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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 whereAvraham 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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.”

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).

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.]

אחרי זקנתה, “after she had become old;” so that he could not expect to have any more sons from her.

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.

“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)

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)

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.

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.

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)

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.])

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.]

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).

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.”

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.