Commentary for Genesis 24:43
הִנֵּ֛ה אָנֹכִ֥י נִצָּ֖ב עַל־עֵ֣ין הַמָּ֑יִם וְהָיָ֤ה הָֽעַלְמָה֙ הַיֹּצֵ֣את לִשְׁאֹ֔ב וְאָמַרְתִּ֣י אֵלֶ֔יהָ הַשְׁקִֽינִי־נָ֥א מְעַט־מַ֖יִם מִכַּדֵּֽךְ׃
behold, I stand by the fountain of water; and let it come to pass, that the maiden that cometh forth to draw, to whom I shall say: Give me, I pray thee, a little water from thy pitcher to drink;
Chizkuni
והיה העלמה, earlier (in verse 16) Eliezer had referred to the as yet unknown to him girl as הנער. He had thought previously that the inhabitants of Aram Naharayim only spoke and understood the local language, Aramaic. However, it turned out that they also understood Hebrew, as we know from when they said: תשב הנערה, “let the girl remain for a while.” (verse 55)
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy