If it seems like life moved at a slow pace in Abraham’s time, it truly did. Today our children go to college at 18, they get married at that age or shortly after college. Our children then have their own children in their twenties and thirties. By the time our children are in their forties their children are almost out of high school and ready to start the cycle of college and families on their own. Yet Isaac went to school at 37 years old and doesn’t get married until he’s 40. Our pace of life today is so much faster. We have to keep this in mind as we read our bible history otherwise we may assume that they lived from one story to the next quickly, not realizing how much time is between stories. Abimelech the King of Philistia, the son of Shem, is similar, as he lived to 193 years. Here is a bigger surprise; his 12 year old son becomes king when he dies. Are we to understand that at 181, King Abimelech fathered a child? People who lived at that time must have been very healthy in their old age.
Jasher 24:20And it was after the death of Abimelech that the people of Gerar took Benmalich his son, and he was only twelve years old, and they made him lying in the place of his father.21And they called his name Abimelech after the name of his father, for thus was it their custom to do in Gerar, and Abimelech reigned instead of Abimelech his father, and he sat upon his throne.22And Lot the son of Haran also died in those days, in the thirty-ninth year of the life of Isaac, and all the days that Lot lived were one hundred and forty years and he died.23And these are the children of Lot, that were born to him by his daughters, the name of the first born was Moab, and the name of the second was Benami.24And the two sons of Lot went and took themselves wives from the land of Canaan, and they bare children to them, and the children of Moab were Ed, Mayon, Tarsus, and Kanvil, four sons, these are fathers to the children of Moab unto this day.25And all the families of the children of Lot went to dwell wherever they should light upon, for they were fruitful and increased abundantly.26And they went and built themselves cities in the land where they dwelt, and they called the names of the cities which they built after their own names.
The children of Lot now lived in the land of Canaan, the land where Abraham was told to live, which would be his. Now we have to realize that Lot’s descendants mix with the descendents of the Nephilim as well. This history is a funny thing as we can see there wasn’t much exclusivity among people, except for Isaac and his family. Many people mixed among each other but we see Abraham wanting a wife for Isaac from his family line.
Gene 22:19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother.24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.KJV
Abraham went back to Beersheba, south from Haran. Jubilees tells us little about Rebecca.
Jubilees 19:10. And in the fourth year thereof he took a wife for his son Isaac and her name was Rebecca [the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham] 2 the sister of Laban and daughter of Bethuel; and Bethuel was the son of Mêlcâ, who was the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham.
Jasher tells us more about Eliezer and his mission to find Rebecca.
Jasher 24:27And Nahor the son of Terah, brother to Abraham, died in those days in the fortieth year of the life of Isaac, and all the days of Nahor were one hundred and seventy-two years and he died and was buried in Haran.28And when Abraham heard that his brother was dead he grieved sadly, and he mourned over his brother many days.29And Abraham called for Eliezer his head servant, to give him orders concerning his house, and he came and stood before him.30And Abraham said to him, Behold I am old, I do not know the day of my death; for I am advanced in days; now therefore rise up, go forth and do not take a wife for my son from this place and from this land, from the daughters of the Canaanites amongst whom we dwell.31But go to my land and to my birthplace, and take from thence a wife for my son, and the Lord God of Heaven and earth who took me from my father's house and brought me to this place, and said unto me, To thy seed will I give this land for an inheritance for ever, he will send his angel before thee and prosper thy way, that thou mayest obtain a wife for my son from my family and from my father's house.32And the servant answered his master Abraham and said, Behold I go to thy birthplace and to thy father's house, and take a wife for thy son from there; but if the woman be not willing to follow me to this land, shall I take thy son back to the land of thy birthplace?33And Abraham said unto him, Take heed that thou bring not my son hither again, for the Lord before whom I have walked he will send his angel before thee and prosper thy way.
Abraham did not want a wife for Isaac from the Canaanites; he wanted someone from his family. Remember, although they did not have mail service, or internet, or telephones, they did know their relatives’ and their families, and messengers or servants from the families would travel and communicate the news of the family. This is how Abraham found out his brother died. We can then recognize that the servant would then have communicated who had children, whose children were married, whose children moved away, and the like. Therefore it was truly not a mystery that Eliezer was going to Abraham’s relatives and that they had women of marring age who were still single. Understanding how much time probably elapsed, some of the women of Nahors’ household could have then been married by the time Eliezer got there. Josephus mentions that travel was hard to Haran.
