercy, [which means “for great on the heavens is Thy mercy,” and not “from on the heavens”]. A redundant letter mem like this is also found in these verses: There shall be no more ‘misham’ an infant of days, nor an old man, [which means “there shall be no more there,” and not “from there”]; Ye waters that are ‘mei’al’ the heavens, [which means “ye waters that are on the heavens,” and not “from on the heavens”]. In line with the plain meaning [of Scripture, however, the letter mem in the word mei’al is not redundant, but instead] it is like the mem in the verse, And, behold, there came many people ‘miderech’ (from a way) round-about. [And thus in the verse before us, mei’al hagamal would mean that she alighted “from on the camel.”] There are many similar verses.
Sforno
ותפול מעל הגמל, she inclined her head while remaining on the camel in honour of Yitzchok. We have a similar expression meaning the same in Kings II 5,21 ויפול מעל המרכבה where there is no reason to understand this as Naamon, the general, “falling” off his chariot, but the verse describes a deferential behaviour by Naamon.
Chizkuni
ותרא את יצחק ותפול מעל הגמל, “when she saw Yitzchok she fell from the camel.” When she had her first glance of a handsome tall man walking across a field that had not been trampled by previous pedestrians crossing it, she, being a mere three year old, became frightened because she thought that he was a rapist or an armed robber. She fell from fear. Another exegesis of this line: the sequence here has been distorted. After seeing a figure approaching, she asked about the identity of that person. When told by Eliezer that “this is my master,” (actually his master’s son) she hastily descended from the camel and covered her face with a veil, as a sign of her chastity. Her descent from the camel was totally voluntary, just as when someone prostrates himself in prayer, it is described as ויפול על פניו, meaning: “he deliberately bowed his face to the ground.”
Rabbeinu Bahya
ותפול מעל הגמל, “she fell off the camel.” Rivkah did not “fall”” off the camel she was riding on when she saw Yitzchak; rather, she inclined her head as one does prior to falling off an animal.” This interpretation is supported by the choice of the word מעל in our verse. Had she really fallen off, the Torah would have written: ותפול מהגמל. This is also why Onkelos translates these words as ואתרכנית, the same expression he used when he translated what Eliezer was going to say to Rivkah at the well, where the Torah wrote הטי נא כדך, “please incline your jug” (24,14). We have a similar example in Kings II 5,21 where Jeremiah wrote of Naaman ויראה נעמן רץ אחריו ויפול מעל המרכבה לקראתו, “when Naaman saw him (Gechazi) run after him, “he fell” from the chariot toward him, etc.” There too the meaning clearly is not that the general Naaman literally fell out of his chariot because he saw Gechazi running. The meaning is that he bent down, inquiring why Gechazi had run after him, etc. Ibn Ezra interprets ותפול literally, adding that she fell down deliberately, i.e. on her face and prostrated herself. It is similar to Numbers 16,4 where it says of Moses ויפול על פניו, “he ‘fell’ on his face.” Moses did not fall against his will but he prostrated himself deliberately. When the Torah here continues with: ותאמר אל העבד, “she said to the servant,” we must understand this as what she said prior to prostrating herself.
Tur HaArokh
ותרא את יצחק ותפול מעל הגמל, “when she saw Yitzchok she fell from the camel.” Rashi, in common with Onkelos, understands this not as a “fall,” but that Rivkah slid down to the ground from her saddle in order to greet her husband to be not from a position above him, but by observing good manners. The expression השמיטה used by Rashi means that she did not actually descend to the ground prostrating herself, but that she dutifully inclined her head in greeting. One of the parallel uses of the word quoted by Rashi is ויט שמים, “He inclined the heavens,” also translated by Onkelos with the same expression אתרכינת that he uses for the word ותפול in our verse here. Nachmanides disagrees with this approach by Rashi to the word הרכין used by Onkelos to describe what Rivkah did. He thinks, that just as elsewhere, that word merely means that she adjusted her posture so as to be able to face Yitzchok in a manner she deemed appropriate. In his view the word השמיטה would mean falling or sliding all the way to the ground. Rivkah avoided facing Yitzchok directly and turned somewhat sideways.
