Genesis 24:17

17 The servant ran to meet her and said, "Give me a little sip of water from your jar."

Genesis 24:17 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 24:17

And the servant ran to meet her
He did not stop her as she went to the well, but stayed till she had been there and filled her pitcher, and then he made all the haste he could to meet her, in order to have the sign and token answered he had requested, which could not be done until she returned: and said, let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher;
or taste a little of it, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; or suffer me to swallow a little of it; for it was not so much to quench his thirst that he asked for this, for he could have got, and perhaps had had water out of the well before this time, or however could easily have supplied himself; but this was done to try whether she was the person, and whether her conduct and carriage would answer the token. Josephus F24 says, he asked other virgins and they refused him, for which churlishness Rebekah rebuked them, and gave him water liberally.


FOOTNOTES:

F24 Antiqu. l. 1. c. 16. sect. 2.

Genesis 24:17 In-Context

15 Even before he finished speaking, Rebekah—daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother—was coming out with a water jar on her shoulder.
16 The young woman was very beautiful, old enough to be married, and hadn't known a man intimately. She went down to the spring, filled her water jar, and came back up.
17 The servant ran to meet her and said, "Give me a little sip of water from your jar."
18 She said, "Drink, sir." Then she quickly lowered the water jar with her hands and gave him some water to drink.
19 When she finished giving him a drink, she said, "I'll draw some water for your camels too, till they've had enough to drink."
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