Genesis 24:34
in Genesis 24“I am Abraham’s servant,” he replied.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, I am Abraham’s servant.
KJV
And he said, I am Abraham’s servant.
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This verse in Genesis 24
Commentary
7 notes on this verseHe was welcome before, but we may suppose him doubly welcome when he said, I am Abraham's servant. Abraham's name, no doubt, was well known among them and respected, and we might suppose them not altogether ignorant of his state, for Abraham knew theirs, ch. xxii.
This site's exposition
I am Abraham's servant
on Genesis 24:34-36
He opens with his master's name and never gives his own. The chapter calls him the servant or the man from first to last, and the name Eliezer belongs to chapter 15. Origen read the errand as a picture of the church brought to Christ: a servant sent by a father to fetch a bride for the son, carrying the father's goods and speaking only of the son.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
See how the servant narrates everything to them with precision: "I am servant of that man Abraham," he says, "whom you know; so, learn that he enjoyed such blessing from the Lord of all as to arrive at great wealth." Then, to teach them the abundance of his wealth, he said, "Sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels and asses" came his way. Take heed, you people of wealth, you who acquire such and such acres of land day in and day out, building baths and walkways and splendid buildings—see in what lay the good man's riches: no property, no buildings, no empty display of luxury, but rather sheep and cattle, camels and asses, servants male and female. The text added in another place that they were all born in the household, so that you could learn how Abraham gained so many servants. "So this master of mine came into such great wealth and enjoyed great favor from on high; when he had reached old age Sarah bore him a son, and, having this only child, he has already made him heir of everything. He has given him everything he owned."
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.
Before I had done speaking in my heart - Which perhaps he mentions, lest it should be suspected that Rebekah had overheard his prayer, and designedly humoured it; no, saith he, I spake it in my heart, so that none heard it but God, to whom thoughts are words, and from him the answer came.
And he said, I am Abraham's servant. Not Abraham himself, this undeceived Laban, if he so thought, but a servant of his; which was enough to introduce his discourse, his master being a near relation of theirs, and well known to them by name, if not in person.
He was welcome before, but we may suppose him doubly welcome when he said, I am Abraham's servant. Abraham's name, no doubt, was well known among them and respected, and we might suppose them not altogether ignorant of his state, for Abraham knew theirs, ch. xxii.
The words behind it
4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמַ֑ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| עֶ֥בֶד | ʾeved | [am] [the] servant of | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אַבְרָהָ֖ם | ʾavraham | Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| אָנֹֽכִי׃ | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
וַיֹּאמַ֑רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
עֶ֥בֶד[am] [the] servant of
ʾevedH5650 →799 times
אַבְרָהָ֖םAbraham
ʾavrahamH85 →175 times
אָנֹֽכִי׃I
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis

This page draws on John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 48.21; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, Homilies on Genesis.