Josephus 16:1. Now when Abraham, the father of Isaac, had resolved to take Rebeka, who was grand-daughter to his brother Nahor, for a wife to his son Isaac, who was then about forty years old, he sent the ancientest of his servants to betroth her, after he had obliged him to give him the strongest assurances of his fidelity; which assurances were given after the manner following : - They put each other's hands under each other's thighs; then they called upon God as the witness of what was to be done. He also sent such presents to those that were there as were in esteem, on account that that they either rarely or never were seen in that country, The servant got thither not under a considerable time; for it requires much time to pass through Meopotamia, in which it is tedious traveling, both in the winter for the depth of the clay, and in summer for want of water; and, besides this, for the robberies there committed, which are not to be avoided by travelers but by caution beforehand. However, the servant came to Haran; and when he was in the suburbs, he met a considerable number of maidens going to the water; he therefore prayed to God that Rebeka might be found among them, or her whom Abraham sent him as his servant to espouse to his son, in case his will were that this marriage should be consummated, and that she might be made known to him by the sign, That while others denied him water to drink, she might give it him.
Back to Jasher.
Jasher 24:34And Eliezer did as Abraham ordered him, and Eliezer swore unto Abraham his master upon this matter; and Eliezer rose up and took ten camels of the camels of his master, and ten men from his master's servants with him, and they rose up and went to Haran, the city of Abraham and Nahor, in order to fetch a wife for Isaac the son of Abraham; and whilst they were gone Abraham sent to the house of Shem and Eber, and they brought from thence his son Isaac.35And Isaac came home to his father's house to Beersheba, whilst Eliezer and his men came to Haran; and they stopped in the city by the watering place, and he made his camels to kneel down by the water and they remained there.36And Eliezer, Abraham's servant, prayed and said, O God of Abraham my master; send me I pray thee good speed this day and show kindness unto my master, that thou shalt appoint this day a wife for my master's son from his family.37And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Eliezer, for the sake of his servant Abraham, and he happened to meet with the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, brother to Abraham, and Eliezer came to her house.38And Eliezer related to them all his concerns, and that he was Abraham's servant, and they greatly rejoiced at him.39And they all blessed the Lord who brought this thing about, and they gave him Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel, for a wife for Isaac.40And the young woman was of very comely appearance, she was a virgin, and Rebecca was ten years old in those days.41And Bethuel and Laban and his children made a feast on that night, and Eliezer and his men came and ate and drank and rejoiced there on that night.42And Eliezer rose up in the morning, he and the men that were with him, and he called to the whole household of Bethuel, saying, Send me away that I may go to my master; and they rose up and sent away Rebecca and her nurse Deborah, the daughter of Uz, and they gave her silver and gold, men servants and maid servants, and they blessed her.43And they sent Eliezer away with his men; and the servants took Rebecca, and he went and returned to his master to the land of Canaan.44And Isaac took Rebecca and she became his wife, and he brought her into the tent.45And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebecca, the daughter of his uncle Bethuel, for a wife.
The Angel of the Lord prepared the way for Eliezer and he found Rebecca. Josephus expounds.
Josephus 16:2. With this intention he went to the well, and desired the maidens to give him some water to drink: but while the others refused, on pretense that they wanted it all at home, and could spare none for him, one only of the company rebuked them for their peevish behavior towards the stranger; and said, What is there that you will ever communicate to anybody, who have not so much as given the man some water? She then offered him water in an obliging manner. And now he began to hope that his grand affair would succeed; but desiring still to know the truth, he commended her for her generosity and good nature, that she did not scruple to afford a sufficiency of water to those that wanted it, though it cost her some pains to draw it; and asked who were her parents, and wished them joy of such a daughter. "And mayst thou be espoused," said he, "to their satisfaction, into the family of an agreeable husband, and bring him legitimate children." Nor did she disdain to satisfy his inquiries, but told him her family. "They," says she, "call me Rebeka; my father was Bethuel, but he is dead; and Laban is my brother; and, together with my mother, takes care of all our family affairs, and is the guardian of my virginity." When the servant heard this, he was very glad at what had happened, and at what was told him, as perceiving that God had thus plainly directed his journey; and producing his bracelets, and some other ornaments which it was esteemed decent for virgins to wear, he gave them to the damsel, by way of acknowledgment, and as a reward for her kindness in giving him water to drink; saying, it was but just that she should have them, because she was so much more obliging than any of the rest. She desired also that he would come and lodge with them, since the approach of the night gave him not time to proceed farther. And producing his precious ornaments for women, he said he desired to trust them to none more safely than to such as she had shown herself to be; and that he believed he might guess at the humanity of her mother and brother, that they would not be displeased, from the virtue he found in her; for he would not be burdensome, but would pay the hire for his entertainment, and spend his own money. To which she replied, that he guessed right as to the humanity of her parents; but complained that he should think them so parsimonious as to take money, for that he should have all on free cost. But she said she would first inform her brother Laban, and, if he gave her leave, she would conduct him in.
