Genesis 24:65

65 and asked Abraham's servant, "Who is that man walking toward us in the field?" "He is my master," the servant answered. So she took her scarf and covered her face.

Genesis 24:65 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 24:65

For she [had] said unto the servant
As soon as she saw a man walking towards them, who she thought with herself might be Isaac: what man is this that walketh in the field to meet us?
for by the course he steered, she perceived that he was coming towards them, and so concluded it must be one of the family, and probably the person she was to be married to; for otherwise, had he not by his look and motion discovered that he knew the servant, and was coming towards them, she would have took no notice of him and the servant [had] said, it is my master:
meaning not Abraham, but his son, who also was his master: therefore she took a veil, and covered herself;
both out of modesty, and as a token of subjection to him: for the veil was put on when the bride was introduced to the bridegroom, as among the Romans ^F24 in later times. The Arab women always have veils when they appear in public, so that their faces cannot be seen; and though in the summer months they walk abroad with less caution, yet then, upon the approach of a stranger, they put on their veils ^F25.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 Vid. Lucan. l. 2. & Martial. Epigr. l. 2. 74.
F25 See Shaw's Travels, p. 228. Tertullian. de Virgin. Veland, c. 17.

Genesis 24:65 In-Context

63 He went out in the early evening to take a walk in the fields and saw camels coming.

64 When Rebecca saw Isaac, she got down from her camel

65 and asked Abraham's servant, "Who is that man walking toward us in the field?" "He is my master," the servant answered. So she took her scarf and covered her face.

66 The servant told Isaac everything he had done.

67 Then Isaac brought Rebecca into the tent that his mother Sarah had lived in, and she became his wife. Isaac loved Rebecca, and so he was comforted for the loss of his mother.