She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and fodder enough, and room to lodge in.
Read Chapter 24
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Consider here too the maiden’s response. As with the water, she not only provided what was asked but also watered the camels after giving him something to drink, so here too, when the servant inquired if there was merely room and whose daughter she was, the maiden replied, “I am daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor himself.” She mentioned her father and grandfather so that this knowledge would further arouse the servant’s interest. Observe the child’s candor: asked about her father, she not only tells the truth about him but also about her father’s father. And to the inquiry as to whether there was simply a place to rest she replied, “not only a place” but “also much straw and feed at our place.” On hearing this, the servant was amazed at the girl for her lavish hospitality and learned as well that he had come not to some strangers but to the house of Nahor, who was the patriarch’s brother; so, the text tells us, “the man bowed low in gratitude to the Lord.” Overjoyed at what he had learned, at the words spoken by the girl, “he bowed low to the Lord,” offering thanks to the Lord for giving evidence of such favor to the patriarch and care for him and for bringing all his endeavors to a successful conclusion with ease. He said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld his steadfast goodness from my master.”