And she said to the servant: "What man is this that walks in the field to meet us?" And the servant said: "It is my master." And she took her veil, and covered herself.
verse value 4400
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 66 letters. Verse gematria: 4400 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "he" (ה֣וּא, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·meet·us" (לִקְרָאתֵ֔נוּ, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "to·the·servant" (אֶל־הָעֶ֗בֶד), "who·is·the·man" (מִֽי־הָאִ֤ישׁ), "to·meet·us" (לִקְרָאתֵ֔נוּ). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "who·is·the·man" (root איש, 153x in Genesis); "and·took" (root לקח, 142x in Genesis). First appearance of the root צעיף ("the·veil") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'master', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַתֹּ֣אמֶר [and·she·said] (647) + אֶל־הָעֶ֗בֶד [to·the·servant] (112) + מִֽי־הָאִ֤ישׁ [who·is·the·man] (366) + הַלָּזֶה֙ [this] (47) + הַהֹלֵ֤ךְ [walking] (60) + בַּשָּׂדֶה֙ [in·the·field] (311) + לִקְרָאתֵ֔נוּ [to·meet·us] (787) + וַיֹּ֥אמֶר [and·said] (257) + הָעֶ֖בֶד [the·servant] (81) + ה֣וּא [he] (12) + אֲדֹנִ֑י [master] (65) + וַתִּקַּ֥ח [and·took] (514) + הַצָּעִ֖יף [the·veil] (255) + וַתִּתְכָּֽס [and·covered·herself] (886) = 4400.
Onkelos
She said to the servant: Who is that man walking in the field toward us? The servant said: He is my master. She took the veil and covered herself.
Rashi
ותתכס AND [SHE] COVERED HERSELF — This has a passive meaning (she was covered); it is like (35:8) ותקבר “and she was buried”, and (1 Samuel 4:18) ותשבר “and [his neck] was broken”.
Sforno
ותתכס, for she was afraid to look more closely, similar to Moses being afraid to look more closely at the burning bush in Exodus 3,6.
Rashbam
?מי האיש הלזה ההולך בשדה לקראתנו, this verse raises a number of questions. Did Rivkah enquire about the identity of every man that they encountered on this journey? Furthermore, why did the Torah have to write the words בשדה לקראתנו, “in the field toward us?” It appears that the verse is somewhat abbreviated. What Rivkah wanted to know was why the man approaching them had detoured from the regular path and was coming across the field in their direction. הלזה, the additional letter ל in this word indicates that the person it refers to, though identifiable, is still a considerable distance away, in fact may not yet be positively identified beyond any doubt. We have the same construction in Genesis 37,19 where the brothers refer to the unexpected appearance of Joseph in the distance. When the person referred to as זה is close by, such as when Esther entertained the King and Haman, she pointed to Haman as המן הרע הזה, “this wicked Haman!” (Esther 7,6)
And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
verse value 2263
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 30 letters. The shortest word is "which" (אֲשֶׁ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·the·words" (אֵ֥ת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים, 10 letters). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "made" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis); "all·the·words" (root דבר, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·Isaac', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיְסַפֵּ֥ר [and·told] (356) + הָעֶ֖בֶד [the·servant] (81) + לְיִצְחָ֑ק [to·Isaac] (238) + אֵ֥ת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים [all·the·words] (712) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [which] (501) + עָשָֽׂה [made] (375) = 2263.
Onkelos
The servant recounted to Isaac all the things he had done.
Rashi
ויספר העבד AND THE SERVANT RELATED — He reported to him the miracles that had been wrought for him — how the earth had shrunk for him, and how Rebecca was ready for him in response to his prayer (Genesis Rabbah 60:15).
