Genesis 24:17

17 The servant ran to meet her and said, "Please, can I have a sip of water from your jug?"

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 It so happened that the words were barely out of his mouth when Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel whose mother was Milcah the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with a water jug on her shoulder.
16 The girl was stunningly beautiful, a pure virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up.
17 The servant ran to meet her and said, "Please, can I have a sip of water from your jug?"
18 She said, "Certainly, drink!" And she held the jug so that he could drink.
19 When he had satisfied his thirst she said, "I'll get water for your camels, too, until they've drunk their fill."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.