16
The girlוְהַנַּעֲרָwas veryמְאֹדbeautifulטֹבַתin appearance,מַרְאֶהa virgin,בְּתוּלָהand no manוְאִישׁ לֹאhad known her.יְדָעָהּShe went downוַתֵּרֶדto the spring,הָעַיְנָהfilledוַתְּמַלֵּאher jar,כַדָּהּand came up.וַתָּעַל
Genesis 24:16
Study it in the app“The girl was very beautiful in appearance, a virgin, and no man had known her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up.”
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 24:16, word by word
- The girlנַּעֲרָnaara
girl
An unmarried female of marrying age.
Where else “naara” appears- was veryמְאֹדmeod
very
To a very high degree: the word that adds force to what is said.
Where else “meod” appears- beautifulטֹבַתtovat
good
What is as it should be and gives delight: sound, useful, beautiful or valuable.
Where else “tovat” appears- in appearanceמַרְאֶהmare
appearance
The appearance of someone or something: how it looks, beautiful or ugly.
Where else “mare” appears- a virginבְּתוּלָהbetula
virgin
Young woman not yet married; virgin.
Where else “betula” appears- and no manאִישׁish
man
An adult male person; also each man of a people, a trade or a place.
Where else “ish” appears- had known herיְדָעָyedaa
lie with
To be intimate with a woman.
Where else “yedaa” appears- She went downתֵּרֶדtered
go down
To go from a higher place to a lower one, like from the mountain to the valley.
Where else “tered” appears- to the springעַיְנָayna
spring
Literally "eye": a place where water wells up from the ground.
Where else “ayna” appears- filledתְּמַלֵּאtemale
fill
To take up all the space of something, or to give someone all it can hold.
Where else “temale” appears- her jarכַדָּchada
jar
Jar: an earthen vessel for carrying water or keeping flour.
Where else “chada” appears- and came upתָּעַלtaal
go up
To go from a low place to a higher one: up the mountain, to Jerusalem or to a city.
Where else “taal” appears
Translation note
“Known” has a sexual sense here (compare 4:1).
The context
15It happened, before he had finished speaking, that, look, Rebekah was coming out, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her jar on her shoulder.
16 · This verse (above)
17The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me sip a little water from your jar.”
To study Genesis 24 in a group
1. What it says
What did Abraham’s servant ask of YHWH by the well, and what did Rebekah do (vv. 12-20)?
2. What it means
What does it show about the servant’s prayer that he asks YHWH for guidance in his task (vv. 12-14, 26-27)?
3. How I live it
In what pending decision can you ask Elohim for guidance and pay attention to what happens?