Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 24:12-14

"And he said, O Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham, send me, I pray thee, good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the fountain of water. And the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 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 showed kindness unto my master." — Genesis 24:12-14 (ASV)

O Lord God ... — Heb., Jehovah, God of my lord Abraham. The word translated “master” throughout this chapter is ‘donai, the ordinary word for lord, and it is so rendered in Genesis 24:18.

As a circumcised member of Abraham’s household, the servant prays to Jehovah, Abraham’s God. Though in Genesis 24:5 he had suggested a difficulty, this was apparently not from a lack of faith, but so that he might know whether Isaac might return to Aram-Naharaim under any circumstances.

He now leaves the success of his mission to Jehovah. While he would use his own discernment in selecting from the group of approaching young women one whose expression gave promise of goodness of heart, the fulfilment of the appointed signal to mark God’s approval would also show that she was no ill-mannered woman, but one active, generous, and kind.

Send me good speed this day. — Heb., cause it to meet me this day.

I stand. — This word here, and in Genesis 24:43, is not the same as that used in Genesis 24:30, but one that means I post myself, or I take my station.

Thereby. — Rather, by her: by her giving the appointed sign I will know that you have shown kindness to my lord.

The damsel. — This word (Heb., Na’ar) is of common gender in the Pentateuch, except in Deuteronomy 22:19, where it has the feminine termination. It is used for Abraham’s young men in Genesis 14:24, Genesis 18:7, etc., but no fewer than twenty-two times for women.

In the rest of the Bible, the gender is always marked, and even here it is read in the feminine in the Jewish synagogues. In this, we have another of the many linguistic proofs of the extreme antiquity of the Pentateuch, and it is the more interesting because it is found in a Jehovistic section. The same word is used again in Genesis 24:16 and Genesis 24:28. (See Note on Genesis 43:8.)