e, 'To your children I will give this land,' will send his
angel before you and there you will get a wife for my son. But if the
woman is not willing to come with you, then you will be free from this
promise to me; only never take my son back there." So the servant put
his hand under Abraham's hip and made the promise.

Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and set out with
precious gifts from his master. So he went to the town of Nahor. And he
made the camels kneel down outside the town by the well in the evening,
at the time when women go out to draw water. Then he said, "O Jehovah,
the God of my master Abraham, give me, I pray thee, success to-day, and
show kindness to my master Abraham. Here I am standing by the spring of
water, and the daughters of the men of the town are coming out to draw
water. May that young woman to whom I shall say, 'Please let down your
water-jar that I may drink'; and who answers, 'Drink and I will also
water your camels,' may she be the one thou hast chosen for thy servant
Isaac. By this I shall know that thou hast shown kindness to my master."

Then even before he was through speaking, Rebekah, who was the
grand-daughter of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water-jar
upon her shoulder. She was very beautiful and unmarried. She went down
to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. Then the servant ran to meet
her and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar." She
answered, "Drink, sir," and quickly let down her water-jar from her
shoulder upon her hand and gave him a drink.

[Illustration: _The Testing of Abraham_ Painted by Fritz von Uhde]

When she had finished giving him a drink she said, "I will draw water
for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." So she quickly
emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water,
and drew for all his camels. Meanwhile the man was silently gazing at
her in order to find out whether Jehovah had made his journey successful
or not.

As soon as the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring,
five ounces in weight, and put it in her nose, and put on her arms two
golden bracelets weighing five ounces, and said, "Whose daughter are
you? Tell me, I beg of you. Is there room in your father's house for us
to spend the night?" She answered, "I am the grand-daughter of Milcah
and Nahor. We have plenty of straw and feed, and there is a place for
you to spend the night."

Then