Josephus16:3. As soon then as this was over, she introduced the stranger; and for the camels, the servants of Laban brought them in, and took care of them; and he was himself brought in to supper by Laban. And, after supper, he says to him, and to the mother of the damsel, addressing himself to her, "Abraham is the son of Terah, and a kinsman of yours; for Nahor, the grandfather of these children, was the brother of Abraham, by both father and mother; upon which account he hath sent me to you, being desirous to take this damsel for his son to wife. He is his legitimate son, and is brought up as his only heir. He could indeed have had the most happy of all the women in that country for him, but he would not have his son marry any of them; but, out of regard to his own relations, he desired him to match here, whose affection and inclination I would not have you despise; for it was by the good pleasure of God that other accidents fell out in my journey, and that thereby I lighted upon your daughter and your house; for when I was near to the city, I saw a great many maidens coming to a well, and I prayed that I might meet with this damsel, which has come to pass accordingly. Do you therefore confirm that marriage, whose espousals have been already made by a Divine appearance; and show the respect you have for Abraham, who hath sent me with so much solicitude, in giving your consent to the marriage of this damsel." Upon this they understood it to be the will of God, and greatly approved of the offer, and sent their daughter, as was desired. Accordingly Isaac married her, the inheritance being now come to him; for the children by Keturah were gone to their own remote habitations.
The Bible records it this way.
Gene 24:1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee,thy hand under my thigh:3 And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.7 The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.
Abraham says not to bring Isaac to Haran again. This would imply that Isaac went to Haran at some point. We don’t know when that was, but from the time his relatives visited at the time of his weaning, he was about five years old and the time of the sacrifice on Mount Moriah he was 37 years old, leaving 32 years for travel to visit family.
Gen24:10 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.11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.12 And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord.27 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren.28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him.
Laban was very hospitable to Eliezer and the other servants with him. But Eliezer couldn’t rest and eat until he lets them know why he’s there.
Gen 24:33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.34 And he said, I am Abraham's servant.35 And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.36 And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:38 But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.40 And he said unto me, The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house:41 Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go;43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for my master's son.45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.
Eliezer’s words about “before he was done speaking from his heart, Rebekah came forth with a pitcher” are fascinating, he wasn’t even done praying and his prayer was answered. Isn’t it interesting how specific this is? Women went to the wells at specific times in the day, so that was common practice among the people, but Eliezer was asking for water for him and the camels. Camels drink a lot of water. I watered a camel once, I had a bucket of water and held it up and it sucked up the entire bucket of water in just a few seconds. It didn’t lap like a dog; rather it used its mouth and nose as a straw and sucked. To get water for ten camels is a lot of work.
Gen 24: 46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.48 And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.49 And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken.52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth.
Laban knew this was from the Lord, which means Nahor and Terah taught all their people about God. Eliezer was most respectful as he bowed before the Lord in thanksgiving. They wanted Rebekah to hang around for ten days, but Eliezer was concerned to get back to Abraham, so they left the decision up to Rebekah. They then left with her handmaid, or nurse.
Gen 24:53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth.58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
Laban and family prayed for her and prayed that she would be the mother of millions and that her seed would possess the gates of their enemies. Didn’t God tell Abraham that very thing? (Genesis 22:17) Isn’t it exciting that Laban and his family are praying what God has already promised Abraham? Looking back in time it is established conformation that the word God gave Abraham was a sure word. Also it is interesting that Laban’s family is hearing from God, taught about God, and spiritually on track with God’s future plans.
Gen24:61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country.63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.KJV
So we see that the name of Abraham’s servant is Eliezer, who was with him since Nimrod threw Abraham in the fire with his brother Haran. I’ve heard various teachings over the years that Abraham sent an unnamed servant riding one camel, bringing with him nine camels, corresponding to the nine gifts of the spirit, and that the unnamed servant brought back a bride for his master. While the romanticism sounds so wonderful and heartwarming when we put ourselves in the position of the bride and the unnamed servant as the Holy Spirit, we love the idea of making that leap, yet it simply isn’t accurate. The truth is they knew Nahor had granddaughters. We also know from Genesis and Jasher, that Eliezer had other people with him (ten men), it wasn’t just him and nine camels of gifts going to Haran, it was a whole gang of people. If we remember what Josephus said, the travel was hard no matter the time of year, and there were robbers that had to be dealt with. Therefore, the trip was not quick and would never have been done by just one person. On the way back Rebekah took her nurse, and damsels plural, so she had at least two other ladies with her. As for Eliezer, remember Eliezer was a young man around 100+ years old. That is just a guess, but from the time Abraham was dealing with Nimrod, Eliezer must have been 20 or so years younger than Abraham, and at this time Abraham would have been 140 years old.
Digging into this story we see a plan from God for Abraham’s seed to posses the gates of their enemies’ but as we will see Abraham has more seed.