Rabbeinu Bahya
את כל הדברים אשר עשה, “all the things he had done.” This included the recourse to the “sign” he had asked from G’d to determine which was the right girl for him to approach at the well, when he had pleaded with G’d: הקרה נא לפני, “please let it happen before me this day, etc.” in verse 12. He told Yitzchak about the jewelry he had given to Rivkah on the way, and the gifts he had shared out when at her father’s house; he also told Yitzchak that he had experienced a miraculous telescoping of the earth under him so that he had arrived in Charan on the day he departed from Be-er Sheva.
Rashbam
ויספר העבד ליצחק, to inform him of all the miracles he had encountered on the way to carrying out his mission. This was to convince Yitzchok that Rivkah was destined for him from heaven.
And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted for his mother.
verse value 3072
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "Sarah" (שָׂרָ֣ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "Rebekah" (אֶת־רִבְקָ֛ה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 208: Isaac, Isaac. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·became·his" (וַתְּהִי־ל֥וֹ), "and·loved" (וַיֶּאֱהָבֶ֑הָ). The root יצחק appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·became·his" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "and·brought·her" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "as·a·wife" (root אשה, 148x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·loved', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיְבִאֶ֣הָ [and·brought·her] (24) + יִצְחָ֗ק [Isaac] (208) + הָאֹ֙הֱלָה֙ [into·the·tent] (46) + שָׂרָ֣ה [Sarah] (505) + אִמּ֔וֹ [his·mother] (47) + וַיִּקַּ֧ח [and·took] (124) + אֶת־רִבְקָ֛ה [Rebekah] (708) + וַתְּהִי־ל֥וֹ [and·became·his] (457) + לְאִשָּׁ֖ה [as·a·wife] (336) + וַיֶּאֱהָבֶ֑הָ [and·loved] (29) + וַיִּנָּחֵ֥ם [and·found·comfort] (114) + יִצְחָ֖ק [Isaac] (208) + אַחֲרֵ֥י [after] (219) + אִמּֽוֹ [his·mother] (47) = 3072.
Onkelos
Isaac brought her into the tent, and he saw that her deeds were as ordered as the deeds of Sarah his mother. He took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
Rashi
האהלה שרה אמו INTO HIS MOTHER SARAH’S TENT — He brought her into the tent and she became exactly like his mother Sarah — that is to say, the words signify as much as, [And he brought her into the tent] and, behold, she was Sarah, his mother). For whilst Sarah was living, a light had been burning in the tent from one Sabbath eve to the next, there was always a blessing in the dough (a miraculous increase) and a cloud was always hanging over the tent (as a divine protection), but since her death all these had stopped. However, when Rebecca came, they reappeared” (Genesis Rabbah 60:16). אחרי אמו [AND ISAAC WAS COMFORTED] AFTER HIS MOTHER’S DEATH — It is natural that whilst a man’s mother is living he is wrapped up in her, but when she dies he finds comfort in his wife (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 32).
Ramban
AND ISAAC BROUGHT HER INTO HIS MOTHER SARAH’s TENT. The construct is missing here [for the noun ohel (tent) appears with the definite article, and in this form it cannot be used in construct with “his mother Sarah.” The verse then should be understood as if it were written, “and Isaac brought her into the tent which was the tent of his mother Sarah.”] There are many cases like this. The purport of the verse is to tell of the honor that Isaac bestowed upon his mother for from the time that Sarah died they did not take down her tent because they said, “Let not another woman come into the tent of the honorable mistress.” But when he saw Rebekah he brought her into that tent in her honor and there he took her as his wife. This is the meaning of the words, and he loved her, and he was comforted, indicating that he was deeply grieved for his mother, finding no comforter until he was comforted by his wife through his love for her. Otherwise, what reason is there for Scripture to mention a man’s love for his wife? But Onkelos explained: And Isaac brought her into the tent and, behold, she was like Sarah his mother. It is for this reason that Scripture mentions the love he had for her because it was on account of her righteousness and the aptness of her deeds that he loved her and was comforted by her. And so the Rabbis mentioned in Bereshith Rabbah,14960:15. “Before Sarah died there was a blessing of miraculous increase in the dough. [After her death it stopped, and when Rebekah came the blessing reappeared.”]
