Genesis 24:17

17 And the servant came running to her and said, Give me a little water from your vessel.

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 And even before his words were ended, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, who was the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water-vessel on her arm.
16 She was a very beautiful girl, a virgin, who had never been touched by a man: and she went down to the spring to get water in her vessel.
17 And the servant came running to her and said, Give me a little water from your vessel.
18 And she said, Take a drink, my lord: and quickly letting down her vessel onto her hand, she gave him a drink.
19 And having done so, she said, I will get water for your camels till they have had enough.
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