(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he lived in the land of the South. Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the evening. He lifted up his eyes and looked. Behold, there were camels coming. Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she got off the camel.”
(Genesis 24:62-64)
Isaac was coming from the well that Hagar named when she was visited by the angel in the desert and sent back to her home with Sarah and Abraham (Genesis 16:10-14).
Isaac was meditating. The word used is ‘suach’ (soo’-akh) and it means to muse pensively. It is the only time in the Word that it shows up. Isaac wasn’t a frivolous person. He was a thinker. He considered things thoughtfully. He was probably thinking of the bride heading his way (or possibly heading, since he didn’t know how the journey had turned out). He was considering his future, his path, and which way he should go – a wise thing to do.
The servant, upon seeing Isaac, calls him ‘my master’. This is the first time the servant is looking to the future instead of calling Isaac the master’s son. Already the reins of authority in the story are transferring.
Rebekah had probably been told all about Isaac from the servant. I’m sure she had questions about her new life and husband. The journey was a decent one, and they would have had a lot of time to talk. Here, she gets her first view of Isaac and what she does is cover her face. She chooses modesty (not a bad thing), but some of the sages also interpret something else in her action. A shyness. A decision to consider herself not an equal in all ways. Seeing herself as maybe not up to snuff. She puts a barrier between them. After all, it specifically mentions her lifting her veil to cover herself, but never lowering it to reveal herself. Looking into their lives as the scriptures progress, you cannot deny that there is a distance between them in a lack of confidence. A lack of communication in some ways. Perhaps this veiling and covering of her real self is the seed that will give the harvest of strife later when her children face the blessing.
The sage Ramban writes: ‘AND ISAAC ‘BA MIBO’ (HAD JUST COME) FROM THE WELL LAHAI-ROI. Scripture states that Isaac had just now come from the well Lahai-roi, having returned from the well of Lahai-roi to which he had previously come. Had the verse stated, “Ba (he came) from the well of Lahai,” it would have appeared as if he lived there. Therefore, it was necessary to explain ba mibo as meaning that he returned to his city from the temporary visit that he had made to the well of Lahai-roi, for he abode in the south country and he was returning to his city. It is possible that since the word mibo is an infinitive, it indicates that Isaac constantly went to that place since it was a place of prayer for him because of the revelation of the angel there, and he abode in the south country near there. And so did Onkelos translate it, “He came from his coming,” [thus indicating that he was in the habit of so doing].
In Onkelos’ opinion this was Beer-sheba for he translated both between Kadesh and Shur and between Kadesh and Bered as “Rekem and Chagra.” If so, that place — the place of the tamarisk-tree of Abraham — was suitable for prayer. Now Isaac came from that well while he was on his way to another city which was on the same road as his city, and he went out towards eventide to converse in the field with his companions and friends who were there. He met the servant and Rebekah, whereupon they all walked together to the city, and Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. AND SHE SAW ISAAC. Rashi comments: “She saw his lordly appearance and felt abashed of him.” And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that the latter verse, [namely, Verse 65, And she said unto the servant, What man is this], preceded Verse 64. Thus the expression, And she said unto the servant, means “And she had already said to the servant.” In Ibn Ezra’s opinion there are many such verses in the Torah.
This is truly so, but here it is not correct, for in this case you would have to mix the verses and transpose their parts as follows: And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and she saw Isaac [Verse 64] — and she said unto the servant: What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant said: It is my master [Verse 65] — and she alighted from the camel [Verse 64] — and she took her veil, and covered herself [Verse 65]. In my opinion [we need not mix the verses, but the sense thereof is as follows]: When Rebekah saw a man walking in the field towards her, hastening on the road and walking in the field towards them, she knew that he had come to see them and greet them or to bring them into his house for lodging, and so she did as was ethically proper for women, and she stood modestly. AND SHE ALIGHTED (‘VATIPOL’) FROM THE CAMEL. Rashi comments: “She let herself slide towards the ground, as the Targum renders it, ‘She inclined herself [towards the earth but did not actually reach the ground]. Similarly, Let down thy pitcher was translated by Onkelos to mean ‘incline.’ And He bowed down the heavens — the Targum translates: ‘and He bent.’ A similar case is the verse, Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, which means though he bends himself towards the earth, yet he shall not touch the ground.”
