Genesis 24:31

31 Laban welcomed him: "Come on in, blessed of God! Why are you standing out here? I've got the house ready for you; and there's also a place for your camels."

Genesis 24:31 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 24:31

And he said, come in, thou blessed of the Lord
Both with temporal and spiritual blessings; he concluded he was blessed with the former by the presents he had made to his sister, and by the men that attended him, and the number of camels that were with him; and with the latter by his devotion, his worshipping of God, and thankfulness to him, which Rebekah had observed and related: some Jewish writers say {h}, he thought he was Abraham, and therefore gave him this title and this invitation to come into the house: wherefore standest thou without?
this he said either as reproving him that he did not follow his sister upon her invitation, or rather as pressing him to make no more delay: for I have prepared the house:
swept it clean, or ordered it to be so, as the word F9 signifies; had fitted and furnished it with everything convenient for him and those with him: Jonathan and Jarchi interpret it of purging the house from idols and strange worship, which he knew would be offensive to Abraham, or any that belonged to him; but the former sense is best: and room for the camels;
he had ordered the stable to be cleansed also, and everything provided there fit for the camels; so that some time elapsed between Rebekah's return home and Laban's coming to the well, though no doubt everything was done with as much dispatch as possible.


FOOTNOTES:

F8 Bereshit Rabba, sect. 60. fol. 52. 4. Targ. Jon. in loc.
F9 (ytygp) "repurgavi", Drusius; "verri", Schmidt.

Genesis 24:31 In-Context

29 Rebekah had a brother named Laban. Laban ran outside to the man at the spring.
30 He had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister and had heard her say, "The man said this and this and this to me." So he went to the man and there he was, still standing with his camels at the spring.
31 Laban welcomed him: "Come on in, blessed of God! Why are you standing out here? I've got the house ready for you; and there's also a place for your camels."
32 So the man went into the house. The camels were unloaded and given straw and feed. Water was brought to bathe the feet of the man and the men with him.
33 Then Laban brought out food. But the man said, "I won't eat until I tell my story." Laban said, "Go ahead; tell us."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.