Genesis Chapter 24 verse 21 Holy Bible
And the man looked stedfastly on her, holding his peace, to know whether Jehovah had made his journey prosperous or not.
read chapter 24 in ASV
And the man, looking at her, said nothing, waiting to see if the Lord had given his journey a good outcome.
read chapter 24 in BBE
And the man was astonished at her, remaining silent, to know whether Jehovah had made his journey prosperous or not.
read chapter 24 in DARBY
And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
read chapter 24 in KJV
And the man, wondering at her, held his peace, to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous, or not.
read chapter 24 in WBT
The man looked steadfastly at her, holding his peace, to know whether Yahweh had made his journey prosperous or not.
read chapter 24 in WEB
And the man, wondering at her, remaineth silent, to know whether Jehovah hath made his way prosperous or not.
read chapter 24 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 21. - And the man wondering at her - gazing with attention on her (LXX., Vulgate, Gesenius, Furst); amazed and astonished at her (Rosenmüller, Delitzsch, Keil, Lange, Calvin) - held his peace, to wit - i.e. that he might know - silence being the customary attitude for the soul in either expecting or receiving a Divine communication (cf. Leviticus 10:3; Psalm 39:2; Acts 11:18) - whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. This inward rumination obviously took place while the whole scene was being enacted before his eyes - the beautiful young girl filling the water-troughs, and the thirsty camels sucking up the cooling drink. The loveliness of mind and body, both which he desired in Isaac's bride, was manifestly present in Rebekah; but still the questions remained to be determined, Was she one of Abraham's kindred, was she single? and would she follow him to Canaan? - points of moment to the solution of which he now proceeds.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(21) And the man wondering at her . . . --The verb is rare, and the LXX., Syr., and Vulg., followed by Gesenius and Frst, translate, "And the man gazed attentively at her, keeping silence, that he might know," &c. The servant, we may well believe, was astonished at the exactness and quickness with which his prayer was being answered, but this is not the point to which the rest of the verse refers; rather, it sets him before us as keenly observing all she said and did, and carefully coming to the conclusion that the comely and generous maiden was the destined bride of the son of his lord.