But Onkelos’ opinion is not that she let herself slide off the camel to the earth, for if so, she actually fell off the camel and did not just incline herself. Similarly, all expressions of “inclining” merely mean a bending towards one side. Onkelos’ opinion, however, is that on the camel upon which she was riding she bent herself towards one side in order to turn her face away from him. A similar case, in my opinion, is the verse: And when Naaman saw one running after him, ‘vayipol’ from upon the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? The word vayipol here only means that he bent himself in the chariot towards the runner who was on the ground to ask of him whether all is well. And so indeed it is said there, When the man turned back from his chariot to meet thee. It is possible that as far as Onkelos is concerned, the expression, from on the camel, is like “on the camel,” [the letter mem in the word mei’al (from on) being redundant]. A similar case is the verse, For great ‘mei’al’ the heavens is Thy mercy, [which means “for great on the heavens is Thy mercy,” and not “from on the heavens”]. A redundant letter mem like this is also found in these verses: There shall be no more ‘misham’ an infant of days, nor an old man, [which means “there shall be no more there,” and not “from there”]; Ye waters that are ‘mei’al’ the heavens, [which means “ye waters that are on the heavens,” and not “from on the heavens”]. In line with the plain meaning [of Scripture, however, the letter mem in the word mei’al is not redundant, but instead] it is like the mem in the verse, And, behold, there came many people ‘miderech’ (from a way) round-about. [And thus in the verse before us, mei’al hagamal would mean that she alighted “from on the camel.”] There are many similar verses.’
The sage Rav Hirsch writes: ‘V. 62. בא מבא does not occur in the whole of תנ״ך, “come from coming”. בא really means “to come there”, there where one belongs, where one feels at home, is attracted thither. So that he must have been at some place to which he felt drawn, מבא, and then, he must have come to some other place to which he now felt drawn, now felt at home. And to where had he gone? To באר לחי ראי! Now we know that well which had received its name from a colleague of Eliezer, who, driven from Abraham’s house by her urge for freedom had so named it. For there she had recognised, that, when and where everything on earth seems dead to us, “a Living One still sees us”. And it was there, that concerning the elder brother of Isaac, the providence and management of God had been revealed to a servant of Abraham. Is it then not extremely likely that, while Eliezer — also a servant in the house of Abraham — had gone away, in the hopes of God’s watching and guiding Providence, to undertake a step which, more than anything else, would be a fateful decision for the whole of Isaac’s future, — accordingly, although in quite different circumstances, still quite parallel to the position of Hagar and Ishmael — that Isaac, the one who was most concerned in the matter, should feel drawn to the place that could strengthen his confidence that God would act for him, would make His proximity apparent to Eliezer, just as He had done to Hagar for his elder brother. But, thereupon, he again longed to go back home, to the place where his family life was to blossom. For the well lay at the edge of the desert. והוא יושב בארץ הנגב. It seems that Isaac was already living on his own, and indeed in the Negev. Whereas Abraham had already lived for many years amongst the other nations, he found it good for Isaac, who was again at the beginning of life, to do as he had done at first, and live quietly in isolation (see on Ch. 20,1). V. 64. Undoubtedly Eliezer had taken the opportunity of talking to her of Isaac all through the journey, that would be only natural, so that she recognised him at once, so there is no necessity to think of any “intuitive presentiment”. She could also have recognised the field from its description, and from the manner in which Isaac just came to meet them there, have concluded that here was the owner. ותפל, an intentional quick dismounting from the camel, as we find it said of Naamon ויפל מעל המרכבה לקראתו (II Kings 5,21) out of respect for Elisha, yea, for his servant. In the same way here too we can understand the feeling that Rebecca did not wish to meet Isaac, mounted. A proud lady would certainly have found something in it, to come riding stately to meet him at the head of a troop of followers and allow herself to be gallantly lifted down by her future husband. Especially as Isaac was not riding but on foot she did not find it seemly for her to ride towards him. Moreover riding seems to have been a sign of quality and Rebecca did not want to meet Isaac as an aristocratic lady. All this, however, was not a matter that she had thought out beforehand (in which case such modesty might not be so far off from pride) but ותפל, it happened quite spontaneously, without previous consideration, was just the instantaneous result of a correct feeling. V. 65. ותתכס. Only then did she veil herself. Another piece of “orientalism” gone! And this is again a proof of how much we have to be on our guard to note everything which is so incontrovertibly and positively told us about these matters. צעיף root is צעף probably related to שאף, to withdraw into oneself, similar to בלע to swallow up, and to withdraw from sight by covering up.’
The Torah: A Women’s Commentary writes: ‘REBEKAH MEETS ISAAC (24:62–66) The text reintroduces Isaac by explaining that he had returned from the vicinity of Be’er-lachai-ro’i, the place where God has been revealed to Hagar (16:13–14). Yet as soon as Isaac sees the approaching camels (24:63), it is she who becomes the subject of the verbs (24:64). “my master.” This is the first time that the servant calls Isaac “my master” and not “my master’s son.” Taking a veil, she covered herself. Rebekah’s action may signal modesty. Is it because of her new status as a married woman? Not enough is known about the role of veils in ancient Israel.’
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