Sforno
וינחם יצחק אחרי אמו, until this time he had refused to accept consolation for the death of his mother, seeing that she had been such an outstanding person.
Chizkuni
ויביאה האהלה שרה אמו, “he brought her to the tent of Sarah, his mother” Every word which normally requires the letter ל as a prefix, can instead be spelled with the letter ה as suffix. In other words: the word האהלה in our verse means: “to her tent, i.e. the tent that used to be Sarah’s tent.” שרה אמו, Rashi presumably because we all know that Sarah had been Yitzchok’s mother explains here that as long as Sarah had been alive, a light was burning in her tent on a 24/7 basis, and her doughs were always blessed, and a cloud was overhead at the entrance to her tent. These phenomena had stopped with her death. As soon as Rivkah entered the tent the light began to burn again. This was taken by Yitzchok as a sign that Rivkah would replace the mother had held dear in his heart as long as she had been alive. (Rashi’s source is Bereshit Rabbah 60,16) וינחם יצחק אחרי אמו, Now Yitzchok became comforted, (came to terms with) the death of his mother when he saw that his wife possessed the virtues his mother had been famous for.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויביאה יצחק האהלה שרה אמו, “Yitzchak brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah.” Here the Torah first refers to Rivkah merely with the pronoun “her, whereas when the same verse continues to report that Yitzchak married Rivkah she is mentioned by name.” The normal procedure should have been to mention Rivkah by name at the beginning of the verse and to refer to her by pronoun when she becomes the subject again in the same verse. Why did the Torah depart from the norm? Perhaps the underlying consideration was to mention Sarah first as she had been her predecessor in that tent and Rivkah had only been born after Sarah had already died and Bethuel had fathered Rivkah (22,23). At that juncture the Torah had seen fit to report Sarah’s death (23,2) which meant that at the time Yitzchak was bound Sarah had already died. Bereshit Rabbah 55,4 said that Yitzchak was 37 years old at that time and that when Sarah heard what was going to happen to him her soul departed and she died. The Torah itself testifies that Yitzchak was 40 years old when he married Rivkah (25,20), which makes Rivkah 3 years old when she was married. Keeping all this in mind explains why the Torah first spoke only about Yitzchak bringing Rivkah into the tent of his mother Sarah as at that tender age she was not yet a real soul-mate for him. Yitzchak’s love for Rivkah was kindled when he observed how perfectly she filled the role his mother Sarah had fulfilled in her tent. At that point, Yitzchak felt ready to complete the proceedings of marriage, i.e. ויקח יצחק את רבקה ותהי לו לאשה, Yitzchak married Rivkah and she became a real wife for him.” וינחם יצחק אחרי אמו,“he comforted himself over the loss of his mother.” Yitzchak did not accept the condolences of his peers for the loss of his mother until he was able to console himself with Rivkah. The words: “Yitzchak brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah,” teach that if someone’s wife dies and he had (grown up) children from her he should not remarry until he married off his children first. Having done so, he should remarry. The Midrash derives all this from the sequence of what the Torah tells us here about the conduct of Avraham who waited with remarrying until after Yitzchak had a home of his own.
Tur HaArokh
ותהי לו לאשה ויאהביה, “she became his wife and he loved her.” Onkelos supplies the reason why the Torah felt the need to write this line saying that when Yitzchok observed that Rivkah was a righteous woman like his mother Sarah he fell in love with her. Nachmanides writes that the reason that the Torah mentions Yitzchok’s loving Rivkah in one and the same breath as his finally comforting himself over the loss of his mother, was because Rivkah represented a replacement of all the virtues Sarah had possessed.
Onkelos
Rashi
Ramban
Ibn Ezra
Sforno
Or HaChaim
Chizkuni
Rabbeinu Bahya
Kli Yakar
Tur HaArokh