Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah is the carefully arranged union of Abraham’s heir with a woman from his extended family. Abraham’s servant reads the successful meeting at a well as divine guidance; Rebekah freely agrees to depart, and Isaac receives her as his wife, carrying the promised family line forward while finding comfort after his mother’s death.

Marriage Arranged Around the Promise

In his old age, Abraham commissions the senior servant who governs his household to find a wife for Isaac among Abraham’s own kindred, rather than among the daughters of the Canaanites. He binds the servant by an oath and insists that Isaac must not be taken back to the land from which Abraham came. The journey is therefore directed outward from Canaan to the family’s former homeland, while Isaac is to remain in the land promised to his descendants.

Abraham’s assurance rests on divine guidance: he says that the God who brought him from his father’s house will send an angel before the servant. If the woman refuses to follow, the servant will be released from the oath, but he must not return Isaac to the ancestral land. The conditions preserve both the marriage mission and Isaac’s place in Canaan.

The Meeting at the Well

The servant travels with ten camels and his master’s goods to Aram-naharaim, stopping at a well outside the city of Nahor in the evening, when women come to draw water. He prays that the woman appointed for Isaac will respond to his request for a drink by offering to water the camels as well. Before he has finished speaking, Rebekah arrives with her pitcher; she gives him water and then hastens back and forth to draw for all the camels.

Rebekah is identified as the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah and Nahor’s family. The servant gives her a gold ring and two bracelets, then bows and blesses the LORD for leading him to his master’s kin. Rebekah’s brother Laban and her father Bethuel accept the match as proceeding from the LORD. The servant gives Rebekah gifts of silver, gold, and clothing, and presents precious things to her mother and brother.

Rebekah’s Choice and the Journey

When the servant asks to depart, Rebekah’s family proposes that she remain for at least ten days. He urges them not to delay, and they leave the decision to Rebekah herself. Asked whether she will go with the servant, she answers that she will. Her departure, accompanied by her nurse and attendants, turns the household’s consent into a journey undertaken with her own assent.

Her family blesses her with the hope that she will become the mother of many descendants and that her offspring will possess the gate of their enemies. The servant then leads Rebekah and her attendants by camel toward Isaac. The narrative links this new marriage to the earlier promise of numerous descendants, while leaving the familiar land behind as Isaac remains in the south.

Marriage and Its Place in the Family Line

Isaac is in the field at evening when he sees the approaching camels. Rebekah sees him, dismounts, and covers herself with her veil; the servant tells Isaac what has happened on the journey. Isaac brings Rebekah into Sarah’s tent, takes her as his wife, and loves her. The account closes the journey with a household transition: the tent associated with his dead mother becomes the place where Isaac receives his bride, and he is comforted for Sarah.

The marriage also establishes the next generation within Abraham’s household. Later, Abraham gives Isaac all that he has, while sending gifts to his other sons and away from Isaac; after Abraham’s death, Isaac and Ishmael together bury him beside Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah. The account thus places Isaac’s marriage within a larger succession: the promised land and inheritance remain associated with Isaac, while his union with Rebekah begins the continuation of his line.