†. Gen 24:16d . . She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and
came up.
The "spring" in this case was a small pool of water fed by an aquifer, which
is different than an artesian well. Artesians gush, while aquifers seep.
Some of the shafts of ancient man-made wells in the that part of the world
resemble mini open-pit mines; with steps hewn into the sides to facilitate
access to the water for dipping jars and buckets. Becky's spring was likely
constructed like that.
†. Gen 24:17a . .The servant ran toward her
The Hebrew word for "ran" is the same word used in Gen 18:2 and 18:7 to
describe Abraham's movement when the three men appeared in his camp.
Abraham was about 99 years old at the time and it's very doubtful he was
able to move his legs all that fast. It's far more likely he just hastened. In
any case, it was nevertheless essential that Abraham's steward not waste
any time because Becky had strong legs and would surely be gone away
home in a blink.
†. Gen 24:17b . . and said: Please, let me sip a little water from your
jar.
It's amazing that a gorgeous young girl like Becky would allow a total
stranger to approach her without protest or without screaming for help. Was
she naïve? Was she foolish? Well . . maybe in that day, and around her
town, you could trust people. But it would not be wise to do that in some
parts of New York or Los Angeles. A seemingly honest appeal for assistance
could very well be a distraction while an accomplice sneaks up behind you.
Although Becky arrived first, ahead of the other girls, by now there may
have been several others milling around the spring because that was the
time of day for them to be there. In groups, they could all watch out for
each other. Genesis doesn't tell about any of the others though because the
spotlight is totally on Isaac's future bride.
†. Gen 24:18a . . Drink, my lord: she said,
Women back then often called men lords. Sarah called Abraham lord in Gen
18:12, and Rachel called her dad lord in Gen 31:35. The word for that kind
of lord is 'adown (aw-done') and means nothing more than a title of respect
like sir, mister, or master.
†. Gen 24:18b . . and she quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and
let him drink.
The word for "quickly" is from mahar (maw-har') which means: to be liquid
or flow easily; viz: nimble (the opposite of that would be the sluggishness of
molasses in January) and implies to act promptly. I really like the way Becky
responded. When people do things grudgingly, they often stonewall, perform
slowly, and drag their feet just to show you they're annoyed. But Becky
didn't hesitate. She gave water to the man whole-heartedly sharply, and
immediately.
Whether she actually let him drink out of her hand is doubtful. Lowering the
jar upon her hand merely indicates it was previously up on her shoulder or
maybe on top of her head. Becky probably just supported it from underneath
with one hand while tilting the top with the other so the contents would pour
out and Abraham's steward could guzzle his fill.
†. Gen 24:19-20 . .When she had let him drink his fill, she said: I will
also draw for your camels, until they finish drinking. Quickly
emptying her jar into the trough, she ran back to the well to draw,
and she drew for all his camels.
Flo-Jo Becky-- running all over the place like a US Navy SEAL trainee in hell
week. No time to waste if she was going to water all those camels before
dark.
The Arabian camel can drink more than twenty gallons of water in one sitting
when it's very thirsty. I hope that man gave them some water earlier
because he had ten camels and Becky could be hauling as much as 200
gallons. If her pitcher held five gallons, the weight would be about 41
pounds of water for each one of the forty trips she would have to make
down and back up out of that spring. Wow that girl was fit! Well, she did it--
and all without any grousing about it.
†. Gen 24:21 . .The man, meanwhile, stood gazing at her, silently
wondering whether The Lord had made his errand successful or not.
That man must have been totally blown away. The very thing about which
he prayed barely five minutes ago was occurring right before his eyes and all
so brisk and sudden too. This was just too easy and just too unbelievable.
Could this really be of The Lord? He dared not let himself enjoy any success
yet until he knew for sure.
†. Gen 24:22 . .When the camels had finished drinking, the man took
a gold nose-ring weighing a half-shekel, and two gold bands for her
arms, ten shekels in weight.
The word for "nose-ring" is nexem (neh'-zem) which just means ring, or
jewel. Without a modifier, there is no way of knowing for sure if the ring is
for the nose or the ear. However, in verse 47 up ahead, Abraham's steward
will say he installed the ring in Becky's nose.
The half shekel was a unit of weight and a media of exchange in those days.
It weighed about 6.019 grams which is equal to about 92.87 grains. Typical
.22 caliber lead bullets weigh approximately 40 grains apiece, so it would
take at least two and a third of them to equal the weight of the ring. That's
really not much, but if it's stuck in your nose or hanging on your ear I guess
it would become noticeable after a while.
The combined weight of the two bands was ten shekels, which is twenty
times the weight of the ring; or about 1,857 grains; which is equivalent to
forty-six .22 cal lead bullets.
1,857 grains + 93grains = 1,950 grains; which is equivalent to 4.06 troy
ounces of gold. ( a troy ounce is equal to 480 grains) As of Aug 25, 2012,
the market price for gold was roughly 1,670 US dollars per troy ounce. So to
date, Becky's jewelry was worth roughly 6,780 US dollars in bullion.
