24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: 2
“Our sister, may you become the mother 3 of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds 4 of their enemies.”
24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with 5 the man. So Abraham’s servant 6 took Rebekah and left.
1 tn The imperfect verbal form here has a modal nuance, expressing desire.
2 tn Heb “and said to her.”
3 tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”
sn May you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands. The blessing expresses their prayer that she produce children and start a family line that will greatly increase (cf. Gen 17:16).
4 tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17.
5 tn Heb “And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after.”
6 tn Heb “the servant”; the word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.