Genesis 24:10
in Genesis 24Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all manner of good things from his master in hand. And he set out for Nahor’s hometown in Aram-naharaim.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed, having all goodly things of his master’s in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
KJV
And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
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This verse in Genesis 24
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed,.... Camels were much in use in the eastern countries; where, as Pliny (o) says, they were brought up among their herds of cattle, and their riches much consisted in them. Arabia abounded with them; Job had three thousand of them, Job 1:3; how many Abraham had is not said, only ten of them his servant took, being sufficient for his present purpose, and which he took with his master's leave, and by his order.
This site's exposition
the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham
on Genesis 24:9-10
The oath is sworn and the man leaves with ten camels and all manner of good things in hand. He rides for Nahor's hometown in Aram-naharaim. Rebekah's birth had already been reported to Abraham at 22:23, in the notice that follows the son given back to him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Do you see how from the outset the servant showed his regard for his master? See him now showing the benefit of the patriarch's instruction by imitating the good man's godliness. "The servant took ten camels," the text relates, "and a selection of all his master's goods; he set out and traveled into Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor, where he rested the camels outside the city at the well toward evening when the women come out to draw water. He said, 'Lord, the God of my master Abraham.' " See the servant's dutifulness: he names the Lord of the world after the patriarch, saying, "Lord, the God of my master Abraham," who has given evidence of so many kindnesses to him. Why are you surprised if the servant calls him the God of Abraham in this way? The God of all shows how he sets great store by the virtue of good people and says, "I am the God of Jacob, the God of Isaac and the God of Abraham."
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
But when he has the desired success, he worships God, not the angel. Whatever benefit we have by the ministration of angels, all the glory must be given to the Lord of the angels, Rev. xxii.
Isaac being a type of Christ, some make this fetching of a wife for him to signify the espousing of the church by the agency of his servants the ministers. The church is the bride, the Lamb's wife, Rev. xxi. Christ is the bridegroom, and ministers are the friends of the bridegroom ( John iii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed,.... Camels were much in use in the eastern countries; where, as Pliny (o) says, they were brought up among their herds of cattle, and their riches much consisted in them. Arabia abounded with them; Job had three thousand of them, Job 1:3; how many Abraham had is not said, only ten of them his servant took, being sufficient for his present purpose, and which he took with his master's leave, and by his order.
Isaac being a type of Christ, some make this fetching of a wife for him to signify the espousing of the church by the agency of his servants the ministers. The church is the bride, the Lamb's wife, Rev. xxi. Christ is the bridegroom, and ministers are the friends of the bridegroom ( John iii.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Took ten camels - It appears that Abraham had left the whole management of this business to the discretion of his servant, to take with him what retinue and what dowry he pleased; for it is added, All the goods of his master were in his hand; and in those times it was customary to give a dowry for a wife, and not to receive one with her.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Rashi comments: “This refers to a deed of gift of all his possessions which he wrote in favor of Isaac so that they would be eager to send him their daughter.” And so it is also stated in Bereshith Rabbah, 106:15. “He carried with him a disposition of property.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֣ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| הָ֠עֶבֶד | haeved | the servant | H5650 → | 799 times |
| עֲשָׂרָ֨ה | ʾasarah | ten | H6235 → | 176 times |
| גְמַלִּ֜ים | gemalim | camels | H1581 → | 54 times |
| מִגְּמַלֵּ֤י | migemalei | from [the] camels of | H1581 → | 54 times |
| אֲדֹנָיו֙ | ʾadonav | master<s> his | H113 → | 333 times |
| וַיֵּ֔לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| ט֥וּב | tuv | <the> good thing of | H2898 → | 32 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֖יו | ʾadonav | master<s> his | H113 → | 333 times |
| בְּיָד֑וֹ | beyado | [was] in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וַיָּ֗קָם | vaiyakom | and he arose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| וַיֵּ֛לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲרַ֥ם | ʾaram | Aram | H763 → | |
| נַֽהֲרַ֖יִם | naharayim | Naharaim | H763 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עִ֥יר | ʾir | [the] city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| נָחֽוֹר׃ | nachor | Nahor | H5152 → | 18 times |
וַיִּקַּ֣חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
הָ֠עֶבֶדthe servant
haevedH5650 →799 times
עֲשָׂרָ֨הten
ʾasarahH6235 →176 times
גְמַלִּ֜יםcamels
gemalimH1581 →54 times
מִגְּמַלֵּ֤יfrom [the] camels of
migemaleiH1581 →54 times
אֲדֹנָיו֙master<s> his
ʾadonavH113 →333 times
וַיֵּ֔לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
וְכָל־and every
vekholH3605 →5413 times
ט֥וּב<the> good thing of
tuvH2898 →32 times
אֲדֹנָ֖יוmaster<s> his
ʾadonavH113 →333 times
בְּיָד֑וֹ[was] in hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 times
וַיָּ֗קָםand he arose
vaiyakomH6965 →628 times
וַיֵּ֛לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֲרַ֥םAram
ʾaramH763 →
נַֽהֲרַ֖יִםNaharaim
naharayimH763 →
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עִ֥יר[the] city of
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
נָחֽוֹר׃Nahor
nachorH5152 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 11:31And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan.…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 9:7
You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.
- Acts 7:2–4
And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
- Genesis 15:7
The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
- Joshua 24:2–3
And Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your fathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates and…
- Genesis 12:4
So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
- Nehemiah 9:7
Through
Deuteronomy 23:4For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 13:2
because they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but had hired Balaam to call down a curse against them (although our God had turned the curse into a blessing).
- 2 Peter 2:15
They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
- Nehemiah 13:2
Through
Genesis 27:43So now, my son, obey my voice and flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran.
it leads to
- Genesis 27:8
Now, my son, listen to my voice and do exactly as I tell you.
- Genesis 27:8
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 48.13; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.