Cont.
/
came up.
The "spring" in this case was a small pool of water fed by an aquifer, which
is different than an artesian well. Artesians gush, while aquifers seep.
Some of the shafts of ancient man-made wells in the that part of the world
resemble mini open-pit mines; with steps hewn into the sides to facilitate
access to the water for dipping jars and buckets. Becky's spring was likely
constructed like that.
†. Gen 24:17a . .The servant ran toward her
The Hebrew word for "ran" is the same word used in Gen 18:2 and 18:7 to
describe Abraham's movement when the three men appeared in his camp.
Abraham was about 99 years old at the time and it's very doubtful he was
able to move his legs all that fast. It's far more likely he just hastened. In
any case, it was nevertheless essential that Abraham's steward not waste
any time because Becky had strong legs and would surely be gone away
home in a blink.
†. Gen 24:17b . . and said: Please, let me sip a little water from your
jar.
It's amazing that a gorgeous young girl like Becky would allow a total
stranger to approach her without protest or without screaming for help. Was
she naïve? Was she foolish? Well . . maybe in that day, and around her
town, you could trust people. But it would not be wise to do that in some
parts of New York or Los Angeles. A seemingly honest appeal for assistance
could very well be a distraction while an accomplice sneaks up behind you.
Although Becky arrived first, ahead of the other girls, by now there may
have been several others milling around the spring because that was the
time of day for them to be there. In groups, they could all watch out for
each other. Genesis doesn't tell about any of the others though because the
spotlight is totally on Isaac's future bride.
†. Gen 24:18a . . Drink, my lord: she said,
Women back then often called men lords. Sarah called Abraham lord in Gen
18:12, and Rachel called her dad lord in Gen 31:35. The word for that kind
of lord is 'adown (aw-done') and means nothing more than a title of respect
like sir, mister, or master.
†. Gen 24:18b . . and she quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and
let him drink.
The word for "quickly" is from mahar (maw-har') which means: to be liquid
or flow easily; viz: nimble (the opposite of that would be the sluggishness of
molasses in January) and implies to act promptly. I really like the way Becky
responded. When people do things grudgingly, they often stonewall, perform
slowly, and drag their feet just to show you they're annoyed. But Becky
didn't hesitate. She gave water to the man whole-heartedly sharply, and
immediately.
Whether she actually let him drink out of her hand is doubtful. Lowering the
jar upon her hand merely indicates it was previously up on her shoulder or
maybe on top of her head. Becky probably just supported it from underneath
with one hand while tilting the top with the other so the contents would pour
out and Abraham's steward could guzzle his fill.
†. Gen 24:19-20 . .When she had let him drink his fill, she said: I will
also draw for your camels, until they finish drinking. Quickly
emptying her jar into the trough, she ran back to the well to draw,
and she drew for all his camels.
Flo-Jo Becky-- running all over the place like a US Navy SEAL trainee in hell
week. No time to waste if she was going to water all those camels before
dark.
The Arabian camel can drink more than twenty gallons of water in one sitting
when it's very thirsty. I hope that man gave them some water earlier
because he had ten camels and Becky could be hauling as much as 200
gallons. If her pitcher held five gallons, the weight would be about 41
pounds of water for each one of the forty trips she would have to make
down and back up out of that spring. Wow that girl was fit! Well, she did it--
and all without any grousing about it.
†. Gen 24:21 . .The man, meanwhile, stood gazing at her, silently
wondering whether The Lord had made his errand successful or not.
That man must have been totally blown away. The very thing about which
he prayed barely five minutes ago was occurring right before his eyes and all
so brisk and sudden too. This was just too easy and just too unbelievable.
Could this really be of The Lord? He dared not let himself enjoy any success
yet until he knew for sure.
†. Gen 24:22 . .When the camels had finished drinking, the man took
a gold nose-ring weighing a half-shekel, and two gold bands for her
arms, ten shekels in weight.
The word for "nose-ring" is nexem (neh'-zem) which just means ring, or
jewel. Without a modifier, there is no way of knowing for sure if the ring is
for the nose or the ear. However, in verse 47 up ahead, Abraham's steward
will say he installed the ring in Becky's nose.
The half shekel was a unit of weight and a media of exchange in those days.
It weighed about 6.019 grams which is equal to about 92.87 grains. Typical
.22 caliber lead bullets weigh approximately 40 grains apiece, so it would
take at least two and a third of them to equal the weight of the ring. That's
really not much, but if it's stuck in your nose or hanging on your ear I guess
it would become noticeable after a while.
The combined weight of the two bands was ten shekels, which is twenty
times the weight of the ring; or about 1,857 grains; which is equivalent to
forty-six .22 cal lead bullets.
1,857 grains + 93grains = 1,950 grains; which is equivalent to 4.06 troy
ounces of gold. ( a troy ounce is equal to 480 grains) As of Aug 25, 2012,
the market price for gold was roughly 1,670 US dollars per troy ounce. So to
date, Becky's jewelry was worth roughly 6,780 US dollars in bullion.
Cont.
/
