31
He said,וַיֹּאמֶר“Come in,בּוֹאblessedבְּרוּךְof YHWH!יְהוָהWhyלָמָּהdo you standתַעֲמֹדoutside?בַּחוּץIוְאָנֹכִיhave preparedפִּנִּיתִיthe houseהַבַּיִתand a placeוּמָקוֹםfor the camels.”לַגְּמַלִּים
Genesis 24:31
Study it in the app“He said, “Come in, blessed of YHWH! Why do you stand outside? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.””
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 24:31, word by word
- He saidיֹּאמֶרyomer
say
To say with the mouth to someone what one thinks or wants, or to answer him.
Where else “yomer” appears- “Come inבּוֹאbo
come
To come, arrive: "days are coming".
Where else “bo” appears- blessedבְּרוּךְberuch
bless
God gives good things: life, children, harvests.
Where else “beruch” appears- of YHWHיְהוָהyehva
YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
Where else “yehva” appears- do you standתַעֲמֹדtaamod
stand
To be on one's feet, firm in a place, or to rise up to act.
Where else “taamod” appears- outsideחוּץchuts
outside
What lies outside the house, the city or the camp.
Where else “chuts” appears- have preparedפִּנִּיתִיpiniti
clear
To clear a place for someone about to come in.
Where else “piniti” appears- the houseבַּיִתbayit
house
A building to live in, or an enclosed place to keep something or someone.
Where else “bayit” appears- and a placeמָקוֹםmakom
place
A place, a spot.
Where else “makom” appears- for the camelsגְּמַלִּיםgemalim
camel
Camel.
Where else “gemalim” appears
The context
30When he saw the ring and the bracelets on the hands of his sister, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man; and look, he was standing by the camels at the spring.
31 · This verse (above)
32The man came into the house, and he unloaded the camels and gave straw and fodder to the camels and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
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?