The well at evening

Genesis 24, read in seven verses. Work down the passage on the left, keep the apparatus on the right beside you.

The passage

And he made the camels to kneel down without the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water.

So 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, even for Isaac; and thereby shall I know that Thou hast shown kindness unto my master.’

And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

And she said: ‘Drink, my lord’; and she hastened, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.

And when she had done giving him drink, she said: ‘I will draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.’

And she hastened, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.

And they called Rebekah, and said unto her: ‘Wilt thou go with this man?’ And she said: ‘I will go.’

Genesis 24, JPS 1917

What to watch for

Verse 11 sets the scene twice over: at a well, at evening, at the hour women come out to draw. The narrator is telling you where to stand before anyone speaks.

In verse 14 the servant asks for a sign, and the sign he names is not beauty or lineage. It is an act of unasked labour for animals that are not his guest's concern. Notice what he has decided counts as evidence.

Verses 18 to 20 are almost entirely verbs. She said, she hasted, she let down, she gave, she emptied, she ran, she drew. The chapter spends its words on what she does, and spends none on why.

Then verse 58 stops the whole machine for one word of Hebrew. Read it out loud and notice how much has been built to make room for it.

Words to carry

בְּאֵרbe'erwell: A dug well that reaches groundwater, as opposed to a cistern that only collects rain. The story keeps returning to it.
כַּדkadpitcher, jar: The vessel on her shoulder in verse 15, and the one she empties into the trough in verse 20.
שָׁאַבsha'avto draw water: The chapter's working verb. Drawing is labour here, repeated until every animal has finished.
חֶסֶדchesedsteadfast kindness: Rendered "kindness" in verse 14. It carries loyalty and obligation, not just warmth, and it is what the servant asks to be shown.
אֵלֵךְelekhI will go: Her whole answer in verse 58. One word, first person, from the root ה-ל-ך.
רִבְקָהRivkahRebekah: The Hebrew name behind the English spelling. This house is named for her.

Questions to sit with

01
The servant asks for a sign in verse 14. Say exactly what he asks to be shown, then check whether that is what he actually gets.
02
Count everything Rebekah does in verses 18 to 20 before anyone thanks her. What is the narrator making you watch?
03
Verse 58 gives her one word of Hebrew. Why does a chapter this long stop for it?
04
The well appears at evening, at the hour women come out to draw. What does setting the scene there let the story do?

Once you have worked the surface, take verse 58 down through the four levels on the method page.

Lines worth keeping

“And she hastened, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.”

Genesis 24:20, JPS 1917Ten camels, and the verse does not hurry past a single one of them.

“And they called Rebekah, and said unto her: ‘Wilt thou go with this man?’ And she said: ‘I will go.’”

Genesis 24:58, JPS 1917Two words in Hebrew. The chapter has been building toward them for fifty-seven verses.

“Therefore with joy shall ye draw water Out of the wells of salvation.”

Isaiah 12:3, JPS 1917The same verb for drawing, carried out of the story and into a promise.